【ブリヂストン（LBS）】古いタイヤ　新品に生まれ変わらせる妙技

Trucks are the key to logistics. Tires wear out quickly and need to be replaced one after another. There is a technology to regenerate such tires. It is said that this not only saves raw materials but also reduces carbon dioxide emissions. ■Tire prices rise by about 10%, putting pressure on profits Trucks are the main players in logistics. They travel an average of 200 kilometers a day. For a transportation company that owns about 200 trucks, including tank trucks, fuel costs alone have risen 12% from a year ago. In addition, the price of tires, which are used 1,400 units a year, has risen by about 10%, putting pressure on profits. ■Retread tires reduce annual sales by about 4 million yen That is why they are rushing to introduce retread tires. "Using retread tires reduces costs. Compared to installing new tires, I think we have been able to reduce annual sales by about 4 million yen (10% of the tire cost)." (Masakazu Fujimoto, Vice President of Uchida Transportation) What makes them different from regular tires? Heading to Hofu City, Yamaguchi Prefecture, we found Bridgestone's retread tire base. It is the largest of the 13 factories in Japan, and produces about 900 tires a day. ■What are retread tires? Recycling tires sounds easy at first glance. First, the old tire is visually checked. There are more than 80 items in total. Sparks also fly. They check for tiny holes that are invisible to the naked eye... Only the worn-out grooves are scraped off, and it becomes this smooth. Once adhesive is applied to the surface of the tire, the climax begins. The newly created grooves appear. ■Making the old tire look like new while making the most of it "Retreading is the process of scraping down a used tire and attaching this new surface." (Matsumoto Koji, General Manager of Bridgestone BRM Hofu Plant) Finally, heat and pressure are applied to firmly attach the tire and it is complete. The old tire is made good use of and reborn as good as new. "Being able to reuse tires that have already been used once contributes to reducing CO2 emissions and improving the global environment" (Matsumoto Koji, General Manager of Bridgestone BRM Hofu Plant) Approximately one million tons of tires are replaced annually in Japan, and over 60% are used as fuel in paper and chemical factories. If tires are retreaded twice, both the amount of rubber used (raw material) and the amount of carbon dioxide emitted are halved. They can also be offered at about half the price. Some dealers have seen a 20% increase in retread tire sales compared to last year. "The biggest reason is that fuel costs remain high, so many companies are reviewing their expenses and switching from new tires to retread tires" (Takayuki Shiozaki, Kuga Tire Center) ■The day when tires will circulate around the world many times A Nikkei reporter... "Bridgestone's major strength is that it has built a system worldwide where it regularly maintains tires used by customers, collects them in a timely manner, replaces the rubber, and sends them out again. In order to successfully run the recycling business, not just tires, it is important to efficiently secure raw materials." (Junya Hisanaga, reporter, Nikkei Western Branch) Retread tires still have differences compared to new tires, such as durability against twisting. "We want to improve the performance of our products, both new and retreaded. In addition, we (Bridgestone) would like to advance technological development in the direction of making new tires more retreadable" (Shinji Kikuchi, Retread Business Division Manager, Bridgestone Tire Solutions Japan) Bridgestone was founded in Kurume, Fukuoka. Toward 2050, they are also working on research to recycle not only the surface of tires, but the entire tire. The day may come when tires will be circulated around the world many times. ▼Subscribe to the channel here↓↓Please support us!    / @aichi-news   ▼Aichi News HP https://news.tv-aichi.co.jp/ ▼News Official SNS 　◇Twitter (information provided here) 　　  / news_tva   ◇TikTok 　　  / tva_news   [Major news programs] ▼5-ji-sta Monday-Friday 17:00-17:25 We will report on the latest news that you are interested in right now from a perspective that is closely related to "life". https://tv-aichi.co.jp/5sta/ ▼TXN News Saturday and Sunday 17:20-17:30 We will report on the latest news from Japan and the world in a compact format. ▼Video provided here https://tv-aichi.co.jp/newspost/