Reklaim's idled recycling plant to be auctioned

BOARDMAN, Ore. — Tire recycling venture Reklaim Inc.'s tire pyrolysis plant in Boardman, which ceased operations late in 2016, is going up for auction Sept. 20.

According to Maas Companies Inc., the auctioneers, the plant and supporting equipment are valued at $25 million. The 20,000-sq.-ft. facility sits on an eight-acre plot, with a long-term lease with the Port of Morrow.

Reklaim opened the plant — rated at 2 million tires/year — in 2008, using what it claimed was its own patented process. It underwent "extensive upgrades" in 2011 and 2014, according to Maas Companies.

Reklaim, which earlier this year was absorbed into a joint venture with Pyrolyx A.G., said the Boardman plant had become too expensive to operate due to its design and location, and thus the opportunity to partner with Pyrolyx — a Munich, Germany-based company also active in pyrolytic reclaiming of tires — presented a better option.

According to Reklaim President Thomas Redd, the plant's location in Oregon put it too far from the majority of its potential customers in the Midwest and Southeast, resulting in expensive transportation costs.

In addition, the Reklaim process used crumb rubber as its feedstock, which is significantly more expensive and more difficult to source compared with tire shreds, which is the feedstock for a plant being built in Terre Haute, Ind., by Pyrolyx.

That plant, which uses pyrolysis to generate recovered carbon black (rCB), is expected to operational by May 2019. At full capacity, that plant will be capable of recycling about 4 million car tires a year, producing nearly 13,000 metric tons of carbon black per year along with process oil and recovered steel wire at full capacity, according to Pyrolyx.

After the Oregon equipment is divested, Reklaim will continue to participate in the business as a joint venture partner in Pyrolyx USA, but Reklaim will no longer have any of its own facilities or operations, said Mr. Redd, who also is CEO of Pyrolyx USA.

Maas Companies described the Reklaim assets for sale as "surplus to an on-going alternative energy provider. Rochester, Minn.-based Maas specializes in selling real estate, industrial plants, equipment and special assets.

Buyers will have the opportunity to purchase equipment assets by bulk product line or piecemeal, Maas said. Buyers may attend the auction in person or bid remotely.

Tyler Maas, director of sales and marketing for Maas Companies, noted: "This auction offers a great opportunity for a new owner in the renewable fuel market, venture capital groups looking for a test facility, or specialty market manufacturers. Reklaim had forward-thinking during construction; the property is extremely adaptable to a modified industry."