Japanese metals firm acquires eCycle

Tokyo-based JX Nippon Mining & Metals Corp. says it has acquired full ownership of Mississauga, Ontario-based eCycle Solutions Inc. JX has acquired eCycle from Montreal-based Horizon Capital Holdings.

JX describes eCycle as a collector and processor of electronic scrap and provider of information technology asset disposal (ITAD) services “with eight operating sites in Canada [and] strong collection networks.” JX says eCycle is Canada’s “largest e-waste recycler in terms of market share.”

The company adds, “ECycle facilitates effective use of a wide variety of resources by providing services including ITAD and processing of discarded plastics. ITAD, in particular, offers good prospects for growth, fueled by an anticipated increase in demand for appropriate disposal of used household appliances and electronic devices.”

Although California-based ERI Inc. remains a large-volume player in North America’s electronics recycling and ITAD space, considerable capacity also is in the hands of overseas firms. Singapore-based TES (itself now owned by South Korea-based SK ecoPlant) has considerable market share in the U.S., as does Australia-based Sims Ltd. via its Sims Lifecycle Services subsidiary. Last month, South Korea-based Korea Zinc purchased a majority stake in e-scrap smelter operator Igneo Technologies of White Plains, New York, which has an electronics recycling business that operates under the name Evterra .

Regarding its entry into the North American e-scrap market, JX says it is part of a strategy to make its metals and recycling operations more competitive and to realize “sustainable copper.” The firm continues, “In order to be able to do this, we undertake ‘green-hybrid smelting,’ whereby the ratio of recycled materials incorporated during copper smelting is dramatically increased. As competition to obtain recycled raw materials intensifies globally, the company's entry into the recycling business (involving collection, dismantling and sorting of waste) through its acquisition of eCycle’s shares will play a major role in ensuring the company can continue to procure recycled materials reliably over the long term.”

JX adds, “Going forward, the company aims, together with eCycle, to create a recycling supply chain with manufacturers of electric and electronic devices and utilizes eCycle’s network to collect even more recycled materials from North America.”