Dive Brief:
- Steel Dynamics Inc. (SDI) has acquired select metal recycling assets from Sims Metal Management (SMM) for an undisclosed amount.
- The deal mainly involved recycling facilities in Memphis, TN and parts of Mississippi. This also includes the transfer of 90 employees to SDI.
- According to SMM, this is part of an overall strategy to get rid of non-core assets and move capital toward key markets.
Dive Insight:
SMM has more than 20 facilities in 200 countries and bills itself as "the world’s leading publicly listed metal recycler." The related Sims Recycling Solutions focuses on electronics while Sims Municipal Recycling focuses on household materials. The latter branch currently has large operations in New York and Chicago, with plans for more curbside business in the U.S.
SDI is one of the biggest domestic steel producers and metals recyclers. The company recently announced net income of $142 million in Q2, up from last year, and has a wide range of locations throughout the country. According to a statement in Recycling Today this acquisition will help them achieve more raw material self-sufficiency in the central U.S. region.
As scrap metal prices continue to fluctuate, other companies have also been reassessing their strategies and reorganizing as needed. Though scrap prices experienced some growth earlier this spring, the industry is not expected to have a "boom year."
