Retreading
65 years young and still looking forward – CIMA
CIMA Impianti Spa might be celebrating its 65th anniversary this year, but the company reports that it continues to look forward. According to the company, features of the business’ 65-year pedigree include that it “keeps investing in buying equipment, but mainly in hiring people, a lot of which very young, giving space to a new generation capable of securing the future of the company.”
Marangoni GRP launches India’s first franchised Ringtread plant
Since late 2015, the Marangoni Ringtread process has been represented in India by Marangoni GRP, a joint venture between the Marangoni Group and India rubber recycler GRP. The joint venture operation has now begun the rollout of a network of franchised retreaders within the country – the first, Autobahn Retreading, has opened its doors in the city of Kochi (Cochin). The Autobahn Retreading plant was officially inaugurated by Giuseppe Marangoni, vice-president of the Marangoni Group, together with GRP’s chief executive officer, Harsh Gandhi.
NTDA: EC anti-subsidy decision ‘no great surprise’
Following decisions on the part of the European Commission (EC) to review its Chinese truck tyre anti-dumping tariffs and to decide against implementing anti-subsidy remedies against Chinese-produced tyres for the time being, the industry itself has been responding to the news. For its part, the UK’s National Tyre Distributors Association (NTDA) was not shocked by the news that the EC is not planning to implement anti-subsidy (otherwise known as counter-veiling duties) and highlighted difficulties associated with their implementation.
Nick Boles MP visits Vacu-Lug
Retreader and tyre management provider Vacu-Lug, which has today been acquired by Zenises, was visited by its local MP Nick Boles. The member for for Grantham and Stamford spent his time at the company seeing its latest manufacturing developments and learning more about its recently developed VMS Mobile app, designed to provide operators with fingertip access to their fleet’s tyre data whenever and wherever they need it.
Zenises makes “capital commitments” to Vacu-Lug following acquisition of tyre retreader
As part of the transaction that saw Zenises group purchase Vacu-Lug, Zenises Group has confirmed that it has also made “several large capital commitments in equipment and technology to ensure that Vacu-Lug becomes, over time, the most advanced independent retreader in Europe”.
All-season tyre prices continue to grow, winter prices flatten
Earlier research based on point of sales system-based sell-out data shows that mid-range all-season tyres are leading market growth, followed by premium tyres (see “Mid-range all-season tyres lead market growth” for more on this). At the same time 4x4 and SUV tyres specifically appear to be driving growth. Both facts point to the hypothesis that market growth is being driven by high-value products, which makes both all-season tyres in general and SUV/4x4 all-season tyres in particular attractive parts of the tyre business to engage in. But what evidence is there that this thesis is supported by sell-out pricing?
Zenises buys Vacu-Lug
Zenises has bought Grantham-based Vacu-Lug. The acquisition means Vacu-Lug remains the only significantly sized independent retreader in the UK. With an annual truck tyre retread capacity of 120,000, Zenises representatives described the firm as the largest independent retreader in Europe.
“My product can do even more”
Many retreaders face an uphill battle just to maintain their position in European retreading markets. For those that do, a key factor in their success is – as we’ve previously commented in these pages – possession of a stable customer base. Yet loyalty is only earned through unflagging effort; maintaining close relations with customers is important, as is product quality and price in comparison with new tyres and the competition’s retreads. A fine example of how this works on a small, regional scale can be seen at W.H.H. Reifenerneuerung, a Hamburg, Germany-based retreader that’s been in the business for almost 40 years.
The increasing connection between new tyres, retreads and technology
When news of Chinese truck tyre import tariffs breaking around us, Tyres & Accessories wanted to gauge the response of a leading premium tyremaker and retreader. With Goodyear having been amongst the few to officially comment on the matter since the announcement of tariffs at the start of May, we asked Gregory Boucharlat, director Fleet and Retread Commercial EU to bring us to speed on this as well as wider ongoing retreading trends.
Bridgestone lifts Bulldog production, invests in UK retreading as duties drive demand
It’s now more than two months since the European Union applied anti-dumping duties on a range of truck and bus tyres manufactured in China, and during this time Bridgestone has observed a “strong uplift in demand” within the UK retreading industry. With the market “showing signs of a significant upturn in fortunes,” the company behind the Bandag retreading brand believes a “continued investment in its range of products is beginning to reap dividends.”
Tariffs support retread revival bid
The rise of low-cost Chinese truck tyre imports in Europe has been well documented in the pages of various issues of our ongoing series of Retreading Special supplements. The resultant risks affecting the industry have led to pan-European awareness-raising and lobbying efforts at a European level. This in turn resulted in a European Commission (EC) investigating and on the impact of Chinese truck tyre imports on European retread sales, which began late last year. Then product registration began in February 2018. The latest news marks something of a victory for retreaders in their bid to revive the business as now we know that tariffs of between 52.85 euros and 82.17 euros per tyre are being applied to all truck and bus radials imported into Europe from China.
Cima Impianti: “The market is in turmoil”
For Cima Impianti, last year ended with as many challenges as it began. “The market is in turmoil,” comments the Italian supplier of equipment for the retreading industry. Anti-dumping duties against imports of truck and bus tyres from China have been discussed and – at least on a preliminary basis – levied for a six-month period; a new regulation covering the 3PMSF symbol and its use on new and retreaded tyres has also come into force.
UK’s RMA and BTMA amalgamate to strengthen retreading representation
Considering the evolution of the retreading market in the UK to fewer and larger players, the Retread Manufacturers’ Association (RMA) has been faced with somewhat dwindling numbers of members. Consolidation has meant fewer distinct companies, which has in turn made for a reduced membership base. However, this does not necessarily equate to the reduced vitality of retreading in the UK – while certainly facing many challenges from the availability of lower-cost new tyres imported from the Far East, retreading has continued to prove relevant to a greater or lesser degree depending on prevailing macroeconomic winds.
Vipal celebrates the results of first Tire Cologne
Between 29 May and 1 June Vipal Rubber attended The Tire Cologne, in Germany. On the trade show's first day, Vipal Rubber representatives were among the featured speakers at the "Global Retreading Conference". Specifically, Vipal Rubber's Head of International Business, Leandro Rigon, was invited to talk about the tyre retreading situation in Latin America, also representing ALARNEU (Latin American Association of Tire Retread).
TRM targeting South America
TRM, the Tyre Retreading Machinery division of Marangoni, is aiming to grow its business in South America, specifically the Brazilian market, the company said.