Metal Source expands with purchase of Imperial Aluminum site

Gebhart Holdings, the parent company of Metal Source, which operates metal recycling facilities and produces die cast and foundry alloy sow and ingot as well as wrought alloy remelt scrap ingot, or RSI, from 100 percent-postconsumer scrap, has acquired the assets of Imperial Aluminum in Scottsboro, Alabama. The purchase gives the Wabash, Indiana-based company its first location outside that state.

Terms of the purchase were not disclosed.

The Imperial Aluminum facility, which will rebrand to Metal Source, sits on more than 40 acres and employs approximately 80 full-time staff. The company can recycle more than 100 million pounds per year, producing numerous aluminum alloys, zinc alloys and aluminum deox cone.

Colin Denihan, chief commercial officer at Metal Source, says the Alabama location will help Metal Source meet customer demand in the southeast and enable the company’s growth in the region as a supplier to automotive original equipment manufacturers and Tier 1 aluminum casters as recycled-content aluminum demand grows given its lower carbon footprint.  

Imperial Aluminum, part of the Imperial Group out of Chicago, specializes in manufacturing aluminum alloys and providing tolling services for aluminum scrap, according to the Imperial Group website, serving manufacturers, electrical utilities, metal fabricators and more.

Imperial Aluminum also operates a facility in Minerva, Ohio, about 75 miles from Cleveland, that was not included in the sale. Last year, a Cleveland television station reported that a fire and explosion at that facility caused considerable damage and injured a worker.

This purchase follows Metal Source’s 2023 acquisition of Bedford Recycling, with locations in Bedford and Mitchell, Indiana, which included an auto shredder, chopping line and other ferrous and nonferrous processing capabilities. The previous year, Metal Source through Gebhart Holdings purchased Huntington Aluminum in Huntington, Indiana.

“I’m extremely excited to announce this purchase,” Gebhart Holdings CEO Ben Gebhart says. “This will allow our company to better supply our customers in the south along with expanding our customer base and product capabilities overall.”