Indiana scrap dealer expands, updates facilities

J. Solotken and Co. officially opened the doors to its new 140,000 square foot facility on Indianapolis’ Eastside.

The Company’s acquisition of the building, located at 6701 English Avenue, is an economic development success story.

The new facility, in which J. Solotken began operation in March, had been left empty in May, 2008, following the collapse of the Frank E. Irish Co. J. Solotken and Co. purchased the building in December, 2008 and over the past 15 months has invested approximately $4.5 million to bring every facet of the property back to life.

“We’ve changed the entire structure of how we recycle the metal that comes to us,” said Brian Nachlis, vice president. “From the docks on which materials are received – to the processes we use to move it through the facility, everything has changed. Now, our production capacity has increased dramatically; we’ve gone from packaging scrap 500 pounds at a time and hand tying it together to 2,000 pounds and it’s tied automatically by a machine.

Originally founded in 1914, the Company has installed state-of-the-art equipment, such as a high-tech baling system, to quickly process the nonferrous metals that are recycled each day. In addition, the building is now equipped with energy-efficient lighting, new fire suppression and security systems, as well as a more advanced HVAC set-up.

The Company currently employs 35 people, and was recently ranked as the fourth largest recycling company in Indianapolis.