Area Development
The Federal Metal Company, an industry leader in copper-based cast alloys, will establish manufacturing operations in North Little Rock, Arkansas. The $17.8 million project is expected to create 40 jobs within four years.

Located at the former Ben E. Keith facility the 165,000-square-foot plant will allow the company to recycle more than 3,000 metric tons per month of aluminum copper radiators.

“Major investments in new mill, foundry, and refining capacity are underway in the United States for the first time in generations, and it’s important the scrap industry here keeps pace to assure the domestic supply chain is well fed,” said Peter Nagusky, Federal Metal’s President and CEO. “It is wasteful when valuable scrap like these radiators are exported [to support non-U.S. manufacturing]. Companies producing semi-finished copper and aluminum will need to increase the recycled content of their products by using more scrap and less primary metal. The main reasons are clear: it is economically advantageous and environmentally sustainable.”

Headquartered in northeast Ohio, The Federal Metal Company has been an industry leader as a manufacturer of high-quality copper-based alloys since 1913. The company continues to grow and innovate to satisfy the growing global demand for copper, aluminum, and non-ferrous alloys. In September 2022 it acquired the assets of SA Alloys in Columbia, Pennsylvania.

“The metals industry plays a key role in the vibrancy of the Arkansas economy, accounting for about 13.6 percent of total manufacturing,” said Clint O’Neal, executive director of the Arkansas Economic Development Commission (AEDC). “More than 22,000 Arkansans are employed in the industry. I am confident that Federal Metal will find the resources and workforce they need to take this next step in their success story.”

"We are proud that Federal Metal has selected North Little Rock to build its ‘first of its kind’ recycling facility,” said Robert Birch, director of development for the city of North Little Rock. “Revitalizing the Ben E. Keith building is great for the city and the community on Pike Avenue. Reimagining buildings like Federal Metal is doing helps strengthen areas of the city that would otherwise face possible decline.”