Aug 27 2010
Linde Canada and Liberty Tire and Rubber have signed a long-term agreement for Linde to supply liquid nitrogen for the cryogrinding process at Liberty’s Brenner, Ontario rubber plant.
Linde Canada is an affiliate of Linde North America, which is a member of The Linde Group, a world leading gases and engineering company. Liberty Tire and Rubber is a leading producer of crumb rubber in the U.S. and Canada.
Liberty Tire, which has a crumb rubber plant in Braddock, Pennsylvania, in the United States, recently acquired the assets of the Brenner facility in Canada. Liberty Tire has an existing long-term liquid nitrogen supply agreement with Linde in the U.S. and has extended the contract to include the Brenner operation.
“We are very proud that Liberty Tire has shown confidence in Linde as its liquid nitrogen supplier,” said Gene Allen, head of market-North East in the U.S. “This agreement continues to build on our long-term, successful partnership with the company.”
To produce crumb rubber, it is necessary to reduce the size of the tire shred or chip. This is accomplished by techniques called cryogenic grinding. Cryogenic processing refers to the use of liquid nitrogen (−196°C) to freeze tire chips prior to size reduction. The rubber is immersed in liquid nitrogen to reduce the temperature of the tire chip. The cooled rubber is then ground in an impact-type reduction device.
“Liberty Tire was very pleased when we could extend our successful relationship with Linde from the U.S. to our new acquisition across the border in Canada,” said Jeff Kendall, CEO of Liberty Tire. “We look forward to working with Linde and identifying new opportunities in the future.”
The main product made at Liberty’s Brenner location is a special grade of crumb rubber that is used in a variety of sports surfaces to add cushioning for the protection of athletes. The crumb rubber provides fill-in for a variety of sports fields and is also used in running tracks.