Mathe Group, PFE partner to expand KwaZulu-Natal tyre recycling capacity

17th February 2015

By: Shirley le Guern

Creamer Media Correspondent

  

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A joint venture (JV) between Durban-based small truck tyre recycler Mathe Group and PFE International, which counts Van Dyck Carpets as one of its South African subsidiaries, is expected to double the number of waste tyres recycled in KwaZulu-Natal this year.

The JV partners are building a new facility, comprising a 2 500 m² factory and a 1 000 m² warehouse, in Hammarsdale, which will be commissioned in April. State-of-the-art equipment, worth about R20-million, is due to arrive in South Africa shortly. 

This will transform Mathe Group’s factory from a 28-man, manual operation to a highly automated facility.

Currently, at capacity, Mathe Group’s 850 m² facility in New Germany processes 6 t of radial truck tyres a day.

Each truck tyre weighs about 68 kg. Between 15% and 20% of each tyre is steel, which is separated from the rubber and provides an additional revenue stream for the company. The steel is sold to other recyclers and a large portion is exported to India.

PFE International CEO Mehran Zarrebini says Mathe Group processed about 28 000 truck tyres during 2014. Over the next five years, this is expected to increase to about 150 000 tyres a year, which will produce about 8.67 t of rubber crumb.

“We are constrained by current capacity in New Germany and new capacity will come on line in May or June,” he points out. At present, the existing factory can only receive a single truck of waste tyres at a time.

The new factory and warehouse will accommodate multiple deliveries and stockpile tyres for recycling. The new equipment will also enable Mathe Group to recycle both car and truck tyres.

Tyres processed by the group are transported from Recycling and Economic Development Initiative of South Africa (Redisa) depots in Cape Town and Bloemfontein.

Mathe Group is one of only two Redisa-registered recyclers in KwaZulu-Natal, indicating that the province is lagging other provinces in reducing South Africa’s ever-increasing stockpile of waste tyres. This is despite the fact that the province is home to one of the country’s largest tyre manufacturing plants, at Dunlop, in Ladysmith.

According to Redisa, South Africa adds 11-million waste tyres to its 60-million-tonne stockpile each year. Between December 2013 and November 2014, 31 229 t of used tyres were processed nationally.

At Mathe Group, the recycling procedure comprises sorting, a three-phase crushing process and then the packaging of the resulting rubber crumb. Magnets remove the metal components and separators produce different sized particles for different applications. These include the manufacture of asphalt for roads and pavements, brake pads and insulation products.

Between 70% and 80% of the rubber crumb produced by Mathe Group goes to the Van Dyck Carpet factory in Prospecton where it is used to manufacture acoustic underlays for soft and hard flooring. These prevent the transfer of noise from floor to floor in multistorey buildings.

Mathe Group has also provided rubber crumb for use as an inlay for sports fields using artificial grass.

The group was set up in 2010 by Vusumuzi Mathe, an entrepreneur who has worked extensively in the construction industry in Gauteng since 1985.

The company started manufacturing rubber crumb or granulate in late 2011 in limited quantities. In 2013, it obtained a licence from the eThekwini municipality to manufacture rubber crumb without restriction on quantities.

Zarrebini explains that Mathe Group started supplying Van Dyck Carpets with rubber crumb in 2012 when the carpet manufacturer expanded into the production of acoustic underlays.

“There was synergy from the start since Van Dyck was trying to source rubber crumb locally instead of either importing it or buying it from the Western Cape and Gauteng. From PFE International’s point of view, it made sense to secure the company’s supply chain, so we formed a JV with Mathe Group in 2014,” he notes.

Significant investment in equipment at Van Dyck will increase output of acoustic underlays and, hence, consumption of rubber crumb. Van Dyck also plans to start manufacturing acoustic cradles and sound barriers using rubber crumb later this year.

Zarrebini adds that Van Dyck is also working with a UK partner to investigate other applications. Currently, acoustic underlays are exported to the US, Australia, Qatar and South Korea.

Edited by Chanel de Bruyn
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor Online

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