We turn waste tires into raw material
The FLEXOfibers™ venture was born in 2017. The combined experience of two team members, Manuel and Alejandro Grases (father and son), add up to more than 30 years in construction and tire recycling sectors.
We have developed, jointly and individually, innovative technologies in the field of construction aiming at low ecological impact. With this venture we seek to contribute to solving the serious problem that waste tires have become worldwide, recovering one of its constituents, steel.
After some time of observation and analysis, we noticed that the contaminated steel fiber from tire recycling seemed to have similar characteristics to commercially available fiber for concrete reinforcement, and we decided to investigate the feasibility of reusing such fiber, giving it a second life. We found that different universities had carried out studies in this regard, but that no one had come up with a way to clean, condition and classify the fiber through an industrialized process. This was the opportunity to solve a problem that we have been dealing with for years.
Innovation is our DNA
After a lot of research, we managed to find several possible solutions to the waste conditioning and we proceeded to make a 1:25 scale prototype to check the possibility of industrializing this process.
The results of this prototype were validated by the Eduardo Torrojas Institute for Construction, whose studies concluded that the fibers comply with the standards and requirements of the sector, and provided technical and professional support to this project.
Focused in growth and sustainability
After two years of design, improvement and investment, we achieved the industrialization of the process and the construction of a 1:1 scale prototype plant with which we began the production and commercialization of the product.
For this experience, Ricardo Ayala joined the team, who shared studies from school to university with Alejandro, and who brings extensive experience in the areas of distribution and sales, after having worked on 3 continents.
In this company we are united by the power to contribute to the circular economy:
Removing a waste material from the environment to turn it into a value-added product, reintroducing it into society transformed into an economical, quality product with a minimal impact on the carbon footprint.
With FLEXOfibers™, a polluting agent is eliminated and a second life is given to an enduring material such as steel.
Alejandro Grases
Mechanical Production Engineer with 15 years of experience in the tire recycling industry, 8 years as General Manager of a recycling plant with 3,000,000 tires/year and 2 years as a consultant in the design of tire recycling equipment. Previously, he acquired 10 years of experience in the execution of precast concrete in a stationary plant.
Manuel Grases
Mechanical and Hydraulic Engineer, with more than 30 years of experience in business entrepreneurship and development of technologies and processes. With a vocation for developing solutions for the generation of renewable energy, mineral recycling and a great passion for achieving change towards the circular economy.
Ricardo Ayala
Mechanical Engineer with a Master’s in Management and Industrial Processes, expert in logistics, distribution and after-sales with more than 14 years of experience in multinationals in the automotive sector. Passionate about the continuous improvement of processes that optimize productivity and leave a low carbon footprint. Extensive experience in developing highly productive work teams in multicultural environments on 3 continents.
Our team is different for two important reasons. Firstly, we are a group of creative people within the engineering area, capable of creating innovative industrial processes and creating machinery for it, with great knowledge, work ethic and a great desire to achieve success. All this is the result of the sum of joint experiences that bring together more than 40 years in different areas of construction, tire recycling and production processes.
This can be said to be a family business since its own by father and son, Manuel and Alejandro Grases, and Ricardo Ayala, that has been a close friend for more than 25 years (Alejandro and Ricardo studied alongside major and master, and now are together in this company). We are a team with the same professional and familiar values.
Secondly, we have created a process to recover and reinsert a high-quality product into the economy giving it a second life, this not only provides a green alternative in construction materials, but also contributes to the reduction of waste in landfills, leaving a low carbon footprint, and contributes to the general well-being of the environment, and therefore of the human being.
