News and feature articles relating to recycling, including collection, of end of life tyres.
Goodway Rubber chief executive, Tai Boon Wee, has spoken of the company’s plans to build a Chinese compounding plant. “Goodway is looking into the possibility of setting up a rubber compounding plant, possibly in Dongguan in China, via a joint venture with a local partner,” Mr Tai said.
Dunweedin Ltd has given around two tonnes of rubber chippings to Kingsmead Primary School in Northwich, Cheshire. The colourful landscaping chips, made from scrap tyres, have been used to create a recycled garden with decorated flowerbeds and safe playing areas for pupils.
While much has been made about the enormous potential of the emerging Chinese tyre market, the opportunities go further than this alone. For every tyre that is produced and used in the People’s Republic there is a potential money-making opportunity for the retreading and collection aspects of the tyre business.
It is not overstating the situation to say there is huge potential for retreading in China. Currently around 265 million tyres are produced in China each year, across all segments. At the same time the domestic market’s 3 million vehicles currently demand 130 million tyres annually, according to a Hong Kong Trade Development Council report.
Recycling has not only become more important to the public, but to the tyre industry too. Tyre recycling has a lucrative future, and tyre shredding is fast becoming a money-spinner for those companies involved. The choice of tyre shredding and recycling equipment manufacturers and distributors is growing, as is the range of casing collection services throughout the industry.
“However, it is one thing to realise the potential of this market but quite something else to actually set up a business that will evolve into a successful and lucrative service,” says Bob Batchford of RJB County Contractors. This is why the company has recently established a new division within the business, RJB Consultancy, to provide a service to both new and established businesses on how to achieve financial reward from tyre recycling.
Tyre manufacturers emphasise forward planning at Hillhead
This year’s Hillhead exhibition – the International Quarrying and Recycling show –– was sold out several months in advance of the event. As far as tyre exhibitors go the usual faces Michelin, Bridgestone and Goodyear Dunlop were there, joined by Marangoni, OTR Tyres, Rema Tip Top and Vacu Lug.
Over 16,000 visitors attended the biennial working event held at Buxton Derbyshire, a four per cent increase on 2003’s figures say organisers. However with the on going global shortage of OTR tyres both manufacturers and distributors were faced with never-ending product availability questions covering all segments of OTR tyres, giant medium and small and all sectors, mining, quarries and construction.
Demand for OTR tyres has fast outpaced world tyre industry expectations. Between 2003 and 2004, global demand for OTR tyres grew around 20 per cent, for some sizes demand was up by 30 per cent. What’s more this demand shows no signs of tapering off. According to Bridgestone global demand for rigid dump truck tyres is expected to be 50 per cent higher in 2005 than last year. Tyre manufacturers are still struggling to meet this growing demand and this will continue to be the case if, as expected, demand outstrips supply until 2007.
According to Continental Tire North America’s director of dealer sales, Jack Fenner, production levels of OTR tyres have remained flat since 1999 having only recently increased. Now, everything the tyre manufacturers are producing is being sold. According to Goodyear Tire & Rubber spokesman Dave Wilkins, every large tyre produced by the company in 2006 is already spoken for. And unlike passenger car tyres, earthmover tyres can not be produced by their hundreds each day.
The main reason for the global OTR tyre shortage is the rapidly expanding Chinese market. The country is consuming vast amounts of raw materials and commodities – such as copper, iron, gold, and coal – and is creating a massive demand for original equipment. In the last two years the price of natural rubber has more than doubled, putting all tyre manufacturers under pressure to increase the price of new tyres. These price increases are set to continue not only due to creeping raw material costs but those of shipping too.
“We fully understand the difficulties our customers are facing because we are also suffering from shortages of the raw materials we need to manufacture these specialist tyres,” said Bridgestone UK’s marketing manager, Barry Coleman. “We are all in the same boat and we want to ensure that we give advice and assistance to our customers during this trying period.”
Both tyre demand for OE and the replacement market is now above capacity supply. In an effort to address the shortage Bridgestone is spending £86 million to expand capacity at its Japanese plant by 20 per cent, but these new plans will not be completed until 2008. Michelin is also building a plant in Brazil to help meet growing demand for earthmover tyres, however this is not expected to be operational until mid-2007, and will be serving North and South American markets.
If capacities are not expected to improve in the short term, and tyres that are produced are likely to be allocated to the Asian markets to fulfil OE demand, what does this mean for the UK and in fact European markets? According to Barry Coleman the situation is going to get “very very tight” and the bottleneck of tyre orders will continue to increase. With current threats that quarries will close due to under efficiency, and with machines left standing due to a lack of tyres, the situation cannot afford to get any worse. It is also affecting the OEMs who can’t produce machines without tyres and so are having to review their product lines.
