The Kroot Corporation

Over the years The Kroot Corporation has earned the reputation of having a high quality, service oriented scrap yard and steel warehouse. Our customers - many of whom have had a long term business relationship with us - have come to expect the fair prices and quality materials that are the result of an efficient and well run operation.

Good reputations take many years to build... and The Kroot Corporation has quite a history. A century ago Joseph Kroot, an immigrant from Poland, began an early version of the business in Indianapolis. In 1900, he bought some land in Edinburgh, Indiana where he dealt in iron, rags, rubber, metal, hides, tallow and wool using a horse and wagon to haul salvage materials from surrounding areas. In 1907, Mr. Kroot moved his operation to Columbus, Indiana and as the Twentieth Century progressed, the business kept pace.

The 1920's saw the business expand to include processing as well as collecting materials. The use of the Model 'T' truck and the addition of a railroad car loading track pit enabled a better distribution of scrap and a wider collection area.

In the 1930's Joseph Kroot's three sons - Abe, Ben and Sam - came into the business. With the 1940's and World War II, Kroot's scrap yard, like many industries across the nation, was forever changed. Due to war production, the yard's operations became mechanized; in effect it became an outdoor factory. It was at this stage that the Kroot Corporation developed the different divisions - ferrous, non-ferrous, new steel and paper.

After World War II the Kroot Corporation was well established as a service industry both to the manufacturing plant and the end-user factory or mill. The growth of the business continued into the 1960's when grandsons Joe and Arthur Kroot became the third generation to join the Kroot Corporation. By 1965, the business had outgrown its location in innercity Columbus and a new yard was built at our current site at 2915 State Street. In 1995, Josh Kroot continued the tradition of family ownership into its fourth generation.

Because we understand the value of a solid reputation among our customers, employees and community, the Kroot Corporation is dedicated to maintaining and enhancing the high standards that earned us this position over the past century.