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Manufacturing start-up investing in sustainable tyre remoulding in Mauritius

Established in November 2023 with an initial investment of MUR 7 million within the Floreal industrial zone, Woodgrove Investments Ltd is making a significant impact on the local transportation sector through the remoulding of used truck and bus tyres. This startup of 8 employees, equipped with the latest tyre tech, is also the holder of a franchise from the regional rebuilt-tyre leader, Bandag (SA).

Bandag operates more than 90 franchise dealers in Europe, Middle East and Africa. Originally from South Africa, Bandag was acquired in 2007 by Bridgestone, one of the biggest tyre makers worldwide, and is now a global company with 15 production facilities on 5 continents, producing retreading equipment and holding more than 275 tread designs.

According to official statistics, imports of vehicle tyres in Mauritius amounted to USD 26 M in 2023, out of which an estimated 20% (around 50,000 units amounting to USD 5.3 M) are meant for Bus, Truck and other heavy duty agricultural uses.

Nowadays, driven by cost savings, most operators make use of lower end imported tyres that have a useful lifetime of around 25,000 km. However, a properly rebuilt tyre manufactured on a high-quality casing may improve vehicle efficiency by providing a mileage of 30,000 to 35,000 km, with sound tyre management practices. *

Budget 2024/2025 provides for the import of Grade A tyre casings for rebuilding. The ambition is to leverage the Mauritius platform to serve the USD 1.1 Bn SADC and COMESA market through ‘green recycled tyres’ made in Mauritius.

A high-quality tyre casing may be rebuilt at least three times providing a secure and productive lifetime of 90,000 km on local roads. Through this model, a logistics company with a fleet of 10 trucks would expect savings of at least USD 50,000 each year on tyres alone.

Tyre rebuilding reduces the number of tyres being sent to a dump or landfill and may ultimately contribute to cut our import dependence by at least 50%. This would generate a foreign exchange savings of USD 2.6 M as well as employment for at least 200 people in the short term.
(https://www.bandag.com/en-us/fleets/savings-calculator).

Over that last two decades, the technology related to tyre recycling has improved considerably. The big names of the tyre industry have since the year 2000 accelerated the development of their retread technology. Today the world leaders include Michelin (France), Bridgestone Corporation (Japan), The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company (USA), Marangoni S.p.A. (Italy), Redburn Tire Company (USA), and of course Bandag.
(https://www.retread.org/featured-retreaders).

According to industry experts, a rebuilt tyre is as safe as a new tyre because it is built on a service-tested tyre casing. It is interesting to note that even aircrafts use remoulded tyres. An estimated 80 percent of all airplanes in the United States have shifted to rebuilt tyres as per the guidelines issued by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA, circular 4/28/17). As for delivery vehicles, one of every four replacement truck tyres in Europe is retreaded.

Re-manufactured tyres contribute to reducing the carbon footprint of the transport industry. On average 70% less oil is used in rebuilding a tyre as compared to manufacturing a new one, lowering CO2 emission by up to 14kg per tyre (size 315/80R22.5). It takes about 80 litres of crude oil to produce one new truck tyre, whereas it takes only 26 litres of oil to turn a worn truck tyre into a fully functional retread. The rubber chips and filings that result from the processing of tyres are collected and exported as secondary materials, used in products such as gloves and rubber boots.

(Source)
*Statistics Mauritius – Data Source for Mauritius Tyre Imports Stats (HS 42112000); Trade Map – Data Source for COMESA/ SADC Tyre Imports Stats (HS 42112000)

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