signed a memorandum of understanding with Scandinavian Enviro Systems AB (Enviro), which develops products for recycling used car tyres, to develop a turn-key recycling plant in China.
“Vanlead wants to take the initiative in the industry and use Enviro’s reclaimed carbon black material in its tyre production on a massive scale. A first plant is currently on the drawing board. This plant will have the capacity to handle 30,000 tonnes of tyres every year and will supply Vanlead’s various production units across China,” says Enviro CEO Thomas Sörensson.
The agreement between Enviro and Vanlead Group serves as a first step towards creating a new recycling facility in Guangdong in Southern China. The agreement is the outcome of positive results from demanding tests of rubber mixtures intended for tyres that the Vanlead Group performed on Enviro’s materials over a period.
“Our ambition is to conclude the negotiations over the summer. The plant will follow the basic design that we developed with ÅF and that is now ready,” Sörensson says.
“I’m convinced that Enviro’s unique production technology for sustainable materials is the future for the tyre industry,” says Fu Shoujie, Vanlead Group Chairman.
The Vanlead Group’s activities span multiple business areas, where tyre production represents a strategic area both domestically and internationally. The company is one of the world’s largest tyre manufacturers, and it exports tyres to Europe, the US, and other parts of the world.
Enviro recently reported that yet another major, internationally leading tyre producer had achieved positive results from their tyre rubber materials tests.
“Lately, we’ve received positive feedback from several international tyre producers that have performed tests on our reclaimed carbon black material. China is the world’s largest market for tyres, rubber, and carbon black; there is great awareness that raw materials are limited; and state-owned Vanlead is the first to exhibit this high level of ambition. These are all positive indicators,” says Sörensson.