Story by Saskatoon StarPhoenix • Monday May 15, 2023
A worker cleans equipment used to make interlocking patio tiles at Shercom Industries manufacturing facility near Saskatoon. Representatives of Shercom have raised concerns about a decision by Tire Stewardship of Saskatchewan to enter into a contract with a U.S.-based company to set up a tire-processing facility in Moose Jaw.
© Provided by Star Phoenix
The provincial government is tapping the brakes on changes to Saskatchewan’s tire-recycling market.
The province announced Monday that Premier Scott Moe has engaged Cam Swan, a former deputy minister of environment, to work with the Ministry of Environment and Tire Stewardship Saskatchewan (TSS), the industry non-profit that oversees used tire collection.
Swan is to “review procurement practices and assess future needs of tire recycling and processing, and to provide recommendations to the Minister,” the announcement states.
The review is to be completed sometime this summer. In the meantime, a request for proposals for a new tire processor for the northern portion of the province is to be put on hold.
TSS recently awarded a contract to U.S.-based Crumb Rubber Manufacturers (CRM) for a tire processing facility to be set up in Moose Jaw. The move came with a guarantee that CRM would receive all used tires collected in the southern portion of the province, as opposed to the previous system, which allowed dealers to choose where used tires went.
TSS CEO Stevyn Arnt previously said the move was meant to reduce freight costs and lower the environmental impact of shipping tires from southern Saskatchewan to the outskirts of Saskatoon.
The arrangement drew strong reaction from Shercom Industries, which has for years operated Saskatchewan’s only tire processing facility in the Corman Park Industrial Area a few kilometres north of Saskatoon. Shercom’s contract with TSS expired in 2020; the last in a series of short-term extensions ran out at the end of April.
With the supply of used tires nearly cut in half, Shercom president Shane Olson last week said his company had cut dozens of jobs, as its multimillion-dollar tire processing operation was no longer viable.
He said the tire processing plant would be shut down completely once Shercom’s existing inventory was used up. From there, he said the company would then have to rely on rubber purchased from outside the province for its ongoing manufacturing business, which produces items including driveways, patio tiles and landscaping mulch.
Olson also stated that Shercom would not bid on the now-shelved plan for a processor for the northern half of the province, and cast doubt on the long-term future of the manufacturing business staying in Saskatchewan.
Citing 30 years of experience in the industry and multiple bankruptcies among competitors, Olson questioned the ability of the Saskatchewan market to sustain multiple processing operations.
The Greater Saskatoon Chamber of Commerce also spoke against the TSS decision, and wrote to Environment Minister Dana Skoropad calling for a review.
Related
Operator of Saskatchewan tire recycling program changed
The provincial government is tapping the brakes on changes to Saskatchewan’s tire-recycling market.
The province announced Monday that Premier Scott Moe has engaged Cam Swan, a former deputy minister of environment, to work with the Ministry of Environment and Tire Stewardship Saskatchewan (TSS), the industry non-profit that oversees used tire collection.
Swan is to “review procurement practices and assess future needs of tire recycling and processing, and to provide recommendations to the Minister,” the announcement states.
The review is to be completed sometime this summer. In the meantime, a request for proposals for a new tire processor for the northern portion of the province is to be put on hold.
TSS recently awarded a contract to U.S.-based Crumb Rubber Manufacturers (CRM) for a tire processing facility to be set up in Moose Jaw. The move came with a guarantee that CRM would receive all used tires collected in the southern portion of the province, as opposed to the previous system, which allowed dealers to choose where used tires went.
TSS CEO Stevyn Arnt previously said the move was meant to reduce freight costs and lower the environmental impact of shipping tires from southern Saskatchewan to the outskirts of Saskatoon.
The arrangement drew strong reaction from Shercom Industries, which has for years operated Saskatchewan’s only tire processing facility in the Corman Park Industrial Area a few kilometres north of Saskatoon. Shercom’s contract with TSS expired in 2020; the last in a series of short-term extensions ran out at the end of April.
With the supply of used tires nearly cut in half, Shercom president Shane Olson last week said his company had cut dozens of jobs, as its multimillion-dollar tire processing operation was no longer viable.
He said the tire processing plant would be shut down completely once Shercom’s existing inventory was used up. From there, he said the company would then have to rely on rubber purchased from outside the province for its ongoing manufacturing business, which produces items including driveways, patio tiles and landscaping mulch.
Olson also stated that Shercom would not bid on the now-shelved plan for a processor for the northern half of the province, and cast doubt on the long-term future of the manufacturing business staying in Saskatchewan.
Citing 30 years of experience in the industry and multiple bankruptcies among competitors, Olson questioned the ability of the Saskatchewan market to sustain multiple processing operations.
The Greater Saskatoon Chamber of Commerce also spoke against the TSS decision, and wrote to Environment Minister Dana Skoropad calling for a review.
Related
Operator of Saskatchewan tire recycling program changed
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