What started in a tiny backyard shed in the suburbs of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania has become Atlantic Precious Metal Refining, the market leader in dental scrap refining servicing 30% of all U.S.-based dental labs.
Atlantic Precious Metal Refining is a Pittsburgh-based precious metal refinery owned and operated by Don Mappin, Jr., a U.S. Air Force veteran and former dental lab technician. Our focus is dental scrap refining—we have over two decades experience helping dentists and dental lab owners discover the unexpected worth of items such as extracted gold crowns and workbench “dust”. You’d be surprised how much “money” is hidden in carpets, collection traps and vacuum systems … it really adds up!
During the last 28 years, Atlantic has grown from that tiny backyard shed into the impressive 15,000 square foot operation it is today.
What sets Atlantic apart from other scrap processors is that we are an actual full-scale precious metal refinery. We never outsource any step of the smelting, assaying or refining processes, which cuts out the middleman, eliminates third party payouts and results in the highest scrap lot returns in the industry for our customers.
MEET OUR TEAM
Don Mappin, President & CEO
Don grew up working in his father’s dental lab, and then served in the U.S. Air Force. When his enlistment was up, he returned home to work in his dad’s lab, and a few years later decided to open his own refinery. Starting in a backyard shed, Don ran his refinery virtually on his own for 8 years, then began hiring help as it grew—first his fiancé, then his brother—and it has grown ever since. Currently, Atlantic has 35 employees and over 15,000 square feet of space. Don enjoys cooking and eating, golfing, traveling, fishing and boating.
Darlene Mappin, Vice President & CFO
Born and raised in Chicago, Darlene started working in a dental lab in 1983, pouring models and picking up and delivering cases. In 1984, she moved to California to work in the electronics industry, but soon realized dental was her calling, and moved back to Chicago to work at her previous dental lab. When the lab closed, she decided to open her own lab. Darlene began working for Atlantic as a Sales Rep in 1996, covering parts of the Midwest and Southeast. In 1999, she married Don Mappin, became a mom a year later, and added Sales Rep to her responsibilities. In 2001, baby #2 arrived! In 2007, she gave up her sales territory to focus full time on Administrative and Financial. In her free time (when she has free time!) she enjoys traveling, vacationing, watching her girls at dance competitions, entertaining, great food and wine, fun jewelry, shopping and golfing.
