Radius Recycling

Radius Recycling, Inc. is an American scrap-metal recycling and steel-manufacturing company headquartered in Portland, Oregon. The business traces its origins to the Alaska Junk Company, a one-person scrap-metal operation established by Russian immigrant Sam Schnitzer in 1906. It later developed into Schnitzer Steel Industries, a publicly traded recycling and steel company, before adopting the Radius Recycling name in July 2023 and being acquired by Toyota Tsusho Corporation in July 2025. The company collects, processes, and markets ferrous and non-ferrous scrap from a wide range of sources. Its recycling streams include end-of-life vehicles, rail cars, household appliances, industrial machinery, and other discarded metal products. Through its auto-recycling operations, including the Pick-n-Pull chain, Radius also dismantles vehicles and sells used automotive parts to consumers and commercial customers. Its metals-recycling network processes scrap for use as industrial feedstock rather than allowing the material to enter the waste stream. Radius combines recycling with primary steelmaking through Cascade Steel Rolling Mills in McMinnville, Oregon. Cascade Steel produces steel from recycled ferrous material, linking the company's collection and processing operations with the manufacture of finished steel products. This integrated model gives Radius a role in both the recovery of scrap and its conversion into new steel. The company's expansion was built through a mixture of acquisitions and internal development. Important steps included the purchase of Cascade Steel Rolling Mills in 1984, the acquisition of service centers from U.S. Steel in 1986, the purchase of Pick-n-Pull in 2003, and additional acquisitions in metals recycling and automotive recycling during the 2000s and early 2010s. Schnitzer Steel became a public company through an initial public offering in 1993. Radius operates 103 recycling facilities according to the referenced company description: 50 Pick-n-Pull automotive recycling locations and 53 other metals-recycling facilities. Its footprint covers 26 U.S. states, two Canadian provinces, and Puerto Rico. The company therefore serves a geographically distributed supply chain involving scrap suppliers, dismantlers, industrial customers, steel users, and consumers seeking used vehicle parts. The Radius name was introduced in 2023 as a rebranding of Schnitzer Steel Industries. The rebrand expressed the company's focus on circular materials management and recycling while retaining its established operating businesses. In July 2025, Toyota Tsusho acquired the company, ending its period as an independent public company and placing it within the Toyota Tsusho corporate group. Radius remains active as a recycling and steel-manufacturing business, although detailed post-acquisition management and operating arrangements are not specified in the available reference material.

Radius Recycling began in 1906 as the Alaska Junk Company, founded in Portland by Russian immigrant Sam Schnitzer as a one-person scrap-metal recycling operation. The business established the foundation for a family-associated recycling enterprise that later expanded beyond local scrap collection into automotive dismantling, industrial metals processing, and steel production. Sam Schnitzer's son Harold Schnitzer worked at the company between 1947 and 1950. The business's later transformation accelerated when it entered steel manufacturing. In 1984, the company acquired Cascade Steel Rolling Mills, a steel mill in McMinnville, Oregon. This acquisition gave the enterprise a downstream manufacturing operation capable of converting recycled ferrous material into finished steel. Two years later, in 1986, Schnitzer purchased eight service centers from U.S. Steel for its Metra Steel subsidiary, extending its position in the steel-distribution and processing chain. Schnitzer Steel became a public company through an initial public offering in 1993. Public-company status supported a further period of geographic and operational expansion. In January 2003, the company acquired Pick-n-Pull, an automotive salvage-yard chain where consumers could obtain parts from scrapped vehicles. Pick-n-Pull became a significant part of the company's consumer-facing business and eventually comprised 50 locations within the wider recycling network. The company continued to add recycling assets during the middle of the decade. It acquired GreenLeaf Auto Recyclers in October 2005, although that business was later sold in 2009. The same month, it acquired Regional Recycling, a metals-recycling company with 10 locations in the southeastern United States. In December 2006, it acquired Advanced Recycling. Further additions followed in 2010 and 2011: Golden Recycling & Salvage in Billings, Montana, was acquired in April 2010; State Line Scrap in Attleboro, Massachusetts, was acquired in January 2011; and Ferrill's Auto Parts of Seattle was acquired in February 2011. The company also experienced governance and compliance challenges. In December 2007, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charged former chairman and chief executive Robert Philip with violations of bribery laws under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, relating to dealings with Chinese steel mills. In November 2008, Tamara Lundgren became chief executive officer and John Carter became chairman. In January 2010, members of the Schnitzer family sold shares, reducing their ownership of the company to below 20 percent and marking a further change in the ownership structure. In 2013, the company moved its headquarters to KOIN Tower in downtown Portland. The business continued to operate through a network combining scrap collection, vehicle dismantling, metals processing, used-parts sales, and steel manufacturing at Cascade Steel. Its activities ultimately covered 26 U.S. states, two Canadian provinces, and Puerto Rico. The referenced company description identifies 103 facilities, consisting of 50 Pick-n-Pull automotive recycling locations and 53 other metals-recycling facilities. Schnitzer Steel Industries changed its corporate name to Radius Recycling in July 2023. The new identity placed greater emphasis on recycling and circular use of materials while retaining the company's long-established operating businesses. In July 2025, Toyota Tsusho acquired Radius Recycling. The transaction moved the company from independent public-company ownership into the Toyota Tsusho group. Radius continues to be described as a recycling and steel-manufacturing business, but the available material does not identify its post-acquisition executive team or provide a detailed account of its subsequent strategy.

