TRANSKRIP 🔗
WEBVTT
1
00:00:01.090 --> 00:00:09.660
Cliff's now.
2
00:00:09.720 --> 00:00:20.559
Cliff's now. Yeah, so it's pretty crazy to be having
3
00:00:20.579 --> 00:00:24.120
a scrap convention and be at Churchill Downs. It is.
4
00:00:24.399 --> 00:00:24.980
It is.
5
00:00:25.320 --> 00:00:25.620
Yes.
6
00:00:26.879 --> 00:00:29.780
One of the things, so let's talk about MI2 a
7
00:00:29.800 --> 00:00:34.060
little bit. Okay. I mean, I've mentioned that a couple
8
00:00:34.119 --> 00:00:37.799
times tonight already, and people are like, yeah, no, I
9
00:00:37.820 --> 00:00:42.990
don't really know about MI2. So just what is MI2?
10
00:00:43.049 --> 00:00:45.149
I mean, I know what it is because we're a
11
00:00:45.170 --> 00:00:48.570
member and we love MI2, but in your words, what
12
00:00:48.850 --> 00:00:49.509
is MI2? Absolutely.
13
00:00:49.789 --> 00:00:50.270
Absolutely.
14
00:00:50.659 --> 00:00:54.689
So MI2 is a 501c3 nonprofit. We were started by
15
00:00:54.710 --> 00:00:58.590
the Cabinet for Economic Development and the large metals manufacturers
16
00:00:58.750 --> 00:01:01.710
in Kentucky. And really what they wanted to do was
17
00:01:01.829 --> 00:01:05.849
create an entity that was there to support the metals
18
00:01:05.930 --> 00:01:10.010
industry in Kentucky to help its growth, to solve problems,
19
00:01:10.349 --> 00:01:11.409
to do all of these things.
20
00:01:11.469 --> 00:01:12.609
And that's what we're here for.
21
00:01:13.849 --> 00:01:21.329
I found it extremely fascinating that metals industry in Kentucky
22
00:01:22.129 --> 00:01:26.620
is three times the size of the bourbon industry.
23
00:01:26.799 --> 00:01:28.620
And the bourbon industry is what everyone talks about.
24
00:01:28.640 --> 00:01:29.659
That's all we hear about.
25
00:01:29.700 --> 00:01:30.000
That's right.
26
00:01:30.060 --> 00:01:33.200
Bourbon industry is, and I love bourbon. You know, we're
27
00:01:33.239 --> 00:01:37.000
having some tonight, right? That's right. But to think about
28
00:01:37.019 --> 00:01:39.799
it being, so I, I've Gemini'd this. I don't know
29
00:01:39.840 --> 00:01:42.260
how big you are on AI, but I'm, I'm, I'm
30
00:01:42.319 --> 00:01:44.260
all in on Gemini right now. I nerd out a
31
00:01:44.280 --> 00:01:47.200
little bit, probably a little bit too much, but Gemini
32
00:01:47.260 --> 00:01:52.359
says that The bourbon industry is about $ 10. 5 billion. And
33
00:01:52.530 --> 00:01:56.319
metals is $ 30 something. So three times, I mean, it
34
00:01:56.340 --> 00:01:59.299
just blows my mind. When we had the governor's roundtable
35
00:01:59.739 --> 00:02:01.859
and we were talking about the size of the industry
36
00:02:01.900 --> 00:02:05.280
just a couple months ago, that's when I initially searched it.
37
00:02:05.469 --> 00:02:08.810
And I'm like, that is just unbelievable. Now, correct me
38
00:02:08.849 --> 00:02:13.780
if I'm wrong, but Kentucky is the largest... state as
39
00:02:13.819 --> 00:02:16.750
far as metals producer in the United States. Is that right?
40
00:02:16.770 --> 00:02:19.629
It is the fastest growing state. Okay. Yes. It is
41
00:02:19.669 --> 00:02:21.849
the fastest growing state for metals right now.
42
00:02:22.569 --> 00:02:26.750
And it is, it's just exploding because now we have
43
00:02:26.789 --> 00:02:30.729
so many companies coming to Kentucky precisely for what we're doing.
