This article tells how Salvadori – the renowned provider of tire recycling solutions and recycling technologies – helped American OTR tire manufacturer efficiently recycle their end-of-life products.

Off The Road (OTR) tires usually pose a huge challenge for companies when it comes to their recycling – OTR tires up to 51 inches in diameter previously were not easily downsized. The question was, how to take advantage by turning waste into something of value.

Inland’s commitment to become a major player in circular economy

Inland Industrial Tire is a 3rd generation Off The Road (OTR) tire business in America. Inland sells and services OTR tires from four northern California locations. Inland CEO Eric Griffin has a dynamic vision to bring Inland’s services full circle. His vision is to recycle, repurpose and reuse those tires that Inland sells and services, and to position Inland as a major player in the new “Circular Economy”.

According to Griffin, what is occurring with scrap [OTR] tires is not sustainable.

“We want to be on the leading edge of the Circular Economy by providing a solution that downsizes and recycles these tires into new useful products. We are on an aggressive growth trajectory to double our business over the next 10 years and candidly, it’s just the right thing to do!” – Griffin said.

Given the challenges end-of-life OTR tires pose to recyclers, the company was looking for a reliable technology supplier to provide an innovative know-how.

Turning to Salvadori’s OTR tire recycling solutions

To overcome the challenge, Inland was introduced to Salvadori by a representative from sister company TECH, as they had been using TECH’s tire & wheel service products for years. Inland CEO Eric Griffin shared his frustration with not being able to find a solution for this OTR tire downsizing challenge.

“Once I was able to interact with the Salvadori Team and see their facility firsthand I was immediately impressed.” – Griffin says.

After the initial visit, the Salvadori Team scoped the project to design, build and install two pieces of equipment created to meet Inland’s specific challenges.

To help Inland meet it’s ambitios goal, Salvadori designed a completely customized machine named “Wolverine” capable of cutting the largest OTR tires. One important facet of Wolverine, according to Salvadori, is that it is a fully automated piece of equipment which reduces labor costs and mitigates potential workplace injury liabilities. This was particularly important to Inland.

Wolverine II in action. Video by Salvadori.

The second piece of equipment, Hercules 90 is able to quickly and efficiently extract the steel bead from large OTR tires. According to Salvadori, 97% of the rubber is removed in the debeading process which enhances the value of the reclaimed steel.

According to the CEO of Inland, Salvadori’s equipment exceeded the operator’s expectations during the factory acceptance test (FAT), which took place at Salvadori’s manufacturing facility in Rovereto, Italy.

In addition, Salvadori provides the following information about its equipment:

  • Wolverine shears 30 OTR tire cuts per hour, cutting one tire in less than 5 – 10 minutes;
  • Wolverine’s shear blades are crafted from the highest-quality alloys using close tolerance quality control standards;
  • Shear blades provide optimum performance and extended blade life, which means more tons per edge, while reducing downtime due to blade change;
  • Hercules 90 is able to debead 8–12 tires per hour;
  • The machinery delivers steel beads which are 97% free of rubber.

“We are exceptionally pleased with the entire experience, the collaborative nature which enabled us to work through challenges in order to create a world class business solution is very rewarding.” said Inland CEO Eric Griffin.

According to the equipment manufacturer, Salvadori brings over 30 years of experience in recycling products and recycling equipment with an installed customer base in 40 countries around the world.

To learn more about Salvadori Recycling, please visit the company’s official website.