CHICAGO (Dec. 7, 12 p.m. ET) — CTC Plastics is teaming up with materials company Lehigh Technologies to give new life to old tires.
CTC is offering a resin compound, Xpro Rubber Batch, which contains micronized rubber powder. Lehigh makes the powder from discarded and unusable tires.
CTC uses the masterbatch — a 50-50 mix of powder and polypropylene —to manufacture pallets from 100 percent recycled material.
The company says the pallets have the same performance and quality as ones made from virgin material but cost less and offer a reduced carbon footprint.
The pallets are also a great recycling story, said John Dennis, chief operating officer, in a phone interview.
“Rubber tires are probably one of the worst [pollutants] in the continent,” he said.
CTC’s uses end-of-life tires in its masterbatch. That masterbatch is made into pallets that CTC sells back to tire and automotive companies, offering customers a closed-loop solution, he said.
“We’re very proud of it. We think it’s a good way to get rid of that violator,” he said.
The company also sells the masterbatch to its customers, who can use it to make industrial packaging like totes or garbage cans, Dennis said.
“It’s cool because it allows other injection molders to do things that we might not do,” he said.
CTC announced the partnership with Lehigh at Pack Expo 2012, held Oct. 28-31 in Chicago.
The company has since had a lot of enquires about the pallets and material, Dennis said, adding that the project is still in the ramp-up stage.
Per customer demand, CTC is also looking into making a compound with polyethylene, which would allow the masterbatch to be used in different products, he said.
CTC, based in Dayton, Ohio, makes pallets and custom products from recycled materials using injection and compression molding. The company also compounds its own materials.
CTC is a subsidiary of Soin International LLC, a global holding company based in Dayton.
Lehigh is based in Tucker, Ga. Its micronized rubber powders are used in a variety of consumer and industrial applications.
