NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwired - Jul 8, 2014) - Armco Metals Holdings, Inc. ("Armco Metals Holdings") (NYSE MKT: AMCO), a distributor of imported metal ores and a steel recycler in China, today announced that its Armco (Lianyungang) Renewable Metals, Inc. subsidiary ("Renewable Metals") was included in a list of companies having received approval for operation according to the "Standards of Entering the Scrap Steel Processing Industry" published by China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology published on June 16, 2014.
On Sep 28, 2012, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of the People's Republic of China announced the "Standards of Entering the Scrap Steel Processing Industry". These Standards includes policies regarding corporate layout, construction requirements, scale, technology and equipment, product quality, energy consumption and resource utilization, environmental protection, training of personnel, production safety, occupational health, social responsibility, supervision and management. Armco began working on altering its operations to meet these standards and on March 2013, Renewable Metals was awarded the "Model Scrap Processing and Distribution Center" from qualified Chinese scrap Application Association. In 2014, Renewable Metals received the authorization of entering into the industry from China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of the People's Republic of China. The inclusion on the published list now completes that process.
Armco Metals Holdings sees this as an important milestone for Renewable Metals in that it is one of a small group of companies that can operate within the new policy guidelines. As the government continues to strengthen its policies regarding efficiencies and environmental responsibilities, enterprises that are operating in accordance with these Standards will have a relevant advantage. This policy shift toward environmental responsibility should also help promote the use of scrap metal as a viable alternative to steel producers in China who rely much more heavily on iron ore in their production. Scrap steel usage in the Chinese steel industry is only about 8%, or about one-seventh of the scrap steel usage in the U.S. and Europe.
Commenting on the announcement, Kexuan Yao, Chairman and CEO of Armco Metals Holdings, stated, "We continue to see progress at our Renewable Metals subsidiary as we work to position our Company for the future. Our efforts have resulted in this important inclusion in the list of approved operators that we believe will pay big dividends down the road as the Government looks to increase industrial efficiency while reducing pollution. China's scrap industry has been slow to develop due to many producers opting to use less costly and more pollutive production methods. As the government implements these new initiatives, we see steel producers moving to models that more closely resemble that of the U.S. and Europe which should lead to significant need for scrap steel produced by the small circle of companies who are approved by the government to operate in this industry."
ABOUT ARMCO METALS HOLDINGS, INC.
Armco Metals Holdings, Inc. is engaged in the sale and distribution of metal ore and non-ferrous metals throughout China and is in the recycling business in China. Armco Metals' customers include some of the fastest growing steel producing mills and foundries throughout China. Raw materials are acquired from a global group of suppliers located in various countries, including, but not limited to, Brazil, India, Indonesia, Ukraine and the United States. Armco Metals' product lines include ferrous and non-ferrous ore, iron ore, chrome ore, nickel ore, magnesium, copper ore, manganese ore, steel billet and recycled scrap metals. For more information about Armco Metals, please visit http://www.armcometals.com.
SAFE HARBOR STATEMENT
In connection with the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Armco Metals Holdings, Inc., is hereby providing cautionary statements identifying important factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those projected in forward-looking statements (as defined in such act). Any statements that are not historical facts and that express, or involve discussions as to, expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance (often, but not always, indicated through the use of words or phrases such as "will likely result," "are expected to," "will continue," "is anticipated," "estimated," "intends," "plans," "believes" and "projects") are forward-looking and involve estimates and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements. These statements include, but are not limited to, our expectations regarding our revenues and production related to our scrap metal recycling operations, pricing and demand for our product lines and the extent of government imposed energy and monetary policy restrictions and resulting blackouts and associated impact on our trading and recycling operations.
We caution that investors should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements herein. Further, any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which such statement is made, and we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which such statement is made or to reflect the occurrence of anticipated or unanticipated events or circumstances. This press release is qualified in its entirety by the following, including, but not limited to, any expectations with respect to the Company's revenues and operations, institution of governmental regulations relating to our businesses and the international economic climate, and the cautionary statements and risk factor disclosure contained in our Securities and Exchange Commission filings, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013, and our subsequent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.