The OTR tyre situation in the UK may see a marginal improve in the next two years says Mr Coleman but not by more than five per cent. All that tyre companies can do until supply increases is to advise companies on how to make their tyres last, even if that means operating a quarry less efficiently. And so with the current shortage expected to last until 2007 the emphasis is on planning explains Goodyear’s director of Off-the-Road tyres Andy Morris, “there is a definite need for companies to maintain the tyres they already have because they are not available off the shelf. The key to which is forward planning, something which companies are getting a lot better at.” This message was one that all tyre companies attending Hillhead strived to communicate.
Months after the End of Life Vehicle Directive led to the banning of lead balancing weights for passenger cars in the EU, discussions on the subject continue in the US.
Most recently the US Tire Industry Association (TIA) issued a statement saying it applauded the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) denial of the Ecology Center’s petition for a ban on lead wheel weights. EPA cited “insufficient data” as the reason they will not move ahead on a lead wheel weight ban at this time.
Ever asked what proportion of used tyres are actually recovered? Ever wondered how important the so-called green angle is when it comes to selling retreads? Look no further than Tyres & Accessories recently published Retreading Special: Recycling supplement, which contains the answers to these questions and many more.
Retreading Special: Recycling, the second in our successful series of bilingual supplements, can now be downloaded from the T&A web site. Magazine subscribers can download the complete document as a PDF file by clicking more.
The Recycling & Waste Management Exhibition (RWM05) is being held at the NEC, Birmingham, from 13-15 September 2005. In addition to the show, which covers halls 17 and 18, plus a live outdoor demonstration area, there is a full programme of free seminars, with speakers from the waste industry, central and local government and the Health and Safety Executive, among others.
Credential Environmental Limited (CEL), the tyre, automotive and special waste collector and reprocessor, has acquired Betta Special waste and Betta Environmental Solutions. The deal, details of which were not revealed, effectively doubles the size of CEL’s hazardous waste division.
More than 50 fire-fighters from across the midlands tackled a fire at Tyre Collection Services Ltd on the Walsall/Sandwell border at the end of June. Around 500 tyres were involved at the height of the fire in Western Way, Moxley. Bosses at the firm blame arsonists for the fire, local news sources have reported.
As the saying goes: “retreading is recycling.” And as such retreading its known as the more environmentally friendly side of tyre production. However, whether you sell retreads or new tyres all casings eventually reach the end of their lives. That’s where the growing tyre collection and reprocessing business comes in.
The August issue of Tyres & Accessories will feature the ways retreaders, and other members of the tyre industry, can safely and efficiently dispose of their used tyres in its ‘Retreading Special: Recycling’ supplement. In this special report T&A will speak to influential companies, take a look at the latest technologies and summarise the developments in this part of tyre business. Look out for the ‘Retreading Special: Recycling’ supplement in the August issue of T&A.
By the time you read this article, European directive 2000/53/EC will have come fully into force. This regulation, more commonly known as the end of life vehicle (ELV) directive, will have a profound effect on the tyre trade – banning the sale of lead balancing weights. But is the trade ready? Tyres & Accessories spoke to representatives from weight manufacturers Trax and Remog in order to find out more.
WRAP (the Waste & Resources Action Programme) is to allocate “a large part” of the first year’s budget to developing existing processes and exploring “novel applications.” In a statement WRAP reports that it has begun work on developing the UK used tyre market. The aim of the programme, which is part of Defra’s new Business Resource Efficiency and Waste initiative (BREW), is to increase the inherent value of recycled tyres by stimulating market demand for higher value products.
Used tyres are finding positive applications within another mode of transport – the railway. More than 10 million tyres have been recycled to be used as rubber level crossings, and in platforms and track access points.
The European Union generates 300 million new tyres every year. In the UK between 25 and 30 million tyres are discarded. Network Rail’s 10 million tyre figure refers to the total number of tyres used if all of its waste rubber crossings were put together. None of the crossings used a single ounce of virgin rubber.
Network Rail deputy chief executive Iain Coucher said: “Network Rail and the rail industry are committed to caring for and enhancing the environment, and balancing this with the need to deliver a reliable and safe railway network. This recycling initiative underlines the efforts being made to ensure the railway is an environmentally positive mode of transport.”
Irish Health & Safety Authority officials are investigating an explosion at Crumb Rubber Ireland, the only collector and processor of scrap tyres in the Republic of Ireland.
If you would like the latest news from the Chinese tyre industry in Chinese, visit our partner site TyrepressChina.com. Or click below to continue on Tyrepress.