Recycling Aluminum Scrap
Scope and Structure of Aluminum Trading Operations
Interco operates a large-scale scrap aluminum trading, processing, and recycling business focused on buying aluminum in straight loads and mixed loads. Interco buys scrap aluminum every day in multiple forms and grades, often combined within the same shipment. The operation identifies, separates, processes, and settles each aluminum stream independently within those loads, without averaging values or collapsing material into simplified categories.
This structure allows Interco to manage complexity without sacrificing accuracy. Aluminum is never treated as a single homogenous commodity when it arrives mixed with other forms or grades. Instead, each stream is handled on its own merits, ensuring settlement reflects actual material value rather than convenience-driven assumptions.
Material Evaluation Across Diverse Aluminum Forms
The aluminum business at Interco handles a wide range of preparation levels and conditions. Material arrives clean and dirty, coated and uncoated, dense and lightweight, prime and obsolete. Interco evaluates aluminum based on physical and metallurgical characteristics and prices it accordingly. Processing decisions follow material composition and form, not convenience.
This evaluation philosophy ensures that aluminum value is preserved from intake through settlement, even when shipments contain variation that would otherwise encourage averaging or simplification.
Core Characteristics of Aluminum Intake and Evaluation
- Daily purchasing activity that accepts both single-grade shipments and loads containing multiple aluminum types without forcing simplification.
- Material assessment driven by observable physical condition and metallurgical composition rather than convenience-based grading shortcuts.
- Intake processes that distinguish clean versus contaminated material, coated versus uncoated surfaces, and dense versus lightweight aluminum.
- Pricing outcomes that reflect preparation level, moisture, and contamination instead of blending dissimilar material values together.
- Independent identification and valuation of each aluminum stream contained within a single inbound shipment.
These principles guide all downstream processing decisions and ensure consistency regardless of shipment complexity.
Handling High-Volume and Specialized Aluminum Streams
High-volume aluminum such as used beverage cans moves through Interco continuously. Interco evaluates moisture, contamination, and preparation level at intake and reflects those factors directly in grading and settlement. At scale, small variances affect value, and Interco maintains discipline so volume does not distort outcomes.
Cast aluminum represents a significant trading and processing category. Interco separates cast aluminum by alloy family and physical form so incompatible material never combines. Silicon-rich castings, lower-silicon material, and mixed cast forms follow distinct handling paths, preventing mispricing and avoiding melt problems caused by improper blending.
Wrought aluminum trades differently, and Interco handles it accordingly. Extrusions and sheet aluminum arrive in wide variation, often with fasteners, coatings, sealants, or composite attachments. Interco accounts for those conditions during processing instead of treating them as exceptions. Extrusions remain extrusions. Sheet remains sheet. The operation preserves consistency rather than collapsing everything into generic aluminum buckets.
Specialized Aluminum Streams and Processing Approaches
- Continuous handling of high-volume aluminum streams such as used beverage cans, with grading adjusted based on moisture, contamination, and preparation level.
- Separation of cast aluminum by alloy family and physical form to prevent incompatible blending and downstream melt complications.
- Dedicated processing paths for wrought aluminum that preserve distinctions between extrusions and sheet despite attachments or surface treatments.
- Direct evaluation of fabricated and architectural aluminum based on physical modification, coatings, and realistic upgrade potential.
- Intentional breakdown of automotive aluminum assemblies so aluminum trades as aluminum rather than being absorbed into mixed material categories.
Fabricated and architectural aluminum enters the flow bent, drilled, coated, or assembled. Interco evaluates these conditions directly during intake and processing. When material can be upgraded, Interco upgrades it. When it cannot, Interco prices it based on condition without blanket assumptions.
Automotive aluminum flows through Interco as part of normal trading activity. Wheels, rims, radiators, heat exchangers, and finned assemblies arrive with inserts, joints, coatings, and attachments as standard features. Interco breaks these assemblies down deliberately so aluminum content trades as aluminum rather than disappearing into mixed handling.
Processing Discipline for Mixed and Complex Loads
Electrical and industrial aluminum often trades intertwined with other metals. Aluminum conductors arrive insulated, armored, reinforced, or combined with copper and steel. Interco separates aluminum conductors based on construction and metal content so aluminum value remains intact and settlements remain clean.
Lightweight aluminum streams, including foil and other low-density material, require deliberate handling in trading and recycling. Interco evaluates bulk density, coatings, and laminations directly and routes material based on consolidation and handling characteristics.
Machining scrap adds another layer of complexity. Turnings and chips arrive wet, oily, fine, coarse, alloyed, and mixed. Interco evaluates turnings by alloy and condition and applies preparation steps that improve density and handling. The operation treats turnings as a defined aluminum stream and prices them accordingly.
What differentiates Interco in scrap aluminum trading is tolerance for load-level complexity without loss of accuracy. A single inbound shipment may contain multiple aluminum forms alongside other nonferrous material. Interco identifies each aluminum stream within that load, processes it correctly, and settles each independently. Mixed loads never result in averaged pricing.
Logistics, Data Tracking, and Settlement Accuracy
Execution at this scale requires coordinated movement. The Interco logistics department supports aluminum trading flows across truckload, less-than-truckload, rail, and containerized freight. Transportation aligns with processing capacity and material flow, not artificial constraints.
Data accuracy remains an operational requirement. The proprietary ERP platform tracks aluminum classifications, weights, processing steps, and settlements in real time. When multiple aluminum streams exist within one shipment, the system captures and values each stream separately. Sellers see exactly how material classified and how settlement occurred.
Operational Systems Supporting Accuracy at Scale
- Logistics coordination that aligns truckload, partial load, rail, and containerized freight with processing capacity and material flow.
- Real-time system tracking of aluminum classifications, weights, processing actions, and settlement outcomes.
- Separate capture and valuation of multiple aluminum streams originating from a single inbound shipment.
- Integration of aluminum recovery from batteries, electronics, equipment, and complex assemblies rather than losing aluminum in mixed handling.
- Execution standards that remain consistent regardless of shipment complexity, volume, or the number of aluminum streams received together.
Aluminum trading at Interco integrates with other recycling and processing activity. Batteries, electronics, equipment, and complex assemblies contain aluminum components. Interco separates, processes, and trades that aluminum rather than losing it in mixed handling.
Consistency Under Complexity in Scrap Aluminum Trading
The scrap aluminum business at Interco operates on consistency under complexity. Interco buys, processes, and recycles straight aluminum loads accurately. Interco buys, processes, and recycles mixed aluminum loads accurately. Execution remains stable regardless of how many aluminum streams arrive together.
For organizations selling scrap aluminum, Interco offers a trading, processing, and recycling operation designed to handle volume, variation, and accuracy simultaneously. Aluminum moves through Interco without averaging, without shortcuts, and without surprises.