Specialty Metals
Founded in 1980, Connecticut-based Specialty Metals Smelters & Refiners provides assay-based recovery of gold, silver, platinum, palladium, rhodium, iridium, and ruthenium from industrial, jewelry, dental, electronics, and consumer scrap across the US and Canada.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1980
- HeadquartersFairfield, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Specialty Metals does
Specialty Metals Smelters & Refiners LLC is a privately held precious metals refinery founded in 1980 and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, with a processing facility in West Haven, CT. The company operates an assay-based refining service that recovers gold, silver, platinum, palladium, rhodium, iridium, and ruthenium from materials spanning high-grade bullion and karat gold at the top end down to low-grade printed circuit boards, dental alloys, thermocouples, catalysts, sputtering targets, and silver contacts at the bottom end. Its customer base is broadly segmented across industrial manufacturers, jewelers and pawnbrokers, dental labs, electronics manufacturers and recyclers, hospitals and testing labs, electricians, opticians, and individual sellers.
The core technical operation centers on precise sampling, assaying, and recovery, with settlement priced against the LBMA London Fix for gold and silver and against NY Comex Spot, Mercantile Exchange, or NY Dealers Price benchmarks for the other metals. The firm is classified as a financial institution under the Bank Secrecy Act, maintaining a documented Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Program, USA PATRIOT Act compliance, 24-hour records security, and specialized handling protocols for hazardous materials such as silver cadmium contacts. Refining fees are transaction-based and scaled by material type and lot size; assay testing is priced at approximately $450 per test when sampling is required; handling penalties up to $5,000 apply for prohibited deleterious elements shipped without prior approval.
Revenue is generated through refining fees deducted from metal settlements and assay testing fees, paid out once sellers approve quoted terms with no settlement hold. Distribution is direct: customers ship materials via USPS, UPS, or FedEx, and large-lot freight pickup is arranged nationwide and into Canada. Marketing is sales-led, combining a toll-free phone line (800-426-2344), email, SMS/text inquiries, and a content-driven educational blog on precious-metals refining topics. The firm is led by owner-CEO Dan Fried and operates with 11-50 employees.
Specialty Metals firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Specialty Metals
- Legal name
- Specialty Metals Smelters & Refiners LLC
- Website
- https://specialtymetals.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1980
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Founded in 1980, Connecticut-based Specialty Metals Smelters & Refiners provides assay-based recovery of gold, silver, platinum, palladium, rhodium, iridium, and ruthenium from industrial, jewelry, dental, electronics, and consumer scrap across the US and Canada.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Specialty Metals industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Precious Metals Refining
- NAICS
- Nonferrous Metal (except Aluminum) Smelting and Refining (331410), Secondary Smelting, Refining, and Alloying of Nonferrous Metal (except Copper and Aluminum) (331492)
- SIC
- Primary Smelting & Refining Of Nonferrous Metals (3330)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Precious Metals Smelting & Refining (IMAKAEAE)
Keywords
Where Specialty Metals is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Fairfield
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
Specialty Metals business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
Revenue model
- Precious Metal Refining and Settlement: The company purchases precious metal scrap from customers, refines it using assay-based processes, and pays customers based on recovered metal priced at the LBMA London Fix (Gold: NY Comex Spot, Silver: NY Comex Spot, Platinum/Palladium: Mercantile Exchange, Rhodium: NY Dealers Price), less refining fees. This is the core revenue stream from processing and recovering gold, silver, platinum, palladium, rhodium, and other precious metals from scrap materials.
- Refining Fees: Processing fees charged per shipment based on material type. Assay testing is approximately $450 per test, charged only when material cannot be estimated from markings. Refining fees start at an established minimum per shipment. Additional handling fees up to $5,000 may apply for prohibited deleterious elements shipped without prior approval.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Assay-Based Refining Settlement |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Assay Testing Fee |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Refining Processing Fees |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels4 records
Specialty Metals product offering
Product offeringCore offering
The provided source material lacks adequate content to support a detailed description of Specialty Metals' core offerings.
