From our beginning in 1916 as Roanoke Scrap Iron and Metal Company, we've helped western Virginia businesses recycle steel, copper, aluminum and paper. We now serve customers across a three-state region.

Your recycling needs have changed over the years, and so have we. Founder Jacob Brenner made a decision in 1920 to improve customer service by adding our first mechanized equipment — the two Ford trucks depicted here. Our range of services also expanded when Jacob's son, Udell Brenner, relocated the plant to its current site in 1953.

Through the years our primary market area has grown. Today, we serve a wide variety of customers in Central and Southwest Virginia.

Facilitating our customer's ability to recycle depends on providing local service and controlling transportation cost. The addition of our three new services and transfer facilities in Harrisonburg, Martinsville, Waynesboro/Staunton is an illustration of our commitment to this concept. Their convenient locations are illustrated below.

Building on this strategy and our Company Philosophy, we are and will be working together to exceed our customers' expectations for the 21st Century.

Continuing the Tradition

Early in the 20th Century, the four Brenner brothers left Latvia for a new start in America. Joseph brought his brothers Jacob, Morris and Frank into his scrap and iron-peddling business in Hagerstown, Maryland. Each brother went on to make their way in the scrap and metals industry.

Jacob, shown seated in the right of this photo, travelled south along the Great Road (now U.S. Route 11) and settled in the Roanoke Valley, where the strong railroad-driven economy would prove fertile territory for his scrap iron business.

Three generations later, a new management team along with two of Jacob's great-grandchildren continue his tradition of vision, leadership and integrity — both at Cycle Systems, Inc., and within the scrap iron and metals industry. With each new generation, we've changed with the times to better serve the recycling needs of central and western Virginia. It's a tradition we look forward to carrying out well into the 21st Century.