Do you know how far the rubber travels before it hits your track system? Extracted from a tree, natural rubber is processed by several Soucy subsidiaries before being moulded and installed on the various track systems.
Discover all the steps that this highly resistant and durable material goes through before it is integrated into our track system.
The first step in obtaining rubber is to extract the latex from the rubber tree called hevea. This tree mainly grows in tropical climates. Soucy goes on site to carefully select its sources of supply and to get to know its suppliers.
Once the natural rubber is extracted, it is sent to Soucy Techno to be mixed, processed and preformed. A team of chemists develops the recipes according to the performance objectives to be achieved. As Soucy track systems are made up of several layers of rubber, each with its own properties and uses, several recipes are needed to manufacture a single track.
For each determined recipe, natural rubber is mixed with more than a dozen ingredients to be shaped.
The shaped mixture then continues its way to Soucy Caoutchouc where it will be assembled. The assembly is done using robots to ensure the proper positioning of all the layers.
The next step is to mould the rubber according to the desired track design. At this stage, a compression process is applied in moulds to achieve rigorous straightness and repeatability. This method also makes it possible to improve, change and adapt the product as needed. Throughout the process, careful inspection is carried out according to a precise list of quality criteria in order to optimize quality control and results.
Before allowing you to work in the field or explore the trails, rubber makes one last stop at Soucy International. This is where the rubber track will be assembled with all the other products that have been designed and manufactured in Soucy's subsidiaries to create the track system you know.
This is the path rubber travels before you use it in fields, on trails or on construction sites. Before reading this article, did you know that the rubber used to make track systems came from a tree? To find out more about rubber, visit our Expertise pages.