Elemental Holding expands US footprint

Elemental Holding Group has acquired catalyst recycler Legend Smelting and Recycling (LSR), which is headquartered in Hebron, Ohio.

LSR has been in business for 40 years and has locations in Ohio, California, Illinois, Indiana and Texas. The company sources catalytic converters and nonferrous scrap, including lead-acid batteries, copper wire, radiators, starters and transmissions, from across North America, including Mexico, and had sales of nearly $250 million in 2020, according to a news release from Elemental about the purchase.

LSR says it can grade, cut, mill and assay converter material under a single roof.

Elemental Holding Group is a manufacturer of strategic raw materials sourced through the processing of end-of-life electronics, catalytic converters, printed circuit boards and nonferrous scrap metals. It operates in 15 countries across three continents: Europe, Asia and North America.

Elemental Holding says that with the purchase of LSR, its investments in the U.S. market have reached nearly $100 million. In December 2019, the group took over a controlling stake in PGM of Texas, which has a large purchasing network with 12 locations across the United States, as well as a processing plant and a chemical laboratory. Elemental also finalized its purchase of Maryland Core Inc. this spring.

Krzysztof Spyra, a management board member at Elemental Holding, says, “The growing awareness of the global industry in the fields of ESG (environmental, social and governance), computerization, electrification of the automotive industry, hydrogen technologies and the shift towards renewable energy sources generate a huge demand for precious metals, including platinum group metals (platinum, palladium, rhodium), as well as copper group metals (silver, gold). Boosting the recycling of all these crucial metals is key to meeting the growing technological and environmental challenges globally.”

He adds, “By bringing together worldwide operating companies, we invest in the latest technologies to ensure that the production process of strategic raw materials is fully sustainable and follows the best ESG practices. Further strengthening our position in the U.S. market is an important step towards creating a global urban mining leader in the segments of strategic ‘green metals’ production and the recycling of PGMs, electronics (gold, silver, copper, aluminum) and e-mobility (nickel, cobalt, lithium).”