OrthoMetals
OrthoMetals is a Dutch family-owned metal recycling company that collects, sorts, and recycles residual metals from crematoria across 32 countries, returning net proceeds to its 1,300+ crematorium clients via its proprietary 'Crecycling' process.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1997
- HeadquartersMeppel, Netherlands
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What OrthoMetals does
OrthoMetals B.V., founded in 1997 in the Netherlands and headquartered in Meppel, is a specialized metal recycling company serving the cremation industry. The company collects residual metals left after cremation—including orthopedic implants (titanium, cobalt-chromium, stainless steel), coffin hardware, and personal effects—from crematoria, sorts them at in-house facilities, sells them to certified smelteries, and remits net proceeds back to crematoria after deducting a processing fee. Crematoria typically donate these proceeds to charitable causes.
OrthoMetals' core offering is the proprietary 'Crecycling' process, developed over 25 years and protected as an international trademark. The process combines specialist containers placed at customer sites, in-house logistics and collection vehicles, multi-phase sorting on custom-engineered sorting lines, ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 14001 documented handling, and smelting via certified partners. A customer-facing digital portal provides real-time tracking of collections, historical data, invoicing, and process transparency. The company also operates an Innovation Centre opened in June 2024 at its new Meppel headquarters to support continued R&D in sorting machinery and process automation.
OrthoMetals generates revenue by taking a processing fee on the metal sales it transacts. It sells directly to crematoria via regional account managers across 32 countries on five continents, with named country leads in Spain, UK, France, Sweden, Czech Republic, Australia, Italy, and the USA. The firm serves over 1,300 crematorium customers globally, has approximately 39 employees, and is family-controlled with second-generation leadership (Hidde Verberne and Jan-Willem Gabriëls). Its US operations are conducted through Orthometals Americas LLC, a 2022 joint venture with ICD Alloys & Metals.
OrthoMetals firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- OrthoMetals
- Legal name
- Orthometals B.V.
- Website
- https://orthometals.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1997
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- OrthoMetals is a Dutch family-owned metal recycling company that collects, sorts, and recycles residual metals from crematoria across 32 countries, returning net proceeds to its 1,300+ crematorium clients via its proprietary 'Crecycling' process.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
OrthoMetals industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Crematorium Metal Recycling Services
- NAICS
- Materials Recovery Facilities (562920)
- SIC
- Wholesale-Metals & Minerals (No Petroleum) (5050), Secondary Smelting & Refining Of Nonferrous Metals (3341)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Scrap Metal Collection, Logistics & Aggregation (Yards, Roll-off, Container Programs) (IMAKAMAK)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Non-Ferrous Scrap Processing & Brokerage (Aluminum, Copper, Brass/Bronze, Lead, Zinc, Nickel) (IMAKAMAB), Ferrous Scrap Processing & Brokerage (Steel & Cast Iron) (IMAKAMAA), Metals Recycling & Processing (Ferrous/Non-Ferrous) (BPALADAF), Scrap Collection, Brokerage & Trading (Dealers, Aggregators, Exporters) (EUAIAJAH)
Keywords
Where OrthoMetals is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Meppel
- HQ country
- Netherlands
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices3 records
Markets served
OrthoMetals business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Operations, Personnel, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Metal recycling processing fee: Orthometals collects metals from crematoria and sells them to smelteries after sorting. The company deducts a processing fee from the revenue generated by selling the sorted metals, then remits the net amount to the crematorium. Crematoria typically use these funds to support charitable causes.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels4 records
OrthoMetals product offering
Product offeringCore offering
OrthoMetals collects, sorts, and recycles metals that remain after cremation (orthopedic implants, cobalt chromium, titanium, stainless steel, and ferrous metals) on behalf of crematoria worldwide. The company places specialist containers at customer sites, dispatches its own drivers to collect metals on a scheduled basis, processes the metals through in-house developed sorting lines, sells them to certified smelting partners, and remits net revenue to the crematorium after deducting a processing fee. The end-to-end Crecycling process is documented per ISO 9001 standards and supported by a digital customer portal for real-time tracking.
