From RB:
TIREX SIGNS SUPPLY PACT WITH IM2
By: Robert L. Powers Rubber & Plastics News Correspondent
Category: News
Issue Date: 02-01-99
Page: 4
MONTREAL--Tirex Corp. has been awarded an exclusive five-year contract to supply recycled rubber-based welcome mats to
IM2 Merchandising and Manufacturing Inc. The projected sales goals over the length of the contract may reach $24.6 million,
said John L. Threshie Jr., Tirex vice president/general manager. The welcome mats will be molded from crumb rubber recycled
from scrap tires at Tirex's TCS-1 facility in Montreal.
"We will start producing crumb rubber in February,' he said. "The molding operation should be in full tilt by March making the
welcome mats. We've been sampling them out over the past month and have gotten excellent results.'
The process used by Tirex produces a superior product, according to Threshie.
"Tirex has the only cryogenic system we know of that uses compressed air instead of nitrogen, which saves a lot of money,' he
said. "It makes our system more economical and efficient. From our testing, we have produced some of the best crumb rubber in
the industry.'
The product comes out cleaner because of the method used to separate steel and fiber from the rubber, Threshie said. Tirex
could sell its crumb rubber for higher value-added products, both in the plastics and rubber industries, he said.
There should be a steady increase in employment at the Montreal plant once production moves to a 24-hour operation, seven
days a week, Threshie said.
"We should add about 100 people in the next year,' he said.
Tirex President Terence C. Byrne said the new contract is very important. "We expect it to provide us with a steady stream of
revenue and earnings in the current fiscal year,' he said.
Since Tirex will be producing the crumb rubber from which the mats are made, the company should benefit from the economic
advantages of vertical integration, Byrne said.
Under the terms of the contract, Tirex will receive 45 percent of profits realized from resale of the mats, net of all overhead,
manufacturing and shipping costs. The deal also calls for Tirex to pay a one-time, exclusive license fee of nearly $20,000 for
the right to use proprietary molds supplied by IM2.
Quebec-based IM2 has the option to extend the contract for two additional three-year periods. |
