North Star Port

4 | NORTH STAR PORT | SPRING 2025 PHOTOS / Wes Harkins, provided by Jeff Lemke/Twin Ports Rail History SMART AND SCRAPPY quantities and weights accurately to make sure I gave customers good, honest offers." Working in what was then a very male-dominated industry did not intimidate Bergstedt in the least. She thrived in it. "I never encountered anyone who was disrespectful," she said. "I was a good listener, I asked questions and customers were very accommodating in helping me learn." Steeled for success In November 2005, Bergstedt was offered the role of Azcon vice president and general manager of the Duluth location. For the next 20 years, she managed the waterfront scrapyard, oversaw safety operations and environmental compliance, and focused on growing sales of Azcon Metals' scrap commodities to steel mills and other industrial customers. "When we bring scrap metal into our yard, we have to sort and size it properly so it meets the needs of customers such as steel mills and foundries," Bergstedt said. "We analyze the chemistry and grades of materials to meet their specifications. It benefits the region because thousands and thousands of tons of scrap per year that otherwise would go into the solid waste system are recycled." Career reflections Reflecting back on her nearly 50-year career, Bergstedt notes how the face of the scrap metal industry has changed. "There are so many more women in the scrapyards and the steel mills, I'm amazed and happy," said Bergstedt, who chaired the Northwest Chapter of the Institute of Scrap Recycling (now called the Recycled Materials Association) from 1991 to 2001 and was president of this trade association from 1999- 2001. She also served on the board of the Rice's Point Business Group in recent years. "The industry is very exciting, and I like the fact that scrap metal recycling benefits the environment," Bergstedt said. "I'm proud of the opportunities I've had as president of our trade association and working my way up to vice president of Azcon Corporation, but I could not have done any of that without the help of all of the hardworking people at Azcon—some of whom I've worked with for 30 years. It says a lot about a company when people stay for so long." She encourages young people entering the labor force to work hard and be open to possibilities. There are many jobs in unique fields like scrap metal recycling that might not be on their radar. "People's perception of a scrap yard is a place that you bring what used to be called waste. Scrap metal is not waste anymore, it is a commodity, and for companies that provide us with scrap, it is a profit center," Bergstedt said. "There isn't a Scrap 101 course in college. It is an industry where you learn on the job and succeed through problem solving." Bergstedt's official retirement does not mean she's headed for the scrapheap any time soon. She's continuing as a consul- tant for Azcon Metals, while spending more time with family (including a young granddaughter), gardening, canning, relaxing at a lake cabin and traveling. "That is what I'm really looking forward to," she said. "But as I look back, I'm very proud to have spent my entire career at a great company." History of Azcon Metals' Duluth site Duluth Iron and Metal, a divi- sion of Hyman- Michaels, started with a small yard near what is now the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center (DECC). In 1965, the operation moved to 630 Helberg Drive, where it later became Azcon Metals. Immediately prior to becoming a scrap metal yard, the Rice's Point site served as the Nicholson Transit Company auto receiving dock, where new cars would arrive from Detroit on Nicholson's fleet of 12 lake freighters. Workers would board the ship, slide into the driver's seat, and steer the automobiles down a steep, narrow ramp that extended from the ship's deck to the dock. They were then staged on the dock and loaded onto auto-carrier trucks that hauled them to points further west and south for sale. According to rail historian Jeff Lemke, as many as 30,000 new cars arrived annually at Nicholson's Duluth dock. Nicholson maintained its Duluth operation for more than 40 years, disbanding in 1961 due to mounting financial losses. Company officials told United Press International that railroads "can now haul the new auto- mobiles for less than the boats," according to an article published Aug. 10, 1961, in the New York Times. Earlier in history, before its time as an automobile dock, the property was Northwest Hanna Coal Dock 4. Before Azcon Metals arrived, Nicholson Transit Company welcomed approximately 30,000 new cars annually from Detroit to Rice's Point. Duluth Aerial Lift Bridge pulleys

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