Smith Industries

What Smith Industries does

Smith Industries, Inc. is a privately held, family-owned scrap metal recycling company headquartered in Capitol Heights, Maryland, in continuous operation since 1898. The firm purchases, processes, and resells ferrous and non-ferrous metals, converting raw scrap into clean, mill-ready product that meets ISRI and worldwide recycling standards. It serves three primary customer segments: walk-in individual consumers delivering household scrap, commercial and industrial businesses generating construction, demolition, manufacturing, and industrial byproducts, and downstream steel mills and end-use processors purchasing mill-ready product domestically and internationally.

The company's processing backbone is a network of 19–25 physical scrap yards across the Mid-Atlantic (Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, and Delaware), including mega-shredder plant complexes equipped with state-of-the-art separation systems. Each plant operates as a self-contained recycling unit, and outbound logistics is enabled by a proprietary fleet of 300 rail cars with on-site rail service, plus roll-off container delivery (20/30/40 cubic yard) and road hauling via demolition dump-body, flatbed, and car-hauler trailers. A dedicated export terminal handles international shipments via containers and bulk cargo vessels. Collectively, the infrastructure supports recovery of approximately 1.6 billion lbs (800,000 tons) of metal per year.

Revenue mechanics are transaction-based: the firm buys scrap at weight- and market-based quotes from buyers, then resells processed metal at prevailing commodity prices. Ancillary services include container rental, material pickup, hauling, and free metal identification. Sales motion combines inbound walk-in traffic with an enterprise field-sales team of Outside Sales Representatives/Scrap Metal Buyers covering job sites across the region, supported by inside sales account management. The firm is privately held with no institutional investor, no public ticker, and no disclosed external funding, operating across 25 wholly-owned subsidiaries that function as integrated yard locations rather than independent product lines.

Name

Smith Industries

Legal name

Smith Industries, Inc.

Website

https://smithindustriesgroup.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1898

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Smith Industries is a privately held, family-owned scrap metal recycler founded in 1898, operating 19–25 yards across the Mid-Atlantic to buy, process, and sell ferrous and non-ferrous metals to steel mills and exporters. It also offers roll-off container rental, hauling, and international export services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Scrap Metal Recycling

NAICS

Nonferrous Metal (except Aluminum) Smelting and Refining (33141)

SIC

Wholesale-Metals & Minerals (No Petroleum) (5050), Secondary Smelting & Refining Of Nonferrous Metals (3341)

akta.pro primary industry

Scrap Metal Collection, Logistics & Aggregation (Yards, Roll-off, Container Programs) (IMAKAMAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Auto Shredding & Metal Fragmentation (Shredder Operations) (EUAIAJAD), Ferrous Scrap Processing & Brokerage (Steel & Cast Iron) (IMAKAMAA), Non-Ferrous Scrap Processing & Recycling (Aluminum, Copper, Brass, Lead, Zinc) (EUAIAJAB), Metals Recycling & Processing (Ferrous/Non-Ferrous) (BPALADAF)

Keywords

• Scrap metal recycling
• Ferrous metals processing
• Non-ferrous metals recycling
• Mill-ready metal sales
• Roll-off container services

Headquarters

HQ city

Capitol Heights

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices25 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Scrap Metal Purchase and Resale: Smith Industries purchases ferrous and non-ferrous scrap metal from individuals, businesses, and government entities, then processes and resells the mill-ready product to steel mills and end-use processors domestically and internationally. Pricing is based on material weight and market rates.
2. Container Rental and Hauling Services: The company offers roll-off container rental (20, 30, and 40 cubic yard sizes) for large-quantity scrap metal customers, as well as hauling services using a fleet of demolition dump-body trailers, flatbed trailers, and car hauler trailers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Smith Industries buys, processes, and resells ferrous and non-ferrous scrap metal, turning raw scrap into clean, mill-ready product through mega-shredder plants and state-of-the-art separation systems. The company supplements this core recycling operation with container rental, hauling, free metal identification, and a 25-yard regional network that supplies steel mills, refineries, and end-use processors both domestically and internationally.

