Tire Shredding

BCA Industries has introduced a tread cutter attachment for its SWC100 Sidewall Remover, giving tire recyclers a new way to reduce truck and OTR tires before they reach the shredder.

The SWC100 is an all-hydraulic machine with an automatic tire lift that cuts both sidewalls, including the heavily reinforced bead area, in a single loading cycle. The new tread cutter attachment bolts directly onto the machine’s existing frame and ties into its hydraulic and control system, so it can be ordered with a new unit or retrofitted by an existing customer.

Keeping Heavy Bead Steel Out Of The Shredder

The appeal for recyclers is twofold. Removing the sidewalls first strips out the bead, which in larger truck and OTR tires contains a heavy concentration of high-tensile steel as much as 5/8 to 3/4-inch thick. Feeding that material repeatedly through shredder knives accelerates wear; cutting it away first changes what the shredder has to handle.

How The Tread Cutter Works

BCA estimates the SWC100 can process roughly one tire every 35 seconds, spanning passenger tires as small as 17 inches to semi-truck tires up to 44 inches in diameter. After the sidewalls are removed, the operator moves the remaining tread to the cutter, which uses a specialized saw-type cutting system. Both sets of cutting components can be sharpened while still installed, and a two-hand operating requirement keeps the cutter engaged only while the operator’s hands are in position.

A single cut opens the tread “donut” so it can lie flat and stack more efficiently for transport, while multiple cuts reduce it to whatever final size the downstream process requires. For recyclers already running smaller or midsize shredders, the pre-processed tread is far easier to accept than a whole tire.

Beyond Shredding: New Options For Operators

The value extends past the shredder. Intact sidewalls carry established reuse markets in applications such as traffic-barrel bases and agricultural silage covers, so operators can sell them rather than treat them as waste. For tire stores and truck service centers, cutting tires as they accumulate reduces haul-away and disposal cost while shrinking the storage footprint.

After pre-processing, BCA’s PD1000 and PD1000 IO shredders handle semi-truck tread, while the PD2000 takes passenger, semi and super-single material through to tire-derived fuel. Used together, the sidewall remover and tread cutter give operations a practical middle ground between paying to haul tires away and buying a large high-torque shredder outright.

Learn More:

• Tire Pyrolysis Projects
• Solid Waste Projects
• Plant Design & Engineering
• Facility Efficiency Upgrades
• What Is Pyrolysis

Partner With The KleanTeam On Tire Shredding

Safe. Clean. Profitable. One Proven Partner.

Smart size reduction is the front door to recovered value, whether tires head into shredding, pyrolysis or material recovery. Klean Industries designs and engineers the complete downstream path so every tire your operation processes delivers maximum recovered value.

Klean’s Key Advantages:

• ✅ Klean delivers feasibility studies, turn-key EPC, design & engineering, and pyrolysis consulting.
• ✅ KBR added Klean’s proprietary TyreNova tire-pyrolysis technology to its IP portfolio.
• ✅ 8 recovered carbon black (rCB) facilities built in India over the past 2 years.
• ✅ Signed LOI to supply 5 more rCB plants in India.

Want to turn pre-processed tires into reliable, profitable output?

Speak with a Tire Recycling Expert at Klean Industries » GO.