With rubber tires accounting for the global mining industry's largest expense, not to mention, the detrimental environmental impact of tire disposal, Global Air Cylinder Wheels®️, held a conference on October 11 in Dampier, Australia, inviting top global mining companies to take a closer look at its unique wheel technology, Air Suspension Wheel, that provides a cleaner, cost-effective, stronger, and safer alternative to rubber wheels.
(Photo : Conservaco/ The Ignite Agency)
The timing of the Phoenix-based engineering company's conference couldn't have been any more crucial.
With more than 35,000 open-pit mines globally, the global mining industry uses and disposes of environmentally damaging rubber tires at an alarming rate. A recent report by the International Union for Conservation of Nature estimated that tires account for as much as 28% of overall microplastic waste in the world's oceans.
Manufactured mostly out of steel, the Air Suspension Wheel (ASW) is eco-friendly, stronger, and safer than the highly pollutive traditional rubber tire and is up to 60% more economical over the lifetime of the wheel.
Encouraged by the results of its previous $3.3 million crowdfunding campaign, the company has relaunched its StartEngine campaign to further evolve its ASW technology. This week, independent investment research website KingsCrowd, recommended the GACW StartEngine investment as a top deal - its highest rating possible. The current StartEngine crowdfunding campaign, which ends next month, has raised more than $284,000 to date.
More than 25 major mining companies have confirmed attendance at GACW's conference.
"Our conference is a great opportunity for us to share our innovative technology and vision with the mining companies, whose combined interest represents hundreds, if not thousands of mining vehicles on these mine sites," said Dr. Zoltan Kemeny, president and CEO of Global Air Cylinder Wheels. "GACW's focus continues to be catering to the demand from miners seeking viable tire solutions, and it is a substantial market for us. We are planning to have a commercially ready product for the mining market in Q1 2023 where the need is most urgent."
The ASW combines an inner steel hub with an outer steel drum which is connected by eight or twelve nitrogen-filled air cylinders and up to six oil-filled dampers that provide suspension and damping. On the outer drum, individually bolt-on steel or polyurethane treads are fitted. These individual treads can be replaced without removing the wheel, a time-consuming process that takes up to eight hours with off-the-road rubber tires.
Rapid wear and tear caused by impacts, rock cuts, and extreme and uneven loading can drastically shorten the lifespan of an expensive mining tire. Shedding rubber means no more overheating tires or dangerous explosions that can be associated with conventional tires. When rubber heats up, if the heat is not dissipated, it builds up, increasing the tire's pressure and becoming a troubling safety problem.
The ASW is durable and designed to have the same lifespan as the vehicle itself, (approximately 10-15 years), meaning fewer replacement costs and less time spent swapping out damaged tires. The ASW can become part of the vehicle and has the potential to become a capital asset. Unlike rubber tires, the ASW can be leased, with a 15% residual value after 10 years of service. They can also be refurbished and leased again.
Then there is the environmental impact of ASW. Old rubber tires are frequently buried or burned, releasing harmful chemicals and heavy metals into groundwater and air. Tires also end up in landfills wasting space or filling up with water, creating a breeding ground for disease-carrying pests such as mosquitoes.
"Beyond these serious environmental and budget concerns, off-the-road mining tires represent a huge safety problem for maintenance crews due to potential explosions from overheating, improper inflation or installation, and lightning strikes. Mining companies are forced to use 'Band-Aid' solutions such as patch-up repairs, tire pressure monitoring, tire retreading, tire cooling systems, and tire rotation to extend the tire's useful life. One 13,000-pound OTR mining tire can cost over $75,000 and only lasts six to nine months. That is a large expense for a product that does not last," Kemeny explained.
Notable features and benefits of the ASW include:
- Mechanical wheel design can be adjusted to the payload, speed, sideload, size, weight, and other requirements.
- No overheating.
- Safer -- can't explode.
- Fuel savings
- Less waste. Only the part that wears off will be replaced.
- More sustainable materials.
- Tire wear creates terrible fine dust while the treads of the ASW can be made with biodegradable materials.
- Lifetime wheel - lasting approximately 10-15 years.
- Breaking energy gets stored in the cylinders and gets returned to kinetic energy.
- 100% recyclable.
The ASW technology has a strong patent portfolio with eight granted, and with 52 patents pending. The company has received multiple initial purchase orders and is expected to be fully commercialized within two years with rapid adoption into mining fleets.
"Large purchase orders are expected to create our revenue streams," Kemeny said.
He added that GACW orders will be for trucks and loader wheels. Loaders have four wheels and trucks have six, generating respective revenues of $600,000 per loader and $900,000 per truck on average. As a typical mine has 60 vehicles requiring 480 tires at $150,000 per wheel initial fleet orders could reach more than $72 million for a single mine.
GACW's wheel technology has been tested in real-world conditions, and the company has been developing the ASW for OTR mining vehicles since 2016. The company's ASW was trialed at a gold mine site in South Africa in 2016, and just before Covid-19 hit, the latest version of the wheels was successfully tested in 2019 and 2020 at a gold mine in the U.S.
GACW recently launched operational tests with a drum crusher for three months on an open pit mine location in Chile, and with a CAT 994 front-end loader for three months on an open pit mine location in Australia's Pilbara area.
"At this point, we plan to expand our distribution network and really start taking the OTR industry by storm," Kemeny said.
EV vehicles are another eco-friendly industry GACW is planning to tap into in the coming years. Governments in all major regions are implementing EV mandates and incentives to promote fewer carbon emissions and protect the environment. The US has a goal of 50% electric vehicle market share by 2030, while Europe has proposed an all-out ban on fossil fuel cars by 2035 as California and New York have done.
GACW's ASW technology can offer EVs lower rolling resistance leading to extended battery range.
Some companies, including Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA), have hinted in recent years at possibly moving toward airless tires, but none has yet delivered on that promise.
GACW is seeking an OEM partner that can develop the ASW technology specifically for cars, buses, and trucks (semis).
"The ASW technology can be applied to all verticals where traditional rubber tires are used, and this market is immense. Our wheels are gaining the traction we need to thrust us into the main market," Kemeny said. "We are also looking to start developing other verticals next year."
He added that the other verticals could include construction, bicycles, aircraft, military, and any other vehicle with wheels.
The global OTR tire market is estimated to reach $30 billion in 2022. The overall global tire market is anticipated to reach $322 billion by 2022 with a projected CAGR of 8.4%.
Overall, the company has raised more than $5 million from investors so far and the company's valuation has increased from $27 million to $40 million since May 2022.
Other forms of expected revenue for GACW include:
● recurring revenue from tread replacement
● licensing and royalty agreements
● other applications such as cars, buses, trucks, military, bicycles, wheelchairs, and many
more
GACW has also created an experienced board of directors and formed a first-class advisory board.
It was while working in Germany with a large car manufacturer that Kemeny was inspired to create a new kind of wheel. He realized through his work that the physics behind the traditional rubber tire is far from ideal. He put down his first idea for the ASW on a napkin in June 2011. After a few years of "testing in the kitchen" and acquiring the first patent, the prototype for a mining vehicle was created in 2016.
His company has teamed up with experts in the field of suspension, steel manufacturing, cylinders, and treads, and features more than 200 years of combined engineering experience.
This article is owned by Tech Times
Written by Jessel Thomas
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