WV Scrap Recycler Grows its Business

Andrew Gongola, who owns two scrap metal facilities, acquired Elkins Iron & Metal, Elkins, WV. The facility previously was owned by Gongola’s father, and now moves to the third generation of the family to own the scrap company.

The new facility, which was acquired Aug. 1, changed its name to Elkin Metal Recycling. The yard joins Three Rivers Iron & Metal, a traditional scrap metal recycling facility located in Fairmont, WV, and Clean Steel, located in Chester, PA, which recycles post-burn incinerator scrap.

According to Gongola, the two West Virginia scrap yards will operate together, with the Fairmont yard acting as a feeder yard for the Elkin facility, which has a CSX siding. The ability to rail the processed scrap will allow the company to continue to ship a significant amount of its material to steel mills in the mid-Atlantic region of the country.

The combined companies operate three scrap shears and a baler. The company also is investing in containers to allow it to expand its commercial business.

While strengthening its position in West Virginia, Gongola says that with the trend toward consolidation in the scrap processing side of the business, small mom and pop operations need to grow their business to stay viable. Despite being far away from more densely populated areas, he notes that he is seeing growing competition for business with many of the larger scrap processors in the general area.