Schnitzer Steel Names Head of Metals Recycling Business

Schnitzer Steel Industries Inc., based in Portland, Ore., has announced the immediate appointment of Don Hamaker to the newly created position of president of its Metals Recycling Business. Hamaker has also been appointed as a vice president of Schnitzer Steel Industries Inc.

He will have lead responsibilities for all Schnitzer scrap metal recycling facilities. This will include Schnitzer's existing 11 wholly owned West Coast yards, the various scrap recycling facilities Schnitzer will take ownership and full control of once its separation from all the Hugo Neu joint ventures is final, including seven facilities in New England that formerly were part of the Hugo Neu Schnitzer joint venture operations. Also, Hamaker will assume leadership of all future metals recycling business segment acquisitions as Schnitzer continues its growth strategy.

Hamaker has almost 20-years experience in scrap management positions at Hugo Neu Corp. (HNC), including serving as president of the company since 1999. As president of HNC, Hamaker oversaw all company operations.

He is a graduate of Northwestern University and Georgetown University Law Center.

"I'm extremely pleased to have Don join Schnitzer's management team," John D. Carter, Schnitzer's president and CEO, says. "Don brings a depth of industry experience and strategic thinking that will be helpful to us as we not only manage our existing operations, but plan and implement the company's growth focus."

Schnitzer also has announced that Pat Christopher, with 15 years of scrap metal operations experience, including vice president of operations for Hugo Neu Corp., will also be joining the company as vice president of Schnitzer Steel Industries, with responsibility for Schnitzer's newly acquired East Coast metals recycling facilities, including those which will be acquired as a result of the separation from Hugo Neu Corp.

Christopher is a graduate of SUNY Maritime Academy, Fort Schuyler.

"We are fortunate to have the operational capabilities of Pat available to us, which will be invaluable as we add the new east coast recycling facilities to our portfolio after the separation of our joint ventures with Hugo Neu. Pat's experience and technical depth in our business is well known," Carter says.

Schnitzer Steel is one of the nation's largest recyclers of ferrous metals, a leading self-service used auto parts retailer with 30 locations in the U.S. and Canada and a manufacturer of finished steel products. The company, with its joint venture partners, processes approximately 5.2 million tons of recycled ferrous metals per year and brokers nearly 3 million tons through various brokerage arrangements. In addition, Schnitzer's steel electric arc furnace has an annual production capacity of approximately 700,000 tons of finished steel products. The company and its joint venture partners operate primarily along the West Coast and Northeastern seaboard of the U.S.