Our Founder Morris Lefton’s entrepreneurial journey began in East St. Louis in the 1940s after a tough childhood marked by his father's departure and time in a children's home. Rebellious and uninterested in school, Morris dropped out and entered the scrap business, mentored by his Uncle at Lefton Iron & Metal Company.
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Morris flourished in the scrap business under the mentorship of his uncle, eventually launching his own company focused on aluminum dross processing. He built the business into a major success and later sold it to a publicly traded company, where he became president of their metals division.
After spending over five years in the corporate world, Morris' entrepreneurial spirit never waned. He struck a deal to buy back his company, but on the closing day, the new owners reneged. Frustrated but undeterred, Morris walked out and, on that very day, founded Metal Exchange. It was the beginning of a bold new chapter, driven by his determination to take control of his destiny once again.
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Metal Exchange was founded around the dining room table of Morris Lefton's home, with his partner Howard “Curly” Estabrook and three close friends and confidants as the original employees. Morris’ three children created banners and posters with supportive messages for their father and his team. From these humble beginnings, Metal Exchange became a global leader in the aluminum industry, and as Morris’ portfolio of businesses grew, MX Holdings was established to be the holding company to help manage the enterprise.
Metal Exchange founded by Morris Lefton in St. Louis, MO around his dining room table. The business focused on primary and scrap metal trading. Metal Exchange was a pioneer in tolling agreements servicing the extrusion business.
Metal Exchange adds flat rolled products to its offerings, enabling the company to service more manufacturing clients. This business unit has grown over the decades to be one of our leading offerings.
Metal Exchange’s facility in Moulton, AL transitions into a recycling facility to service the industrial and wholesale business across the country.
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Metal Exchange signs a deal to provide agency representation for Dubal Aluminium, now known as EGA (Emirates Global Aluminum).
Metal exchange builds and launch’s its own proprietary trading platform to enable the company to manage physical and financial trading risk for themselves and their customers.
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After having numerous offices across Europe in the past two decades, Metal Exchange establishes a permanent European trading operation in Zurich, Switzerland.
Metal Exchange opens a representative office in Shangai to provide greater access to the China and South East market.
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We are excited to embark on this endeavor with Century – a partner whose business strategy and expertise complement our own and whose team shares our values and people-centric culture. By pairing our collective focus on customer service with a state-of-the-art facility, cutting edge processes, and advanced technical expertise, billet produced by the joint venture will not only deliver exceptional quality and performance, but will enable our customers to achieve their sustainability objectives more effectively”
CEO of MX Holdings, parent company to Metal Exchange and Pennex.
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