Our Process
High Quality Materials and Machines
Tire Casings - The casing serves as the main body of a tire. It includes the sidewall, steel belts (if applicable), and surface beneath the tread of a tire. Only the best tire casings are approved for production.
Rubber - Only premium light truck compound are used for StoneTire retreading. The rubber is comprised of 10% natural rubber and 90% synthetic with the highest grade of carbon black compound available.
Studs - After press mold, a manual hand process is used to place each stud into the tire. The stud is made of aluminum and tungsten made to wear down with the tread.
Step 1 - Choosing a Tire
Tire casings are the reusable portion of a tire and are only selected from licensed and Stonetire-approved tire recycling centers in the Southeast. These centers pre-grade the tires based on general wear. This allows them to sort out the tires that might not meet our aggressive standards.
Step 2 - Primary Inspection
Because quality and safety are vital to our customers, each tire is subjected to a thorough visual inspection for holes, metal and defects of any kind prior to production. During the inspection process, an average of 85% of tires are rejected. Inspectors are trained professionals, subjected to a 6-8 week training period to insure only quality casings are used.
Step 3 - Buffing
Following inspection, we remove the old tread using high-speed buffers. These buffers are highly accurate and reduce the tire down to an exact specified diameter and radius, leaving only the tire casing for production use. After buffing, the tire is measured for roundness to ensure an exact mold fit and is once more inspected to ensure premium quality.
Step 4 - Balance and Build
The casing is pre-balanced before new tread is applied. High quality tread rubber is applied to the buffed tire casing using one of 5 computerized orbit-tread applicators. This applicator makes certain the correct amount of rubber is applied to the tire. Another benefit is that itcreates a splice-free tire.
Step 5 - Press Molding
The tire is placed into a rigid mold which contains the tread design. Then, the mold is heated and the rubber in the tread area vulcanizes and adheres to the tire with the new tread design. This vulcanization process is very similar to that used in new tire construction. Over 400 quality molds are made in the United States, Mexico and Italy.
Step 6 - Final Finish and Inspection
The tire is inspected while still hot to verify the tire is free of any separations. After cured, it is again checked for roundness and straight tread before shipping.