What ERMAN Corporation does

ERMAN Corporation, operating under the trade name Erman Group, is a privately-held industrial services company that has operated for approximately 65 years (founded circa 1961) and is structured around three interconnected service lines: ferrous and non-ferrous scrap metal recycling, railroad services, and fabricated construction products. Its primary customer base consists of iron and steel foundries, steel mills, railroad operators, industrial facilities, and county and government infrastructure buyers across the Midwest and broader North America. The company runs a B2B-only model with no residential service, distributing through direct phone sales, website contact forms, and a single named executive contact (Ryan Roth).

The operational backbone is the Kansas City, Kansas yard at 6600 Thorn Drive, which provides direct BNSF Railway service and reciprocal switching from CPKC, Norfolk Southern, and Union Pacific, giving the company practical access to every Class 1 railroad in the United States from a single site. The yard offers 300-car storage capacity, a 50-car fast-track railcar repair shop operated in partnership with AITX Railcar Services, and cleaning capabilities (including OU Kosher-certified food-grade cleaning) delivered via Tactical Cleaning Company. Scrap metal services include roll-off containers, flatbed and end-dump trucking, mobile car baling, and brokerage across ferrous and non-ferrous metals. Construction products — prefabricated flatcar bridge decks and tank car culverts fabricated from retired rail equipment — extend the platform into county and agricultural infrastructure, with Buchanan County, Iowa cited as a public customer.

ERMAN generates revenue through three mechanisms: transaction-based sales of recovered scrap metal and brokerage commissions (transaction fees), service fees for railcar scrapping, storage, cleaning, and repair (service-based), and hardware sales of construction products. Pricing is fully quote-based and not publicly disclosed. The company is privately held with no institutional investors, no funding rounds, and no M&A activity reported; management disclosures are limited to a LinkedIn presence for Ted Roth. Corporate headquarters are in Lake Bluff, Illinois, with the operating company appearing to employ 11-50 people across the two locations.

Name

ERMAN Corporation

Legal name

Erman Corporation

Website

https://ermangroup.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1961

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

ERMAN Corporation is a privately-held Midwest scrap metal recycler and integrated railcar services provider serving iron and steel foundries, steel mills, railroads, and county governments from a Kansas City, KS yard with access to every Class 1 U.S. railroad.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Lake Bluff

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Scrap Metal Recycling: Sale of ferrous and non-ferrous scrap metal including steel, iron, aluminum, copper, and brass recovered from industrial clients and railroad operations.
2. Container/Roll-off Services: Hassle-free roll-off container services for businesses delivering scrap metal for recycling.
3. Scrap Metal Brokerage: Brokerage services connecting suppliers and buyers of scrap metal.
4. Railcar Services: End-of-life railcar scrapping, railcar cleaning, railcar storage, and repair services.
5. Construction Products: Sale of railroad flat car bridge decks and tank car culverts for infrastructure projects.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

ERMAN Corporation provides scrap metal recycling and railcar management services to industrial clients and railroads. The company collects ferrous and non-ferrous scrap metal through roll-off container services and brokers scrap metal transactions. It also operates a Kansas City facility offering end-of-life railcar scrapping, storage, cleaning, and fast-track repair, and manufactures construction products such as flat car bridge decks and tank car culverts from retired rail equipment.

Product overview

ERMAN Corporation operates as a scrap metal recycling and railcar services company offering three interconnected service lines: Scrap Metal Roll-Off Container Services (providing container-based collection of ferrous and non-ferrous metals for industrial and construction clients), Railroad Services (encompassing railcar scrapping, storage, cleaning, and repair operations at their Kansas City facility), and Construction Products (manufacturing railroad flatcar bridge decks and tank car culverts from retired rail equipment for infrastructure applications). The company leverages its strategic Kansas City location with direct BNSF access and reciprocal rail switching to serve iron and steel foundries, steel mills, and counties throughout the Midwest.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Scrap Metal Roll-Off Container Services Roll-off container rental, pickup, and scrap metal collection service for industrial facilities, foundries, and steel mills. Provides scheduled scrap metal removal using company-owned flatbed and end-dump trucking.
• Scrap Metal Brokerage Brokerage service that connects scrap metal suppliers with buyers, facilitating ferrous and non-ferrous metal transactions.
• Railcar Scrapping End-of-life railcar scrapping service that processes retired railroad equipment into recyclable scrap metal using mobile car baling equipment at terminal yards and derailment sites.
• Railcar Storage Railcar storage service at the Kansas City, Kansas facility with direct BNSF access and reciprocal switching arrangements with Union Pacific.
• Railcar Cleaning Tank car cleaning service performed at the on-site AITX (Authorized In-Tank Transfer) certified cleaning facility in Kansas City.
• Fast-Track Railcar Repair Expedited railcar repair service performed by an on-site Mobile Repair Unit (MRU), designed to eliminate transit time to traditional off-site repair shops and return cars to revenue service quickly.
• Railroad Flat Car Bridge Decks Bridge deck systems built from new or used railroad flat car bodies, used by counties and municipalities as a cost-effective alternative to traditional bridge replacement methods.
• Railroad Tank Car Culverts Large-diameter culvert sections fabricated from retired railroad tank cars, used by counties and road departments as an economical solution for roadway drainage projects.

