A decade ago, at 25, Shelley Whatmore leaped into the entrepreneurial world by securing a Calgary warehouse with the help of her mother and making a bid for an asset recovery and recycling contract with Alberta Government Telephones (AGT).

She had no idea how big her enterprise would become.

Whatmore’s humble beginnings with a small contract with AGT (now Telus) proved to be the launching pad for Maxus Technology Corp.

The mom-and-pop startup co-founded by Whatmore and husband Charles has mushroomed into a major global player in asset recovery and recycling of electronic equipment, and last year secured a public listing on a U.S. stock exchange.

Larry MacDougal photo, Business Edge
Maxus president Shelley Whatmore has been front and centre in the recycling company’s growth into a major player on the global scene.

Whatmore, president of Maxus, is particularly optimistic about the company’s growth prospects these days as governments begin to recognize the need for electronic recycling legislation to curb the dumping of toxic equipment into landfill sites.

Maxus operates a recycling plant in Rimbey that recycled more than a million kilograms of electronics last year, and also has operations in the U.S., Mexico and Chile.

The Alberta government has taken the lead in Canada by recently announcing that it was implementing a recycling stewardship program for electronics equipment in which consumers will be charged recycling fees for new purchases.

1. Are you from an entrepreneurial family?

“My father was an entrepreneur. He had his own construction company in Whitecourt. Having my father as kind of a role model, I definitely wanted to be in business. Work always came first before anything else with my father, so what I learned most watching him was about the importance of a good work ethic.”

2. How did your recycling and asset management business get started?

“As I was searching for an entrepreneurial opportunity, my mom was working for AGT, which was outsourcing their investment recovery division. My mom knew this contract was coming up for a bid and she helped us get the contract by buying a warehouse in Calgary, which we leased from her. We expanded with contracts with other telcos across Western Canada.”

3. Why did you take the company public in the U.S. last November?

“No. 1, the opportunity in asset recovery and e-waste recycling is very, very large and the market is very fragmented. There are a lot of very small mom-and-pop type companies, kind of like we were when we got started. So we wanted first of all to be a global leader in asset management solutions and really dedicate our services to the Fortune 1000 companies. So if we’re dealing with a Sony that has locations around the world, we want to be able to handle their surplus assets. We derive most of our revenue from our asset recovery side, which is refurbishing and reselling products into countries where their technology may be a little less advanced than ours.”

4. How has your own role changed as the company has grown and become a public company?

“When we were a small startup 10 years ago, the president was on top of everything in every division. Now, I’m much more focused on a smaller portion of overall responsibility, with the CEO (David Smith, based in the California head office) and the CFO (James Ross) more focused on the financing and investment side as well as growth strategy. Definitely, I’m becoming more focused on individual tasks. I’m the company spokesperson and also heavily involved in the sales side.”

5. What’s the transition been like for you as the company has grown?

“It’s been a non-stop learning curve. High-growth companies definitely have a lot of change, but we’ve really tried to focus on looking for very entrepreneurial type of people. So we’ve looked at implementing a second layer of management where we can delegate a lot of responsibility. I’ve always tried to build a team atmosphere, even before we became a public company. As a private company, we had an employee profit-sharing plan, and now we have a stock option plan for employees.”

6. What style of leadership has worked for you?

“I try to find exceptionally bright and motivated people and share the vision and empower them with the opportunities.”

7. What’s it like being your husband’s boss (Charles Whatmore is the vice-president of business development)?

(Laughing) “Initially, we both ran our own companies. My company really focused on the asset recovery side and Chuck’s company focused on the e-waste recycling side. About two years ago, we merged those companies. So it’s not like I’m his boss. We’ve clearly demonstrated over the past decade that we can work together. I think our skills complement each other well.

He has his strengths and I have mine.”

8. How are those strengths different?

“He’s a very visionary person and good at looking at the big picture while I’m really more of a detail person. In that aspect, it has been complementary. On the flipside, you definitely take your work home with you. You go for dinner and you’re still talking about work.”

9. Who’s the entrepreneur you most admire?

“I really admire Oprah Winfrey. Besides being very successful, I think she has a balance in her life. When I look at success, I think it’s not just about the money. It’s about giving back to your community, it’s about balancing your work life with your family life, your health and your spiritual life. When I look at her, I think that she has accomplished those things.”

10. How competitive is the electronic waste recovery and recycling business?

“We have competitors that provide some of the services we do but, to our knowledge, there isn’t a comparable company that provides (all) our services. There are companies that do the asset recovery of buying and selling of products, and there are some companies that do the recycling. But we haven’t found a company that provides all the different services that we do.”

11. Why did you choose to list in the U.S. on the Nasdaq Over The Counter Bulletin Board exchange as opposed to Canada?

“We did a reverse takeover of a shell company in the U.S. because the market potential and opportunity in Silicon Valley (California) is massive. About 80 per cent of our sales are in the U.S. There’s also a lot of Asian influence in environmental funds that are looking toward investing in companies that provide environmentally friendly solutions. So there’s a lot more market potential with them looking toward the Nasdaq rather than Toronto.”

