DECEMBER 8 • 2022 | 31

Detroit but also as far south 
as Monroe, west to Howell 
and north to Marlette. They 
buy “excess waste” from 
their customers, who include 
manufacturers, aerospace and 
mining companies as well as a 
few local steel and aluminum 
mills, as well as individual 
customers. 
“Everything is bought on a 
weight basis,” Foon says. Last 
year Admiral Metals recycled 
almost 50 million pounds of 
scrap. 
They recycle a wide range 
of materials encompassing 
scrap metal, including 
prototypes from big 
manufacturers, old appliances 
and some electronics. 
Depending on the nature of 
the scrap material, it is then 
sheared, baled, boxed, loaded 
onsite and then sold to 
companies that melt the scrap 
and process it into sheets, 
ingots or bars. 

“We’ve grown the footprint 
in size and added trucks, 
staff and dumpsters,” Foon 
says. The business now has 
25 employees at its Sterling 
Heights location. Michael 
Foon focuses on non-ferrous 
scrap — metals without iron 
such as copper and aluminum, 
new business and handling 
truck dispatches. His brother, 
Elliot, concentrates on ferrous 
products (metals containing 
iron) and the operation of the 
scrap yard.
“We’re seeking to grow, 
buying new and better 
equipment and looking for 

another site,” Foon says. “It’s a 
lot of fun.” 
The U.S. scrap metal 
industry was dominated by 
Jewish owners until recent 
decades, according to Marvin 
Pinkert, the executive director 
of the Jewish Museum of 
Maryland, which developed 
an exhibit about Jewish 
scrap metal dealers that was 
displayed in 2020 and recently 
traveled to Milwaukee.
The founders of scrap 
companies often began as junk 
men, who like the Foons’ great-
grandfather, bought rags and 
scrap metal in small quantities 

from individuals and factories. 
It was a business that didn’t 
require much capital investment 
and enabled those who were 
Orthodox to set their own 
hours, respecting the Sabbath 
and Jewish holidays.
Jewish ownership of scrap 
metal dealerships has declined 
from 80 to 90 percent to 
an estimated 50 percent, 
according to Pinkert and 
industry estimates. This is due 
partly to consolidation within 
the industry. Larger scrap 
companies, some national in 
scope, are buying out smaller, 
local firms as government 
regulations increase and 
the scrap metals market has 
become global. 

 

If you know of a local Jewish-owned 

for-profit business that has been in 

operation for 60 or more years old 

that would like to be profiled, contact 

Jackie Headapohl at jheadpohl@

thejewishnews.com. 

“WE’RE SEEKING TO GROW, BUYING 
NEW AND BETTER EQUIPMENT AND 

LOOKING FOR ANOTHER SITE.”

— MICHAEL FOON

B I R M I N G H A M

Member FDIC

We can’t help you 
cross the Mackinac 
Bridge in a blizzard.

But we can help you 
bank anywhere.

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