cord is then obtained by stranding several
wires. The final product must meet a num-
ber of critical features laid down by a fixed
standard, including breaking force, copper
and zinc content in the coating, thickness
of the coating, residual torsions or static
adhesion to rubber. If only a single parame-
ter fails, it heads for the scrap heap. “Every
year ŽDB manufactures about 8.000 tons
of cords, which is 3,691.544 km of wire that
would, for better illustration, wrap around
the Earth 92 times, be enough to go to the
moon 10 times and to the sun 2.5 times,”
adds Mr. Sosna.
Quality is a prerequisite for safety, because
wire is one of the basic structural compo-
nents of new tires. The cords made from
wires from ŽDB Drátovna are used by many
tire producers around the world, including
Continental, because it contributes to the
desired quality of the tires produced by
these manufacturers. Thanks to these steel
cords, they have great road handling. And if
you have them for your car, then you know
better than anyone else.
k n o w l e d g e
More about metal recycling can be found
at
-
Group/Waste-to-Resource/About-the-
materials.asa
What happens to tires that are worn out?
Other stories about waste and their “new
transformation” can be read about it here.
