PITTSBURGH — Automobile recycler and national dismantling chain LKQ Corp. Inc. has purchased an auto shredder in Florida that was commissioned a year ago, marking its first entry into the auto shredding business.

The Chicago-based company purchased the salvage yard and adjacent shredder plant assets of U-Pull-It in Davie, Fla., for an undisclosed sum. The company disclosed the December acquisition—one of 30 acquisitions the company made in 2012—in a Feb. 28 call to discuss earnings.

"Having a shredder allows us to procure vehicles that we historically wouldn’t buy. We believe that by adding these new types of vehicles to our procurement mix, we will lower our average cost per vehicle because we will be increasing our total share of buying in auction," president, director and chief executive officer Robert L. Wagman said.

The company intends to use the shredder as a temperature gauge, a company spokesman told AMM. "We are not saying that we are aspiring to be a metal recycler. We are testing that market to see if shredders can be strategic to our overall operational and acquisitional strategy," the spokesman said.

Dedicated feedstock from an adjacent salvage yard is used to feed the 4,000-horsepower shredder, which is capable of processing up to 150 tons per hour.

The operation, originally installed by Trussville, Ala.-based U.S. Shredder & Castings Group, was purchased by a partnership of three recyclers—Davie-based U-Pull-It, Fort Myers, Fla.-based Garden Street Iron & Metal Inc. and Rockford, Ill.-based Cimco Resources Inc.—in 2011 (amm.com, May 25, 2011).