Kal Tire’s Mining Tire Group has begun operations at a new OTR tire retread and repair facility in La Negra, just east of the port city of Antofagasta, in the heart of Chile’s mining industry.
“Kal Tire has been supporting the Chilean mining industry for many years,” said Pedro Pacheco, vice president of operations at Kal Tire Latin America. “Our customers here have been asking us for the ability to retread their tires, so we’re looking forward to delivering this service to help them grow and remain competitive.”
The new facility, which is roughly 215,000 sq. ft., is able to accommodate all tire sizes up to 63 in. There also is room allocated for tire storage, office space and support services. The plant brings the total number of Kal Tire earthmover and retreading plants to five facilities on four continents.
The Chile facility will offer Kal Tire’s Ultra Repair Technology for ultra-class mining tires, featuring ultra-repair patches that are handmade and installed with new technology in order to replace steel belts and restore a tire to its original strength and integrity, with no sidewall bulging.
