Prime Materials Recovery, Inc. (PMR), announced that it is buying an SCR copper rod system from Southwire for installation at its subsidiary, IMC - Metals America, LLC (IMC), in Shelby, North Carolina.

A press release said that the new line—the SCR 4500— will be installed in a purpose-built plant at the existing site, and mark the business’s entry into the ETP copper rod market. Sitework is expected to begin in the third quarter of 2023 and bring 75-80 new jobs to Cleveland County, North Carolina.

PMR noted that in a separate initiative, IMC, one of North America’s largest producers of oxygen-free (OF) copper, will be increasing its copper rod production capacity with the purchase and installation of a new line from Upcast OY based in Pori, Finland.

“We are extremely pleased to be partnering with industry leaders like Southwire and Upcast OY with these initiatives,” said PMR CEO Bernie Schilberg. “We look forward to these successful projects and years of effectively serving our customers and these markets.”

Per PMR, each month it processes and brokers in excess of 35 million pounds of nonferrous metals at its facilities. It also actively participates in the global metal market via its import and export capabilities. PMR and its holding company represent one of the largest nonferrous and polymer merchants, processors, and fabricators in the United States. Based in East Hartford, Connecticut, the business includes facilities in Canastota, New York; South Windsor and Willimantic, Connecticut; Jersey City, New Jersey; Hickory and Shelby, North Caroline; Orangeburg, South Carolina; Miami, Florida; and Wilmington, Delaware.

The SCR-4500 system is designed for a production rate of 35 metric tons per hour of eight mm rod. The project includes the design of all operating equipment from a skip cart furnace loader to a finished rod handling system. The system will include an 11 stand Morgan “No Twist^®” rolling mill, furnished by Primetals Technologies.

“We would like to welcome IMC into the SCR family and look forward to many years of successful collaboration,” said Mark Roden, Southwire’s vice president of SCR Technologies. “It is through our continued support and the SCR Technology Pool that this relationship will continue to grow for many years to come.”