Product overview
Orthometals operates a single unified service called 'Crecycling' — a specialized metal recycling process for crematoria developed entirely in-house over 25 years. The core offering consists of the Crecycling process itself, supported by a digital tracking portal for customers and a dedicated Innovation Center for R&D. The company collects metal remains from crematoria globally, sorts and processes them at facilities in the Netherlands and USA, and returns proceeds to clients. Orthometals holds ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certifications and serves crematoria across 32 countries.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Crecycling Metal Recycling Service Proprietary end-to-end metal recycling service for crematoria that collects residual metals (orthopedic implants, cobalt chromium, titanium, stainless steel, ferrous metals) from cremation sites, sorts and processes them, sells them to certified smelting partners, and remits net proceeds to the crematorium after deducting a processing fee. Documented under ISO 9001 and served across 32 countries.
- Digital Tracking Portal Customer-facing digital environment that lets crematoria view historical collection data, access documents and invoices, compare collections, and monitor real-time process status of recent collections, with every step in the Crecycling process monitored for safety and transparency.
Quantifiable outcome
- Recovered metals from cremation have a CO2 footprint of only 1/6th compared to newly mined metals
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use OrthoMetals
Customer profileNamed customers1 record
Segments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
OrthoMetals technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
OrthoMetals partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- European Cremation Network (ECN)coreOrthometals is the proud host of the 2025 European Cremation Network (ECN) conference, held 5-7 June in Zwolle and Meppel, Netherlands. The conference brings together cremation and funeral industry professionals for knowledge sharing, networking, and innovation discussions. The event was combined with the official opening of Orthometals' new headquarters and Innovation Centre.
- ICD Alloys & MetalscoreIn 2022, Orthometals established Orthometals Americas LLC in partnership with ICD Alloys & Metals to serve the entire US market. This partnership enables Orthometals to operate sorting facilities in the USA alongside its Netherlands headquarters, expanding its global footprint to cover the American continent.
- Landelijke Vereniging voor Crematoria (LVC)coreOrthometals began its partnership in 1997 with the Dutch National Association of Crematoria (LVC), starting with 75 crematoria in the Netherlands. This partnership was the foundation of Orthometals' business and enabled its expansion into international markets.
- VaillantfondsminorThe Vaillantfonds is the charitable foundation of the Dutch National Association of Crematoria (LVC). Crematoria supported by Orthometals often donate the recovered revenue to charitable causes through this fund or similar national/local charities.
- Ben Ouaniche / MacroroomminorFilmmaker and video artist Ben Ouaniche (Macroroom), known for work with Coca-Cola, Netflix, Manfrotto, and Gorilla Watches, was engaged to develop a cinematic brand film showcasing the Crecycling process.
- More (Branding Agency)minorOrthometals partnered with More, a branding agency, to develop the Crecycling brand identity, including the website redesign and interior design for the new Innovation Centre.
- Ilya Lindenberg and Giovanni DubiniminorAward-winning animator Ilya Lindenberg and film composer Giovanni Dubini created short animated Crecycling brand content for Orthometals' social media platforms.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves13 records
Expansion highlights5 records
OrthoMetals competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Boliden: Boliden is a Swedish metals and mining company with significant non-ferrous smelting and recycling operations. Like Aurubis, they operate downstream of where Orthometals' sorting process ends, making them a buyer of Orthometals' output and a comparable participant in the European scrap-to-metal value chain.
- Umicore: Umicore is a global materials technology and recycling company that recovers and refines precious and non-ferrous metals from industrial scrap. Their recycling business shares the circular-economy positioning and feedstock-quality focus that defines Orthometals' value proposition.
- Stena Recycling: Stena Recycling is one of Europe's largest recycling groups, handling metals, electronics, and industrial waste streams. Their collection and pre-processing infrastructure for metal scrap parallels Orthometals' in-house logistics and sorting model.
