ProTrade Steel

What ProTrade Steel does

ProTrade Steel, operating through The ProTrade Group LLC, is a fully integrated scrap metal company founded in 1994 by Jack Kessick Jr. and headquartered in Fairlawn, Ohio. The company operates four core service lines: ProTrade Trading (brokerage of ferrous, nonferrous, and alloyed metals to domestic mills, foundries, and international buyers), ProTrade Recycling (physical processing of scrap metal through shearing, torching, baling, and cast breaking at two West Virginia facilities operated by subsidiary RJ Recycling), ProTrade Transportation (logistics services including a private fleet of more than 350 railcars, trucking, barge coordination, and railcar leasing), and ProTrade Exporting (international sales of ferrous and non-ferrous metals to India, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Vietnam, Taiwan, and other markets since 2017).

The company serves a horizontally segmented customer base that includes large domestic steel mills and foundries as primary buyers, industrial accounts and other scrap/salvage yards as processing customers, and the general public as occasional drop-off suppliers, while exporting to international steel mills across Asia. Revenue is generated through transaction-based brokerage commissions and spreads on metal purchases and sales, recycling margins on processed scrap, and freight and railcar leasing charges from the transportation division. The company operates from eight locations spanning the Eastern and Midwestern United States (Fairlawn, Charlottesville, Charleston, Perrysburg, Liberty Center, Austin, Parkersburg, and Nitro) and employs 51-100 people. As of 2025, ProTrade Steel is 100% employee-owned through an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), with leadership consisting of founder-Chairman Jack Kessick Jr. and his son Jon Kessick (President since January 2021).

The business model relies on relationship-driven, sales-led distribution through regional trading offices rather than a proprietary technology platform; no core software stack, data products, AI/ML capabilities, or digital marketplace are disclosed. Go-to-market emphasizes expert brokers leveraging personal networks, while the integrated trading-recycling-transportation-exporting stack and captive railcar fleet are positioned as the primary differentiators versus non-integrated competitors.

Name

ProTrade Steel

Legal name

The ProTrade Group LLC

Website

https://protradesteel.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

ProTrade Steel is an employee-owned, fully integrated scrap metal company that brokers, recycles, transports, and exports ferrous, nonferrous, and alloyed metals to domestic steel mills, foundries, industrial accounts, and international buyers across Asia.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Scrap Metal Trading and Recycling

akta.pro primary industry

Metal Scrap Trading & Brokerage (Ferrous & Non-Ferrous) (IMAKAJAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Ferrous Scrap Processing & Brokerage (Steel & Cast Iron) (IMAKAMAA), Construction & Demolition (C&D) Metal Recycling (Structural Steel, Rebar, Roofing, Wire) (IMAKAMAF), Stainless Steel & High-Temperature Alloy Scrap (Stainless, Inconel, Titanium, Specialty Alloys) (IMAKAMAC)

Keywords

• Scrap metal trading
• Scrap metal recycling
• Metal transportation logistics
• Ferrous nonferrous metals
• Scrap metal exporting

Headquarters

HQ city

Hudson

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices8 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Scrap Metal Trading/Brokerage: ProTrade Steel operates as an independent scrap metal brokerage firm, facilitating buying and selling of ferrous, nonferrous, and alloyed metals both domestically and internationally. Trading revenue is generated through brokerage commissions and margin on metal transactions.
2. Scrap Metal Recycling: Two recycling centers operated by subsidiary RJ Recycling process scrap metal through shearing, torching, baling, and cast breaking. Revenue comes from purchasing scrap metal from suppliers (industrial accounts, other scrap yards, general public) and selling processed material to mills and foundries.
3. Transportation Services: ProTrade Transportation provides logistics services including railcar fleet (350+ private railcars), truck coordination, barge services, and railroad services. Revenue generated through freight charges, railcar leasing, and transportation coordination fees.
4. International Exporting: Since 2017, ProTrade Steel exports ferrous and nonferrous metals to international markets including India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, China, Vietnam, Taiwan and more, generating revenue through international metal sales.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

ProTrade Steel is a fully integrated scrap metal company that buys and sells ferrous, nonferrous, and alloyed metals domestically and internationally through its trading/brokerage business. It processes scrap metal at recycling facilities and provides captive transportation services via a private railcar fleet, trucking, and barge operations to move material between suppliers and steel mills, foundries, and export customers.

