The idea was so simple that Dale Goetz still can't believe he didn't think of it years ago. Why not turn old tires into something useful, like rubber mats used to increase traction for cattle leaving the squeeze chute?
"I've always told my wife I wanted to come up with something that nobody else has come up with. says Goetz. "This is so simple." And it has been a good business for Goetz, his family. Goetz's interest in tire mats stemmed from a magazine ad. It depicted a New Yorker selling a kit to make welcome mats from the sidewalls of car tires. The kit included a tire cutting machine, plastic spacers and galvanized wire. After making several mats from tire sidewalls, Goetz wondered what to do with the pile of leftover tire treads.
Branching out. His answer came from a McDonald feedyard operator, who was looking for a way to improve traction outside his squeeze chute. The livestock mat, Goetz built proved to be the perfect solution.
Since then, the Double D Family Mat Shop has built hundreds of livestock mats. Goetz started the business to provide extra income for his wife Dena and their children Christin, Mandy, Alan, Amber and Dallas. He also wanted to help livestock producers solve an age -old problem and help the environment. The business now employs four people.
Making Mats. Strip mats are made by cutting a 5/8-inch strip from the sidewall. Another machine punches holes in the strips. Plastic spacers separate each strip and galvanized wire is threaded between the strips to fasten the mat together. "Most of our expense is in labor."Goetz explains. "It's all hand work."
The machines Goetz uses to cut the tire strips uses saw blades to slice through the rubber and steel belts. The machines have two blades-one below and one above the tire-which overlap to ensure a clean cut. Goetz rigged a vacuum to suck away the rubber particles and dust associated with cutting the ires. An air-powered hole puncher is used for the strip tire mats.
The whole tire is used to build both mats. Sidewalls are cut out of an intact tire first. Then, an inch of tread is cut off where it fastens into the sidewall. Finally, the treads are cut in two to build the big mats.
for the first livestock mat, Goetz bolted the treads together in a crisscross pattern. That took too much money and time, so he began weaving them together. "They stay together real well in the middle, and than we bolt them on the outside using stainless steel bolts," he explains.
A six-by-six foot mat takes 21 14-inch tires; a seven-by-seven foot mat requires 21 16-in tires. Little rubber is left over from the tread, although trimming is required to make the mats uniform in shape and size.
Helping the environment. Goetz picks up tires from the local tire shops. Radial tires make the best mats because of their durability. At six mats per day and about 20 tires per mat, the mat shop uses about 3,000 tires per month. He hopes to use even more as the business grows. He reasons: "Why bury them when you can use them?"
Strip mats are made from the tire sidewalls and can be custom built. Standard sizes are either two or three
feet in width and eight foot long. Woven strip mats come in three sizes: 18in by 25in; 20in by 32in, 24in by 39in.
Livestock mats, or those made with treads, come in several sizes: 3x6, 3x10, 3x12, 4x6, 4x10, 4x12, and 6x6 sizes. the mat shop can also custom build any size. Goetz says, and for a number of purposes, including stock trailer, loading chutes and round crowding tubs and alleyways.
The double D Family Mat Shop has been making mats from tires for nearly three years. "there's nothing else like them and there is such a need for them., " Goetz says.
If interested in a mat from the Double D Family Mat Shop, write them at Route 1 Box 18, Park, Ks 67751, phone 785/673-4326 or fax 785/673-4331. They also have a page on the Internet: http://www.ddfamilymats.net/
Circle mats
Thursday, October 28, 2010
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