The Rocky Mountain Region’s premier industrial scrap metal processor Atlas Metal & Iron Corp. is testimony to the significance of recycling…even before being GREEN was a worldwide cause.
The family-owned and operated business got its start in the mid-1950s when Don Rosen started a small metal recycling business in Denver. Mr. Rosen sensed the need in post-WWII Denver for scrapping on a greater level. The city was busting at the seams with urban reconstruction and new construction spreading into the suburbs. He partnered with his dad and two other in-laws to purchase one-acre lot at 3rd St. and Walnut St. to open their own metal recycling plant.
Don Rosen didn’t just start a business, he launched a family enterprise that currently employs his children and numerous grand-children.
“We all sincerely love this business,” says Ben Rosen, Vice President of Non-Ferrous. “Working together has brought our family even closer.” Family values are one of the top three drivers at Atlas along with friendly customer service and extremely competitive pricing.
The essential recycling service has evolved over six decades into a sophisticated commodities market. Scrap isn’t waste; recycling isn’t disposable. “Our recycling methods put the metals back into the economic stream,” adds Rosen.
Scrap metal recycling is a $29.9B business in the US market. Prices fluctuate daily with the market, so Atlas welcomes customers to call in advance for pricing.
Atlas employs over 100 workers in its plants in both Denver and Aurora. The two operations sit on a total of 14 acres. Proper safety training, environmental screening and highly efficient operations set Atlas apart from all other metal recyclers.
Atlas purchases both nonferrous and ferrous scrap metal including aluminum, brass, copper, lead, stainless steel, zinc, cast iron, and steel. The incoming scrap metal is baled, cut, chopped, sheared and sorted in an environmentally responsible manner to meet the stringent requirements of multinational end users. The Denver plant manufactures pure copper chops for domestic and foreign markets used in metallurgical and plating applications in nearly every major industry: transportation, engineering, machinery, electrical, building, automotive, computer and even exterior paint.
What started as a small plan has evolved to lead the charge of recycling commodities. It’s good to be GREEN; better to be Atlas.