What Kat Metal Estonia does

Kat Metal Estonia OÜ (also doing business as Kat-Metal) is a privately held Estonian electronic-waste recycler headquartered at Nõlva 9, Tallinn. Founded in 2015 and operating with 11–50 employees, the company purchases precious-metal-bearing electronic waste—printed circuit boards, computer processors, RAM, hard disk drives, mobile phones, and broader IT and telecommunications equipment—from Estonian and international businesses, then sorts, weighs, assesses, and mechanically crushes the material at its Tallinn warehouse. A stated proprietary step captures precious metal dust into a special container during crushing, after which the crushed material and recovered dust are shipped to trusted final-processing partners in Japan for raw material recovery. The legal entity (an Estonian OÜ, the local equivalent of a private limited company) is wholly owned by Elemental Holding SA Capital Group, a global urban mining and recycling conglomerate operating in 35 countries.

The company's technology stack is largely physical-process based rather than software-centric: licensed mechanical crushing with built-in precious-metal dust capture, on-site expert visual assessment of incoming material by domain specialists, and certified destruction of data carriers with optional on-site witnessing, video recording, and issuance of an official destruction certificate. Differentiation rests on regulatory credentials (Environmental Permit No. L.JA_328971, Hazardous Waste Handling License, ISO 9001:2015, ISO 14001:2015, EMAS EE-000034, GDPR compliance), the Elemental Holding parent ecosystem, and a multilingual (Estonian, English, Russian) digital storefront supporting international sourcing from Europe, Brazil, and the Middle East in addition to the domestic Estonian market.

Kat Metal Estonia generates revenue on a transactional, spread-based model: it pays suppliers a per-kilogram purchase price (0.1–10 EUR/kg for general PCBs, 7–20 EUR/kg for mobile phone PCBs, 8–140 EUR/kg for processors) and earns the margin between that purchase price and the value ultimately recovered by its Japanese refining partners. For materials requiring assay confirmation of precious-metal content, payment is structured as 70% advance and the balance upon assay results. Go-to-market is sales-led and partnership-driven: experienced assessors are dispatched on-site for large-volume industrial producers; the company arranges licensed transport in its own registered fleet; and named enterprise customers include the three major Estonian telecommunications operators (Telia, Tele2, Elisa), electronics manufacturer GPV Estonia, and recycling partners Kuusakoski, Eesringlus, Weerec, and Epler-Lorenz.

Name

Kat Metal Estonia

Legal name

Kat Metal Estonia OÜ

Website

https://katmetal.ee

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Kat Metal Estonia OÜ, a Tallinn-based electronic waste recycler and subsidiary of Elemental Holding Group, purchases precious-metal-bearing PCBs, processors, and IT equipment from Estonian and international enterprises, recovering metals via licensed, ISO-certified mechanical crushing and Japanese final-processing partners.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Electronic Waste Recycling and Precious Metal Recovery

NAICS

Materials Recovery Facilities (56292), Hazardous Waste Treatment and Disposal (562211), Waste Collection (56211)

SIC

Secondary Smelting & Refining Of Nonferrous Metals (3341)

akta.pro primary industry

E-Waste & Electronics Metal Recovery (ITAD, Circuit Boards, Precious Metal Recovery) (IMAKAMAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Precious & Specialty Metal Recovery (Smelting, Refining, Hydrometallurgy) (EUAIAIAD), E-waste & Universal Waste Collection/Transfer (Electronics, Lamps, Batteries) (EUAIABAG)

Keywords

• Electronic waste recycling
• Precious metal recovery
• E-waste processing
• Data carrier destruction
• Urban mining services

Headquarters

HQ city

Tallinn

HQ country

Estonia

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. E-waste Purchasing and Processing: The company purchases electronic waste (printed circuit boards, processors, mobile phones, IT equipment) containing precious metals from businesses. Payment is made after sorting, weighing, and assessment. For materials requiring analysis for precious metal content confirmation, payment is made in two installments: 70% advance and remaining balance upon analysis results. Revenue is derived from the difference between purchase price paid to suppliers and the value recovered through refining precious metals.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Kat Metal Estonia purchases electronic waste containing precious metals (printed circuit boards, processors, mobile phones, IT and telecommunications equipment) from businesses, arranges licensed transport, sorts and assesses the materials on-site or at its Tallinn warehouse, mechanically crushes them to recover precious metal dust, and ships the crushed material to trusted partners in Japan for final raw material recovery. The company also offers secure data carrier destruction with certificates and fast payment (two installments for materials requiring analysis).

