A multi-million rand investment in a rubber crumb manufacturing plant in Hammarsdale will take rubber tyre recycling to a whole new level in KwaZulu-Natal.

Dr Mehran Zarrebini, head of British investment group PFE International which owns Van Dyck Carpets, 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.

Recycling expected to increase

The Mathe Group, set up in 2010 by Vusumuzi Mathe, currently recycles waste truck tyres in an 850 sq/m facility in New Germany. Its new factory, which is due to be commissioned in April this year, comprises a 2 500 sq/m factory and a 1 000 sq/m warehouse.

It will be fitted out with R20 million 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 150 000 tyres will produce approximately 8,670 tons of rubber crumb.

New equipment will allow the Mathe Group to recycle both car and truck tyres.

Rubber crumb revolution

Currently, between 70 and 80 percent 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. Rubber crumb from the New Germany factory was used for four FIFA one star rated soccer fields in Cape Town last year and is currently being used to complete a major project in Southern Africa.

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.”