"Business Uses CalMAX to Collect Computers Along the Information Superhighway"

by Ken Decio

Congratulations to Executive Suite of Chico, California for being selected as the 1997 CalMAX Match of the Year. This story originally appeared in the May/June 1997 issue of CalMAX.

The California Integrated Waste Management Board (CIWMB) voted to approve the award of the 1997 CalMAX Match of the Year to Executive Suite at a public CIWMB meeting in San Diego on April 29, 1998. The CIWMB selected Executive Suite as the 1997 CalMAX Match of the Year for a variety of reasons: the amount  of materials diverted, the exchanges through CalMAX are ongoing, and the company's policy of donating used computers to schools throughout Northern California.

As stated in the May/June 1997 issue of CalMAX, David K. West is the owner of The Executive Suite, a Chico-based business that recovers computers and electronic scrap throughout the Sacramento Valley. David calls on businesses that have outdated or inoperable computers. His customers include numerous State and federal agencies, universities, banks, insurance, manufacturing, and computer service companies. He gradually fills his truck with old computers as he makes his way back to Chico each week. David also employs three full-time contractors that collect computers and scrap out the materials at their shops.

The backbone of his business is recovering mainframe computers for resale or recycling. He also collects circuit boards to recover precious metals such as gold, silver, platinum, and palladiumpaladium. David says he does not use cyanides or acids to recover the metals. Instead, he employs a mechanical method to extract and “hygrade” the metals to sell to smelters.

David has obtained many computers and a variety of electronic equipment by advertising in CalMAX. David has been utilizing CalMAX since 1993 and estimates that he recovers over 750 tons of computer equipment each year through the program CalMAX. He averages 15 calls per month through CalMAX, and although he advertises in other publications, he says, "I don't think there has been a better resource than CalMAX." With the help of CalMAX, David has also collects large quantities of personal computers (PC) which he donates to schools in Northern California. The majority of PCs he collects are 8088s, 286s, and 386s which are slower, older computers compared to the "pentiums" now for sale. Companies usually donate these computers to David because they know the computers will be sent to schools and they can also save on disposal and hauling costs. David will only donate computers to schools that have teachers or parents capable of testing, rebuilding, reformatting, or cannibalizing parts to create operating computers. As David says, "I don't plug in the computers to see if they work."

David also provides donated computers and equipment to Computerlink, a nonprofit organization located at the former Army Depot in Sacramento. Computerlink trainees refurbish and upgrade donated computers and distribute them free of charge to California public schools. David enjoys donating computer equipment to Computerlink because he feels it is a win-win situation: schools receive badly-needed computers while trainees develop marketable skills to help them lead more productive lives.

Because David travels constantly to collect computers, he values spending time with his family in Chico and believes in giving back something to the community. Since he is not the type to coach little league, David feels that by donating computers to schools, he is giving something back to society while earning a living. We at CalMAX agree.

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Last updated: February 27, 2008