As appeared in Waste & Recycling News (Friday June 25, 2010), Texas recycler strong up the middle by Allan Gerlat

Joel and Craig Litman are a good double-play combination.

The brothers and co-owners of Texas Recycling/Surplus Inc. explain a lot of their business philosophy with sports metaphors. “The shortstop doesn´t always look to see if the second baseman´s there, he knows he´ll be there,” said President Joel.

“It´s a team game,” adds Vice President Craig. “We win or lose as a team.”

The Dallas-based company, though, has always been powered by Team Litman. Father Stanley was an industrial chemicals salesman before buying a paper and rag recycling business, Daltex Waste Material Co., in the early 1980s. Joel was working in public relations and advertising when he joined his dad in 1984. Craig, a certified public accountant, came on board five years later. “I saw it as an opportunity to be in the family business, and eventually hoped we´d own it one day,” Joel said.

As appeared in Scrap Magazine (Page 136 Scrap JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2010), One on One by Staff Writer

Joel Litman

JOEL LITMAN TEXAS RECYCLING/SURPLUS (DALLAS)

Q: How did you enter the scrap business?

A: My father, Stan, bought a small scrap paper and rag business in 1980, when he was 52. After managing the company on his own for four years, he reached a point where he needed another person to help take the company to the next level. I was working for a public relations and ad agency in Dallas when he asked if I had any interest in joining him. I knew the work culture would be different from the corporate world of an ad agency, as would the opportunities to grow and eventually own the business. To help me decide, I took a week’s vacation from my job and worked at the scrap plant. I quickly realized it was a tremendous opportunity. I joined my dad three weeks later, and I’ve never looked back.

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As appeared in Recycling Today (3/20/2009 9:21:54 AM), Winning Combination by Jackie Gubeno

Winning Combination

Dallas-based Texas Recycling/Surplus’s scrap industry roots may only reach back to the early 1980s, but the high-grade paper recycler has established itself as a prominent player in the market in that time. Many people assume that brothers Joel and Craig Litman, like many of their recycling industry colleagues, grew up in the business. And while the brothers have spent the better part of their adult lives in recycling, both started their careers on very different paths, as did their father, Stan, who got his start in the scrap paper industry in 1980.

After years of grueling travel as a sales manager for a large industrial chemical company, at 52 years old, Stan Litman decided he’d had enough, Joel recalls. While on sabbatical, Stan met a man who ran a paper and rag business in Dallas. Intrigued, Stan spent some time at the company and decided to try his hand in scrap. He ultimately purchased Daltex Waste Material Co., which provided the foundation for Texas Recycling/Surplus.