Smorgon Steel acquires Maine's IMR.

Smorgon Steel Group Ltd., headquartered in Australia, is acquiring the operating assets of Industrial Metal Recycling (IMR) for an undisclosed sum.

IMR (which was profiled in the July 2003 issue of Recycling Today magazine) operates four locations in Maine. The locations add to Smorgon's U.S. scrap recycling facilities, which include existing sites in Chesapeake, Va., and Tampa, Fla.

As a privately owned firm, IMR handles about 100,000 metric tons of ferrous scrap and 10,000 metric tons of nonferrous scrap each year, representing a significant share of the Maine recycling market.

"This transaction will enable us to efficiently build on our earlier acquisition of the ITI assets in Virginia and Florida, says Smorgon Steel's Managing Director and CEO Ray Horsburgh. "Like ITI," he adds, "the IMR assets are well located relative to both rail and port facilities, enabling us to efficiently service both domestic and export markets with processed scrap metal."

The company has also announced plans to invest $25 million to open its first North American manufacturing facility in Botetourt County, Va.

Smorgon Steel will occupy a 124,000-square-foot building in Troutville, Va., and will produce LiteSteel beam for the residential and commercial building industry.