1. 2025Acquired by Toyota Tsusho

   Toyota Tsusho acquires Radius Recycling in July, making it part of the Toyota Tsusho group.

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2. 2023Corporate rebrand to Radius Recycling

   Schnitzer Steel Industries adopts the Radius Recycling name.

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3. 2013Headquarters moved to KOIN Tower

   The company relocates its headquarters to KOIN Tower in downtown Portland.

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4. 2008New chief executive and chairman

   Tamara Lundgren becomes chief executive officer and John Carter becomes chairman.

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5. 2003Pick-n-Pull acquired

   The company acquires the Pick-n-Pull chain of automotive salvage yards and used-parts operations.

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6. 1993Initial public offering

   Schnitzer Steel becomes a publicly traded company.

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7. 1986Metra Steel expands through U.S. Steel service centers

   Schnitzer purchases eight service centers from U.S. Steel for its Metra Steel subsidiary.

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8. 1984Cascade Steel Rolling Mills acquired

   The company enters steel manufacturing through the acquisition of Cascade Steel Rolling Mills in McMinnville, Oregon.

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9. 1906Alaska Junk Company is founded

   Sam Schnitzer establishes a one-person scrap-metal recycling business in Portland, Oregon.

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A vertically integrated circular-materials company that combines scrap collection, vehicle dismantling, metals processing, used-parts retail, and steel manufacturing.

• Ferrous scrap metalMetal recycling

  Radius recovers and processes iron- and steel-containing material from end-of-life vehicles, rail cars, appliances, industrial machinery, and other scrap sources. The processed material is supplied as feedstock for steelmaking and other industrial uses.

• Non-ferrous scrap metalsMetal recycling

  The company handles non-ferrous metals recovered from vehicles, equipment, appliances, and industrial scrap. These materials form part of its broader metals-recycling operations across the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico.

• Used automotive partsAutomotive recycling2003

  Through Pick-n-Pull and related automotive recycling operations, Radius dismantles end-of-life vehicles and makes usable components available to consumers and other buyers. The business combines parts recovery with the recycling of the vehicle's remaining metal.

• Recycled steelSteel manufacturing1984

  Cascade Steel Rolling Mills in McMinnville, Oregon, manufactures steel using recycled ferrous material. The mill represents the company's steelmaking capability and connects its scrap-recovery operations with the production of new steel.

• 2025Acquisition by Toyota TsushoM&A

  Toyota Tsusho pursued ownership of the established North American recycling and steel company.

  What changed. Toyota Tsusho acquired Radius Recycling in July 2025.

  Aftermath. Radius became part of the Toyota Tsusho group and ceased to operate as an independent public company.

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• 2023Rebrand as Radius RecyclingStrategy

  The company revised its corporate identity after operating for decades under the Schnitzer Steel name.

  What changed. Schnitzer Steel Industries changed its name to Radius Recycling.

  Aftermath. The business continued its recycling, automotive dismantling, and steel-manufacturing operations under the Radius identity.

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• 2003Acquire Pick-n-PullM&A

  The company sought to expand its automotive recycling and consumer used-parts activities.

  What changed. It acquired the Pick-n-Pull chain of automobile scrap yards.

  Aftermath. Pick-n-Pull became a major operating network within the company's automotive recycling business.

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• 1984Acquire Cascade Steel Rolling MillsM&A

  The company expanded from scrap recycling into steel manufacturing.

  What changed. It purchased Cascade Steel Rolling Mills in McMinnville, Oregon.

  Aftermath. Cascade Steel became the company's steel-manufacturing operation and remained part of its integrated recycling model.

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• 2007Foreign Corrupt Practices Act allegations involving former executiveControversy

  The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charged former chairman and chief executive Robert Philip with violating anti-bribery laws in connection with dealings with Chinese steel mills.

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• 2025Toyota Tsusho acquires Radius Recycling

  Toyota Tsusho acquired Radius Recycling in July 2025, bringing the recycling and steel-manufacturing company into the Toyota Tsusho group.

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• 2023Schnitzer Steel Industries changes its name to Radius Recycling

  The company adopted the Radius Recycling name, replacing the Schnitzer Steel Industries corporate identity while continuing its recycling, automotive dismantling, and steel-manufacturing activities.

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1. Radius Recycling