Inmetco files for Chapter 7 bankruptcy

The owners of the International Metals Reclamation Co. LLC (Inmetco) nickel-cadmium battery and nickel-bearing steelmaking dust recycling plant in Ellwood City, Pennsylvania, have filed a petition for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

Under a Chapter 7 filing, no reorganization or repayment plan is included. Instead, operations are considered permanently shuttered and assets are auctioned off or otherwise sold, though some property could be requested as being exempt, according the UScourts.gov.

The Inmetco Chapter 7 voluntary petition filing was made Jan. 31 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.

In 2021, Spain-based Befesa S.A. purchased the majority of the assets of Pittsburgh-based American Zinc Recycling LLC (AZR).

However, the former owners of AZR retained majority ownership of the Inmetco facility, with the Ellwood City plant forming part of the newly named American Zinc Products LLC (AZP) portfolio. Befesa acquired a minority interest in AZP at that time, according to the companies involved.

At the time of that transaction, AZR executive Michael Griffin said, “Inmetco will continue to provide EAF recycling services to its long-term customers while increasing nickel and other precious metal recovery by enhancing its postconsumer battery recycling capabilities.”

A prior owner of the Ellwood City plant, electric arc furnace (EAF) dust recycler Horsehead Industries, announced in 2015 it intended to invest $10 million to expand the facility. According to EllwoodCity.org, however, after a fire occurred at the plant later that year, Horsehead never followed through on its expansion plans, with the firm filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization the following year.

A February 2024 report by the Beaver County Times indicates Inmetco laid off its factory workforce of about 100 people last October, while EllwoodCity.org indicates a staff of about eight people has remained on-site.

As of mid-February, the Inmetco website displays an “account suspended” message. Documents filed pertaining to the case, available with a subscription, can be found here.