Interco

What Interco does

Interco Trading, Inc. is a privately held industrial and electronics recycling company founded in 1996 and headquartered on the Illinois side of St. Louis in Madison, Illinois, with commercial operations in St. Louis, Missouri, and electronics processing and administrative functions in Edwardsville, Illinois. The company purchases nonferrous metals, electronics scrap, complex alloys, and batteries from industrial suppliers worldwide, processes them into smelter- and refinery-ready packages, and sells to a global network of smelters, refineries, mills, and ingot makers. It serves diverse verticals including aerospace, automotive, ammunition and defense, government, healthcare, energy storage, construction and demolition, foundries and die casters, and galvanizers, operating exclusively as a B2B wholesale recycler with truckload-minimum quantities and no public-facing retail.

The company's service portfolio spans more than 15 specialized recycling lines including nonferrous metals, eScrap, IT asset disposition, lithium-ion and other battery chemistries, aerospace alloys, and metallic powders, supported by an integrated in-house logistics department that manages inbound and outbound freight across truckload, LTL, intermodal, rail, and containerized modes. The proprietary in-house ERP platform tracks every material from receipt to settlement, providing the transparency layer that underpins supplier and consumer relationships. Infrastructure includes a 400,000+ square foot facility on a 45-acre compound with seven buildings, including a 145,000 sqft plant dedicated to computers, electronics, and batteries, and a patent-pending lithium-ion battery recycling plant. The company is one of the first R2v3 certified recyclers globally and holds ISO 9001, ISO 14001, and ISO 45001 certifications.

Interco generates revenue from the spread between purchase price paid to suppliers and sale price achieved with end consumers on processed material, with throughput of approximately 12,000 to 15,000 metric tons per month, or roughly a quarter-billion pounds annually, across more than 400 different materials and alloys. Pricing is quote-based and undisclosed, with pay-as-you-go transaction billing. Go-to-market is sales-led wholesale with no public-facing channel; demand is generated through a website-driven quote request system and direct phone and email engagement, serving enterprise industrial buyers and government organizations.

Name

Interco

Legal name

Interco Trading, Inc.

Website

https://intercotradingco.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Interco Trading, Inc., founded in 1996, is a privately held wholesale recycler of nonferrous metals, eScrap, and lithium-ion batteries serving industrial, government, aerospace, automotive, and energy storage customers globally from its Illinois–Missouri operations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Madison

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Scrap Metal and Electronics Purchase and Processing: The company purchases nonferrous metals, electronics, batteries, and complex alloys from suppliers worldwide, processes them to smelter-ready specifications, and sells to end consumers including smelters, refineries, mills, and ingot makers globally. Revenue is generated through the margin between purchase price paid to suppliers and sale price to consumers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Interco is a B2B wholesale recycler that purchases, processes, and resells nonferrous metals, electronics scrap (eScrap), and lithium-ion battery materials in truckload quantities. The company operates processing facilities in Madison and Edwardsville, Illinois, and St. Louis, Missouri, serving industrial buyers and sellers across aerospace, automotive, construction, and foundry sectors.

Product overview

Interco operates as a comprehensive metals and electronics recycling company offering a portfolio of specialized recycling services rather than a single unified product. The core offering consists of nonferrous metals recycling (copper, brass, aluminum, lead, stainless steel, complex alloys, metallic powders), electronics/eScrap recycling, and lithium-ion battery recycling as the foundational service pillars established in 1996. The company has expanded to serve specific industry verticals including aerospace metal alloys recycling, automotive parts recycling, construction and demolition recycling, and IT asset disposition (ITAD). Supporting these core services are integrated add-on capabilities including in-house logistics services coordinating global freight movement and a proprietary ERP platform providing real-time material tracking and settlement transparency. The company processes materials into smelter-ready and refinery-ready packages for global consumers including smelters, ingot makers, refineries, and mills worldwide.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Nonferrous Metals Recycling Wholesale recycling and resale of nonferrous metals (such as copper, aluminum, and brass) in truckload quantities for industrial buyers in aerospace, automotive, construction, and foundry sectors.
• Electronics Scrap (eScrap) Recycling R2v3-certified recycling of electronics scrap for industrial and commercial generators, processing end-of-life electronics for material recovery.
• Lithium-Ion Battery Recycling Recycling and material recovery services for lithium-ion batteries, enabling industrial customers to manage end-of-life batteries and recover valuable materials.
• Wholesale Truckload Scrap Processing Truckload-scale intake, sorting, and processing of scrap materials with in-house logistics for pickup and delivery across the Midwest U.S.

Quantifiable outcome

• Processes 12,000 to 15,000 metric tons of scrap per month
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• End Consumers (Smelters, Refineries, Mills, Ingot Makers)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEstablished partnerships with end consumers in the United States, Europe, Asia, and South America. Interco places smelter-ready materials with qualified consumers including smelters, refineries, mills, and ingot makers globally. These partnerships enable global distribution of processed materials and stable pricing through contracted relationships.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Schnitzer Steel Industries (Radius Recycling): One of North America's largest ferrous and nonferrous scrap metal recyclers with end-consumer smelter relationships. Closely comparable to Interco in operating model — buying, processing, and globally placing scrap — though at significantly larger scale.
• OmniSource Corporation: Wholly-owned scrap metal processor and broker operating across the Midwest and Southeast US. Directly comparable to Interco's nonferrous processing and mill/smelter placement model, with overlapping geographic and end-market coverage.
• Sims Metal Management: Global publicly listed scrap metal recycler with operations in North America, Australia, and Europe. Comparable to Interco in international sourcing, metal trading, and placement with smelters and mills.
• EMR (European Metal Recycling): Global metals recycling group with US presence through metal recycling and shredding operations. Comparable to Interco in processing nonferrous scrap and serving industrial consumers globally.
• Li-Cycle: Lithium-ion battery recycler with North American hub-and-spoke network. Directly comparable to Interco's EV battery recycling line; differs by being a focused pure-play versus Interco's diversified recycling platform.
• Redwood Materials: US-based battery recycling and cathode-active-material producer with major OEM backing. Comparable to Interco's lithium-ion battery processing capability; backed by significantly larger capital and offtake commitments.
• ECS Refining: R2-certified electronics and precious-metals recycler serving IT asset disposition markets. Comparable to Interco's eScrap and ITAD service lines, including R2 compliance posture.

Broad incumbents

• Commercial Metals Company (CMC): Vertically integrated metals manufacturer with a recycling division sourcing nonferrous scrap for its mills. Comparable on the supply-side recycling function but operates a much broader production portfolio.
• Novelis: Global aluminum rolling and recycling company with closed-loop automotive and beverage-can recycling programs. Comparable to Interco's aluminum recycling capability but operates at a vastly larger and more vertically integrated scale.
• Aurubis: European copper smelter and multi-metal recycler with global scrap sourcing. Comparable to Interco on the nonferrous placement side, but as a primary smelter rather than an intermediary processor.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/intercotrading

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Interco