- Aurubis: Aurubis is one of the world's largest non-ferrous metals recyclers and smelters, processing copper and other non-ferrous scrap into refined products. While Orthometals stops at pre-smelter processing, Aurubis represents the downstream buyer of Orthometals' sorted non-ferrous feedstock and shares the same circular-economy thesis.
Emerging players
- Befesa: Befesa is a European specialty recycler focused on steel dust and aluminium salt slags, with a niche-focused, sustainability-driven proposition similar to Orthometals' positioning. Both companies operate focused recycling niches with circular-economy value propositions.
- Heraeus Precious Metals: Heraeus operates a precious metals recycling and refining business recovering gold, silver, platinum, and other specialty metals from industrial scrap. Their focus on high-purity specialty metal recovery from niche streams is thematically aligned with Orthometals' approach to specialty metal recovery from cremation.
Direct peers
- EMR Group (European Metal Recycling): EMR is the largest metal recycler in the UK and a major European player, operating collection, sorting, and processing of ferrous and non-ferrous scrap for resale to smelters and end markets. Orthometals operates a focused version of this business model in the crematorium niche, with the same core economics of collection → sort → sell to smelters.
- Sims Metal Management: Sims is a global metal recycling company that collects, processes, and resells ferrous and non-ferrous scrap metals to industrial customers worldwide. The business model (collection logistics → proprietary sorting → sale to smelters) is the closest scaled analog to Orthometals' Crecycling operations.
- Schnitzer Steel Industries / Radius Recycling: Radius Recycling is a major US metal recycler operating ferrous and non-ferrous scrap collection yards, processing facilities, and mill services. Their vertically integrated model of scrap aggregation and resale is highly comparable to Orthometals' collection-and-processing operations.
Others
- ICD Alloys & Metals: ICD Alloys & Metals is Orthometals' JV partner for US operations (Orthometals Americas LLC, 2022). They process and trade specialty non-ferrous metals, making them a direct collaborator rather than a competitor - they provide the US sorting infrastructure that enables Orthometals' transatlantic expansion.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
OrthoMetals social profiles
Digital presenceOrthoMetals compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance3 records
OrthoMetals financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
OrthoMetals leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
OrthoMetals subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
OrthoMetals funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
OrthoMetals 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 OrthoMetals
What does OrthoMetals do?
OrthoMetals collects, sorts, and recycles metals that remain after cremation (orthopedic implants, cobalt chromium, titanium, stainless steel, and ferrous metals) on behalf of crematoria worldwide. The company places specialist containers at customer sites, dispatches its own drivers to collect metals on a scheduled basis, processes the metals through in-house developed sorting lines, sells them to certified smelting partners, and remits net revenue to the crematorium after deducting a processing fee. The end-to-end Crecycling process is documented per ISO 9001 standards and supported by a digital customer portal for real-time tracking.
Is OrthoMetals a public or private company?
OrthoMetals is a private company. It is classified as family owned and is currently operating.
When was OrthoMetals founded?
OrthoMetals was founded in 1997. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is OrthoMetals based?
OrthoMetals is headquartered in Meppel, Netherlands, in the Europe region.
How does OrthoMetals make money?
One revenue line is on record: metal recycling processing fee.
Who are OrthoMetals's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Boliden, Umicore, Stena Recycling and Aurubis. Emerging players are Befesa and Heraeus Precious Metals. Direct peers are EMR Group (European Metal Recycling), Sims Metal Management and Schnitzer Steel Industries / Radius Recycling. ICD Alloys & Metals is listed as an others.
Does OrthoMetals have an API?
No public API is recorded for OrthoMetals.
What industry is OrthoMetals in?
OrthoMetals's product category is Crematorium Metal Recycling Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is IMAKAMAK, Scrap Metal Collection, Logistics & Aggregation (Yards, Roll-off, Container Programs), with a secondary code of IMAKAMAB, Non-Ferrous Scrap Processing & Brokerage (Aluminum, Copper, Brass/Bronze, Lead, Zinc, Nickel). Its NAICS code is 562920 and its SIC code is 5050.