Bolder and Liberty: A rock-solid partnership

TERRE HAUTE, Ind.—Just less than one year ago, Bolder Industries Inc. announced that it would lean on Liberty Tire Recycling L.L.C. to supply scrap tires for its patented fossil fuel and steel mining processes.

That partnership has come to fruition, as Bolder and the Pittsburgh-based Liberty said Aug. 2 that Bolder's western Indiana location will process about 3 million scrap tires per year from Liberty's feedstock, beginning in 2023.

That number could increase to 6 million per year with further expansion in Terre Haute. An initial $40 million has been put into retrofitting the 66,000-sq.-ft. production facility, which Bolder purchased from Pyrolyx USA Indiana on Dec. 7, 2021.

"We view this relationship as part of our commitment to provide a core infrastructure for end-of-life tires for our customers," said Liberty Tire CEO Thomas Womble. "Ultimately, the environmental savings captured from this partnership will be realized by the customers of both organizations—allowing them to achieve their sustainability mandates and goals."

According to Bolder CEO Tony Wibbeler, 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).

"We're thrilled to formally partner with our friends at Liberty Tire who share in our vision and are right there with us, doing the hard work it takes to shift a massive supply chain toward long-term sustainability that will have positive ripple effects for decades to come," Wibbeler said.

The Terre Haute plant is expected to create about 40 jobs and capacity is estimated to increase three-fold for Bolder when production begins.

The addition for Boulder, Col.-based Bolder will bring the total number of employees to between 90 and 100.

Phase I of the Indiana project will have three reactors to break down scrap tires, and the facility "is piped for a fourth reactor," Wibbeler told Rubber News late last year.

The Terre Haute site 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.

Liberty Tire, founded in 2000, is the largest scrap tire collector and recycle in the U.S., collecting about 200 million tire annually.

Outside of the Terre Haute announcement, Bolder and Liberty have expressed interest in partnerships in Illinois, South Carolina, Maryland and Tennessee.

"The partnership with Bolder is valuable and meaningful—allowing us to meet our ESG goals and strengthen our role as a major contributor to the circular economy," said Liberty vice president of sustainability Amy Brackin. "In terms of sustainability and environment stewardship, the benefits of this collaboration will extend to Liberty customers and the communities we serve across North America."