Product overview

Smith Industries operates a unified scrap metal recycling platform combining multiple services and regional facilities. The core offering is scrap metal recycling services that buy, process, and sell ferrous and non-ferrous metals through state-of-the-art separation systems. This is supported by ancillary services including Roll-off/Container Service (20/30/40 cubic yard containers), Hauling Services (demolition dump-body trailers, flatbed and car hauler trailers), and Scrap Processing (mega-shredder plants with on-site rail service and 300 rail cars). The company operates a Regional Yard Network of 25 locations across the Mid-Atlantic region (Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, and Delaware), with each location serving as a buying point for materials. Material categories include Ferrous Metal Recycling (cars, steel, cast iron, rebar) and Non-Ferrous Metal Recycling (aluminum, brass, copper, stainless steel, batteries). Additional services include Metal Identification Services and Commercial Metal Sales for mills and refineries. The subsidiary brands (Joseph Smith & Sons, Allegany Scrap, Dover Scrap Metal, Prince William Metal Recycling, and 21 other named operations) function as individual yard locations under the unified Smith Industries brand rather than as separate product lines.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Scrap Metal Recycling Services Core service that buys, processes, and sells ferrous and non-ferrous metals, converting raw scrap into clean and mill-ready product through state-of-the-art separation systems. Open to the public for in-person deliveries.
• Roll-off Container Service

Quantifiable outcome

• 1.6 billion lbs (800,000 tons) of metal recovered — equivalent to 2.5% of all iron ore mined in the U.S. in one year
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• OmniSource Corporation: Major Midwest-based scrap metal processor with extensive yard network and shredding operations serving ferrous and non-ferrous end markets. Operates a similar collector-to-mill model.
• Cohen Recycling: Multi-state Midwest scrap metal recycler with yards, processing facilities, and consumer/commercial collection operations. Operates a similar regional collector-processor model focused on ferrous and non-ferrous materials.
• EMR (European Metal Recycling): Global scrap metal recycler with significant U.S. operations following the Metalico acquisition. Directly comparable in collector-processor-exporter model across ferrous and non-ferrous categories.
• Sims Limited (Sims Metal Management): Global metal recycling leader with extensive ferrous and non-ferrous collection and processing operations across North America, Europe, and Australia. Directly comparable in scale and integrated collector-processor-exporter role.
• American Iron & Metal (AIM): Canadian-headquartered global scrap metal recycler with U.S. operations providing collection, shredding, and mill-ready product supply. Directly comparable in collector-to-mill integrated model.
• SA Recycling: Large California-headquartered full-service scrap metal recycler with shredders, collection yards, and export capabilities across the western and southern U.S. Highly comparable integrated operating model.
• Radius Recycling (formerly Schnitzer Steel): One of the largest U.S. scrap metal recyclers and a leading operator of auto shredders, producing mill-ready ferrous and non-ferrous products. Closely comparable business model with shredding, collection yards, and exports.
• Friedman Industries: Texas-based integrated ferrous scrap processor and steel tube manufacturer with shredding and processing operations comparable to Smith Industries' model, with a focus on Southern/Mid-Atlantic geographies.
• David J. Joseph Company (DJJ, Nucor subsidiary): One of the largest U.S. ferrous scrap processors operating as a subsidiary of Nucor. Closely comparable in shredding operations, broker network, and supply of mill-ready ferrous product to domestic steel mills.
• Ferrous Processing and Trading: Detroit-based ferrous scrap metal processor serving steel mills with a network of yards and processing facilities in the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic. Closely comparable in regional scrap-to-mill operations.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/smithindustriesinc
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/joseph-smith-&-sons-inc
• Instagraminstagram.com/smithindustriesinc/?hl=en

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries25 records

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 Smith Industries