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Thrift Recycling Management Continues To Expand

November 11, 2008

Seattle — Thrift Recycling Management, Inc., (TRM), the largest seller of used books on the Internet, announced today that it has purchased the Illinois assets of Ohio Mill Supply, a company located in Cleveland, Ohio.  The asset purchase will increase TRM’s annual sales by more than $2 million and add 12 employees to the company’s payroll. 

Since TRM began operations in 2004, the company has captured a significant share of the used book market. TRM is currently the largest Internet seller of used books in the world, with 250 employees and annual sales exceeding $20 million. 

The acquired assets include equipment, a building lease and other fixed assets in Illinois. “These assets will help diversify our business and accelerate our growth in the Chicago market, where we already have a significant presence,” said Phil McMullin, CEO of Thrift Recycling Management. “This purchase takes us back to our roots, which included processing used clothing and shoes for domestic and international markets.  Our business strategy is to diversify and sell all types of merchandise, in addition to books, to meet the growing consumer demand for recycled and reused products.”

TRM purchases surplus merchandise from publishers, thrift stores and nonprofit organizations such as Goodwill Industries and The Salvation Army.  TRM then sells the merchandise online or recycles it and sells the recycled materials overseas.  They also donate merchandise worldwide.  The nonprofit organizations benefit because they receive additional revenue and avoid disposal costs for items they have been unable to sell.  There also are environmental benefits because the materials for which there had historically been no market are reused or recycled, not buried in landfills. 

“The market for used books and clothing continues to grow in part because of increased awareness of the benefits of reusing and recycling, as well as the economic downturn.   As a result of our sophisticated information technology capabilities and management expertise, we are well positioned to increase sales and continue our phenomenal growth,” said McMullin.

With headquarters in Lakewood, Washington and operations in Lakewood, and the urban areas of Atlanta (Newnan, GA), Chicago (Hammond, IN), Salt Lake City, Los Angeles and Boston (Woonsocket RI), TRM has established an important niche in the rapidly expanding market of used books.  They sell approximately 3 million books per year in 198 countries.

TRM contributes to a nonprofit organization, Reading Tree, which has provided more than one million free books to children in the U.S.  Together they have donated more than 5 million books to children overseas.

About Thrift Recycling Management

Thrift Recycling Management Inc. (TRM), the largest on-line seller of used books in the world, was established in 2004.  With operations throughout the U.S., TRM carries an inventory of nearly two million books for sale online at all times and uses a portion of the proceeds to support children’s literacy programs in the U.S. and abroad.  The company also donates books to many non-profit organizations.  For more information, visit www.thriftrecycling.com

About Reading Tree

Reading Tree, a nonprofit organization based in Boston, is dedicated to promoting children’s literacy by making books available to all children.  The organization (a dba of Books for Charity in Boston) receives donations from Thrift Recycling Management (TRM) and others.  Reading Tree partners with community organizations to develop reading programs and organize book drives to help foster early literacy and a love of reading among children in need.  For more information, visit readingtree.org

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