Quantifiable outcome

• Construction products offered at a fraction of the cost compared to other systems

Named customers1 record

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• ReMA (Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries)OthersERMAN Corporation is a member of ReMA (Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries), indicating participation in the scrap recycling industry's trade association for networking, standards, and advocacy.
• BNSF RailwaycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKansas City operations facility is directly served by BNSF Railway, providing primary rail access for railcar receiving and shipping operations.
• CPKC (Canadian Pacific Kansas City)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFacility open to reciprocal switching from CPKC, expanding rail access for railcar routing.
• Norfolk Southern (NS)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFacility open to reciprocal switching from Norfolk Southern, expanding rail access for railcar routing.
• Union Pacific (UP)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFacility open to reciprocal switching from Union Pacific, expanding rail access for railcar routing.
• AITX Railcar ServicescoreTechnology or IntegrationFast-track railcar repair facility located on site at 6600 Thorn Drive with 50-car shop capacity. Services include light/medium repairs and tank car qualifications for box cars, covered hoppers, open top hoppers, PD hoppers, and tank cars.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Radius Recycling (formerly Schnitzer Steel Industries): One of the largest ferrous and non-ferrous scrap metal recyclers in North America, operating yards, shredders, and mill services. Direct overlap with ERMAN's core scrap recycling business, though at vastly greater scale and geographic reach.
• Progress Rail Services (a Caterpillar company): Major provider of railcar repair, remanufacturing, scrapping, and parts serving North American railroads. Overlaps with ERMAN's railcar scrapping and fast-track repair services, though at a much larger scale and broader service portfolio.
• GATX Corporation: Leading railcar lessor and service provider operating a large North American fleet with maintenance facilities. Comparable customer base (railroads and shippers) and adjacent service capability (railcar maintenance and storage).
• EMR (European Metal Recycling): Global scrap metal recycler with operations across the U.S. Comparable across the entire value chain — collection, processing, brokerage — though international in scope and significantly larger than ERMAN.

Direct peers

• OmniSource (a Steel Dynamics company): Large U.S. ferrous and non-ferrous scrap processor supplying Steel Dynamics' mills. Comparable customer base (foundries and mills), similar broker/collector model, though with substantially larger volumes and multiple yards.
• Metalico: Mid-Atlantic and Midwest scrap metal recycler collecting, processing, and trading ferrous and non-ferrous metals. Operates similar collection yards and brokerage activity, making it a close comparable in size and business mix to ERMAN.
• Padnos: Family-owned, multi-generation scrap metal recycler based in Michigan with ferrous, non-ferrous, and industrial scrap operations across the Midwest. Closely comparable to ERMAN in ownership profile, regional footprint, and service mix.
• Cohen Recycling: Midwest-based scrap metal processor serving steel mills and foundries with ferrous and non-ferrous scrap. Direct geographic and customer overlap with ERMAN's Midwest mill and foundry customer base.
• Liberty Iron & Metal: Regional scrap metal processor operating yards in the Midwest and Mountain West, supplying steel mills and foundries. Similar scale to ERMAN and overlapping customer profile in ferrous scrap supply.
• Big R Bridge: Manufacturer and supplier of prefabricated steel bridges, including flat car / railcar-based bridge structures used for county roads and low-volume infrastructure. Direct overlap with ERMAN's flat car bridge deck product line.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/erman.corp

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 ERMAN Corporation