Used tire waste can be processed into tire powder, which can be used as raw material for various rubber products. A used tire powder producer in Bekasi, West Java, can sell at least 100 tons of tire powder each month. Their turnover can reach IDR 500 million per month.
The continued rise in rubber prices on the global market has impacted business sectors that rely on this natural commodity. The tire powder business is an example.
Tire manufacturers have traditionally relied on natural rubber supplies. As rubber prices rise, they are increasingly looking to recycled tires as raw material.
For used tire recycling businesses, this presents a significant opportunity. Darmin Leo, owner of CV Gemilang R&P Jaya Makmur in Bekasi, West Java, for example, has already experienced the lucrative profits of the tire recycling business. He has been involved in the used tire recycling business for two years.
Besides buying used tires from individuals, he also buys them from various companies in Sumatra and Kalimantan. “There are a lot of plantation and mining companies there that use large vehicles,” he said.
Darmin then grinds the used tires in a shredding machine. The result is granules or tire powder. “I designed the machine myself,” he said.
After the tire powder is produced, Darmin sells it to a number of companies that need it, including shoe and sandal manufacturers. “The tire powder is then processed into product bases,” he added.
In addition to footwear manufacturers, Darmin’s customers include carpet manufacturers who use tire powder as a base for their products to prevent slipperiness. “Tire powder is also widely used by futsal field managers. It makes the futsal carpets non-slip and painless,” he said.
Darmin admitted that he can sell at least 100 tons of tire powder per month. “I can supply any quantity,” he said.
The selling price varies depending on the fineness of the tire powder. The finer the tire powder, the more expensive it is. “The price ranges from Rp 2,700 to Rp 5,000 per kilogram (kg),” he said. Darmin estimates that he can earn between Rp 270 million and Rp 500 million per month from tire powder sales.
Another player in the tire powder business is PT Alam Java Lestari in Surabaya, East Java. Zainal, a marketing officer at Alam Java, said that the average tire powder currently ordered is between 40 and 60 mesh. “Besides its moderate fineness, it’s also economical if you buy in bulk,” he said.
Like Darmin, Zainal also sets the price for the finest tire powder, or 80 mesh, at Rp 5,000 per kg. The price for 40 mesh is around Rp 4,000 per kg. “Currently, we can sell around 4 tons of tire powder per month,” he said.
He admitted that most of Alam Java’s tire powder is sold to tire companies. These tire manufacturers use tire powder to reduce the production costs of new tires.
However, the quality of tires made from used tire powder differs from that of products made from natural rubber. The current price of rubber is around IDR 33,000 per kg for export quality. If you buy tire powder, it’s only IDR 4,000 per kg. “So, manufacturers will prefer to use tire powder,” he said.
Yogi, a resident of Solo, Central Java, has also been involved in this promising used tire recycling business for the past year.
However, the high demand for used tire powder allows him to sell up to 20 tons of tire powder each month. Yogi markets most of his tire powder in Solo and the surrounding areas.
The selling price of tire powder around his business location is not much different from other areas. “However, the selling price in the Solo area fluctuates more,” Yogi added.
Yogi is optimistic that with the increasing price of rubber on the market, various companies that use rubber as their main raw material will switch to used tire powder. He reasons that, besides being cheaper than natural rubber, tire powder can be used as a supporting material for rubber-based products. “It’s not the main raw material, but it is a supporting material,” he concluded.