44
00:02:31.389 --> 00:02:34.669
And it's almost 20% of the GDP.
45
00:02:35.009 --> 00:02:35.370
Yeah.
46
00:02:35.669 --> 00:02:38.430
So to have, you know, such a focus on it,
47
00:02:39.189 --> 00:02:42.370
It's really supported by the state government as well.
48
00:02:42.449 --> 00:02:42.729
It is.
49
00:02:43.229 --> 00:02:46.009
I was really impressed by the way the governor and
50
00:02:46.129 --> 00:02:50.900
all of his administration just really pours into that. I
51
00:02:50.919 --> 00:02:55.620
was very, very, very impressed. Let's talk about, since we
52
00:02:55.759 --> 00:03:00.240
are here for recycling. Yes. At the governor's roundtable, it
53
00:03:00.280 --> 00:03:05.550
was also mentioned. Now, everybody knows Tunko is tungsten, but
54
00:03:05.949 --> 00:03:07.469
aluminum was a big subject.
55
00:03:07.710 --> 00:03:07.960
It is.
56
00:03:08.580 --> 00:03:12.680
And I found it a little bit discouraging that Kentucky
57
00:03:12.740 --> 00:03:16.550
is only like at a recycle rate of 15%.
58
00:03:16.550 --> 00:03:18.330
It's abysmally low. Yeah.
59
00:03:18.389 --> 00:03:18.710
Yes.
60
00:03:19.169 --> 00:03:22.469
So I think there's a project that we support called
61
00:03:22.490 --> 00:03:25.069
the Million Cans Project or something like that.
62
00:03:25.169 --> 00:03:25.550
Yes.
63
00:03:25.629 --> 00:03:27.759
So give me a little feedback on what that is.
64
00:03:27.780 --> 00:03:29.800
Well, you're about to get that email soon, too.
65
00:03:29.819 --> 00:03:30.840
Okay. All right. All right.
66
00:03:31.419 --> 00:03:34.860
But what it is is MI2 came in and we
67
00:03:34.960 --> 00:03:37.080
knew that we had to do better as a state
68
00:03:37.479 --> 00:03:41.189
with recycling all metals, but we're starting with that used
69
00:03:41.270 --> 00:03:44.009
beverage can because that's what people see the most.
70
00:03:44.500 --> 00:03:46.039
It is completely recyclable.
71
00:03:46.120 --> 00:03:49.419
It can be recycled throughout the life of that aluminum,
72
00:03:49.460 --> 00:03:54.460
which is permanent. And so it's really silly and sad
73
00:03:54.539 --> 00:03:57.000
to have them end up in a landfill. So we
74
00:03:57.039 --> 00:04:00.460
really want to raise that awareness. And that's something that
75
00:04:00.520 --> 00:04:03.719
we are focused on. So we're partnering with other agencies
76
00:04:04.090 --> 00:04:07.990
that have already been doing this good work for recycling
77
00:04:08.069 --> 00:04:12.169
to see if we can't boost that signal expand what's
78
00:04:12.270 --> 00:04:15.729
Load full transcript
happening in Kentucky with it and actually begin to make
79
00:04:15.789 --> 00:04:20.009
an impact on that circular economy with aluminum. And then
80
00:04:20.050 --> 00:04:21.629
we want to branch out a little bit and be
81
00:04:21.680 --> 00:04:25.180
able to do it with other metals and precious materials
82
00:04:25.240 --> 00:04:27.240
that do not need to be in a landfill.
83
00:04:27.339 --> 00:04:30.839
Right. One of the projects that we're working on is
84
00:04:30.899 --> 00:04:34.870
headed by the Urban Mining Initiative because it's like, you know,
85
00:04:34.939 --> 00:04:37.889
really when you think about the critical raw materials that
86
00:04:37.930 --> 00:04:40.879
we have, we have a lot that are in the
87
00:04:40.980 --> 00:04:42.660
urban areas. We don't even have to mine it.
88
00:04:42.779 --> 00:04:43.199
That's right.
