Pittsburgh-based recycler Liberty Tire has purchased the Able Tire Co. of Texas as part of its market expansion plans.
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed, but the arrangement presents “a partnering in the Texas and Oklahoma scrap tire market,” according to Kelli Matonak, corporate marketing director at The March Group, which represented Able in the sale.
“With the acquisition, Liberty Tire will take advantage of significant savings and efficiencies while retaining the company’s leadership team,” she reports. “Through the company’s leadership, expertise and innovation, Able Tire established a paperless manifest system, a cradle-to-grave tire tracking system that includes the filing of paperless records with the Texas state environmental authorities.”
Matonak goes on to point out that “Able’s operations are very efficient and neat as a pin.” Owner Gary Humphreys will be working with Liberty executives “to spearhead additional initiatives and acquisitions.”
For more than 16 years, Able has worked with tire retailers to annually dispatch, collect and track the disposal of some 15 million scrap tires, she notes.
“We feel our experience serving some of the top companies in tire sales and nearly 3,000 independent accounts will allow us to apply an established and successful program to any generator of waste tires in the market today,” says Humphreys.
With a network of 14 facilities, Liberty collects and recycles close to 25 percent of the nation’s yearly scrap tire output, according to Matonak.
The tires are processed into a wide range of products, including finely ground crumb rubber used for artificial turf installations; molded rubber goods such as floor mats and paving tiles; new car tires, truck tire retread compounds; hoses, brake linings, coatings, sealants and rubberized asphalt. Colored wire-free rubber nuggets are utilized for creating playground safety surfacing and decorative landscaping mulch.
For more information, visit www.libertytire.com, www.abletire.com and www.marchgroup.com.
