About HRH Metals
The Beginning
HRH Metals, Inc. was born among the pipe shops and steel fabricating plants of Birmingham in 1942 when Ed Robinson and Roy Hoffman joined forces to open a small scrap metal yard. The original operation employed five people and served the manufacturing and industrial operations in the Birmingham region.
Eight decades later, HRH Metals serves as a major broker, buying scrap metal and selling it to foundries, steel mills, and manufacturing operations across the country. The company's headquarters and processing yard are on a 10-acre site in Moody just off Interstate 20 in St. Clair County.
Ed Robinson had graduated from Auburn University in 1970, and was about to accept a position with a company in south Alabama when his father asked him if he would lend a hand at the family business during his grandfather's illness. The younger Robinson found that he was perfectly suited for the brokering and marketing end of the business, and he remained there ever since.
The third key player, the late Marlin Hinds, joined Hoffman and Robinson and became the other "H" in HRH Metals. Together, they grew the business from a small neighborhood operation to a major player in the commercial metals processing and recycling business. In 2013, longtime and valued associate Steve Crawford became partners with Ed Robinson as co-owner of the company.
Today
HRH employs a staff of over 25 people, some of whom have over 50 years of service to the company. We are constantly working with our large network of metal consumers, mainly foundries and steel mills, so that you receive top dollar for your commercial scrap metal.
While we utilize modern technology, we take pride in being easy to contact and being easy to do business with. Our top clients are with us because of the valuable relationships we have formed over the years.
We are always looking to expand and grow and would be happy to speak to you about your recycling needs.
Philanthropy Projects We Partner With:
From left, owners and partners Ed Robinson, Kevin Trimm, and Steve Crawford.
Ed Robinson, Partner
Ed is Chairman of the Board at HRH Metals and started with the company in 1970 after graduation from Auburn University.
His intent was not to work in the scrap business. Yet shortly after college graduation, Ed’s grandfather — the founder of HRH Metals — died and Ed’s father asked Ed to join the business for a short period. To do so, Ed would turn down a job offer that was going to pay him $200 a month more than HRH Metals could pay back then.
“But who can turn down their father?” said Ed.
What was supposed to be short, six-month stint at the scrap yard has turned into a robust career where Ed has excelled in many areas of the business for more than 50 years. Today Ed leads the company with emphasis on treating customers well by doing things the right way and also focusing on sales and cost analysis.
Ed is a tireless worker and enjoys volunteering outside the business. He has served on the board of the Alabama Self Insured Workers Compensation Fund. His volunteer efforts have assisted the Alys Stephens Center, Iberia Bank, Country Club of Birmingham, Birmingham Rotary Club, MMQBC, and he chaired United Ability’s board.
Outside of work, he enjoys fishing, golf, travel, and spending time with his wife.
Steve Crawford, Partner
Steve began his career in the scrap metal business in 1972. He started by working at the scrap yard owned by his girlfriend’s family. Steve worked there part-time while he attended high school and college.
He was married in 1976 and went fulltime at the scrapyard in 1977. Over the next decade he immersed himself in the business and learned all aspects of what goes on in a scrap yard. Steve processed materials, he bought, sold, worked the scales, drove trucks, loaded rail cars, and then switched those cars to tracks bound for Birmingham steel mills.
A change came in the mid-1980s when Steve went out on his own, forming Crawford Metals. Crawford Metals smelted aluminum and made ingots for the local pattern shops and steel mills. Steve operated his company through 1989 when he joined Hoffman Robinson and Hinds (HRH Metals).
There Steve helped Ed Robinson build and set up a scrap processing facility in Moody. They focused on nickel alloy materials for specialty foundries.
Steve became a partner in 2009, and he notes that HRH Metals has never strayed from its core principle that integrity comes first. Those strong values were established in 1942 when Ed Robinson’s grandfather started the company.
“I am proud to be a part of HRH Metals,” Steve said.
Kevin Trimm, Partner
Kevin came to HRH Metals in 2013 after working in the real estate industry and, later, for TMS International as a broker and buyer for U.S. Steel.
During his time at TMS, Kevin fell in love with the business, but felt like he could not make an impact while working for a large, slow-moving company. “I’m too impatient and didn’t like waiting on progress to be made.”
Kevin has thrived working at HRH Metals where decisions are made quickly, and the decisions benefit the customer. In 2020, Kevin received ownership in HRH Metals, and he concentrates on business development, sales, and brokerage.
He also works to strengthen and connect the scrap metals recycling industry. For several years he operated a charity golf event for the southeastern chapter of the ISRI. Kevin served in an advisory role for the Association of Energy Service Companies, focusing on helping oil and gas companies recycle fracking pipe. He has talked and written about the topic many times.
Kevin serves on the Committee for a Future for Children’s Hospital Alabama. He is a member of Covenant Presbyterian Church and is married to Chrissy. He has four children, Audrey, Capp, Owen and Mason. Kevin has three step-children, Baker, Chase and Hank.
He played Division I college golf and still loves to play, but is now trying to master the guitar.