Techemet

What Techemet does

Techemet is a privately held platinum group metal (PGM) recycler and metal trader that recovers platinum, palladium, rhodium, gold, and silver from scrap catalytic converters, petrochemical refinery catalysts, and industrial catalysts. The company, tracing its origins to a 1969 South African metallurgical consultancy and incorporated in the United States in 1976, operates a vertically integrated smelting and refining platform anchored by a Pasadena, Texas headquarters with six submerged arc furnaces, a rotary kiln, and a pyro metallurgical refinery commissioned in April 2016. Its primary customer base consists of auto dismantlers, scrap yards, and industrial catalyst generators across more than eight countries served through 16+ branch offices in North America, Europe, and South America.

Techemet monetizes across four interlocking service lines: toll refining (sample, assay, and refine customer-owned material with supplier-controlled sales timing), direct purchasing of converters by the piece, processing of automobile and petrochemical/industrial catalyst on fee-for-service terms, and in-house metal trading that offers spot, forward, and London fix settlement alongside Pt/Pd/Rh hedging for customers meeting financial criteria. A catalogued database of over 60,000 individual catalytic converter types supports buyer-assisted recognition, on-site and online training, and valuation. Distribution combines a field direct-sales buyer network with a digital layer — a free mobile app delivering live PGM pricing and a customer portal for registered accounts.

The go-to-market is sales-led with self-serve digital overlays: dedicated buyers assist suppliers in converter identification and pricing, on-site training is offered at supplier premises, and the company holds ISO 9001, 14001, and 45001 certifications across its European and Mexican subsidiaries plus country-specific environmental permits (AIA in Italy), supporting its position in the regulated hazardous-materials recovery chain. No public listing, external investors, or M&A activity is disclosed, and ownership remains private.

Name

Techemet

Legal name

Techemet LP

Website

https://techemet.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1969

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Techemet is a private, vertically integrated platinum group metal recycler and metal trader that recovers platinum, palladium, rhodium, gold, and silver from scrap catalytic converters and industrial catalysts, serving auto dismantlers, scrap yards, and petrochemical catalyst generators across the Americas, Europe, and the UK.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Precious Metals Recycling

NAICS

Materials Recovery Facilities (56292), Hazardous Waste Treatment and Disposal (562211)

SIC

Primary Smelting & Refining Of Nonferrous Metals (3330), Hazardous Waste Management (4955)

akta.pro primary industry

Catalytic Converter Recycling & Precious Metals Recovery (PGM) (EUAIAJAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Process Residue & Catalyst Handling/Recycling (BPALAHAJ), Catalyst Recovery, Regeneration & Reclamation Services (IMAEAIAM), Catalyst & Precious Metal Scrap Recycling (Auto Catalysts, Refinery/Petrochemical Catalysts) (IMAKAMAI)

Keywords

• Platinum group metal recycling
• Catalytic converter processing
• Precious metal refining
• Industrial catalyst recycling
• Metal trading services

Headquarters

HQ city

Pasadena

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices16 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Smelting and Refining Services: Processing fees charged for smelting and refining catalytic converters and industrial catalyst to recover platinum, palladium, and rhodium metals
2. Tolling Services: Toll refining agreements where customer material is sampled, assayed, and refined with metal sold by supplier at their chosen date and time
3. Metal Trading: In-house metal trading department buying and selling platinum, palladium, rhodium, gold, and silver with spot, forward, and London fix settlement options
4. Purchasing: Direct purchasing of converters by piece, offering top prices to customers selling their catalytic converters
5. Hedging Services: Hedging services for Pt, Pd & Rh available to customers meeting certain financial requirements to minimize market fluctuation risk

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Techemet is one of the world's largest recyclers of platinum group metals, smelting and refining scrap catalytic converters and industrial catalysts to recover platinum, palladium, rhodium, gold, and silver. The company operates six submerged arc furnaces, a rotary kiln, and a pyro metallurgical refinery at its Pasadena, Texas headquarters, processing millions of catalytic converters per year. It complements physical processing with toll refining agreements, direct converter purchasing, metal trading with spot/forward pricing, and hedging services for Pt, Pd, and Rh.

Product overview

Techemet is a platinum group metal recycling company offering integrated services across the catalyst recycling value chain. The core offering consists of smelting and refining services for catalytic converters (automobile, oil refinery, and industrial), supported by four main service lines: direct converter purchasing with hedging options, converter recognition training utilizing a 60,000+ catalog, toll refining with sampling/assaying for flexible metal sales timing, and in-house metal trading with spot/forward pricing. The company operates its own smelting facilities with 6 submerged arc furnaces and a rotary kiln, supplemented by a pyro metallurgical refinery commissioned in 2016. A free mobile app provides live PGM pricing access. The company processes millions of scrap catalytic converters annually at its Pasadena Texas headquarters, with branch offices across North America, Europe, and Brazil.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Catalytic Converter Smelting and Refining
• Oil Refinery Catalyst Processing
• Industrial Catalyst Processing

Quantifiable outcome

• Millions of catalytic converters processed annually for PGM recovery

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Johnson Matthey: UK-based precious metals refiner with a major PGM refining and autocatalyst recycling business, historically among the dominant players in catalyst recovery — directly comparable in feedstock, process, and customer base.
• Asahi Refining: North American precious metals refiner (part of Asahi Group) with PGM refining capacity from scrap and industrial feed — competing most directly in the same geographic recycling markets as Techemet.
• Tanaka Kikinzoku Kogyo: Japanese precious metals specialist with global PGM refining, recycling of spent catalysts, and trading — a comparable integrated recycler with similar feedstock and customer overlap.
• Umicore: Belgian materials technology group and one of the world's largest precious metals recyclers, with integrated PGM refining, closed-loop auto-catalyst recycling, and trading — the closest scaled comparable to Techemet's core business.
• Heraeus Precious Metals: German precious metals refiner and trader offering Pt/Pd/Rh refining, recycling of spent catalysts, and trading/hedging services — overlapping strongly with Techemet's integrated smelter-plus-trading model.

Broad incumbents

• Sibanye-Stillwater: Major PGM miner that also runs autocatalyst and industrial PGM recycling — competing for the same secondary feedstock, but with diversified primary mining revenue giving it materially broader scale.
• Impala Platinum (Implats): Major South African PGM producer with growing secondary PGM recycling operations — competes for industrial catalyst feedstock and has the refining scale to challenge mid-tier recyclers on tolling economics.
• BASF (Catalysts division): Operates precious metals trading and closed-loop PGM recycling for its autocatalyst customers as part of its much broader chemicals portfolio — a larger incumbent with adjacent, partially overlapping recycling capabilities.

Emerging players

• Duesenfeld: German niche recycler focused on lithium-ion battery and precious metals recovery from electronic scrap — only partial overlap with Techemet, but representative of emerging EU-based recyclers expanding into adjacent PGM feedstocks.
• Hensel Recycling: German family-owned precious metals recycler focused on autocatalyst and industrial PGM recovery — a smaller-scale but technically focused direct competitor in the European recycling market.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/techemetlp
• Facebookfacebook.com/Techemet
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/techemet-lp

Compliance6 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries9 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 Techemet