ENCORE ENTERPRISE
Clockwise from bottom left: Metal pipe of all diameters ready for repurposing; a custom sign created by Rescued Metals; Shay Schupan working on a custom metal art project; vintage teapots and other salvaged metals for sale; and metal art pieces ready for painting. Photos by Brian K. Powers.
copper or bronze. The items have been popular enough that Rescued Metals now has a vendor booth at the new Kalamazoo Kitty location at 581 Romence Road, in Portage. “It’s become a big part of the business,” Schupan says. “We’ve done a lot of custom stuff, not only just signs that we’ve made for people on their request, but for about anything you can think of.” You know you’ve arrived at Rescued Metals when you see a 1971 Ford fire truck from Kalamazoo’s Westwood Fire Department in the parking lot. Schupan, who is also a firefighter for Kalamazoo County/ Cooper Township, bought the vintage truck because “it fit the rescue theme” of the business’s name. The 26-acre site of the operation, at 2900 Miller Road, was purchased in 2016 by Schupan & Sons primarily for the industrial building on the site. That building is another rescue story.
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