89
00:04:43.240 --> 00:04:46.839
We just have to make sure that we are recouping
90
00:04:46.899 --> 00:04:49.560
it and that it's not ending up in a landfill somewhere.
91
00:04:49.680 --> 00:04:50.160
That's right.
92
00:04:50.500 --> 00:04:55.079
Now, Million Cans is also big on school programs, right?
93
00:04:55.500 --> 00:04:55.879
It is.
94
00:04:56.060 --> 00:04:59.350
And the purpose behind that is so that we begin
95
00:04:59.430 --> 00:05:04.449
to teach the next generations about recycling. I grew up
96
00:05:04.550 --> 00:05:07.730
in Michigan, so I grew up in a deposit state.
97
00:05:07.810 --> 00:05:10.689
And so I'm accustomed to taking things back to the store.
98
00:05:10.730 --> 00:05:12.970
And that's what I grew up with. And when you
99
00:05:13.050 --> 00:05:15.990
don't have that set up, you have to get families
100
00:05:16.029 --> 00:05:19.290
to understand why it shouldn't go in the trash can,
101
00:05:19.649 --> 00:05:22.379
why it needs to come back and be recycled. And
102
00:05:22.420 --> 00:05:25.699
that's why starting in the elementary schools is a great
103
00:05:25.740 --> 00:05:28.360
way to do that. So through the Million Cans program,
104
00:05:28.759 --> 00:05:31.860
they get books. Every student that participate gets a book
105
00:05:32.620 --> 00:05:36.500
and it teaches them about why to recycle, particularly aluminum cans.
106
00:05:37.089 --> 00:05:39.800
And then there's a contest and there's winners at the end.
107
00:05:39.860 --> 00:05:42.079
So it's just really fun for the students to be
108
00:05:42.120 --> 00:05:45.199
able to learn about recycling while they're collecting cans.
109
00:05:45.259 --> 00:05:48.139
Yeah, that's great. That's excellent to get the kids involved
110
00:05:48.180 --> 00:05:50.660
in that. One of the things that we're working on
111
00:05:50.699 --> 00:05:53.120
at Tunko, you may have even seen some of the
112
00:05:53.819 --> 00:05:55.860
media posts that we've been doing. Have you heard about
113
00:05:55.899 --> 00:05:56.360
Project 74?
114
00:05:56.339 --> 00:05:57.709
I've heard a little bit about it.
115
00:05:57.740 --> 00:05:58.019
Yes.
116
00:05:58.500 --> 00:06:01.680
So it's pretty exciting right now. We're going to be
117
00:06:02.060 --> 00:06:07.019
one of the first state-of-the-art tungsten chemical processing plants in
118
00:06:07.040 --> 00:06:10.920
the United States, working with the federal government on that.
119
00:06:11.079 --> 00:06:14.819
And we'll be able to supply the defense industrial base
120
00:06:15.199 --> 00:06:18.180
with the materials they need to make all kinds of components.
121
00:06:18.579 --> 00:06:21.439
It could be things that go boom. One of the
122
00:06:21.459 --> 00:06:23.959
big things that people don't think about with Tungco or
123
00:06:24.000 --> 00:06:29.209
with tungsten in particular is with chip manufacturing. So when
124
00:06:29.230 --> 00:06:32.319
people are like, hey, what's tungsten in? If you have
125
00:06:32.399 --> 00:06:34.939
something that has a chip in it, it actually has
126
00:06:35.000 --> 00:06:39.540
a coating of tungsten on that. So project 74 will
127
00:06:39.560 --> 00:06:45.069
go towards the defense industrial base and helping reshore the tungsten.
