Salvadori has partnered with Rubberosion and The State of Colorado to tackle the massive end-of-life tyre dilemma. Rubberosion Inc. is the USA’s leading provider of value-added end-use rubber products for stormwater and erosion control. Its business began with a vision to find a solution to Colorado’s scrap tyre problem, which was large tyre dumps, one which erupted in a major tyre fire, turning what was considered as an environmental problem into an environmental solution.
Salvadori Partners with Rubberosion and The State of Colorado
Over the years, its distribution network grew together with the market demand for its products. To meet the increased production volumes, Rubberosion started looking for solutions that could help them improve their manufacturing process.
Salvadori stepped up with a fully automated moulding unit that positioned the company at the forefront of quality and innovation in recycled rubber products. “Our operators now have user-friendly software and interface, assuring product quality and consistency. Together we have built a business relationship above just machinery and parts, we have built a relationship on innovation and green solutions” said Rick Welle President of Rubberosion.
Salvadori’s automated press solution offers extreme flexibility thanks to the software, which stores creative formulas and allows for production in an automatic cycle. Compatible with the entire range of Salvadori’s moulds. The dosing precision guarantees extremely high-quality levels with a dramatic increase in productivity.
Rubberosin’s manufacturing process had been reliant on an inefficient system of compression moulding, which involved manually feeding each mould with rubber granule. This manual operation led to extremely high labour costs, lower throughput and extensive employee overtime in order to deliver production volume equal to market demand.
Pressure to meet production volumes also led to quality issues when behaviours such as inconsistent cure times, erratic amounts of raw material fill and overall operator error compromised quality and production volumes. Additionally, the mould press lacked a properly integrated safety system and any electronic controls to monitor production standards.
Rubberosion sought a strategic partner to tackle their production challenges. Concurrently, Rubberosion was working in conjunction with the State of Colorado, to locate a firm with the experience and expertise to eliminate a massive end of life tyre dump and corresponding negative environmental impact.
Salvadori’s North American Business Development Manager Genti Bardhi had been in communication with the State and an exploratory meeting between the parties was conducted. Team Salvadori utilised their 4D solution development process, and during the discovery session identified numerous areas of improvement for equipment and operational functionality.
“Salvadori is the only company in North America that offers a closed loop solution to tyre recycling, from deconstructing the tyre to creating life safe products from rubber artifacts. Our collaboration with the State of Colorado and Rubberosion to find a solution for the abandoned tyres, was highly successful in creating the best possible product for the market with the highest technological standards” said Bardhi.
Salvadori envisioned several overall improvements focused upon Rubberosion operational and functional objectives. Salvadori proposed a fully automated moulding unit which precisely dispensed and monitored raw rubber granule utilising an electronic PLC system, thereby ensuring QA standards where being achieved.
Likewise, Salvadori engineered OHSA compliant operator safety features while increasing operator ease of use which reduced operator fatigue while increasing overall productivity.
Overall, Rubberosion benefited from enhanced technology which enabled its transition to an automated and safe operation, as well as delivering enhanced functionality. The design also supplies a more advanced and efficient moulding method which led to cost savings, faster mould changeover times, improved productivity, and improved product quality. The new equipment and design have been especially important during Covid -19 workplace challenges.
Specific Enhancements Included:
- Compression moulding systems are up to 3 times faster than the company’s previous method
- Changeover time for weekly production and processing decreased by 1 ½ days
- Increased savings from reduced maintenance downtime
- Higher safety standards according to the highest OSHA and UL standards in USA
- Increased savings on product storage and associated inventory management in the plant
- Improved productivity while decreasing the number of machine-operators required
- Guaranteed production for 3 shifts, 7 days a week, thanks to automated workflow, which avoided production losses due to COVID-19 staffing issues
- Interchangeable tools/moulds
- Industry leading customer support and remote-control system monitoring
