IMCO Recycling Acquires Brazilian Facility

IMCO Recycling Inc., Inving, Texas, announced Tuesday that it has acquired an aluminum recycling plant in the city of Pindamonhangaba, state of Sao Paulo, Brazil. IMCO will use the facility to meet the terms of a new long-term tolling agreement to supply the country's only can sheet rolling mill which is owned by Alcan Inc.

The purchase price of the acquisition was not disclosed. The acquisition is the first foray for Imco Recycling into the South American market.

The facility acquired by IMCO was owned by Reciclagem de Materiais Industria e Comercio Ltda. (Recipar), a wholly owned subsidiary of Grupo Parizotto of Brazil. It is located very close to the Alcan rolling mill.

Opened in 1998 and expanded in 2001, the Recipar plant has shredding and delacquering equipment as well as two furnaces with a rated annual processing capacity of 100 million pounds. Most of the aluminum taken in by the plant will be used beverage containers (UBCs).

Acccording to a spokesman for Imco, there are some expansion opportunities at the recently acquired facility.

Don V. Ingram, chairman and chief executive officer, said the acquisition of the Recipar facility "will make IMCO one of the largest independent aluminum recyclers in Brazil and creates an excellent opportunity for growth. Brazil is one of the world's largest producers of primary aluminum and a major user of the metal. Since aluminum cans were introduced in the country in 1990, annual production has increased to some 10 billion units and the can recycling rate has risen to about 80 percent, higher than that of any other populous country.”

Ingram added, "Recovery of other types of scrap is relatively low, however, indicating a strong need for the kind of efficient aluminum recycling services that we can provide.

"In addition, Brazil has a rapidly growing auto manufacturing industry which, consistent with a worldwide trend, is raising the amount of aluminum used in vehicles. We already have expansion plans under way that would allow us to serve this and other segments of Brazil's overall aluminum market."