Dr Mehran Zarrebini, head of PFE International, said that the new facility would be the new home of the Mathe Group, one of only two KwaZulu-Natal companies registered with tyre recycling regulatory body Redisa.
The Mathe Group currently recycles waste truck tyres in an 850m2 facility in New Germany. Its new factory, which is due to be commissioned in April this year, comprises a 2,500m2 factory and a 1,000m2 warehouse. It will be fitted out with R20m worth of state-of-the-art equipment which is due to arrive in South Africa within the next three months. At capacity, the Mathe Group's New Germany facility processes six tons of radial truck tyres per day.
According to Zarrebini, the Mathe Group processed approximately 28,000 truck tyres during 2014. Over the next five years, this number is expected to dramatically increase to approximately 150,000 tyres. These tyres will produce approximately 8,670 tons of rubber crumb.
Currently, between 70% and 80% of the Mathe Group's rubber crumb output goes to the Van Dyck factory in Prospecton where it is used to manufacture acoustic underlays for laminated flooring. The Mathe Group has also provided rubber crumb for use as a foundation for sports fields utilising artificial grass.
The Mathe Group was set up in 2010 by Vusumuzi Mathe. The company began manufacturing rubber crumb or granulate in late 2011 in limited quantities. In 2013, the Mathe Group obtained a licence from the Ethekwini Municipality to manufacture rubber crumb without restriction on quantities.
Zarrebini explained that the Mathe Group had begun supplying Van Dyck Carpets with rubber crumb in 2012 when that company was expanding and had begun manufacturing acoustic underlays.
"There was synergy from the start since Van Dyck was trying to source rubber crumb locally instead of either importing it or buying it from the Western Cape and Gauteng. From PFE International's point of view, it made sense to secure the company's supply chain, so we formed a joint venture with the Mathe Group in 2014," Zarrebini said.
