Milin Environmental adds rice husk ash silica to sustainable material offerings

CLEVELAND—It seems more folks are finding Milin Environmental Inc. these days. And that shouldn't really come as a surprise.

Because in an industry where sustainability matters, the knowhow of companies like Milin stand out.

The Simcoe, Ontario-based company was, after all, built on the principles of sustainability that are driving trends across the industry today. And for nearly 30 years, Milin has been offering devulcanized reclaim—butyl, chlorobutyl, EPDM and whole tire rubber. It serves a number of industries including tire, automotive, roofing, adhesives and sealants, gaskets, paints and coatings as well as custom mixing.

Now, as the rubber industry steps up sustainability efforts and looks to embrace more recycled and sustainable materials, Milin is growing again, expanding opportunities and catching more attention.

"The trend has finally caught up, and it has been nice for us," Milin President Ryan Heffernan told Rubber News. "We are seeing a lot of more people."

And if more people found their ways to Milin's booth at the ACS Rubber Division's International Elastomer Conference expo in Cleveland, they just may have discovered a newer product in the company's portfolio.

This year, Milin showcased its rice husk ash silica for tire and non-tire applications. The company is the exclusive North America distributor of the rice husk ash silica produced by its partner, Gujarat, India-based Brisil Technologies Pvt. Ltd.

"It has been very well received with all the sustainability trends going on within the industry," Ryan Heffernan said.

"It has been received well by companies we didn't even realize would be interested in it. Other chemical and raw material producers are interested to use the silica as the carrier agents, and even recovered carbon black manufacturers are looking at it to add to their carbon black," he said. "We have had tire companies looking it and, basically, anyone from conveyor belt manufacturers to hose manufacturers."

The growing interest in greater sustainability also creates more competition as players enter the market, and even more established companies diversify offerings with more sustainable materials.

The way Heffernan sees it, though, Milin has an advantage.

"It helps that we have been in it for so long," he said, noting that Milin has established a reputation for quality with its customers. "Once you are qualified with a company, it takes a long time to un-qualify yourself."

Expanding industry expectations around sustainability could end up creating new growth opportunities for Milin, too. Because all of the knowhow that the company has built over the last 30 years, is exactly the kind of understanding that could help its customers reuse waste material and even create closed loop sustainability.

"Our customers that are currently buying the devulcanized reclaim, they are still interested in the reclaim, but they want to do something with their scrap—have it devulcanized and sent back to them so they can use it," Ryan Heffernan said. "We have been looking at that for a few different companies where the volumes are there (and) they are making enough scrap."

With this in mind, Milin is mulling the possibility of expanding its devulcanized manufacturing capabilities in North America.

Since its inception, Milin has focused a majority of its efforts on devulcanized reclaim. It was, after all, the area where Ryan Heffernan's father—company founder Mike Heffernan—saw great potential.

Mike Heffernan launched Milin after having worked in cryogenic grinding. Through the contacts he had made, the opportunity to sell devulcanized reclaim emerged.

"It was a brand-new technology at that time—30 years ago," Ryan Heffernan said. "So he started a new company … (and) that was a majority of our portfolio. It still is. Just recently, we were looking to diversify a little bit. It's hard to stay afloat when you are just reliant on one product."

That's where the rice husk ash silica comes in.

And it was a move that—so far—has proven to be a good one, Ryan Heffernan said, noting that it is driving more business to Milin.

Perfect timing, actually. Because more business is coming as the company positions itself for a new era.

Mike Heffernan is preparing to hand the company reins to the next generation—Ryan Heffernan and his sister. Together, they look to lead the company, which has about five people working at its headquarters in Ontario.

Milin also operates a warehouse out of Norfolk, Va.

The way Ryan Heffernan sees it, Milin is right-sized. And as a second-generation family-run operation, the hope is to continue building on the success Mike Heffernan established, finding more ways to grow the business in the years ahead.

"As we bring on more products, we will have to grow a little bit, maybe bring on another sales person," Ryan Heffernan said. "We are looking to expand, but for right now we are a very small company. We all do a little bit of everything. We all know how to do each other's jobs."

And they do it, he said, without losing that focus on sustainability—both through its products and its operations.

In 2022, Milin earned EcoVadis Silver recognition for its holistic sustainability practices, particularly in the areas of environment, ethics, labor and human rights, and sustainable procurement.

Validation like that is proof that more of the rubber industry may just find its way to Milin.