Gerdau Buys Metal Recycling Firm Cycle Systems

Gerdau Long Steel North America has bought certain operating assets of metal recycling firm Cycle Systems Inc. for an undisclosed amount.

Tampa, Fla.-based Gerdau said in a news release the purchase of the Roanoke, Va.-based Cycle Systems expands the company’s presence in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States.

Cycle Systems operates locations throughout central and western Virginia, including a shredder and several feed yards. The company processed nearly 185,000 tons of scrap materials in 2011. Its facilities are in Charlottesville, Covington, Harrisonburg/Broadway, Lynchburg, Martinsville, Pulaski, Roanoke, South Boston and Stuarts Draft/Waynesboro, according to its website.

 “This purchase supports our goal to minimize billet cost by having scrap sources closer to our steel mills,” said Guilherme Johannpeter, president of Gerdau’s North American long steel division. “It will be a great advantage for our mill in Petersburg, Va., and other nearby operations.”