WESTCHESTER, Ill. -

This week, Insurance Auto Auctions reached an agreement with Chen Jia, a wholly owned subsidiary of Jiangsu Chenlong Resource Recycling Development Co. in Zhangjiagang Jiangsu, China.

IAA pointed out that Chenlong Recycling is one of the first companies to obtain one of only a few recycling permits from the Chinese government that allows the import of salvage vehicles for the purpose of recycling.

“This agreement helps us achieve our growth strategy by expanding our global buyer base in a region with a fast-growing need for scrap metal,” explained Insurance Auto Auctions chief executive officer Tom O’Brien.

“We are pleased that our long relationship with Chen Jia has added tangible value for vehicle sellers at our auctions,” O’Brien continued. “Their initial purchases at our locations along the West Coast have already created increased competition for vehicles and may eventually expand throughout the greater United States.”

In 2008 when IAA first met with Chenlong Recycling in China, officials recapped that plans were drawn for them to build a multi-million dollar recycling center in Zhangjiagang. Today, the recently completed facility is capable of processing hundreds of thousands of tons of scrap iron.

“They are the first in China to complete the installation of a shredder built specifically for the processing of scrap steel that includes automobiles coming from the United States and other countries.” IAA highlighted.

Through this new agreement, IAA believes it has the ability to be a major salvage provider to this operation — specifically, lower-end vehicles for the purpose of recycling.

“There are several reasons why we chose IAA, including their 30 years of expertise in the salvage auction business and their global outlook,” stated Gu Long Sheng, president of Jiangsu Chenlong Resource Recycling Development.

“The management team at IAA has been dedicated to seeing scrap vehicles legally enter the China market and their support of our efforts has been both encouraging and instrumental in helping us shape our business model in the U.S.,” Sheng continued.

“Second, IAA is clearly a market leader and our relationship with them will help ensure our ability to source the salvage vehicles we need to meet our production demands,”  Sheng went on to say.

Insurance Auto Auctions emphasized one of the best results of recycling metal from salvage vehicles is that it saves energy, conserves natural resources and enables steel production with low pollution levels.

According to the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries, recycling one vehicle conserves 2,500 pounds of iron ore, 1,400 pounds of coal and 120 pounds of limestone.

Until recently, officials noted that Chinese government laws prohibited the import of salvage vehicles from the United States into mainland China. Today, they said this recycling project is supported in China by the environmental protection body of the Chinese government.

IAA stressed that for the past 30 years, it has continued building a customer buyer base in more than 100 countries. The company’s buyers include automotive body shops, rebuilders, used-vehicle dealers, automotive wholesalers, exporters, dismantlers, recyclers, brokers and where allowed, non-licensed public buyers.

IAA buyers have access to six languages through its auction center, including English, Mandarin Chinese, Spanish, French, Polish and Russian.

In addition, officials pointed out the IAA Buyer Services group is fluent in 10 languages to assist global buyers.

The company estimated 30 percent of IAA’s vehicles are sold and exported to foreign countries, which further strengthens its philosophy of choice and flexibility with “anywhere” access and mobile technology.