Elasto Proxy supplies sustainable flooring to the heavy equipment industry.
Design for Sustainability (DfS) is an approach to product design that prioritizes environmental and economic sustainability. The automotive industry is a leader in this area, as a recent article in Manufacturing In Focus magazine explains. For example, Ford is ordering auto parts made of plastics retrieved from the world’s oceans. Similarly, Volkswagen is installing seat covers that use yarn made of marine debris.
The heavy equipment industry is also pursuing sustainability initiatives, and not just with fossil-free fuels and electric and hybrid-electric machinery. Because DfS includes material selection, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in the construction, forestry, agricultural, and mining industries are also using parts made from recycled materials. This includes rubber flooring that Elasto Proxy fabricates from recycled tires.
Keep reading to learn more, or contact us for quote.
How Recycled Tires Become Flooring Materials
Recycling the rubber in old tires is a multi-step process. First, used tires are collected, sorted, and shredded. Large shredding machines break the tires into smaller pieces called tire chips or crumbs, and these chunks are then pulverized into finer particles. To remove non-rubber components such as the tire’s steel belts and textile fibers, magnetic separators and air classifiers are used. As the infographic below shows, truck tires are made of a variety of materials.
After the constituent materials are separated, the rubber in used tires is devulcanized. This mechanical, chemical, or thermal process breaks down the sulfur bonds that were created during vulcanization, a hardening process that improves rubber’s strength and elasticity. Because devulcanized rubber is malleable, it can be molded into sheet materials such as flooring and then vulcanized again.
It’s important to note that the devulcanization process preserves the integrity of the original formulation. In other words, the rubber retains its mechanical properties such as tear strength and abrasion resistance – both of which are important for flooring. A small amount of virgin rubber may be added to the devulcanized rubber, but the end-product is significantly more sustainable than using 100% virgin rubber.
How Elasto Proxy Makes Sustainable Flooring
Elasto Proxy doesn’t recycle tires or make flooring materials at our North American and European facilities. Rather, we source rolls and sheets of reclaimed rubber and then fabricate these stock materials into custom solutions. Using water jet cutting, we can provide heavy equipment manufacturers with rubber products that are cut to size and arrive ready to install. This includes the rubber flooring that covers metal subfloors as well as the floormats used in operator cabs.
Elasto Proxy performs water jet cutting at our headquarters near Montreal, Canada, and at our U.S. manufacturing in Greenville, South Carolina, which is just a short drive from Atlanta, Georgia and Charlotte, North Carolina. At each of these manufacturing facilities, we use gantry-style equipment to cut large parts like flooring and floormats. For example, our new water jet cutter in Greenville has a generous 7’ x 14’ cutting table.
Buying rolls of rubber and cutting your own flooring might seem cost-effective but remember to account for all your expenses. In addition to labor and rework, there’s material waste and the cost of storing materials you’re not ready to use. By making Elasto Proxy your rubber fabricator, you can get precision-cut flooring that arrives ready-to-install and with features such as bolt holes, angles, and chamfers. Plus, you can have us order flooring materials in bulk at a discount and then have us store them for you.
Design for Sustainability and Choose Flooring from Elasto Proxy
Elasto Proxy is a value-added manufacturer that can help you achieve your DfS goals. Ask us about recycled rubber flooring for your next project and find out how we’ve been helping the heavy equipment industry for nearly 35 years. In addition to flooring and floor mats, we provide heavy equipment parts like door and window seals, headliners and engine bay insulation, vibration mounts, and molded rubber components like shifter boots and pedal covers.
