Company Overview
We collect, process, and resell a wide variety of scrap metal. The company ships over 5 million gross tons of recycled steel and 1 billion pounds of nonferrous and stainless-steel scrap annually.
Supplementing our company-operated scrap collection sites, we also acquire metals from industrial scrap generators with which we have established strategic partnerships. We have designed and installed customized metals-recycling programs, some of which we manage and operate, for manufacturing companies nationwide.
Our national brokerage and trading operations serve both metals buyers and sellers, providing the market intelligence and insights needed to optimize transaction value.
Industry Overview
Metal has been the backbone of civilized nations since copper was discovered in 5,000 B.C. We not only use metal; we reuse it to such an extent that metal recycling in the United States is estimated to be a $20 billion industry.
In fact, metal recyclers in the United States handle about 120 million tons of recyclables each year. From iron to steel, aluminum to copper, lead to zinc, metal not only makes the world go ’round, it goes ’round itself, thanks to companies like Columbia City Iron & Metals.
The scrap-metal-recycling industry provides resources to the basic manufacturing sector while conserving natural resources and protecting the environment. Scrap metal generated as a by-product of industrial manufacturing, construction and demolition, and the disposal of obsolete metal products is recycled into new raw materials for the production of primary metals such as steel, copper, and aluminum.
Scrap-recycling facilities are like mines above ground, rich with resources that can be reused to preserve the environment, at a fraction of the cost to mine and refine metals from virgin ores. Scrap metal is not waste or trash. Rather, it is a continuous resource—a resource made from old automobiles, appliances, buildings, bridges, airplanes, and more. Scrap metal may, in fact, be one of our most precious resources. Because it can be remelted and reshaped into new products countless times, scrap metal is a resource that will never be depleted.