Export bans, increased demand for equipment, and a global shipping crisis has created a perfect storm for Australian tyre recycling. JDM Aust is helping weather the storm by increasing the manufacturing capacity of its Queensland facilities.
Lucas Stewart, Group General Manager, JDM Aust says in-house mechanical engineers have spent the past year working on designs for various machines that will cater to the market. He says the shift is an opportunity to help shore up local companies, reduce wait time for equipment and promote Australian-made.
“Getting supplies and certain components from anywhere in the world is difficult at the moment,” Lucas says. “The lead time for some of our partner suppliers from overseas has blown out to more than 12 months. No business can survive without cash flow for 12 months.
“We own and operate manufacturing facilities in Queensland so we’ve tried to produce as much as we can locally, for our piece of mind and that of our customers.”
JDM Aust was founded in 2004 after identifying a need for recycling and material handling equipment for the waste, mining, and quarry industries.
The company prides itself on being an Australian manufacturer, providing cost-effective solutions including shredders, sorting technology, screens, grinders, and compactors. It has also sought out internationally recognized manufacturers of machinery to complement its range and expertise and is the Australian agent for principal suppliers of recycling and materials handling equipment manufactured in Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, and the USA.
Lucas says JDM Aust identified tyre recycling as a growing market several years ago and began research and development into the equipment that would be required. Part of that research included learning from overseas markets.
“European tyre recycling is a lot further advanced than ours,” he says.
JDM Aust partnered with long-time American tyre processing company Eagle International about five years ago. Apart from Eagle International’s global reputation, it has a proven process for recycling large off-the-road (OTR) tyres.
“Being able to process OTR tyres made them stand out,” Lucas says. “With Australia being so resource heavy, there’s a need to be able to process larger mining tyres.”
JDM Aust’s offerings have grown over the years to cover all aspects of the tyre recycling process. Sidewall cutters have been in demand since an export ban on whole-baled tyres was introduced in 2021.
The side wall of a tyre contains embedded cords that give the tyre its strength. They’re generally cut away to allow the remainder of the tyre to be shredded for recycling.
The Eagle International side wall can cut through a truck tyre within 11 seconds; seven seconds for a car tyre. The cutter is available as a portable or stationary piece of equipment.
“If you can cut away the side wall you can flatten the tyres and bale them,” Lucas says. “About 50 percent of transport costs for a tyre is air.
“By cutting the side wall you can start to reduce your free volume in a truck or landfill because the tyres are compressed into smaller bits.”
Lucas describes the current tyre recycling market as “positive and desperate”.
While a lot of recyclers are changing their operations to work within new guidelines, a global shortage of shipping containers and supply chain issues are challenging.
“There’s a lot of desperation to have a solution and have it now,” Lucas says. “But these things obviously take time.”
Helping provide a short turnaround is one of the reasons JDM Aust has expanded its capabilities for manufacturing recycling equipment. A JDM Aust product is generally available within three months.
Lucas says JDM Aust has adapted some of its machine designs to be able to process materials more efficiently.
“There’s a lot involved in making sure machines are capable of shredding and processing tyres,” he says.
“Processing of tyres requires an extreme amount of energy. Machinery has to be beefed up to be able to handle them.”
While reduced wait time is an obvious advantage, local producing equipment has other benefits. JDM Aust provides full backup services such as technical support, spare parts, and servicing carried out by a network of agents and contractors Australia-wide.
For more information, visit: www.jdmaust.net.au
