Carbon black firm gets bold new name, facility

BOULDER, Colo.—Boulder-based Waste to Energy Partners, a waste conversion company that specializes in converting end-of-life tires into carbon black, has changed its name to Bolder Industries, effective immediately.

The new name emphasizes Bolder's core mission of converting solid waste into energy-rich materials and diverting significant amounts of solid waste from landfills, the company said in a statement.

Along with the name change, Bolder will open a first-of-its-kind facility, Marysville Carbon Solutions, in Marysville, Mo., the company said.

The grand opening of the MCS plant was scheduled for Feb. 3, according to Jessica Hogan, Bolder director of marketing.

The 24,000-sq.-ft. MCS plant will add at least 15 employees to Bolder's work force, according to the company.

"MCS operates a net energy-positive facility that is 90 percent more efficient in terms of water and electricity consumption than commercial alternatives and diverts nearly 50 million pounds of waste from entering our landfills each year," according to Bolder's website.

The main product at MCS will be Bolder Black, Bolder's closed-loop alternative to traditional carbon black, the company said.

Bolder Black improves the performance of many rubbers and plastics; accelerates the sustainability efforts of product manufacturers that use it; stabilizes costs currently dependent on volatile oil prices; and enables product innovation because it is not tied to the limitations of standard carbon grades, Bolder said.

Initially, MCS will have the capacity to process 2 million scrap tires annually, but plans to process 1 million in 2017, Hogan said.

According to the company, those 1 million tires will result in 7 million pounds of recycled Bolder Black, 1.2 million gallons of reclaimed oil and 1,600 tons of recycled steel.

The Marysville plant produced about 1 million pounds of Bolder Black in 2016, but the plant closed in the fall for renovation and conversion into MCS, Hogan said.

The renovations included installation of a tire shredder and other equipment, she said.

Bolder has a small but growing customer list, according to Hogan. Although she said she was not at liberty to name customers, she said the companies interested in Bolder Black include:

• End users focusing on sustainable supply chain efforts;

• Rubber and plastics compounders interested in developing higher-performing compounds; and

• Traditional carbon black manufacturers that want to create eco-friendly blends.