Portland, Ore.-based Schnitzer Steel Industries Inc. has purchased the operating assets of Lithonia, Ga.-based Encore Recycling LLC. The acquisition closed April 29 and includes two full-service recycling facilities, including a metal shredding operation and recycled auto-parts center.
“We look forward to welcoming the Encore team to the Schnitzer family, as we continue to grow our recycling operations responsibly and sustainably for our customers, suppliers, and the communities in which we operate,” says Tamara Lundgren, Schnitzer’s chair and CEO. The acquisition of Encore’s assets follows Schnitzer’s 2021 purchase of eight recycling facilities from Columbus Recycling and expands the company’s southeastern U.S. footprint to 24 recycling facilities across Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Tennessee.
Established in 2013, Encore Recycling was opened by brothers Craig, Gary, and Kevin Blase, who started in the metals recycling industry before they finished college. Encore buys and processes end-of-life vehicles, appliances, and additional ferrous and nonferrous materials from local recycling companies and industrial, commercial, and individual customers. The company sells its recycled products to steel mills and foundries throughout the Southeast. In 2021, Encore processed approximately 90,000 ferrous tons, 14 million nonferrous pounds, and 20,000 end-of life vehicles.
Schnitzer plans to make capital and other investments at the acquired facilities, including for environmental projects and programs such as a shredder enclosure and emission control system, stormwater infrastructure upgrades, and implementation of an Environmental Protection Agency approved refrigerant recovery management program.
Schnitzer is one of the largest manufacturers and exporters of recycled metal products in North America with operating facilities located in 25 states, Puerto Rico, and Western Canada. Schnitzer has seven deep-water export facilities on both coasts and in Hawaii and Puerto Rico.
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