U.K. Tire Processors Sign Large Contract

U.K. scrap tire companies Saltire Recovery and Sapphire Energy Recovery have signed a major contract with U.K. auto service retailer Stapleton’s Tyre Services. The three-year contract could put more than one million end-of-life tires into the hands of Saltire and Sapphire in each of the next three years.

Sapphire Energy Recovery is a joint venture between Lafarge Cement UK and Michelin Tires that consumes more than 100,000 scrap tires each year as a fuel in cement kilns.

The contract, which started at the end of 2006, came about after a chance meeting between the parties at the launch of Sapphire’s new tire processing facility in Manchester in mid-2006, according to a Sapphire news release.

“Stapleton’s sells more than 4 million tires annually, receiving back more than one million used tires,” notes Peter Allen, commercial director of Stapleton’s. “The Service Charter that Sapphire and Saltire presented and the guarantees that it offered are something Stapleton’s require and we are delighted to be associated with this level of professionalism and service. On the basis of these guarantees, Stapleton’s has immediately benefited.”

Remarks Saltire’s Keith Rodgers, “I believe this type of contract is a first for the industry. This is the first contract under these new service guarantees and demonstrates that the tire collection industry is developing standards of service and professionalism by working together without jeopardizing individual competitiveness. This contract helps secure continued investment in both plant and people for the next three years.”

In the photo, Stapleton’s Distribution Manager, John Steward (left) poses with Ryan Mifflin from Sapphire (center) and Keith Rodgers from Saltire (right).