Schnitzer Steel Industries Announces Agreement to Acquire Leading U.S. Metal Recycler in the Southeast

SEATTLE (Waste Advantage): On August 12, Schnitzer entered into a definitive agreement with Columbus Recycling, a leading provider of ferrous and non-ferrous metal recycling products and services, to acquire eight operating facilities across several states in the Southeast, including Mississippi, Tennessee, and Kentucky. Founded in 1956, Columbus Recycling has a well-established customer-focused business that purchases and processes scrap metal from industrial manufacturers, local recycling companies, and individuals, and sells the recycled products to regional foundries and steel mills. Combined with Schnitzer’s nine existing facilities in Georgia, Alabama, and Tennessee, the acquired operations will offer additional recycling products, services, and logistics solutions to customers and suppliers across the Southeast, a region that is expected to see a significant increase in electric arc furnace steelmaking capacity in the coming years. In the twelve months through the end of May 2021, Columbus has delivered annual sales volumes of approximately 300,000 ferrous tons which, on a pro-forma basis, would increase Schnitzer’s total ferrous volumes by approximately 7% over the same period.

Tamara Lundgren, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Schnitzer Steel Industries, stated, “The acquisition of Columbus Recycling will expand our platform and offerings in a robust regional market with immediate scale and meaningful synergies. The transaction is consistent with our growth strategy to expand metals recycling operations to meet anticipated increases in steel and nonferrous metals demand driven in part by the global transition to low carbon technologies. While a variety of solutions will be required as industries, communities, and governments actively pursue carbon reduction, the increased use of recycled metals is one path that is immediately achievable.”

Lundgren continued, “We look forward to welcoming the Columbus Recycling team to the Schnitzer family, as both organizations have fostered cultures focused on operating responsibly and sustainably for their customers and the communities in which they operate.”

Courtesy: www.wasteadvantage.com