MUNICH—Recovered carbon black supplier Pyrolyx has made a series of moves to shore up its still nascent U.S. operations ahead of moving its headquarters to facilities under construction in Terre Haute, Ind.
In the U.S., Pyrolyx said it has secured additional debt funding of $4.5 million and agreed to buy the assets of tire recycling business J&R Used Tire Service Inc., which is setting up a tire-shredding facility in Newport, Ind., primarily to supply feedstock to Pyrolyx. The purchase agreement is valued at $4.5 million.
J&R invested $2.15 million to develop the new plant in Newport, which has a rated shredding capacity of 350,000 passenger tires a month and is part of J&R's worn-tire collection business that operates throughout Indiana and Illinois and into neighboring states as well, according to Rodney Rogers, former owner.
Pyrolyx said purchasing J&R helps it secure the supply of waste tires for its Terre Haute plants and provides it with an opportunity to approach waste tire generators, such as the major retail chains or tire manufacturers, with a "cradle-to-grave" concept.
Rogers said he will continue to work with Pyrolyx, evaluating potential additional sites for operations and helping to secure outlets for the Pyrolyx process's byproducts, such as wire, oil, etc.
Pyrolyx did not identify the source of the new funding, but said it intends to use it to "facilitate the acceleration" of the construction of the second plant on the same property. Engineering design and environmental permitting for the second plant already has stared, Pyrolyx said.
In Germany, Pyrolyx has closed its Munich headquarters and transferred many of the global administrative functions U.S.-based based personnel. The company remains in discussions with its workers at its research and design facility in Stegelitz, Germany, about their future.