Product overview
Specialty Metals Smelters & Refiners is a secondary precious metals refinery offering a unified refining service for the recovery of gold, silver, platinum, palladium, rhodium, iridium, and ruthenium from a wide spectrum of materials. The core service is assay-based refining, which processes materials ranging from high-grade bullion and jewelry scrap to low-grade electronic circuit boards and industrial catalysts. The company serves diverse industries including dentists, jewelers, electricians, hospitals, semiconductor manufacturers, pawnbrokers, testing labs, university science departments, and elevator/forklift service operations. Settlement is priced against the LBMA London Fix (for gold and silver) and other market benchmarks, with customers receiving detailed assay reports documenting recovered metal quantities. The refining process handles items such as karat gold, gold-filled materials, sterling silverware, platinum labware, catalytic converters, sputtering targets, thermocouples, electronic components, and dental alloys through a standardized assay-based recovery flow.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Quantifiable outcome
- Recycled gold carries roughly a tenth of the carbon footprint of mined gold and avoids 265,000 litres of water per kilogram
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Specialty Metals
Customer profileSegments10 records
Specialty Metals technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Specialty Metals partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators3 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Specialty Metals competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Sabin Metal Corporation: US-based secondary precious metals refiner serving similar industrial, electronics, and catalyst recovery customers. Comparable scale and service model make it a direct horizontal peer in assay-based refining.
- Midwest Refineries: US precious metals refinery serving jewelry, dental, and industrial scrap customers with melt and assay-based settlement. Closely comparable service offering and customer profile to Specialty Metals.
- Dillon Gage: Dallas-based precious metals refiner and dealer offering refining services for gold, silver, platinum, and palladium scrap from jewelers, dentists, and industrial accounts. Direct competitor in the SMB/individual refining segment.
- Manhattan Gold & Silver: Long-running US refiner of gold, silver, and platinum group metals serving jewelers, pawnbrokers, and individuals. Direct competitor in horizontal retail and SMB refining.
Broad incumbents
- Heraeus Precious Metals: Global precious metals refiner and one of the largest players in gold, silver, and PGM refining. Serves industrial, electronics, and automotive catalyst customers with end-to-end precious metals services; competes with Specialty Metals in higher-volume industrial refining.
- Metalor Technologies: Swiss-based global precious metals refiner and fabricator serving industrial, jewelry, and financial customers. Competes with Specialty Metals in industrial refining and recycling at a larger international scale.
- Materion Corporation: Large publicly traded specialty metals company with a precious metals refining and trading segment serving industrial and electronics customers. Overlaps Specialty Metals' industrial and electronics scrap recovery but operates at much greater scale and product breadth.
- Tanaka Kikinzoku Kogyo: Japanese precious metals refiner and manufacturer with strong positions in platinum group metal refining for industrial, electronics, and semiconductor customers. Comparable PGM recovery focus.
- Johnson Matthey: Multinational precious metals and catalyst company with significant PGM refining operations, particularly for automotive and industrial catalysts. Adjacent competitor in PGM and rhodium recovery.
Emerging players
- A-Mark Precious Metals: US precious metals dealer and refiner with growing refining operations and direct-to-consumer channels. Competes for SMB and individual sellers while offering integrated trading and storage services.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Specialty Metals social profiles
Digital presenceSpecialty Metals financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Specialty Metals leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Specialty Metals funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Specialty Metals M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Specialty Metals
What does Specialty Metals do?
The provided source material lacks adequate content to support a detailed description of Specialty Metals' core offerings.
Is Specialty Metals a public or private company?
Specialty Metals is a private company. It is classified as unknown and is currently operating.
When was Specialty Metals founded?
Specialty Metals was founded in 1980. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Specialty Metals based?
Specialty Metals is headquartered in Fairfield, United States, in the North America region.
How does Specialty Metals make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Precious Metal Refining and Settlement is the primary driver. The others are refining Fees.
Who are Specialty Metals's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Sabin Metal Corporation, Midwest Refineries, Dillon Gage and Manhattan Gold & Silver. Broad incumbents are Heraeus Precious Metals, Metalor Technologies, Materion Corporation, Tanaka Kikinzoku Kogyo and Johnson Matthey. A-Mark Precious Metals is listed as an emerging player.
Does Specialty Metals have an API?
No public API is recorded for Specialty Metals.
What industry is Specialty Metals in?
Specialty Metals's product category is Precious Metals Refining. Its primary akta.pro industry code is IMAKAEAE, Precious Metals Smelting & Refining. Its NAICS code is 331410 and its SIC code is 3330.