With support from Bridgestone, multi-brand car maintenance company Mobivia and Black-Star, a French retreading specialist, have announced the signing of an agreement to create a collection, sorting and retreading unit for passenger car tires within the former Bridgestone factory in Béthune.
Through its iWip subsidiary, Mobivia, alongside Black-Star will develop the Béthune industrial site into an integrated tire recycling ecosystem whose circular economy approach will give tires a second life, providing consumers a wider range of eco-responsible tires at a cost-effective price point.
Tires will be collected at Mobivia auto centers and then transported, sorted and retreaded before being put back onto the market. For each reconditioned tire, 80% of the original material will be saved, including up to 9kg of rubber and steel.
The project will capitalize on the skills base and equipment already at the Béthune site and is expected to create jobs for former Bridgestone employees. Work at the site is scheduled to start in January 2022, with operations ramping-up as the business develops.
“I am delighted that this project has come to fruition,” commented Agnès Pannier-Runacher, French minister delegate to the ministry of the economy, finance and recovery.
“This circular economy project lays the foundations for tire industry reconditioning [that is] beneficial for the environment. We will support the success of this project, and that of those who could set up on the old Bridgestone site and more widely on the territory of Béthune-Bruay.”
