Top five players in global aluminium scrap recycling market

Aluminium scrap remains a significant resource to be used as raw material to produce secondary aluminium and subsequently new aluminium products. The highest aluminium recycling percentages can be seen in the construction and transport sector of up to 95% but packaging sector is equally growing due to increased use of foil and cans.  It is evident that the countries with higher aluminium consumption would be the countries that would also be largest generator of scrap. Not all countries export their scraps; a large portion of it is recovered domestically to make new aluminium. USA, Germany and UK have some of the largest recyclers.  Our article intends to list the top five aluminium recycling companies in the world based on production volume and revenue. The companies are segregated as any company that is involved in aluminium recycling as a part of their product and service portfolio, irrespective of whether they are an aluminium producer or not.

The top five players in Global Aluminium Scrap Recycling Market are:

1.       Hindalco Novelis

Novelis is the world’s leading recycler of aluminium, recycling more than 60 billion used beverage cans each year. The company runs an integrated network of rolling and recycling facilities across North America, South America, Europe and Asia to deliver high quality sustainable products around the world. They also created the first–and largest–automotive closed-loop recycling system in the world under which they recycle scrap aluminium from the automotive manufacturing process keeping the value of the alloy intact, reducing recycling and transportation costs and carbon footprint and establishing a secure supply chain.

In FY16, Novelis used an average of 53% recycled inputs – up from a baseline of 30%. Novelis operates the world’s largest and most technologically advanced aluminium recycling center in Nachterstedt, Germany that has a capacity to process more than 400,000 metric tons of aluminium scrap annually.  Currently the facility enables Novelis to process a wide range of scrap within Europe creating a secure close loop recycling network around the continent.

2.       Matalco Inc.

Matalco Inc., a member of the Giampaolo Group, is a leading producer of high-quality homogenized 6XXX series secondary aluminium logs and cut billets for the aluminium extrusion and forging manufacturing industries using world-class remelt technology. In conjunction with their sister company, Triple M Metal LP – one of North America’s largest recyclers and processors of ferrous and non-ferrous metals, Matalco assures a steady supply of remelted billet made from high-quality aluminium scrap. Triple M Metal, manages the scrap area, with one section for Triple M Metal’s operations for sorting nonferrous scrap and another section for Matalco. Triple M Metal sources and manages the scrap coming into the facility, utilizing quality assurance procedures.

With the opening of their third facility, Matalco is well on the way to achieve its goal of being the largest remelt company in North America with great potential for further growth. Matalco currently produces 6000 series extrusion-grade billets at its Ohio plant, which mainly cater to the automotive, building, and construction sector suppliers in the domestic market. Matalco plans to take its total remelted aluminium billet production to 350 million pounds by the end of 2018. Along with the firm's two other production units in Ohio, the total remelted billet production is estimated to reach 700 million pounds per annum over the period under forecast.

3.       REAL ALLOY

REAL ALLOY is the global market leader in third-party aluminium recycling and specification alloy production. The company convert aluminium and magnesium scrap as well as by-products into reusable metal for a growing number of applications across various industries. With 27 facilities in six countries across North America and Europe, REAL ALLOY is successfully catering to the needs of an increasingly recycling-conscious world. They have the capacity to process a large variety of scrap and dross using advanced technology.

The international headquarters of REAL ALLOY is in Cleveland, USA; has annual revenue of around US$1.25 billion. In Europe too, they are the leading recycler of aluminium scrap and magnesium. Six facilities in Germany, Norway, and the UK provide metal and conversion capacity for industries such as the automotive, construction, and packaging sectors.

Real Alloy North America (RANA), which deals in aluminium melting, processing, recycling and alloying activities, reported revenues of $225.6 million on 196,600 tonnes of remelted metal invoiced during the first quarter of 2017. Compared to the prior-year period, total sales volume remained relatively flat, but revenues were higher by 12%.

4.       Kuusakoski

Kuusakoski is a Finnish company that processes waste materials on an industrial scale with years of experience and expertise, selling the recovered metals and other raw materials worldwide. Kuusakoski Group Oy comprises the recycling company Kuusakoski Oy and its subsidiaries, and foundry operator Alteams Oy and its subsidiaries. The company is a customer-focused, pioneering, environmentally friendly provider of recycling services with an international track record.  The company has a turnover of 395.1 m€ as reported in 2016. The company recycled and processes about 2 million tonnes of different materials.

They produce recycled aluminium for aluminium and light metal foundries and supply it to the international market in different forms:

• Aluminium ingots
• Aluminium drops
• Aluminium scrap

They produce aluminium ingots to the European EN standard and national standards, and to customer specifications at their aluminium plant in Heinola, Finland. 

5.       Sims Metal Management

With more than 120 recycling facilities across North America, Sims Metal Management is one of the leading scrap recyclers and suppliers in North America and the world. They recycle both ferrous and non-ferrous metals in a myriad of commodities and grades.

Sims Metal Management is an Australian domiciled corporation, with listing in Australia as well as United States. Sims Metal Management is the world’s leading publicly listed metal recycler, with operations encompassing the buying, processing and selling of ferrous and non-ferrous recycled metals. The metals recycling operations are spread across five continents, including the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom. They are developing presence in the Asia-Pacific region and Africa.

Avon Metals, an award-winning, privately-owned UK-based manufacturer of specification aluminium alloy ingots and a physical processor and trader of scrap Aluminium, Nickel and Cobalt revert alloys is another noted scrap aluminium recycler and secondary aluminium producer.

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Tom Martin & Company is the UK’s leading independent non-ferrous scrap metal merchant and trading company. With over 65 years of in-depth experience, Tom Martin & Company has firmly established itself as an integral part of the recycling industry across a wide range of industrial sectors including aerospace, automotive, packaging and printing. 

Norton Aluminium is the UK 's leading manufacturer of high grade aluminium foundry alloys and a supplier to quality conscious customers around the world. The company is widely acknowledged as one of the leading aluminium recycling facilities in the UK, with significant knowledge in the Aluminium Recycling process.

It is to be noted that, in Asia, China Metal Recycling (Holdings) Limited was a company that at one time claimed to be the largest recycler of scrap metal in Mainland China by revenue.  Based in Guangzhou, Guangdong, it was mainly engaged in collecting and processing of scrap steel, aluminium, copper and other scrap metals. However, the company was wound up and de-listed after accounting fraud surfaced in the year 2015.