Video: From Rubber Tree to Tire - Learn About How Tires Are Manufactured at VeetireCo
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VeetireCo manage and own a tree plantation in the South West of Thailand and we are one of the few companies that controls the entire tire manufacturing process. The R&D office is also located in Bangkok, Thailand.
There are two very important stages of the production. Like following a recipe, these steps are the most important part of a successful tire construction along with the mold.
The face of the company "Bike" is the man behind Veetireco
VeetireCo originated in the year 2012. Before that VeeRubber was the main company. VeeRubber was mainly mid to entry-level product, but we also manufactured for a lot of well-known brands such as Intense Tire, Panaracer, etc.
Vee Rubber Group started in 1977. The founder of the company was Mr. Vitorn Sukanjanapong who is my dad, and yes he named me Bike Sukanajanapong! The tagline of VeeTire Co. is "Take yourself further." So this shows the character of our brand. I like to think of VeeTireCo as the challenger, the underdog, and the brand that can make the rider go further.
I would say I was very lucky, when I started VeetireCo in 2012. A lot of new standards were being introduced in the bicycle industry, like 650b for MTB, fatbike tires, plus size ires and eMTB. When there are changes and new standards, it creates opportunity. We were able to capitalize on some of that. People started to know VeetireCo and overnight our fatbike tire spec started showing up on famous MTB brands like Kona, Rocky Mountain, Norco, etc.
I believe when you are not afraid of a new thing it will create opportunity!
Later VeetireCo also become the best performance/high-end kids bike tire. We were the first brand to make a kids' bike tire in 2.25 with modern MTB patterns starting from 12", 14", 16", 18", 20", 24", 26," and 27.5". Our kids' tires are available with all the technology we use in our adult performance tires.
I am very proud of the Top 40 compound because I believe it is the best gravity compound out there, in terms of traction, performance and durability. Also, in the past Vee Rubber was the first one to make a sticky rubber compound for DH, together with Intense Tire System’s. Our tires were winning races and we were learning more and more about compounds and performance.
I think racing is very important for our brand and for me. I love being at the races and I try to go to as many World Cups as I can. I learn so much from talking with our racers, and team mechanics and watching how the tires perform and just finding ways to improve VeeTireCo. You need to smell, see, feel and understand the things that your tire is facing!
Also the most important thing is to see the people in the bicycle industry. The people (riders, team managers, mechanics, and the spectators) in this industry are the best!
I love everything about the industry. The riding, people, landscape, drinking, talking and etc. I try to get out and ride at least a couple of times a week! Being on the bike always makes for a better day. I also love to see my kid (VeeTireCo is like my baby!) growing up every day.
As I said in the beginning, VeeTireCo's slogan is Take Yourself Further. We will not stop improving the ride, the experience, and the thrill so everyone can Take Yourself Further!
For more information www.veetireco.com
Words Thomas Manfé /Photo Valentin Popineau / Video Antoine Collet
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only rock hard compounds for me, they last forever. Makes me feel better about the environmental impact of my biking.
The compounds in a tire I'm guessing are over 90% rubber, which is secreted from a tree. Most of the mass of a plant is carbon thats pulled out of the atmosphere via photosynthesis. This is where the mass of the tire comes from. Burning it puts that carbon back in the atmosphere, where it can reenter plants. Is this not the case?
Well, that rubber plantation was most likely a rainforest once that stored and took up way more carbon, than rubber trees in rows could ever do. And they also most likely burned that rainforest as well. Don’t forget all millions of animals and different plants who lived in that ecosystem are now gone forever... It’s in no way a zero-zum game...
You are SO right. The rubber industry (and all monocrop industries) replace ecosystems and communities with industrial scale systems that decrease quality of life and ravage the environment. Check out you tube for some crazy documentaries on the rubber industry, pretty sad. Harvesters work 7 days a week 12 hours a day on plots of land where rainforests used to grow. We are all consumers and need to know the true origin of the products we buy.
Add to it that many tires also include additional chemicals like benzene, chloroform, dichloroethane, methylene chloride, toluene, trichloroethylene, and metals such as lead, chromium and zinc. None of this stuff burning is good for anyone.
So its a gross over simplification to say that burning it puts carbon back in the atmosphere. I hope that helps.
How does pentahydrocarbon natrually decay?
What I do know, I learned from doing a research paper in highschool called "Burnin' Rubber" that talked about how rubber is harvested, processed, vulcanized, used, and subsequently disposed of. The idea came from the fact that a major road in my home town was paved with asphalt that contained chopped up old tires.
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