Q&A From Tire Shop to Producer: Successful Mexico Rubber Powder Production

Mr. Carlos: “Thank you for having me. It started right here at my family’s tire shop (llantera). For years, we watched a mountain of used tires grow behind the shop. We knew it was an environmental problem, but I also saw it as wasted material. I started researching the tire recycling business in Mexico and realized that if I could process these tires into something valuable, it could be a great new venture. I didn’t want to just sell them for burning; I saw a real market for high-quality rubber powder.”

Mr. Carlos: “The biggest barrier was cost. When you look at tire recycling machinery in Mexico, most of what you see are huge, fully automatic shredder lines that cost a fortune. For a small scale tire recycling business like mine, that kind of investment was simply not possible. I almost gave up, thinking this industry was only for big corporations. My challenge was finding a reliable, effective solution that matched my budget.”

Mr. Carlos: “Exactly. I found that a semi-automatic tire recycling line was the perfect answer. Instead of one massive, expensive machine, it uses a series of smaller, more affordable machines that ‘decompose’ the tire step-by-step. It’s a brilliant strategy.
We start with a Tire Ring Cutter to remove the tough steel bead. Then, a Tire Strip Cutter and a Tire Block Cutter process the rest of the tire into small, uniform chunks. This modular approach not only lowered the initial cost but also made the entire operation feel more manageable and less intimidating for my team.”

Mr. Carlos: “This is where the real value is created. The rubber chunks are fed into our Rubber Grinder. We looked for a specific rubber grinder for sale in Mexico that was both durable and efficient, and this one has been fantastic. It grinds the chunks into a fine, 20-40 mesh powder. Critically, the system includes a fiber separator that removes all the textile fluff, so the final rubber powder is very clean. This purity is why our customers choose us.”

Mr. Carlos: “It has been a great success. We are now a known local supplier for high-quality rubber powder. Manufacturers in the Guadalajara area buy from us to make gym flooring and playground surfaces. The business became profitable much faster than I expected because the initial investment was reasonable and the product value is high. We proved that rubber powder production in Mexico is a viable and profitable business, even for smaller entrepreneurs.”