MetalX breaks ground on Delta, Ohio, facility

MetalX, headquartered in Waterloo, Indiana, recently hosted a groundbreaking ceremony for its new facility in Delta, Ohio. The proposed $35 million investment will fund the development of a scrap processing plant that will create more than 75 new jobs to handle more than 500,000 tons annually in its first phase. MetalX says it expects the facility to be fully operational within one year and plans to begin certain operations as early as next summer.

In July 2017, MetalX purchased M&K Metal Processors in Delta. In August, the company announced its plans to build a greenfield scrap processing plant in Delta on a 60-acre site across the street from North Star BlueScope’s flat-rolled steel mill.

MetalX says key ferrous scrap processing operations will include a heavy-duty shredder and recovery system, a production baler, mobile shears and a high-capacity staging and distribution yard for prepared grades. Nonferrous operations will focus on shredded aluminum recovery and industrial scrap processing. The company says it also will operate a full-service fleet transportation hub to support industrial and wholesale suppliers.

As part of the groundbreaking ceremony, Dean Monske, president of the Regional Growth Partnership for Northwest Ohio (RGP), Toledo, Ohio, offered his thanks to the company for bringing new jobs and investment to Fulton County. In conjunction with JobsOhio, the RGP facilitated an Ohio Jobs Creation Tax Credit and a JobsOhio Grant. MetalX also received an Ohio Rail Development Commission Grant and a local Jobs Creation Tax Credit from the village of Delta.

“Companies from around the world are finding that northwest Ohio offers high-value advantages at a low cost of doing business,” Monske said. “Together with Jobs Ohio, we look forward to working with MetalX in its continued growth.”

Also speaking at the ceremony were State Rep. Rob McColley and Fulton County Commissioner Jeff Rupp.

Other dignitaries in attendance included State Rep. Derek Merrin; Fulton County Commissioners Jon Rupp and Bill Rufenacht; York Township Trustees Robert Trowbridge and Jeff Mazurowski; Delta Mayor Dan Miller; Delta Village Manager Brad Peebles; Delta Village Council members Art Thomas, Frank Wilton, Bob Gilbert and Ashley Todd; Delta Chamber of Commerce President Janelle DeBacker; and Fulton County Economic Development Corporation Chairman Rich Menzel.

Matt Gilroy, executive director of the Fulton County Economic Development Corp., said, “MetalX executives have a long and successful history in the metals recycling business. In addition to the company’s potential for growth, this project also offers tremendous opportunities for the community. The company will provide a valuable service to area businesses and individuals, will generate substantial tax revenues for the community and the state of Ohio and provide folks in the area with new, stable and well-paying employment opportunities.”

He continued, “Company officials have been great to work with through the entire process and they’ve selected the optimal location for their investment. This site is served by the Genesee and Wyoming short line railroad, an excellent highway infrastructure that includes State Route 109, State Route 20A, and the Ohio Turnpike, plus the company will have access to the highly skilled and hard-working workforce of northwest Ohio.”

MetalX President and CEO Danny Rifkin said, “We continue to be overwhelmed by the warmth with which we’ve been welcomed to this community and the resounding support for this project. Even though this is the ‘official’ groundbreaking ceremony, we actually started moving dirt on Oct. 27. Aside from the fact that we couldn’t wait to get started, that date is special to us, as it marked the fifth anniversary of the day we first opened in 2012!”

Rifkin added, “This project is a big undertaking and a sizeable investment. We are confident that this will be a success for us all. We truly appreciate the encouragement of the North Star BlueScope team, the special effort made by area officials to work through the process in an expeditious timeframe, the guidance and support of Matt Gilroy and the Fulton County Economic Development Corp., who have assisted us through the entire process, and of course, those people within our own company who have been so committed to getting this done.”

MetalX is a privately held scrap metal recycling business founded in 2012 by Danny and Neal Rifkin, third- and fourth-generation members of the Rifkin family, who have a long history in the scrap metal industry. MetalX is a full-service scrap metal recycling company engaged in the business of recycling, processing, and trading of scrap and secondary metals, as well as providing consulting and management services to industrial companies throughout the U.S. The company says it is focused on creating value through relationships with suppliers and consumers. MetalX currently employs more than 200 people in six locations.