Product overview

ProTrade Steel is a fully-integrated scrap metal company offering a portfolio of interconnected services: ProTrade Trading (scrap metal brokerage), ProTrade Recycling (processing ferrous/nonferrous/alloyed metals), ProTrade Transportation (rail, trucking, barge logistics with 350+ private railcars), and ProTrade Exporting (international trade to Asia). The subsidiary RJ Recycling operates two West Virginia processing facilities. Founded in 1994 and now 100% employee-owned via ESOP, the company operates 8 locations across the Eastern U.S. with trading offices, recycling centers, and transportation divisions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• ProTrade Trading Scrap metal trading and brokering services offering national and international trading relationships for buying and selling ferrous and nonferrous metals. Expert traders leverage an extensive network to facilitate transactions between suppliers and buyers across domestic and international markets.
• ProTrade Recycling Scrap metal recycling services processing ferrous, nonferrous, and alloyed metals through shearing, torching, baling, and cast breaking at collection facilities. Operated primarily through subsidiary RJ Recycling, serving industrial accounts, other scrap yards, and the general public.
• ProTrade Transportation Comprehensive transportation solutions including railroad services, private railcar fleet management with 350+ railcars, trucking coordination, and barge services for moving scrap metal between suppliers, processing facilities, mills, and export destinations.
• ProTrade Exporting International scrap metal exporting services shipping ferrous and nonferrous metals to steel mills and metal manufacturers in countries including India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, China, Vietnam, and Taiwan. Coordinated through the International Export Office in Charlottesville, VA.
• RJ Recycling Subsidiary scrap metal recycling company operating two facilities in Nitro and Parkersburg, WV, handling ferrous, nonferrous, and alloyed scrap from industrial accounts, other yards, and the general public with truck driver positions supporting collection.

Quantifiable outcome

• 8 locations across the United States providing regional market coverage
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• RJ RecyclingcoreOthersRJ Recycling, LLC is a subsidiary of The ProTrade Group LLC operating two scrap metal recycling facilities in Nitro and Parkersburg, WV. The subsidiary processes ferrous, nonferrous, and alloyed scrap metal and is a key component of ProTrade Steel's fully integrated business model.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• OmniSource Corporation: Wholly owned subsidiary of Steel Dynamics and one of the largest U.S. ferrous and nonferrous scrap metal processors and brokers. OmniSource directly competes with ProTrade's trading and recycling operations across multiple U.S. regions and is the most scale-comparable integrated scrap peer.
• The David J. Joseph Company: Nucor-owned scrap metal brokerage and processing subsidiary that is a direct competitor to ProTrade's brokerage and recycling lines. Notably, ProTrade's founder Jack Kessick Jr. previously worked at David J. Joseph, making it a particularly relevant comparable.
• Radius Recycling (formerly Schnitzer Steel Industries): U.S. Pacific Northwest-headquartered scrap metal recycler and steel products manufacturer with national scrap collection and export capabilities. Competes with ProTrade across both ferrous scrap trading and downstream processing/exports.
• Sims Metal Management: Global scrap metal recycler with significant U.S. operations in ferrous and nonferrous metals trading and processing. Competes directly with ProTrade in brokerage, processing, and export markets including the same Asian destinations.

Broad incumbents

• EMR Group: One of the world's largest metal recyclers with growing U.S. footprint (acquired Metalico and others). A broader incumbent that competes in the same ferrous and nonferrous scrap trading and processing markets as ProTrade, with much greater scale and geographic reach.
• Commercial Metals Company (CMC): Vertically integrated steel manufacturer that operates scrap metal recycling as a key input channel. Competes with ProTrade for ferrous scrap supply and represents the integrated mill-recycler model that pressures independent brokers like ProTrade.
• Steel Dynamics: Major U.S. EAF steel producer that owns OmniSource, making it both a customer and competitor to ProTrade. Sets competitive dynamics in U.S. ferrous scrap pricing and export flows.
• Nucor Corporation: Largest U.S. steel producer and owner of The David J. Joseph scrap subsidiary. Represents the largest integrated scrap-plus-mill competitor and is also one of ProTrade's key end customers for ferrous scrap.
• Gerdau: Brazil-based long products steel producer with significant U.S. operations and scrap procurement needs. Competes for U.S. ferrous scrap supply and operates in several of the same export-adjacent markets as ProTrade.

Emerging players

• Metalico: Mid-Atlantic and Northeast U.S. scrap metal recycler and broker with overlapping geography to ProTrade's Eastern U.S. footprint. Now part of EMR, Metalico represents a more directly comparable scale peer for ProTrade's recycling and trading model.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/protradesteel

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries2 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 ProTrade Steel