For many years, India's scrap trade operated through personal connections and local arrangements. Pricing remained unclear, and relationships often mattered more than actual market demand. Middlemen prospered in this environment, while industrial sellers frequently suffered financial losses.
Beyond Just Metal: The True Value of Industrial Scrap
Scrap encompasses much more than discarded metal. It includes idle machinery, unused inventory, dismantled infrastructure, and stressed industrial assets. Each of these items holds inherent value. For decades, that value diminished due to limited buyer access and weak trust mechanisms. Sellers remained trapped in local markets, and buyers lacked clear information about quantities, quality, or regulatory compliance.
The Digital Auction Revolution
Digital auctions have fundamentally shifted this dynamic. By moving sales online, sellers now reach buyers across the entire country. Bidders can participate remotely under standardized conditions. Over time, platforms have incorporated legal checks, compliance processes, and data-driven price discovery methods.
Matex Technologies: A Pioneer in the Space
One of the early architects of this new ecosystem is Matex Technologies, a B2B tech firm based in Chennai. Unlike traditional intermediaries, the Matex platform does not set prices or conduct private negotiations. Instead, it digitally aggregates demand and supply, allowing market competition to determine value.
The system initiates an auction once it identifies three or more credible buyers for an asset. These assets range from dismantled factories and surplus pipes to packaging materials and logistics routes. Auction formats vary, including Swiss challenge and rack bidding, tailored to specific client requirements.
"Our focus is not on trading margins, but on process discipline, automation, and compliance," explains S. Yogeshwaran, Managing Director of Matex.
Expanding Beyond Scrap to Broader Asset Value
Clients now include large corporations, MSMEs, banks, government bodies, and recyclers. They use the platform not only to sell scrap but to extract value from idle or underutilized assets. For Matex, the journey began with scrap metal but has since expanded into surplus asset sales, repossessed equipment, procurement sourcing, and logistics. This expansion blurs the line between traditional scrap disposal and mainstream B2B commerce.
Empowering MSMEs Through Collective Buying
A compelling example of this evolution is Matex's cluster-based procurement model for MSMEs. In Coimbatore's foundry belt, small aluminium and casting units historically lacked bargaining power when purchasing raw materials individually. Matex aggregated demand across more than 40 foundries, enabling them to negotiate as a single, powerful buyer.
"Our annual procurement volumes for small foundries on the platform have crossed ₹50–60 crore and are expected to double next year," says A. Saravanan, Vice-President of the Foundry Development Foundation.
Case Study: Maximizing Recovery for Large Projects
In another instance, Larsen & Toubro found itself with large volumes of high-value pipes after a project cancellation. Instead of opting for a distress scrap sale, the company used a structured auction on the platform. This approach helped recover several times more value than a straightforward scrap disposal would have yielded.
Moving Upstream: Optimizing High-Value Assets
Digital auctions on the Matex platform are also moving upstream into larger asset categories. In major infrastructure projects like metro rail systems, expensive imported equipment such as tunnel boring machines often sits idle after construction concludes.
"By planning auctions in advance and selling these assets to upcoming projects elsewhere, companies can avoid value loss and improve utilization," notes Yogeshwaran.
These cases highlight the critical difference between forced liquidation and strategic value optimization.
Growth Metrics and Financial Health
"Today, the Matex platform's gross merchandise value (GMV) is about ₹8,000 crore, and it conducts 500–600 auctions every month," states K E Ranganathan, a director at Matex.
Financially, Matex employs approximately 130 professionals. The company operates with EBITDA margins of 35–40% and carries no debt. GMV is targeted to reach ₹20,000 crore over the next three years. This growth will be driven by cross-selling opportunities, deeper penetration into sectors like cement, and the development of new product verticals.
The current ecosystem includes more than 20,000 vendors across 50 industries, serving over 800 organizations, according to Ranganathan.
A Competitive and Evolving Landscape
The digital auction space is not without competition. MJunction, a joint venture of Tata Steel and SAIL, is a major player. It largely handles group transactions while also managing PSU coal auctions. Auction India, part of TVS Electronics, has long facilitated industrial scrap and e-waste auctions. Government departments rely on platforms like e-Auction India, alongside several regional and sector-specific operators.
Despite these advancements, much of the industry remains fragmented. Partial digitization persists, and many players still rely on handpicked networks of buyers and sellers.
The Quiet Transformation
The rise of online industrial auctions might seem unglamorous. However, these platforms are quietly making auction markets more transparent and efficient on a large scale. They are systematically replacing outdated, opaque practices with data-driven, nationwide market access.
