Smitty's Auto Recycling has an eye for detail

Dave Smithburg has worked as a mechanic for 30-some years, running a successful repair shop, a rental center and a growing used car dealership in Fairfield. Late last year, he added another enterprise to his brand: automotive recycling.

At the location formerly known as “Smith Auto Parts Rebuildables,” now stands Smitty's Auto Recycling. The business buys up scrap and totaled cars — whether from insurance auctions, dealerships or even individuals who haul them in — and sells the salvageable parts to consumers.

For someone who knows their way around an engine, the mechanical work is fairly easy — taking a car apart is generally easier than putting one together — but the distribution process adds a whole new layer to the business.

“It’s not much of a switch, if you’ve been a repair mechanic as long as I have,” he said. “It’s the logistics, getting stuff shipped, putting it into inventory and taking it out of inventory, doing all that stuff. That’s what takes the time.”

Once the family owners learn the ins and outs of auto recycling, management will fall to the next generation: Mike and Chelsey Smithburg.

And there’s plenty to learn. The shop has modernized under its new ownership, now doing a fair share of its business over eBay. Smithburg said the mail-order platform demanded an eye for detail, with so many minuscule variations between the same parts from different manufacturers.

“There’s lot of facets of this business, there’s a lot going on all the time,” Smithburg said. “The other business is fairly straightforward. You bring a car in, you fix it, inspect it, and send it back out. This business, if they call you and they want a wheel for it, there’s seven or eight different wheel packages available.”