128
00:06:45.350 --> 00:06:47.350
As of right now, a lot of it does go
129
00:06:47.509 --> 00:06:51.769
offshore because we don't have enough production capacity. So like
130
00:06:51.850 --> 00:06:54.269
right now where we don't have a good recycling rate
131
00:06:54.569 --> 00:06:58.199
on aluminum, we actually have a really good recycling rate
132
00:06:58.259 --> 00:07:02.209
on tungsten, but we don't have enough capacity to be
133
00:07:02.250 --> 00:07:06.389
able to produce the material. So project 74 will actually
134
00:07:06.649 --> 00:07:12.290
increase the defense industrial base production by about 15% on
135
00:07:12.310 --> 00:07:15.629
the domestic base. So we're pretty excited about that. And
136
00:07:15.689 --> 00:07:17.870
hopefully in the coming months, you're going to be hearing
137
00:07:17.889 --> 00:07:22.610
a lot more about project 74. Now I'm Tungsten. We've
138
00:07:22.649 --> 00:07:25.310
talked a little bit about aluminum, but just so we know,
139
00:07:26.149 --> 00:07:29.509
the mi2 is all metals yes so if you if
140
00:07:29.569 --> 00:07:32.759
you're out there and you're in the metals world you
141
00:07:32.819 --> 00:07:35.660
need to take a look at mi2 for sure and
142
00:07:35.860 --> 00:07:39.680
especially obviously if you're in kentucky yes and then so
143
00:07:39.699 --> 00:07:41.949
if somebody wants to find out a little bit more
144
00:07:42.449 --> 00:07:45.689
about mi2 i think we've got a trade show coming
145
00:07:45.790 --> 00:07:48.629
up maybe do yes and give just tell me a
146
00:07:48.649 --> 00:07:50.990
little bit about where would i go to find out
147
00:07:51.050 --> 00:07:51.949
more about mi2.
148
00:07:51.810 --> 00:07:55.360
Sure So it's the Kentucky industry conference that's coming up.
149
00:07:55.480 --> 00:07:58.360
It's going to be in Lexington. It will be October
150
00:07:58.639 --> 00:08:02.100
14th and 15th. So we're really looking forward to being
151
00:08:02.139 --> 00:08:04.779
there and gathering. We're also going to be doing the
152
00:08:04.839 --> 00:08:07.920
final parts of our InnoSearch contest, where we have been
153
00:08:07.939 --> 00:08:11.480
looking for problems from the metals industry, solutions from the
154
00:08:11.540 --> 00:08:16.189
value providers, and then those combinations that create things like
155
00:08:16.259 --> 00:08:20.870
pilots and really measurable metrics for these solutions that can
156
00:08:20.910 --> 00:08:23.410
make a difference in the metals industry. And if anybody
157
00:08:23.449 --> 00:08:26.370
wants information about us or the conference, they can go
158
00:08:26.389 --> 00:08:30.300
to our website, which is M, M as in Mary, I,
159
00:08:30.490 --> 00:08:32.789
the number two, KY.org.
160
00:08:33.169 --> 00:08:36.440
Awesome. Awesome. Well, it was really great to have a
161
00:08:36.480 --> 00:08:39.580
sit down chat with you. And I'm super happy that
162
00:08:39.620 --> 00:08:43.480
we were introduced a few years ago. Love MI2, love
163
00:08:43.519 --> 00:08:46.279
being on the board and everything that MI2 has going.
164
00:08:46.679 --> 00:08:49.240
And it's awesome to be part of that in Kentucky.
165
00:08:49.509 --> 00:08:50.590
Well, it's likewise.
166
00:08:50.730 --> 00:08:54.330
We really recognize that Tungco walks its talk and really
167
00:08:54.470 --> 00:08:57.470
invests in the things that matter. So it is definitely
168
00:08:57.549 --> 00:09:00.049
mutual appreciation on that. So we are glad to have
169
00:09:00.090 --> 00:09:00.789
you part of the team.
170
00:09:00.809 --> 00:09:04.080
All right. I think I actually see a bourbon and
171
00:09:04.120 --> 00:09:05.740
cigar on that billboard out there.
172
00:09:05.779 --> 00:09:06.139
Yes.
173
00:09:06.179 --> 00:09:07.299
So maybe we'll go have another.
174
00:09:07.419 --> 00:09:09.179
Sounds good. Thanks for having me.
175
00:09:09.220 --> 00:09:24.759
Appreciate it. Cliff's now. Cliff's now. Cliff's now. Cliff's now.