SASKATOON — The provincial government and Shercom Industries reached an agreement on Tuesday, Feb. 17, stemming from a lawsuit the latter had filed almost two years ago against the former and the Tire Stewardship of Saskatchewan.
Under the terms of settlement, the government will pay $4.8 million to Shercom Industries, and Shercom Industries accepts this payment in full and final satisfaction of its claims and acknowledges that it will have no further claims related to any matters raised in the lawsuit.
The government, in a media release, said that the settlement is not an admission of liability on its part or on any of the defendants in this case, but is believed to be in the best interests of Saskatchewan residents and the tire recycling industry. All other details of this settlement are considered confidential.
Shercom president Shane Olson, in an email to SaskToday, said they are relieved that their issues with the government and TSS have finally been addressed and are now ready to move on.
He declined to provide further comment, but said the settlement does not address future tire flows.
“As such, it does not re-create any jobs that have been lost. Shercom manufacturing continues to grow. Shercom’s future will be determined by the normal business factors affecting its operations. The availability of raw materials is one of those factors,” said Olson.
Shercom took the provincial government and TSS to court for alleged breaches of contract, broken promises, and unfair exclusion from the provincial tire recycling market, stemming from the long-running dispute over contracts for processing scrap tires in the province.
Shercom had to lay off over 100 workers, with 40 full-time staff involved in tire collection and processing, after failing to secure processing scrap tire contracts, with the projects awarded to a US-based company.
Since 1993, Shercom has been recycling used tires into products for commercial and residential projects, including garage and gym mats, rubber tiles, curb ramps, and speed bumps.
Shercom has been in the tire recycling business for 30 years and pioneered a method to harvest rubber from hazardous tire waste, turning it into value-added moulded rubber products — a process no other private company in Saskatchewan had achieved.
