Sims Metal Management

Sims Metal Management was established in 1917 by Albert Sims, a recycled metals dealer in Sydney, Australia. The business was incorporated as Albert G. Sims Limited in 1928 and was renamed Simsmetal Limited in November 1968. In November 1970, Sims merged with Consolidated Metal Products Limited and the merged Australian Securities Exchange listed company was named Sims Consolidated Limited. In May 1979, Sims Consolidated Limited was acquired by Peko-Wallsend and delisted.

In February 1988, Sims entered the US scrap recycling market through the acquisition of LMC Corporation, located in the state of California. In August 1988, Sims Consolidated Limited was included in the purchase of Peko-Wallsend by North Limited. In 1989, North Limited sold the business to Elders Resources NZFP Limited, a diversified resources company. In 1990, Carter Holt Harvey made a successful takeover bid for Elders Resources NZFP Limited and divested that company's non-forestry businesses, which included Sims. Sims changed its name to Simsmetal Limited in 1990 and relisted on the Australian Securities Exchange in November 1991.

In August 1992, Sims expanded its presence in New Zealand through the merger of its business there with the ferrous recycling operations owned by Pacific Steel Industries, a Fletcher Building company. This joint venture, known as Sims Pacific Metals Limited, operates throughout New Zealand.

In February 1995, Sims acquired a 51% ownership interest in Sims Bird Limited in the UK, which was its first major entry in the UK scrap metal market. The company acquired the remaining 49% of Sims Bird Limited in May 1998. In April 2000, Sims acquired Phillip Services (Europe) Limited in the UK, which significantly increased its presence in that market.

In November 2002, Simsmetal Limited changed its name to Sims Group Limited. In October 2005, the company merged with entities operating certain of the recycling businesses of Hugo Neu Corporation, a privately owned US corporation. This merger provided Sims with a significant presence in southern California, New York and New Jersey.

In September 2007, Sims sold its Southern California business into a joint venture with Adams Steel. The joint venture, SA Recycling, is operated by Adams Steel and is one of the largest recyclers in the US operating over one hundred fifty facilities in fifteen states.

On 14 March 2008, Sims issued 53.5 million American depositary receipts (ADRs), with a face value of A$1.5 billion, to purchase the issued capital of Metal Management Inc. (MMI) in the US. MMI was one of the leading full-service scrap metal recyclers in the US, with locations in 17 US states. The acquisition was designed to strengthen Sims' position in the North American scrap recycling market, increase the opportunity to be a supplier of raw materials to US steel mills, and expand its presence in non-ferrous products. The acquisition was complementary, because Sims' operations in North America were primarily export-focused, while MMI's operations were primarily domestic-focused, and included a large non-ferrous recycling business. The acquisition of MMI in March 2008 created the world's leading publicly traded recycling company. In November 2008, shareholders approved the changes of the corporate name to Sims Metal Management Limited.

Metals Recycling

Sims Metal Management buys ferrous metal from metal dealers, peddlers, auto wreckers, demolition firms and others who generate obsolete metal and from manufacturers who generate industrial metal. Ferrous metal is processed for resale using a variety of methods, including sorting, shredding, cutting, torching, baling or breaking. After processing, ferrous recycled metal is sold to end users such as EAF mills, integrated steel mill, foundries and brokers.

Sims sources non-ferrous metals from manufacturers, known as production offcuts, and from generators of electricity, telecommunication service providers and others who generate obsolete metal. Peddlers and metal dealers, who collect from a variety of sources, also deliver material directly to their facilities. In addition, the company generates significant quantities of non-ferrous metal as a byproduct.

Sims Metal Management operates a geographically diverse network of processing facilities, with numerous deep-water port access, supported by an extensive network of feeder yards which source recyclable ferrous and non-ferrous metals. Sims Metal Management today has over 130 physical operations in North America, 57 in Australasia, and more than 37 locations in the United Kingdom and Continental Europe.

Electronics Recycling

Sims Recycling Solutions (SRS) is the company's electronics recycling division. This includes product de-manufacturing and processing operations, and commonly is referred to as e-recycling. SRS offers comprehensive and cost-effective recycling services for “end-of-life” and redundant electrical and electronic equipment and materials, ranging from product assessment to recycling. SRS provides services for original equipment manufacturers, contract equipment manufacturers, suppliers, importers, lease and finance companies, sector organisations and end users to enable them to comply with their responsibilities under relevant environmental regulations, including the European Union's Directive 2002/96/EC on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment, or the WEEE Directive. Additionally, SRS offers business-to-business IT and electronic equipment asset management and recovery service that operates across a global network. The company's services include the management and control of the entire asset management process, including transport, coordination, product identification, asset registration and reporting. SRS offers clients the option of redeployment, reclamation of parts and/or resale and recycling, delivering legal compliance as well as a potential financial return from the resale of refurbished equipment.