Industry News

Mergers & Acquisitions

Sims acquires, plans to divest Houston-area assets

Sims Ltd. has entered into an agreement to purchase the assets of Galena Park, Texas-based Tri Coastal Trading LLC (TCT) for $66.5 million, calling the move a key component in consolidating its Houston operations and significantly reducing its operating cost base.

Australia-based Sims says it also will pursue the sale of its nearby Mayo Shell Road location in Galena Park, about 12 miles from Houston.

The proceeds from the Mayo Shell sale substantially will fund the acquisition of TCT, according to Sims, which operates metals recycling facilities in North America, Australia and New Zealand and electronics recycling services in those countries and in Europe.

TCT ships in excess of 350,000 metric tons of processed obsolete scrap annually. In 2024, the company secured a long-term storage and handling agreement for a dedicated dock at the Enstructure Richardson Woodhouse facility at the Port of Houston site in Galena Park.

TCT says it trades scrap in the United States, Mexico and overseas, having grown into one of the largest independent recyclers in Texas, with more than $350 million in revenue and annual tonnage exceeding 800,000 tons.

Sims says the consolidation of its Houston ferrous operation into the TCT location and the transfer of the TCT Enstructure LLC service agreement to Sims are key components of the transaction.

“We have been looking for a solution to our Houston business for some time,” Sims CEO and Managing Director Stephen Mikkelsen says. “Houston is the fourth-largest city in the U.S., and Texas’ GDP [gross domestic product] is $2.5 trillion, the second largest in the U.S. While we have made significant progress in turning our Houston business around over the last two years, its ultimate potential was always hampered by the lack of a deep-sea dock, which would have only been achievable with significant capital expenditure at our Mayo Shell site. TCT is an ideal solution to this problem.”

The Mayo Shell Road site is a surplus, nonoperating land asset, the marketing and sale of which could take up to 18 months to complete.

The moves also are designed to help Sims expand its market share of ferrous scrap sourced in Texas.

Concrete & Aggregates

Amrize closes PB Materials acquisition

Amrize has acquired PB Materials Holdings Inc., a leading aggregates business with a complementary ready-mix concrete network in the Texas region. The deal closed in February.

Odessa, Texas-based PB Materials has more than 50 years of aggregates reserves to serve demand.

The deal adds 26 operational sites into the Amrize network, extending the Chicago-based firm’s operations in the southern region as infrastructure, energy projects, data centers and commercial investments drive construction growth.

“I am excited to be expanding our aggregates business to the high-growth west Texas region,” Jan Jenisch, Amrize chairman and CEO, says.

Jenisch added that the milestone “is an important step in our strategy of investing for growth in North America’s most attractive markets. I have great respect for the leadership and expertise of PB Materials and look forward to welcoming their 340 talented teammates to the Amrize family.” 

Amrize says PB Materials brings more than $180 million in annual revenue and significant synergies with its existing operations.

“We are proud to join Amrize and be part of a leading company that is shaping the future of building in America,” PB Materials CEO Christopher Crouch says. “Amrize shares our dedication to employees, customers and the communities we operate in, and we will continue to serve customers across our region with high quality products and services.”

Metals

US steel imports finish 2025 down 12 percent

The volume of semifinished and finished steel imported into the U.S. in 2025 shrank by 12.2 percent, according to Commerce Department statistics collated by the Washington-based American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI).

According to AISI, imports into the U.S. last year were more than 25.3 million tons for finished and semifinished steel combined.

Finished steel imports in 2025 measured about 18.7 million tons, down 16.8 percent compared with 2024. That annual total uses a Steel Import Monitoring and Analysis permits figure for December 2025 finished steel imports, which is subject to minor adjustments.

In 2025, the nations with the highest import volumes as represented by steel import permit applications were Canada (more than 4.5 million tons, down 31 percent), Brazil (nearly 4.1 million tons, down 9 percent) and Mexico (more than 2.87 million tons, down 18 percent).

Although Canada and Mexico are part of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement with the U.S., the Trump administration removed existing steel import tariff exemptions for those countries in early 2025 and increased those tariffs from 25 percent to 50 percent last summer.

The policy led to U.S. mill output that increased steadily in 2025, with domestic steelmakers finishing the year having made 3.4 percent more crude steel compared with 2024.

The policy also seemed to contribute to profitable conditions for recycled-content steelmakers in the U.S. last year.

A breakdown of steel imports by product category and nation AISI released in late January shows only a few exceptions to declining levels of steel imports in the U.S. last year.

From January through November 2025, two of the only steel categories with rising import levels were blooms, billets and slabs (up 2 percent) and oil country goods (up 15.9 percent). Hot-rolled, cold-rolled and several types of bar steel were imported at lower volumes last year compared with 2024.

In addition to Brazil, Canada and Mexico, Japan and Vietnam shipped a double-digit percentage less steel to the U.S. in 2025 relative to 2024.

Demolition

Demo Leaders launches zero-waste program

Demo Leaders, a Los Angeles-based full-service demolition and excavation company, has launched a companywide zero-waste program. The initiative is aimed at reducing the environmental impact of demolition projects.

Established in 2010, Demo Leaders provides residential and commercial demolition services, including house, building, interior, exterior and pool demolitions. In addition to demolition offerings, Demo Leaders provides fire debris removal, grading and excavation, asbestos abatement and more.

The zero-waste program focuses on reusing and recycling demolition materials, particularly predemolition planning and staged material removal, to minimize the amount of waste sent to landfills.

According to Demo Leaders, the decision to implement a program of this nature comes in response to mounting pressure faced by demolition companies in California. The state faces high landfill fees and limited disposal space—particularly within Los Angeles County.

Prioritizing zero-waste practices aims to ensure that resources such as steel, concrete and other recyclable materials are recovered before demolition takes place, the company says.

As the program evolves, Demo Leaders says it plans to regularly assess its effectiveness, ensuring it remains aligned with the company’s environmental goals and industry best practices.