Gerdau Acquires Cycle Systems

Gerdau, with North American headquarters in Tampa, Fla., has acquired “certain operating assets” of the scrap metal company Cycle Systems, headquartered in Roanoke, Va. Cycle Systems, which operated nine locations throughout Virginia, including a shredder and a number of feeder yards, processed approxinately 185,000 tons of metal in 2011, according to Gerdau.

Gerdau, with North American headquarters in Tampa, Fla., has acquired “certain operating assets” of the scrap metal company Cycle Systems, headquartered in Roanoke, Va. Cycle Systems, which operates nine locations throughout Virginia, including an auto shredder and a number of feeder yards, processed approximately 185,000 tons of metal in 2011, according to Gerdau.

Gerdau, which operates a steel mill in Petersburg, Va., says the deal will expand its presence to the mid-Atlantic region.

“This purchase supports our goal to minimize billet cost by having scrap sources closer to our steel mills,” says Guilherme Johannpeter, president of Gerdau’s North American long steel division. “It will be a great advantage for our mill in Petersburg, Va., and other nearby operations.”

Matt Yeatman, vice president of metallics and raw materials at Gerdau’s North American long steel division, says, “We look forward to adding Cycle Systems to our existing network of scrap processing locations. In addition to supporting our sourcing strategy, it will also grow our commitment to sustainability and the Petersburg community.”

A source at Cycle Systems says Gerdau was among several companies that had been looking at acquiring the scrap metal company since late last year.

Gerdau, headquartered in Brazil, has industrial operations in 14 countries, including North and South America, Europe and Asia. The company has installed capacity of more than 25 million metric tons of steel per year. Additionally, Gerdau says it is the largest recycler in Latin America.