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| Credit: TIRES S.P.A. |
Tire International Environmental Solutions, Inc. has announced that it has signed a Joint Venture Agreement with TIRES S.p.A., an Italian manufacturer of heavy industrial processing and recycling equipment, report Reuters.
TIRES’ specialises in recycling tyres into “value from waste” products such as synthetic grass carpet.
Under the terms of the Agreement, as part of a purchase order by Tire International Environmental Solutions, Inc. and corresponding equity contribution by TIRES, the Joint Venture (JV) will own 50% of the U.S. patent pending for TIRES state-of-the-art tyre recycling plant.
Upon the completion of the instalment sale transaction underlying the Agreement, and the purchase order by the Company, TIRES will own approximately eight million shares of the JV's common stock in exchange for approximately $4 million in capital expense contribution out of equipment costs under a purchase agreement by the Company of approximately $13 million.
The burden of waste tyres in the United States and emerging markets is becoming unsustainable as fewer landfills are being licensed for operation. It must be considered that the tyres stored in a waste dump or landfill generate a proliferation of rodents, insects and reptiles, which find an excellent replacement to their natural habitat in the piles of tyres.
Moreover, the build-up of large rubber quantities involves in a great risk of fire, and the environmental damage it causes. In addition, disposal by combustion or use of chemical products causes serious environmental problems due to the introduction of toxic gases in the atmosphere.
Due to their long life span, without volume modification, the build-up of tyres occupies a larger and larger area, creating serious environmental and social hazards. Of the nearly 300 million tyres discarded in the United States each year, more than half end up either as landfill or are burned for fuel in cement kilns and in other industries.
Antonio Care, CEO of Tire International, stated, "This Agreement marks a joint cross-border commitment between two companies, each dedicated to dealing with one of the greatest threats known to the environment, waste tyre stockpiles around the world. The Joint Venture with TIRE S.p.A. establishes a footprint design for the Company's future plans to develop one or more 'waste to value' tyre recycling locations around the United States and provides the Company with a fifty percent, co-patent ownership of the TIRES S.p.A. patent pending in the U.S. for the North American market."
