The power within: revitalized wire choppers are seeking every ounce of copper and aluminum for the world's hungry metals producers.

The scrap metal industry is a proud bastion of supply and demand economics, and, for the past several years, surging demand has kept processors busy.

For managers of wire chopping operations, the supply side of the equation has been as competitive as at any time in history, as companies in every link of the supply chain seek to stay in the equation.

Whether trading in copper wiring, aluminum cable or both, wire choppers are eager to produce a clean secondary commodity that is in demand in markets near and far.

By no means are domestic wire choppers opening up their doors and having material flow in with little effort expended.

Buyers seeking material on behalf of overseas consuming facilities continue to bid competitively for wire and cable scrap generated throughout North America.

Operators of wire chopping lines may themselves determine that some material is more suitable for export and processing overseas, though most equipment owners continue to seek ways to provide the value-added chopping service themselves.

Clean, processed copper and aluminum chops remain a desirable secondary commodity, and the higher cents-per-pound rates being paid for copper and aluminum can, in theory, create safer margins and spreads with which to work.

One domestic consumer of copper wire and cable scrap, Encore Wire Products of McKinney, Texas (see profile starting on p. 48), has installed its own wire chopping equipment to help ensure it is able to supply its melting facility with the necessary feedstock.

The volatility and competitiveness of the recent copper market can be daunting, causing one established wire chopper to remark that his company has been concentrating on processing aluminum cable to keep its production equipment humming.

But hungry consumers of nonferrous scrap, whether located in North America, East Asia or in another market, are bidding record high prices for scrap, permitting some new investments in wire chopping equipment.

Several new locations and company names appear on this year's wire chopping list that cannot be found on the 2005 list. Tulsa Auto Core is one processing firm that has ordered a wire chopper. The Tulsa, Okla., processor ordered its equipment this summer, according to the company's Bill Painter.

[ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED]

Recycler Lenny Siesco Sr. of Magnetic Research & Recycling, Belgium, Wis., is another processor expanding into wire chopping. The separation and sorting specialist is adding wire chopping to a menu of services that includes metals recovery from auto shredder residue and other diverse streams of material.

Siesco reports that he has ordered a Prospector model wire chopper marketed by the NexGen recycling equipment division of Marathon Equipment Co., Vernon, Ala.

While prospecting for gold may be more closely associated with the 19th century, prospecting for copper has most certainly become associated with the opening years of the 21st century.

AMONG THE MISSING?

If you work for or know of a company that operates an automated wire chopping line but that is not on this list, please let us know. We will make sure to let our readers know about your company through an update printed in an upcoming issue. Editor in Chief Brian Taylor can be contacted via e-mail at [e-mail].

The author is editor in chief of Recycling Today and can be contacted at [e-mail].

Alabama         Birmingham         Metal Management Alabama

                Pell City          Trans-Cycle Industry Inc.

Arizona         Casa Grande        Intechra *

                Tempe              Salt River Project (internal
                                   processing}

California      Huntington Beach   Cu Recovery

Colorado        Denver             Atlas Metal and Iron Corp.

Connecticut     Wilimantic         Prime Materials Recovery Inc.

Florida         Jacksonville       Commercial Metals Co.

                Orlando            TRC America Inc.

                Sarasota           American Electronics Recycling *

Georgia         Atlanta            Regional Recycling LLC

                Norcross           Blaze Recycling and Metals

Illinois        Carterville        Gary's Metals

                Chicago            Safran Metals

                Chicago            Tri-State Metal Co.

                Cicero             United Scrap Metal Inc.

                Eldorado           Eldorado Enterprises

                Franklin Park      Dientek Inc.

Indiana         Fort Wayne         OmniSource Corp., Granulator
                                   Division

                Fort Wayne         OmniSource-Vicksburg Pike facility

                Jonesboro          Exeon Inc.

                Nabb               Versatile Processing Inc.

Iowa            Spencer            Shine Brothers Inc.

Louisiana       Hammond            Burks Specialty Processing Inc.

Massachusetts   Holden             Salitsky Alloys Inc.

                Springfield        Environmental Integrity Co.
                                   (Division of Springboard
                                   Technology)

                Springfield        Joseph Freedman Co. Inc.

Michigan        Bay City           OnniSource Corp.

Mississippi     Gulfport           Southern Scrap Recycling Inc.

                Jackson            Metal Processors Inc.

Missouri        Bellefontaine
                Neighbors          Metal Recovery Systems

                Kansas City        Mallin Brothers Co. (three lines
                                   operating)

                Warrenton          Warrenton Copper LLC

New Jersey      Farmingdale        Emil A. Schroth Inc.

New York        Canastota          Prime Materials Recovery Inc.

                Buffalo            United Alloys & Steel Corp.

                Lancaster          Manitoba Corp.

North
Carolina        Charlotte          Southern Metals Co.

                Durham             Wesbell Asset Recovery Center

Ohio            Garrettsville      KKL Corp.

Oklahoma        Tulsa              Tulsa Auto Core

Oregon          Portland           Calbag Metals Co.

Pennsylvania    Philadelphia       Pasco Inc.

                Pittsburgh         Tube City Inc.

                Williamsport       Alcan Cable (international
                                   processing)

Rhode Island    Lincoln            Fortune Metal Inc. of Rhode Island

South
Carolina        Orangeburg         Prime Materials Recovery Inc.

Tennessee       Halls              Hutcherson Metals

Texas           Dallas             Commercial Metals

                El Paso            W. Silver Recycling

                McKinney           Encore Wire Corp.

                San Antonio        Newell Recycling of S.A. (formerly
                                   idled, has re-opened)

                Waco               M. Lipsitz & Co.

Utah            Salt Lake City     Utah Metal Works Inc.

Virginia        Richmond           Stratton Metals LLC

Washington      Tacoma             Joseph Simon and Sons (equipment
                                   idle)

Wisconsin       Belgium            Magnetic Research & Recycling

Alberta,
Canada          Edmonton           General Scrap Iron & Metals

                Edmonton           Mapleleaf Metals Industries

Ontario,
Canada          Barrie             Barrie Metals Inc.

                Barrie             Global Electric Electronic
                                   Processing (GEEP) Inc. *

                North York         Ingot Metal Co. Ltd.

Quebec,
Canada          Montreal           American Iron & Metal

* Facility uses wire chopping technology for electronic scrap as well.