Product overview

Kat Metal Estonia operates as an electronic waste recycling company that purchases, processes, and recycles materials containing precious metals. The core offering is a unified service combining purchasing of e-waste materials (printed circuit boards, processors, mobile phones, IT equipment), on-site assessment, transport logistics, data carrier destruction with certificates, and fast payment. Materials are sorted, weighed, crushed, and precious metal dust is recovered for final processing by partners. The company belongs to Elemental Holding Group operating in 35 countries.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Electronic Waste Recycling (Elektroonikajäätmete ringlussevõtt) End-to-end service for businesses that purchase, process, and recycle e-waste materials containing precious metals. Materials are purchased from clients and processed through sorting, weighing, expert assessment, and mechanical crushing with precious metal dust captured for final processing by Japanese partners.
• Material Purchasing (Ost) Purchase service targeting businesses holding printed circuit boards, IT equipment, telecom hardware, processors, RAM, hard disk drives, and mobile phones. Expert assessors provide visual material assessment and an immediate price quote based on precious metal content grade.
• Transport of Purchase Materials (Ostumaterjalide transport) Licensed transport service moving e-waste from client sites in Estonia to the company's Tallinn warehouse. The company uses its own registered vehicles and holds all necessary licenses for transporting both non-hazardous and hazardous waste.
• Destruction of Data Carriers (Andmekandjate hävitamine) Secure destruction service for data-bearing devices (hard drives, memory) offered alongside e-waste recycling. Clients can be present during destruction, receive video documentation, and obtain an official destruction certificate for compliance purposes.
• Fast Payment (Kiire tasustamine) Payment service tied to material purchasing. Standard immediate payment is made upon price confirmation; for materials requiring lab analysis for precious metal content, payment is made in two installments (70% advance and remaining balance upon receipt of analysis results).

Quantifiable outcome

• Precious metal dust recovered during crushing is captured and added to the crushed material for final processing, maximizing recovery rates.
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Elemental Holding SA Capital GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKat Metal Estonia is an integral part of Elemental Holding SA Capital Group, a leading global urban mining and recycling conglomerate with a track record of successful international acquisitions. The group operates in 35 countries across Europe, United States, Middle East, and Asia. Kat Metal serves as the Estonian subsidiary within this global network, benefiting from the group's infrastructure, expertise, and partner relationships.
• Japanese Partners (Final Processing)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTrusted partners in Japan handle the final processing of crushed materials, ensuring high quality and environmental safety at all stages. Precious metal dust collected during crushing and the crushed material are sent to these partners for raw material recovery.
• KuusakoskiminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGlobal recycling company with which Kat Metal Estonia has established reliable cooperation for electronic waste recycling. Kuusakoski operates internationally in metal recycling and is a recognized partner in the Estonian e-waste recycling ecosystem.
• EesringlusminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEstonian recycling company with established cooperation with Kat Metal Estonia in the electronic waste recycling value chain.
• WeerecminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEstonian recycling company partnered with Kat Metal Estonia for electronic waste recycling services.
• TeliaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTelecommunications company that has entrusted Kat Metal Estonia with purchasing and recycling its electronic waste generated in the course of operations.
• Tele2minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTelecommunications company that has entrusted Kat Metal Estonia with purchasing and recycling its electronic waste generated in the course of operations.
• ElisaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTelecommunications company that has entrusted Kat Metal Estonia with purchasing and recycling its electronic waste generated in the course of operations.
• GPV EstoniaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerElectronics manufacturing company that has partnered with Kat Metal Estonia for recycling of production waste electronic materials.
• Epler-LorenzminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEstonian environmental services company partnered with Kat Metal Estonia for materials management and recycling cooperation.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Umicore SA: Belgian materials technology group with a dedicated recycling business that recovers precious and specialty metals from end-of-life electronics, automotive catalysts and industrial residues. Directly comparable on the precious-metal-from-e-waste end of the value chain but operates globally and is far larger.
• Boliden AB: Swedish mining and smelting group operating Europe's largest electronics recycling facility at Rönnskär, processing e-waste to recover copper, gold, silver and palladium. Overlaps with Kat Metal's mechanical processing and precious-metal recovery objective but as part of an integrated mining/smelting business.
• Stena Recycling AB: Swedish recycling conglomerate operating across metals, electronics, hazardous waste and circular-economy services in Northern Europe. Overlaps with Kat Metal in e-waste collection and electronics recovery but at much greater scale across multiple waste streams.
• European Metal Recycling (EMR): Global scrap metal and recycling group with significant European operations in ferrous, non-ferrous, and electronic scrap processing. Comparable in that it buys, sorts and processes mixed metal-bearing scrap including electronics, though as part of a much larger portfolio.
• Aurubis AG: European copper producer and one of the world's largest recyclers of copper, precious metals and other non-ferrous metals from complex feedstocks including electronics. Comparable in non-ferrous and precious-metal recovery but a vertically integrated smelter/refiner rather than an ITAD-style collector.
• Veolia Environmental Services (Recycling & Waste Europe): European environmental services operator with a substantial hazardous and electronic waste collection and treatment network, including licensed e-waste recycling in multiple EU member states. Comparable in service portfolio and EU regulatory environment but operating at a much larger scale.

Direct peers

• Kuusakoski Oy: Finnish-headquartered metals recycler with operations across the Nordics and Baltics, offering e-waste, scrap metal and electronic materials recovery. Already a documented partner of Kat Metal Estonia and directly comparable on geography, services and customer base.
• Sims Lifecycle Services: IT Asset Disposition (ITAD) and electronics recycling business of Sims Metal Management, active across North America, Europe and Asia with secure data destruction and asset recovery services. Directly comparable on the ITAD/data destruction component of Kat Metal's offering.

Emerging players

• MBA Polymers Inc. US-founded specialist recycler producing engineering plastics recovered from end-of-life electronics and appliances. Adjacent to Kat Metal's e-waste processing niche, focused on a different output stream (plastics vs. precious metals).

Regional players

• MBA Polymers NL / Reciplas equivalent operators: Regional e-waste recyclers active in Western/Southern Europe comparable to Kat Metal in service mix (collection, secure destruction, recovery) but serving different country markets with no direct Estonian overlap.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/kat-metal-estonia

Compliance5 records

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 Kat Metal Estonia