Birmingham acquires Vancouver-based scrap company

摘要

Richmond, with an annual capacity of about 130,000 tons of ferrous scrap, has been a significant supplier to Birmingham's Seattle mill. It will continue to supply Birmingham and other users in the future, Birmingham says. The scrap business will be operated independent of Birmingham's steel operations, Casey says. Birmingham Recycling Investment Co., a wholly owned subsidiary of Birmingham Steel, made the purchase. Richmond became expendable to Ipsco after the steelmaker closed down its Western Steel affiliate in Calgary, Alb., last year. At that time, Birmingham decided to re-enter the scrap business to improve its control over the availability of scrap for its Seattle mill. The mill's chief regional competitor, Cascade Steel Rolling Mills (Me-Minnville, Ore.), is owned by Schnitzer Industries, which is a significant player in the U.S. and international scrap markets.