Besenschek, who is passionate about the environment, plans to begin producing a fine powder product out of old tire treads in the coming weeks.

The powder is used as a raw material for dozens of other products.

Besenschek, who worked for rubber-products company AirBoss of America Corp. in Toronto and Kitchener for more than 15 years, is putting the final touches on a 27,000-square-foot manufacturing facility on Shirley Drive.

His company, NewTire Industries, will employ 20 people and operate around the clock to grind old tire treads into a usable powder.

"We will be able to take what people consider scrap and make something useful out of it," he said. "I have been working on this project for a long time."

It’s been three years of planning, in fact. Besenschek, who was director of engineering and product development for AirBoss, wanted to ensure he found the right equipment and processes that could grind up the old treads efficiently before he started a company.

He has already received his first shipment of tire treads from a local distributor. The offices aren’t finished yet, which means Besenschek is working from a laptop on a metal desk on the production floor.

Besenschek, originally from Germany, has signed a five-year agreement with a distributor that will see the majority of his rubber powder product exported overseas.

The raw rubber material is used as an ingredient in eyelash builder. It is also being used as a component of asphalt in road-resurfacing projects and can also be used as a component of toys or railway ties.

Besides reusing old tires for other products, companies like Besenschek’s help to reduce the eight million used tires that end up in landfills in Ontario each year.

Besenschek, who landed two patents for rubber rail tie fastening products while he was with AirBoss, said recycling old tires is the best way to help the environment. He disagrees with schemes to burn tires as an energy source, such as the project being proposed by LaFarge near Kingston, Ont.

Burning old tires is inefficient, he said, since it recovers less than a quarter of the energy needed to produce tires.

This week, a giant blue tire-grinding machine was delivered to NewTire from Australia. The machine only takes up a small amount of space, leaving ample room to store used tire pieces indoors.

The grinding machine separates the metal wiring inside a tire from the top layers of rubber, which are the most useful for recycling purposes.

The treads are then subjected to two grinding processes that reduce the tires to crumbs ranging in size from 2.5 centimetres to just four millimetres.

John Tennant, chief executive of the region’s economic development agency, Canada’s Technology Triangle, said the new company supports the area’s reputation as an environmental research hub.

"The technology NewTire brings to this operation is state of the art," he said. "This is a community that has expertise in a broad range of environmental technologies."

Tennant said Besenschek is a good example of how the entrepreneurial culture in the region extends far beyond technology.