12. Are you considering a public listing in Canada?

“Actually, my CFO (James Ross) is looking at that, but there hasn’t been a decision yet.”

13. Is the company currently profitable?

“As a private company, we were profitable, but with the extra costs of going public last year plus the effect of the rising Canadian dollar that has affected our sales in the U.S. we have not been profitable (as a public company).”

14. What impact do you expect for your company as a result of the provincial government’s move to implement a recycling stewardship program for electronic equipment?

“I’m very pleased that Alberta is leading the way and will likely implement this program. If you look at our environmental footprint, there’s a lot of satisfaction in knowing that we’re doing our part for the environment. I have two small children at home and it’s important to me that we leave this environment cleaner and greener. I like to say, ‘We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors but borrow it from our children.’ ” 15. Are you frustrated that governments haven’t moved more quickly to deal with issues of electronic equipment recycling?

“Actually, looking at it from an entrepreneurial standpoint and based on how quickly we’ve been able to grow, it has been frustrating waiting for governments to set up programs like this. But I’m proud to be an Albertan because it’s the first province to step up to the plate. I’m hoping it will happen in Alberta by this fall. I’m keeping my fingers crossed.”

16. So would there be a huge impact for your company from this program?

“That’s a hard question to answer because there are not a lot of stats out there on how much volume (of recycled equipment) there’s going to be. But the stat we have is that there is 71,652 tonnes of electronic waste Canadians produce each year. Currently, it’s either sitting in people’s garages or basements, junk drawers or going to landfill sites. We have not built our business plan on governments putting legislation or stewardship programs in place, but we’ll definitely see the volumes increase in our recycling facilities. We have the rights for the western hemisphere to a patented technology from a company called Mewa. It will lower our labour rate because it’s a unique method of breaking down products into individual commodities.”

17. How do you rate the performance of companies in recycling electronic waste?

“We deal with a lot of large corporations in the oil and gas sector that are very proactive in working toward finding environmentally friendly solutions for their surplus products. It’s slowly getting there, but there are also companies that choose an alternative route when it comes to spending that extra money. There’s been a lot of controversy over corporations who were not dealing with the products in an environmentally friendly manner.”

18. What’s your five-year vision for the company?

“We want to easily be a $100-million global company that can perform the asset management solutions for Fortune 1000 companies. The dreams and goals that we had in the early years are far different from the goals that I have today for the company. I’m proud of what our team has accomplished and excited about the opportunities that lie ahead.”

19. Do you see yourself in a similar role with the company in five years?

“No. I know there is going to be a point where this company is going to grow beyond the expertise and knowledge that I can provide. That day will come. Again, I just look at the matter of what my talents are and what I can contribute to the organization. Then it’s time to step aside and let the new leaders take the helm and continue to get to where we want it to be. I know our company has the potential to get there.”

20. What do you see in your life beyond this business?

“I really am so dedicated to this company and have been for the past 10 years that I really haven’t had a chance to think about that. My time and energy right now are focused on the organization and making sure that we do the best we can possibly do. I definitely want to spend more time with my (two) children when that time arrives. At some point, I’d also like to go back to school and get some type of university degree.”

IN PROFILE: Shelley Whatmore
* Title: President, Maxus Technology Corp.
* Born/raised/age: Fort St. John, B.C.; Whitecourt, Alta; 35.
* Education: Northern Alberta Institute of Technology, marketing diploma (honours).
* Family: Husband Charles Whatmore, two children.
* Career: Whatmore has been president of Maxus Technology since its inception in 1994. Prior to that, she was a marketing rep with Imperial Oil.
* Business Baptismal: Mary Kay Cosmetics.
* Moonlighting: Whatmore is a board member of the Recycling Council of Alberta.
* Accolades: Global TV Calgary Woman of Vision Award.
* Stress Buster: Running.

THE COMPANY: Maxus Technology Corp.
* Brass: David Smith, CEO; Shelley Whatmore, president; James Ross, chief financial officer; Charles Whatmore, vice-president, business development; Gary Powers, chief operating officer.
* Profile: Maxus Technology, founded in Calgary in 1994, is a provider of electronic asset recovery services and e-waste recycling services and has a recycling plant in Rimbey. The company was taken public last November on the Nasdaq Over The Counter Bulletin Board exchange. About 80 per cent of its sales are in the U.S, about 10 per cent in Canada and about 10 per cent in Mexico.
* Stats: In 2003, Maxus, through its recycling partnership with the City of Calgary, collected 3,615 monitors, 4,277 CPUs, 1,753 TVs and 1,393 stereos in a six-hour blitz.
* Recent Stock Price (MXUS-OTCBB): $1.45 US
* Website/E-mail: www.maxustech.com/info@maxustech.com
* Calgary Office: 3019 16 St. N.E., T2E 7K8; phone/fax 403-255-3211/255-3362.
* California Headquarters: 18300 Sutter Blvd., Morgan Hill, Calif. 95037; phone/fax 408-782-2005/778-0669.