Scrap Industry News

Joseph Behr & Sons Inc., based in Rockford, Ill., held a grand opening for the new auto shredder at its Mason City, Iowa, scrap facility.

The Mason City shredder is the company’s third auto shredder and its first greenfield auto shredder, with a reported cost of $10 million.

Behr acquired a small salvage yard on four acres in Mason City roughly a year ago. The company, saying it recognized the site as an ideal location for an auto shredder, expanded the facility to its current 35 acres, which includes a public and a private rail line.

Richard Behr, CEO of Joseph Behr & Sons, says that the location is ideally suited for an auto shredder because the only nearby auto shredder is in Minneapolis and that demand in the area is excellent.

According to the company, the 4,000-hp shredder, which will likely run between five and five-and-a-half days per week, currently is processing roughly 100 tons per hour of material.

Schnitzer Steel Industries, Portland, Ore., has agreed to pay two fines totaling $15.2 million. However, the company did not admit to or deny the findings of a Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) charge that it paid kickbacks to various managers of government-controlled steel mills in China from 1999 through 2004.

The fines included a $7.5 million criminal fine a $7.7 million civil penalty.

According to an SEC filing, Schnitzer made payments on its own behalf and as a broker for Japanese steel companies. During this period the company allegedly also paid bribes to managers of privately owned steel mills in China and South Korea and improperly concealed payments in its records. The SEC alleges that the company paid more than $205,000 in improper payments to managers of Chinese government-owned steel mills in 30 sales transactions.

In addition to this activity, Schnitzer also reportedly paid bribes to managers of privately owned steel companies in China and South Korea. Between 1999 and 2004, the company made more than $420,000 in improper payments to privately owned Chinese steel mills, while the company also paid managers of privately owned South Korean mills around $1,273,000 during the same period, the SEC alleges.

In May 2004, Schnitzer’s compliance department reportedly uncovered the improper payments and began investigating the potential violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977. The SEC notes that while a senior executive at Schnitzer prohibited any further payments, the executive did authorize the company employees to pay at least two additional bribes that the company previously had promised private customers.

PSC METALS TO EXPAND OHIO NONFERROUS OPERATIONS

PSC Metals Inc., based in Mayfield Heights, Ohio, has announced plans to expand its nonferrous operations in Northeast Ohio.

PSC Metals’ Canton location was selected as the first nonferrous operation because of its long-term commercial relationships, yard-buying experience, central location and scrap-processing assets, according to Mike Chime, manager of PSC Metals Nonferrous Development, Northeast Operations.

The Canton location is being developed as a "one-stop, full-service yard" servicing all customers and consumers of nonferrous materials, according to Chime. The Canton location currently shreds high-quality grades of ferrous and nonferrous automobile and appliance scrap for steel mill and foundry consuming markets.

PSC Metals has designated a section of its 100-acre yard for its upgraded nonferrous operations. An existing building is to be used to collect, process and store all nonferrous material. Next year, plans call for construction of a new structure that will store, process and prepare larger volumes of nonferrous materials.

Additionally, new technologies are planned to enhance customer service, including the use of computerized "touch screen" technology that will provide real time and historical data. These will speed customer transactions and reduce waiting time for settlement.

Tampa, Fla.-based Trademark Metals Recycling (TMR) has purchased the assets and business of Scrap-All Inc. from Herb Wax and Mark Goldman.

Scrap-All Inc., founded in 1973, has operations in Tampa and Sarasota, Fla. Both Scrap-All facilities are full-service ferrous and nonferrous processing yards, operating Sierra shears, balers and loggers and Harris HRB two-ram balers. In addition, Scrap-All operates a significant trucking fleet to service its industrial clients.

Jeremy Wax, Matt Goldman, Bob Merkle and Ann Underwood will join the TMR/Scrap-All management team.

Trademark Metals is Florida’s largest full-service metals recycler, with 17 processing sites in the state. The company operates four automobile shredders and describes itself as the largest scrap exporter in Florida.

Trademark Metals is wholly owned by Cincinnati-based The David J. Joseph Co., which is owned by SHV N.V. of Utrecht, The Netherlands.

Cozzi Consulting Group, Burr Ridge, Ill., has announced an agreement with O’Brien Recycling Corp., Franklin Park, Ill., to manage the sales operation of its ferrous scrap metal business.

O’Brien Recycling, established in 1997, is a full-service scrap metal recycler handling mainly prompt industrial scrap. The agreement calls for Cozzi to "manage all sales initiatives and activities related to O’Brien’s ferrous scrap metal business," according to a news release from the Cozzi Group.

Cozzi Consulting Group partner Frank Cozzi says, "Our biggest role will be the marketing of scrap," though the firm will also provide "operational consulting" concerning O’Brien’s handling and processing of scrap.

Scrap industry veteran Albert Cozzi says, "We are pleased to enter this business partnership with O’Brien and to be aligned with Chicagoland’s fastest growing quality full-service metal recycler."

O’Brien Recycling employs more than 50 people at its two facilities—a scrap yard and a nonferrous warehouse that are in Franklin Park, Ill. The two facilities process 50,000 tons of ferrous and 25 million pounds of nonferrous scrap each year. Additionally, the company recycles more than 12 million pounds of plastic and paper annually.