Bolder Industries transforming former Pyrolyx facility

TERRE HAUTE, Ind.—Tony Wibbeler, Bolder Industries Inc. president and CEO, describes the producer of sustainable raw materials from scrap tires as "having an old soul."

"In many ways, we are not novel, we are not doing anything that has not been done before," Wibbeler told Rubber News Dec. 13. "When your mom finished a bag of bread, that bag became your lunch bag, and then something else, and then something else, until it could not be used any longer.

"That is what we are doing by mining these raw materials. We want to see them used over and over again. If we are going to pull fossil fuels from tires, let's give them all we can with as many uses and reuses as possible."

Reflecting its growth, the Boulder, Colo.-based company recently purchased a 66,000-sq.-ft. carbon black (BolderBlack, a replacement for virgin or petroleum-based carbon black) and oil (BolderOil) production facility in Terre Haute, a city of 171,000 in western Indiana.

The facility previously was owned by Pyrolyx USA Indiana, which went bankrupt in 2020.

Terms of the transaction, which closed Dec. 7, were not disclosed by the privately held Bolder Industries.

The facility, intended to meet customer demand for sustainable oils and carbon blacks by early 2023, will be retrofitted using an initial $40 million investment.

The plant is expected to create about 40 jobs in western Indiana, and capacity is estimated to increase three-fold for Bolder when production begins—diverting about 3 million tires from landfills or burning.

The Terre Haute addition will bring the total number of employees at Bolder to between 90 and 100.

"As a native Hoosier, it's incredibly rewarding to come back to my home state and revive a great concept and facility," Wibbeler said. "The Terre Haute facility is in an excellent location and has great elements that complement our proprietary technology and process. This purchase enables us to expand our capacity to meet current customer demand now and provides for future growth."

According to Bolder, the company's unique process takes feedstock scrap tires and uses 98 percent of the material, with about 75 percent of the solids and liquids extracted from the recycled tires making their way back into new tires, manufactured rubber products and plastics.

Materials "mined" from the breakdown—using a suite of processes, including pyrolysis—include, from one tire, gas (10 percent); oil (BolderOil, 40 percent); carbon black (BolderBlack, 33 percent); and steel (15 percent).

The process by which the carbon black and oil are harnessed reduces greenhouse gas emissions, water and energy usage by up to 90 percent over traditional production processes, according to Bolder.

"We run on our own non-combustible gases. And you don't lose performance with our products," Wibbeler said. "We can meet a cost goal, a sustainability goal and a performance goal without disrupting a customer's current supply chain."

Bolder said it will lean on a partnership with Pittsburgh-based Liberty Tire Recycling L.L.C. for the operation, with Liberty providing and categorizing the feedstock scrap tires for Bolder.

So why choose the Heartland for the next phase of growth?

Location, location, location.

Western Indiana is prime real estate for the circular solutions company, where about 86 customers are within a one-day truck trip for its proprietary carbon black and oil.

"In fact, one customer is about a 9-iron away from us. It is a huge part of our business model to get closer to our customers, as transportation can be pretty expensive," Wibbeler said.

In addition, Bolder found that the Terre Haute facility required fairly minimal preparation in terms of both capacity adaptations and production retrofits.

"It is a well-thought out location," he said. "The work force has been very good there, very responsive, as well. And transitioning our equipment at Terre Haute is not a herculean feat.

"It is all very modular ... plug it in and it is ready to go. Pyrolyx did a lot of things right."

Phase I of the Indiana project will have three reactors to break down scrap tires, and the facility "is piped for a fourth reactor."

Bolder, which began operations in 2011, said the Terre Haute retrofits will mirror a similar, $14 million expansion in Maryville, Mo., installed in 2014 and a facility with two reactors that now runs 24 hours a day in the production of sustainable raw materials for circular economies.

By harnessing the carbon black and oil using a greener, more environmentally friendly process, Wibbeler said the ultimate goal is to give new life to innertubes, coolers, roofs, office chairs, nylon bolts, boots and shoes, makeup, personal care, belts (clothing), simple hoses, bike tires, conveyance belting and automotive tires, among many other products.

Bolder said it will lean on a partnership with Pittsburgh-based Liberty Tire Recycling L.L.C. for the operation, with Liberty providing and categorizing the feedstock scrap tires for Bolder.

So why choose the Heartland for the next phase of growth?

Location, location, location.

Western Indiana is prime real estate for the circular solutions company, where about 86 customers are within a one-day truck trip for its proprietary carbon black and oil.

"In fact, one customer is about a 9-iron away from us. It is a huge part of our business model to get closer to our customers, as transportation can be pretty expensive," Wibbeler said.

In addition, Bolder found that the Terre Haute facility required fairly minimal preparation in terms of both capacity adaptations and production retrofits.

"It is a well-thought out location," he said. "The work force has been very good there, very responsive, as well. And transitioning our equipment at Terre Haute is not a herculean feat.

"It is all very modular ... plug it in and it is ready to go. Pyrolyx did a lot of things right."

Phase I of the Indiana project will have three reactors to break down scrap tires, and the facility "is piped for a fourth reactor."

Bolder, which began operations in 2011, said the Terre Haute retrofits will mirror a similar, $14 million expansion in Maryville, Mo., installed in 2014 and a facility with two reactors that now runs 24 hours a day in the production of sustainable raw materials for circular economies.

By harnessing the carbon black and oil using a greener, more environmentally friendly process, Wibbeler said the ultimate goal is to give new life to innertubes, coolers, roofs, office chairs, nylon bolts, boots and shoes, makeup, personal care, belts (clothing), simple hoses, bike tires, conveyance belting and automotive tires, among many other products.

"I see this as a collaboration of minds in rubber, plastic and tire recycling," Wibbeler said. "What makes us different is that we are not a tech company, we are not a project company. We are a product manufacturer. We are an accelerant to sustainability and cost savings, focused on valued-added propositions for product performance."

The CEO likened Bolder's role for its customers to a "supercharger or an intel chip."

"We are very complimentary to companies who are also in this game," Wibbeler said. "With our focus on rubber, plastics and petrochemicals, we provide some pretty good ammunition toward end-of-life tire problems.

"Does anyone want to burn a tire? No. Does anyone want a tire sitting in their backyard? No. I could not be more excited about our growth. We are at the leading edge of the clean production industry. It is all about maximizing your raw materials. We are ready for that next industrial revolution."

Besides Terre Haute and Maryville, Bolder has product development facilities in Punta Gorda, Fla., known as the Bledsoe Innovation Group, and Maryville (separate from the production space there).

"There is full laboratory there, with full compounding capabilities," Wibbeler said. "We can accelerate the product development portion of the business. A customer might come to us and say 'Here is my hose, make it as sustainable as possible and save me a penny per pound.' We just ask that they then do business with us and buy our products."

As Bolder looks to the future, the company's focus will remain on North America first, with Europe a "heavy second," Wibbeler said.

Bolder maintains an office in Dublin, Ireland, and Wibbeler said there are plans to expand with production facilities in Belgium and the U.K. in the coming years.

"We anticipate we will be operational in Europe by 2024," Wibbeler said. "Our big push will be in North American and European production in the next three to five years.

"And then, opportunistically, the rest of the world. We are building out to suit rising demand from our customers—and we are here to help solve environmental problems."