Lehigh Technologies, a specialty chemicals company that produces sustainable raw materials from end-of-life tyres and post-industrial rubber, says that production has started at its new Murillo el Fruto Micronized Rubber Powder (MRP) plant in Navarra, Spain. The plant is the first for Lehigh outside of the US and was constructed in partnership with Lehigh’s Spanish partner Hera Holding, a recycling company.
The Murillo plant incorporates Lehigh’s proprietary cryogenic turbo mill technology and has the capacity to produce 10,000 tonnes/year of MRP. The plant will produce Lehigh’s PolyDyne and MicroDyne range of MRP, already used by customers in more than 18 countries around the world.
The production line is co-located with Indugarbi NFU, a tyre recycler in Spain operated by Hera, which will ensure efficient supply of granulate feedstock for the MRP manufacturing process.
“I’m very proud of the international team that made this project successful,” said Jason Stravinski, Lehigh’s VP of Operations. “Engineers from Lehigh US, Lehigh Spain and Hera Holding all worked together with the project team to complete the project on time and on budget. We expect this plant will be a crucial component to meeting the rising demand for green chemicals in Europe and beyond.”
The plant in Navarra will supply the growing demand for Lehigh’s MRP product range from the tire, bitumen, coatings, construction and polyurethane industries in Europe and the Middle East.
“Demand for Lehigh’s products is increasing rapidly and this new plant comes at the perfect time to support the growth,” said Lluís Molina, General Manager Lehigh Spain. “The Murillo plant is the next step in Lehigh’s mission to commercialize MRP for customers in a wide range of performance driven markets.”
Lehigh Technologies became a subsidiary of Michelin in late 2017. It supports Michelin’s recently announced goal that new tyres will contain 80% of sustainable materials by 2048.