Schnitzer Steel Industries, Inc.
A Global Leader in Metal Recycling

Recycling companies are constantly investing in ways of improving their processes and techniques. For instance, scrap recycling centres are getting assistance from university researchers and sophisticated new technologies. It's become a high-tech journey to make recycled scrap metal into new steel and aluminium. Today, researchers and companies are looking for innovative ways to make separating metals more efficient, effective, and less costly. Those innovations hold out the possibility of significantly boosting recycling rates.

As one of the nation's largest scrap metal recyclers, Schnitzer's metals recycling facilities collect, broker, process and recycle metal, both ferrous (containing iron) and nonferrous (not containing iron). The company's integrated platform enables the delivery of processed metals to steel mills and foundries worldwide for new production. Scrap metal is purchased from industrial manufacturers, railroads, auto salvage facilities, metal dealers and individuals. The metal typically comes from obsolete machinery and equipment such as autos, railroad cars, railroad tracks, home appliances and demolition metal from buildings and other obsolete structures. As part of Schnitzer's vertical integration, the company also purchased crushed auto bodies from auto recycling facilities.

Once the scrap metal arrives, it is processed by sorting, shearing, shredding, torching and baling. This results in metal pieces of a size, density and purity specified by steel mills and foundries for melting and use in producing new steel and other metal products. Smaller, more homogeneous pieces of processed metal have more value because they are more easily utilized in new metal production.

Schnitzer invests continually in its facilities to maximize cost efficiencies, deliver the highest quality products and ensure regulatory and environmental compliance. Operating mega-shredders at its export processing facilities in Oakland, Everett, Portland, and Tacoma, Schnitzer process a greater range of materials and produce an end product that is denser and can be used more efficiently by steel mills. In conjunction with new state-of-the-art nonferrous metals recovery systems, mega-shredders improve the recoverability of valuable nonferrous metals such as aluminium, copper, brass, stainless steel, and zinc. Furthermore, Schnitzer's strategy is focused on enhancing the inherent synergies in its auto and metals recycling facilities. The auto parts stores are key suppliers to its metals recycling facilities. Schnitzer expects to continue to grow in core regions where the company has a significant market presence and competitively advantageous port access. Schnitzer looks to grow through joint ventures that provide them additional opportunities for recycling metals and other materials.

Since 1906, Schnitzer has grown into a global leader in metals recycling through a combination of organic investments and acquisitions which provide state-of-the-art processing, manufacturing and information technologies. The company's recyclers and researchers continue developing and implementing more innovations to make recycling more efficient, more prevalent, and less expensive. Currently, Schnitzer operates recycling facilities, including seven deep water ports on both U.S. coasts and in Hawaii and Puerto Rico, which enable efficient delivery of processed scrap metals to steel mills and foundries worldwide. A fundamental driver of Schnitzer's core belief is the global demand for recycled metal, increasing due to advances in processing technologies and significant environmental benefits. Schnitzer has dedicated resources to deliver quality products and meet its customers' rigorous delivery schedules. With a passion and grit rarely seen in the industry, keep your eye on Schnitzer as it leads to metal recycling