Yaffe Backs Out of Sale

Yaffe Iron & Metal Co. officials have decided not to sell their Muskogee-based scrap-metal company and have no intention to pursue another buyer, a company official said.

"Talks stalled out, and we decided to withdraw from negotiations,"  said Bill Cale, Yaffe’s executive vice president. "It's not anyone's fault, but there are no plans to enter into another talk in the future."

The announcement of Yaffe's decision comes two days after a deal between Yaffe and St. Louis-based scrap-metal company Alter Trading Co. was expected to be finalized. Yaffe officials had announced March 23 that they had signed a letter of intent to sell the company's 14 scrap-metal facilities to Alter by May 31.

Alter officials were not available for comment Thursday.

Yaffe Iron & Metal Co.'s Muskogee scrap-metal facility has been open since 1944. The company has 14 facilities in Oklahoma, Kansas, Arkansas and Missouri. The Muskogee facility has more than 80 employees.

Yaffe's March 23 announcement about the sale came at a time when the company was under fire from some Muskogee residents about replacing a furnace that exploded Dec. 28, killing two workers and damaging homes and buildings around several blocks away. Yaffe officials have not said whether or not they will replace the furnace.

Cale said operations at Yaffe facilities will resume as normal and some rebuilding will begin now that Yaffe officials know what the company's future is.

"We delayed some things, such as rebuilding the office," Cale said from Yaffe's temporary office on Okmulgee Avenue. "Their offices are based in St. Louis and (they) wouldn't have needed the building for their administrative staff."

Cale said that contrary to popular belief the furnace explosion in December never had anything to do with the talks. “It made things more difficult. Muskogee (Oklahoma) Phoenix