Cows Like These Woven Tire Mats
As long as tires wear out, Dale Goetz and his family will have plenty of material for their mat business. The Kansas feedlot owner came up with the tire mat design when he needed soft, non-slip mats in the processing area where he vaccinates and works with his cattle.
    “I figured tires are tough, and I started weaving strips together. It worked better than I imagined,” Goetz says.
    He developed a machine to cut the tread part off steel-belted car and small truck tires. The strips are hand-woven. (The sidewalls are used for weight to hold down the plastic on feed bunks, so there is little waste.) Cattle hooves easily slide over the woven areas.
    “What I’m finding is that our mats have the best traction,” Goetz says, noting most other mats are soft, but have smooth, slick surfaces. Besides providing good traction to reduce crippling injuries, the tire mats are soft and quiet.
    Demand has been good from feedlot owners, and businesses such as sale barns, livestock auctions and packing plants. There has also been interest from hog breeders and dairy operators. The mats work well in walkways, crowd pens, ramps, scales and other locations.
    The most popular sizes are 6 by 6-ft. and 4 by 10-ft., but Goetz’s business, Double D Family Mat Shop Inc., makes them in any size. They have created curved mats and mats as long as 50 ft. for customers. The mats weigh 5 1/2 lbs./sq. ft. and can be shipped anywhere by freight carrier.
    Price varies depending on the cost of tires, fuel and other factors, so call Goetz for cost.
    Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Double D Family Mat Shop, Inc., Dale and Dena Goetz, 6606 E. Road 100 S., Park, Kan. 67751 (ph 888 377-2879; www.ddfamilymats.net).



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2012 - Volume #36, Issue #6