KITCHENER, Ontario—Tyromer Inc., a company advertising itself as having a better way to recycle scrap tire rubber and manage scrap tire waste, has opened a new plant in Kitchener.
The official dedication and open house for the Tyromer Waterloo plant was held Sept. 18 at the plant site in Kitchener, according to a company press release.
Tyromer Waterloo will be the first manufacturer of Tyromer-TDP, a devulcanized rubber product manufactured using the technology invented by Prof. Costas Tzoganakis of the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Waterloo, Tyromer said.
“With Tyromer-TDP, there is now a socially responsible and environmentally sustainable solution to the global management of scrap tires,” said Tyromer CEO Sam Visaisouk.
Tyromer began pilot operations in 2010 with $750,000 in funding from venture capital firm First Leaside Visions II L.P. The company set up a devulcanization machine based on Tzoganakis' technology in the Kitchener facility of AirBoss Rubber Compounding, a subsidiary of AirBoss of America Inc.
Tyromer also received financial support from the University of Waterloo, Michelin Development Co., Ontario Tire Stewardship and the Ontario Centres of Excellence.
According to Tyromer's website, Tyromer-TDP can be produced from scrap tire crumb in sizes ranging from 20 mesh to 40 mesh and beyond. Tyromer can also devulcanize scrap EPDM from seal and window frame manufacturing, it said.
Tyromer-TDP offers customers many advantages in a wide range of applications, including lower material costs, a shelf-life of more than two years, limited price fluctuation, abundant feedstock, a lower carbon footprint and improved sustainability, the company said.
The product can be processed for a wide range of Mooney viscosity and tensile strengths, according to Tyromer. It has been incorporated into tread compounds for off-the-road retreading applications, it said.
Besides operating its own plant, Tyromer seeks licensees to produce Tyromer-TDP, according to the website.