Mathe Group expands tyre recycling facility, despite Redisa demise

9th April 2018

By: Irma Venter

Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

     

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The Mathe Group’s Hammarsdale plant, in KwaZulu-Natal, has quadrupled employment and more than doubled output since coming on stream in 2016, says the tyre recycler.

Dr Mehran Zarrebini, head of British investment group PFE International, which is one of the major shareholders in the Mathe Group, says the recycling of tyres could evolve into a growth industry in South Africa, despite the liquidation of the Recycling and Economic Development Initiative of South Africa (Redisa) last year.

In 2011 SA generated about 246 631 t of waste tyres, of which only 4% was recycled.

Redisa was created to collect a levy on new tyre rubber, to be used for waste tyre collection and recycling.

Zarrebini says many people believe that the recycling of tyres in South Africa is not sustainable because of limited demand for rubber crumb and substantial set up costs.

Initially, small companies using antiquated equipment struggled to compete with imported product subsidised by governments in the countries of origin.
 
The Mathe Group was one such operation. It started out producing rubber crumb in limited quantities from a small factory in New Germany, Durban, in 2012.
 
A joint venture with PFE International followed. The JV was formed to ensure the supply of rubber crumb to Van Dyck Floors.

The Mathe Group moved to a new R2-million processing facility in Hammarsdale, which came on stream in 2016.
 
The plant processed 65 000 tyres during its first year.
 
The group has since expanded its customer base to the point where Van Dyck accounts for only a small percentage of its production.

Zarrebini says the liquidation of Redisa last year has not impacted Mathe negatively.

He says there is a steady stream of used truck tyre deliveries from depots operated by the Waste Management Bureau, which is responsible for tyre recycling until a new tyre recycling plan is put in place by government.
 
The Mathe Group currently consumes between 30 t to 40 t of used truck tyres a day. Each month, the Hammarsdale factory produces around 600 t of rubber crumb.
 
Around 15% of this rubber crumb goes to the Van Dyck Floors factory, in Prospecton, Durban, where it is used to manufacture rubber flooring, paving and acoustic underlays for soft and hard flooring, which are exported to 50 countries.  

Around 35% of output is used as foundations for sports fields utilising artificial grass in South Africa, Namibia, Zambia, Botswana and the Congo, while 50% is purchased by the roads industry, where it is a key component in modified bitumen for road resurfacing.

Mathe also supplies manufacturers of non-slip paint and specialised coatings and tyre retreaders.
 
During 2017, the Mathe Group processed more than 150 000 used truck tyres.

Zarrebini is confident that the plant will pass the 200 000 tyre mark during 2018.
 
The group currently only recycles used radial truck tyres. These go through a three-phase crushing process. Separators produce different sized particles for different applications.

Zarrebini says the plant is likely to run into capacity constraints soon.
 
“As a result, we are investigating the introduction of a new line that will not only increase output, but give us more flexibility.

“We can then move from recycling only standard truck tyres to car tyres and truck tyres of different sizes.”

The Mathe group is also investing in equipment to remove the main steel rim from the tyres ahead of the crumbing process.

Investment in a new baling machine that will compress the steel will enable this to be done more efficiently.

Around 15% to 20% of each 68 kg truck tyre comprises hi-tensile steel, which is removed using magnets.

It is manually loaded into large bags that are placed into shipping containers for export to Korea and Australia.

Each week, the Mathe group despatches two to three 40-foot containers, which find their way to the motor industry, as well as the shipping industry where it is used to make boat and ship hulls.

A new shredder, recently brought in from Australia, will also significantly increase output at the Hammarsdale plant.

Zarrebini points out that, as a volume driven business, tyre recycling relies on improving efficiencies.

“Because this is a volume driven business, we use a lot of electricity. The key to reducing the electricity consumed is to make the whole process more efficient and to increase the amount of rubber crumb produced per kilowatt hour. So, we are constantly working at bettering the process and on training and upskilling people.”
 
The majority of employees are sourced from the immediate Hammarsdale area, where unemployment levels are high.

Since the Hammarsdale plant was commissioned, the Mathe Group has increased its workforce from 15 to 50 people.

The plant runs 24 hours a day, seven days a week.


 

 

Edited by Creamer Media Reporter

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