Lehigh and Hera complete JV micronized rubber powder plant in Spain

Lehigh Technologies announced that production has started at its new Murillo el Fruto Micronized Rubber Powder (MRP) plant in Navarra, Spain. The plant is the first for the company outside of the USA and was constructed as a joint venture with its Spanish partner Hera Holding.

The plant incorporates Lehigh’s cryogenic turbo mill technology and has the capacity to produce 10,000 t/y of MRP. It will produce the PolyDyne and MicroDyne ranges of MRP, already used by Lehigh customers in more than 18 countries. The Navarra site will supply the tyre, bitumen, coatings, construction, and polyurethane industries in Europe and the Middle East.

The production line is co-located with Indugarbi NFU, a tyre recycler in Spain operated by Hera Holding, which will ensure efficient supply of granulate feedstock for the MRP manufacturing process. The construction of the Navarra plant was managed by Lehigh and executed by UK-based Jex Engineering with support from the Dennis Group and Air Products. The plant was commissioned at the end of June 2018 and employs the same layout and equipment as Lehigh’s Tucker, GA, USA plant, ensuring consistent quality and products specification across all locations.

“I’m very proud of the international team that made this project successful,” said Jason Stravinski, Lehigh’s VP of Operations. “Engineers from Lehigh U.S., Lehigh Spain and Hera Holding all worked together with the Jex project team to complete the project on time and on budget. We expect this plant will be a crucial component to meeting the rising demand for green chemicals in Europe and beyond.”

“Demand for Lehigh’s products is increasing rapidly and this new plant comes at the perfect time to support the growth,” said Lluís Molina, General Manager Lehigh Spain. “The Murillo plant is the next step in Lehigh’s mission to commercialise MRP for customers in a wide range of performance driven markets.”

Lehigh Technologies became a subsidiary of Michelin in late 2017 and is an important platform that supports Michelin’s recently announced goal that new tyres will contain 80 % of sustainable materials by 2048.

www.heraholding.com
www.lehightechnologies.com