One to Watch

Growth Engine

Brothers Alex and Aaron Stolberg started AAEQ in 1949 by sourcing engine cores and other automotive hard parts for professional engine rebuilders in the Chicago area. Since then, AAEQ has become one of the largest U.S.

automotive reclamation businesses.

Scott Stolberg, company president and CEO and Aaron’s son, says AAEQ’s four divisions are AA Midwest Cores, which still focuses on reclaiming engine and transmission cores and other automotive and industrial hard parts in Chicago; AA Midwest Auto Recycling, which processes vehicles for export from its Blue Island, Ill., facility; a full-service scrap yard in Last Vegas known as AAEQ Scrap Metal; and Las Vegas-based EngineQuest, a supplier of stock and performance cylinder heads and new and remanufactured engine parts.  

Stolberg shared some of AAEQ’s recent initiatives with Recycling Today.

Q: What new services have you introduced lately?

A: We’re proud to have recently completed our five-year master plan to become a full-service automotive scrap processor. This required a major investment of close to $5 million in capital improvements, including the purchase of state-of-the-art automotive handling and processing equipment, expansion and renovation of all three facilities … a state-of-the-art electronic payment system for our scrap metal business and more.

Q: What makes you different from your competitors?

A: AAEQ is known for its outstanding customer service and high degree of integrity. We have tailored our services to meet the needs of each customer group while serving a diversified business model. I think there are few companies that are as well equipped as AAEQ to provide wholesale automotive processing, recycling and remanufacturing services.