Hungarian Recycling Firm’s Collapse: €500K Metal Stock Auctioned Off

More than half a billion forints worth of scrap metal is set to be auctioned off as the liquidation of Ecometalex Recycling Kft., a formerly high-growth Hungarian industrial waste management company, continues. The auction, listed on the Electronic Sales System, includes 3,000 tons of steel, 400 tons of stainless steel and 40 tons of aluminum, according to details of the sale.

Ecometalex experienced significant growth in the early 2020s, with revenue increasing from around 2-3 billion forints in the late 2010s to 8.5 billion forints in 2022. The company’s profits similarly rose sharply, generating over 2 billion forints in after-tax profit within four years. This success led to its inclusion in the Budapest Stock Exchange’s BÉT50 list of successful companies in 2023.

The company’s business model centered on purchasing industrial waste from factories, sorting it by chemical composition, size, and thickness, and then reselling it to foundries and metal processors. At the time, the company’s owner, Bakos Balázs, expressed ambitions to forge closer ties with incoming battery manufacturers to further fuel growth.

However, signs of financial trouble emerged despite the apparent success. According to reports, the company frequently lacked sufficient funds to cover its debts to suppliers. Increasing numbers of enforcement actions were initiated against the company after 2023, including actions by the tax authority. Ecometalex did not publish its 2024 financial report, and in October of last year, the court ordered its liquidation.

The company’s online presence has since disappeared, and contact numbers previously listed are no longer functional. Alongside the financial difficulties, the company’s online reputation also deteriorated, with increasing complaints from individuals alleging unpaid debts, some exceeding several thousand euros.

Bakos Balázs, the owner and current managing director of Ecometalex Recycling Kft., previously made headlines in connection with a separate company within the same group, which purchased a multi-million forint villa in Budapest and attempted to add an extension without the necessary permits, according to available records.

Proceeds from the sale of the scrap metal will be used by the liquidator to repay the company’s creditors, or at least a portion of their debts. Requests for comment from Bakos Balázs regarding the reasons for the company’s liquidation have not yet been answered.