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Editor’s note: Earlier this year, MJSA

announced the formation of the MJSA

Sustaining Membership, a special mem-

bership level recognizing those companies

that, through their enduring fi nancial sup-

port, help MJSA to continue in its mission

of advancing professional excellence and

furthering the industry. As part of our on-

going series of Sustainer profi les, this month

we introduce you to United Precious Metal

Refi ning Inc. in Alden, New York.

United Precious Metal Refining(UPMR) celebrates its 30th anniversary

this year. A major refi ner as well as a man-

ufacturer of fabricated gold, silver, plati-

num, and palladium products, UPMR

serves more than 25,000 customers world-

wide. It provides them with a range of

refi ning services (including stone removal)

and employs some of the industry’s most

advanced analytical methods. And it offers

an array of grains, master alloys, solder,

wire, tube, and sheet in all precious met-

als, including some formulations patented

by and exclusive to UPMR.

How has UPMR been able to accom-

plish so much? David Siminski, vice pres-

ident of sales and marketing, sums up

the answer in two words: happy workers.

“United’s management team focuses

a great deal on ensuring our employees

are content,” Siminski says. That’s been a

major focus ever since the company was

founded in 1988 by employees of the for-

MJSA BULLETIN

MJSA Sustaining MembersUnited Precious Metal Refining Inc., Alden, New York

mer P.M. Refi ning Co. in Buffalo, New

York. Those employees left “because they

had a different vision of what the company

could do,” he explains. They knew that,

for UPMR to succeed, they had to be

fl exible and adapt to change. And the key

to that was listening to every employee,

making sure every voice was heard.

“The owners of United don’t see a com-

pany with 90-plus employees,” Siminski

says. “They see 90-plus families that are

counting on the company to provide for

them. The rest really takes care of itself.”

Those 90-plus employees include its

refi ning and manufacturing staff at

UPMR’s Alden, New York, factory, along

with a sales force that operates worldwide,

including Canada, Europe, Asia, Mexico,

Latin America, and the Caribbean. Its

“road warriors” traverse the U.S. and Can-

ada, picking up large refi ning lots, clean-

ing out sink traps, and collecting blower

dust lots. That personal touch makes all

the difference, Siminski says.

The company strives to offer its world-

wide customers quick settlement turn-

around times, reliable service, and acces-

sibility. Understanding that effi ciency is as

“United’s management team focuses a great deal on ensuring our

employees are content.”—David Siminski, vice president of sales and marketing

United Precious Metal Refining Inc.

Oct

ober

2018

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important to those customers as product

quality, UPMR introduced a user-friendly

mobile app and customer account por-

tal this year. Both allow users to schedule

refining lot pickups, check on live pre-

cious metal prices, calculate scrap gold

value, and find products for casting, fab-

rication, and soldering.

“Though we still take hundreds of calls

a week, technologically savvy customers

like the convenience of accessing their

information at any given moment from

their desktop or handheld device,” Sim-

inski says.

Siminski admits that UPMR has faced

its share of difficulties throughout the

years, but says that it was able to weather

the storms due to its flexibility. “Shifting

markets and ever-changing trends posed

challenges to our business, undoubtedly,”

he says. He credits the company’s busi-

ness model—one that combines three

distinct divisions, refining, products, and

metals analysis—with enabling UPMR

to transform with the times.

“When gold prices rose, our focus was

on refining,” he says, and when prices

began decreasing, “our focus shifted to

sales [of fabricated products] as manufac-

turers once again saw an increase in de-

mand for new jewelry.” Siminski believes

that this ability to adapt is one of the main

reasons the company has succeeded.

Another way UPMR has been able to

grow is through innovation, which has

always been at the forefront of its busi-

ness. The company was the first to com-

mercialize silicon deoxidized gold 25 years

ago, and that emphasis on research and

development continues today. It came

into play several years ago, when gold

envisioned a company that would work

exclusively for the jewelry industry, pro-

viding refining services and putting out

100 percent recycled gold and silver. Our

company has never taken in mining mate-

rial or industrial scrap containing impurities

that would contaminate our jewelry stock.”

Obtaining its metal from verified

pawnshops, jewelers, and manufacturers,

UPMR processes and refines everything

in-house. Siminski states, “Our compli-

ance department is among the most strin-

gent in the industry, and is one of the

reasons United turns away a good number

of potential customers each year.” More-

over, UPMR was among the first to elim-

inate harmful materials from its products.

“Our cadmium-free solders were intro-

duced long before the material was con-

firmed to be a carcinogen,” says Siminski.

It’s just one more example of how the com-

pany’s dedication to research and develop-

ment—not to mention to its customers, its

employees, and the environment—remains a

continuing part of UPMR’s legacy. u

prices began climbing (at one point near-

ing $1,900 oz.), and UPMR needed to

seek alternatives for its customers.

“It became more expensive to create

jewelry lines using gold, and consumers

weren’t used to paying the elevated cost,

which was passed on to retail prices,”

Siminski recalls. The company knew its

clients and was confident that they weren’t

looking to silver as a substitute, consid-

ering it an unsuitable alternative. Since

UPMR sought to create a middle ground,

its metallurgists developed it, creating a

new premium silver line. That line, Sim-

inski says, included “different formulas

that mix sterling silver with platinum,

sterling silver with palladium, and even

a sterling-silver-with-gold formulation.”

Those alloys created an entirely new mar-

ket, he says.

In addition to valuing employees and

innovation, UPMR distinguishes itself by

focusing on sustainability. Siminski em-

phasizes, “Our commitment to the envi-

ronment stems from our founders, who