NY Firm Aims to Tackle Crumb Rubber

The company is set to open its plant by the first quarter of this year in Lockport, N.Y., and will target some high-end products, including safety products, curb stops and other road oriented products.

According to Bill Robbins, president of the newly formed company, raw material for the plant will come from High Tread International Inc., which will grind up whole tires into the crumb rubber RubberForm will use. One major advantage of the arrangement is that both companies are located in Lockport, which will sharply reduce the transportation costs for the product.

The company has effectively worked with local, county and state offices to build the company. Robbins notes that the city of Lockport assisted in some low interest loans, the state provided a grant through its Environmental Investment Grant, and the county also helped in putting together a package to bring the company to the region.

According to local reports the company also applied for low cost electricity from the New York Power Authority.

Robbins estimates that at full capacity the facility will have a production capacity of between 25,000-30,000 pounds per day. The facility will have seven large molding presses. These presses, of various sizes, are rebuilt machines, which makes the company much more of a “green company,” Robbins notes.