Copper has become one of the defining metals of the modern economy. It powers electric vehicles, renewable energy infrastructure, artificial intelligence, data centers, telecommunications, and nearly every system driving industrial progress. Yet while demand has continued to climb, the United States has spent years rebuilding one of the most critical links in its copper supply chain—domestic secondary copper smelting. For more than two decades, recycled copper collected across the country often found its way overseas for processing while domestic smelting capacity remained limited. The decline of the industry was driven by aging facilities, increasingly demanding environmental regulations, and aggressive global competition, leaving manufacturers increasingly dependent on imported refined copper.

Ames Copper Group was established with a different vision. Operating from Shelby, North Carolina, the company has reintroduced large-scale secondary copper smelting to the United States, transforming discarded copper into high-quality refined products while strengthening domestic manufacturing. Rather than viewing recycled copper as waste, Ames Copper Group treats it as one of the country’s most valuable industrial resources.

“There are two ways to produce copper,” says Bernard Schilberg, CEO of Prime Materials Recovery, the majority shareholder of Ames Copper Group. “You can mine it from the ground, or you can recover it from scrap. Recovering secondary copper is faster, more economical, and significantly more environmentally friendly.”

Recovering copper from secondary sources shapes every part of the business. Manufacturers, wire and cable companies, industrial processors, scrap dealers, reclaimed wiring operations, and recycling facilities all contribute material that would otherwise require additional processing elsewhere. Instead, that copper enters Ames Copper Group’s smelting operation, where it is refined into copper anodes before moving to the next stage of production. Dayne Willis, President, Ames Copper Group and who oversees operations at the Shelby campus, describes the business using a phrase that perfectly captures its purpose. “We’re urban mining experts,” he says. “Copper can be recycled forever. About eighty-five percent of all the copper ever produced is still in service somewhere. We’re taking that material and giving it another life.”

Unlike traditional mining operations that extract ore containing only a small percentage of usable copper, Ames Copper Group begins with material that has already completed much of the journey. Processing recycled copper requires significantly less energy and creates a considerably smaller environmental footprint while accelerating production.

Recycling, however, is only part of what makes the company distinctive. Its greatest advantage lies in the structure of the organization itself. Prime Materials Recovery, one of the nation’s leading secondary copper processors, supplies recyclable material from manufacturers and industrial partners across North America. Allied Metals strengthens that network through imports of secondary copper from Latin America. GNS Scrap purchases recyclable material from independent dealers and local collectors, while Fluoropolymer Resources recovers copper from specialized industrial processing operations.

Few companies operate with this level of continuity across the recycled copper value chain. “There are competitors in every segment of what we do,” says Willis. “But there isn’t another company that offers this level of vertical integration from recycled copper all the way through to finished fabricated products.”

Controlling nearly every stage of production delivers advantages that extend well beyond manufacturing efficiency. Material moves shorter distances, transportation costs are reduced, supply chain disruptions become easier to manage, and customers benefit from greater consistency throughout the production process.

Global market events reinforced just how important that level of control could become. Between 2017 and 2019, China sharply reduced imports of several grades of recycled copper from the United States. Export channels that had supported the industry for years were suddenly disrupted, leaving large volumes of copper scrap with few domestic processing options. Rather than waiting for markets to recover, Prime Materials Recovery invested in expanding domestic capability. Ames Copper Group became the answer, creating a reliable destination for recycled copper while helping strengthen America’s manufacturing base. The importance of that investment continues to grow. Copper has now been designated a critical mineral by the U.S. government because of its importance to energy security, advanced manufacturing, national defense, transportation, and digital infrastructure. Despite that designation, nearly half of the refined copper consumed in the United States is still imported.

Expanding domestic recycling capacity offers one of the quickest and most sustainable paths toward improving supply chain resilience. The technology inside Ames Copper Group reflects that long-term commitment. The company selected advanced furnace systems supplied by German engineering company SMS, integrating sophisticated Siemens automation throughout the operation. The facility processes more than one hundred million pounds of copper annually with fewer than sixty employees, demonstrating how modern manufacturing can achieve remarkable productivity through intelligent automation. Automation also improves workplace safety by reducing direct employee exposure to extreme temperatures and molten metal. Many of the most physically demanding tasks are handled through automated systems, allowing operators to focus on monitoring, controlling, and optimizing production. Operating such sophisticated equipment requires a different type of workforce than traditional manufacturing once demanded.

As a privately owned, family-operated organization, Ames Copper Group maintains a deliberately accessible leadership structure. Managers remain actively involved in day-to-day operations, communication flows directly across the organization, and employees are known personally rather than simply by job titles. Leadership invests time in understanding employees and their families, reinforcing a workplace culture built on trust, respect, and long-term commitment.

Today, the company continues to expand its capabilities with plans to add electrolytic refining operations that will convert copper anodes into cathodes before supplying IMC Metals America. Completing that final stage will create one of North America’s most comprehensive recycled copper manufacturing ecosystems while reducing transportation requirements and strengthening domestic production even further. Ames Copper Group is also working alongside policymakers to support initiatives that encourage domestic copper processing and reduce dependence on imported refined material. Strengthening American manufacturing, protecting valuable recycled resources, and building greater supply chain resilience have become priorities that extend well beyond the company itself.