Retreading
4×4 Tyres
In these trying economic times the popularity of 4x4s is not what it once was Buyers are avoiding new off road vehicles in droves in order to cut down on motoring costs, and dealers are resorting to heavy discounts in order to clear unsold stocks. However the 4×4 is by no means an endangered species in the UK, despite costs, taxes and action groups such as the Alliance Against Urban 4x4s.
The new Michelin XHA2 loader tyre, introduced in early January at the Intermat trade show’s press days, has been designed to accomplish three goals: reduce hourly operating costs, ensure that work continues smoothly and safely, and improve operator working conditions. The tyre is intended for loaders in quarries and cement plants and on construction and infrastructure worksites. The XHA2 will be officially unveiled at the Intermat 2009 building and construction trade show in April 2009. The tyre will be available in replacement markets around the world beginning in May 2009.
The performance of Uniroyal tyres on timber hauling trucks belonging to Cumbrian operator John Miller Limited has prompted the company to adopt the brand for its general haulage fleet. Frequent journeys of up to 20 miles on unpaved forest tracks can be punishing on tyres, and Millers says it is impressed by how well the Uniroyal tyres have stood up to the arduous conditions they’re subjected to. Now the company is fitting them to steer axles on Mercedes-Benz Actros tractors on general haulage work and looking to achieve up to 180,000 kilometres of life before regrooving.
Rifer Gomme, based in Fermo, on Italy’s Adriatic coast, as recently joined Bandag to provide enhanced retreading services to its large customer base in the Marche region and beyond. According to an official statement publishing the news, Rifer Gomme is one of the largest tyre retreaders in central Italy. It is a family company owned and run by Lucio Cudini, with his two sons handling the company’s sales and marketing activities, and his daughter looking after the administrative side of the business.
Rifer Gomme sells new tyres – Bridgestone and other major brands – and retreads for a wide range of vehicles: light and heavy trucks, as well as passenger cars. After working with a different retreading system for a while, the Cudini family took the decision to switch to Bandag.
As of January 1, Bridgestone Australia Ltd. (BSAL) and Bridgestone New Zealand Ltd. (BSNZ) have officially become a single organisation. The joining together means BSAL will be the shareholder of BSNZ. However, Bridgestone reports that the two companies will retain their own identity and maintain their respective Board of Directors.
Shawn Hara, BSAL Group chairman and managing director, said the closer relations between the two companies will allow for greater sharing of knowledge and resources. “This joining of forces will strengthen operations, giving the company a competitive advantage in the market,” commented Hara. “As the Australian and New Zealand markets are similar, the joining of operations provides opportunities to improve our joint product and service delivery to improve customer satisfaction and to increase our market share in both countries.
As the world reels from the effects of the global economic slowdown, many may have wondered if this would have had a negative effect on SEMA 2008’s tyres, wheels and equipment section supported by the Tire Industry Association (TIA). As it turned out, while attendance was definitely down, the quality and buying power of attendees was in line with recent shows.
“What we found is that where a buyer might have sent six or seven people in years past – many of whom were not in key decision making positions – this year, they might have only sent two or three people; but they had the authority to make those purchasing decisions,” said TIA executive vice president Roy Littlefield. While Bridgestone has not exhibited at SEMA for a number of years, with the current fiscal conditions being what they are, it was likely that this was a major factor in the decisions of a number of other key players who did not exhibit at this year’s show. While manufacturers such as Michelin and Goodyear had very little, or no, presence at all, there were plenty of other manufacturers who came out in full force, such as Pirelli, Toyo, Yokohama, Cooper, Dunlop, Sumitomo, Hankook and Falken.
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TRIB, the Tire Retread & Repair Information Bureau, continues to become ever more international. The latest member to join the organisation is China’s Sailun Company, Ltd. The addition of Sailun brings TRIB’s membership to nearly 500 members in 49 countries.
“TRIB continues to grow internationally as more and more companies in the new tyre and retread industries throughout the world realise that TRIB is the only international retread industry association representing new tyre manufacturers, retreaders and tyre repair companies,” said Harvey Brodsky, TRIB’s managing director.
Pelmar Engineering has appointed a new Managing Director for Pelmar LLC, USA; Mr. Armond Boyes. Mr. Boyes has a Mechanical Engineering degree from the University of Akron and has worked for Goodyear for over 22 years where he eventually became the General Manager of Retreading, responsible for the complete operation in North America. Mr. Boyes intends to expand & strengthen Pelmar’s position in the Northern and Southern American markets, as well as use his extensive experience to promote retreading activities. “It is a great pleasure to be a part of the Pelmar team and I hope to be able to make a difference” he said.
Last December, Marangoni management and employees celebrated the production of the millionth Ringtread in the United States. The seven-digit number was reached on December 12, four and a half years after the first tyre was retreaded with Marangoni’s Alpha-Ring system in the US.
During a staff celebration to mark the occasion, company CEO and president Bill Sweatman said “Today, we manufactured our one millionth Ringtread here in the United States. We are proud and thankful that we have been able to achieve this important milestone. This is the icing on the cake in a year full of successes! Our unit sales have increased more than 10 per cent this year and along with other improvements we’ve made we have gained in both market share and market strength.
A number of companies from around the globe have joined the ranks of the Tire Retread & Repair Information Bureau (TRIB). The newest members are Akar Makina Sanayi Ltd (Turkey), Marangoni Tread (Italy), Salvadori S.R.L. (Italy), Tire Lyna (Canada), Consolidated Tires, Inc, (USA), Sun Rubber Industry Sdn. Bhd. (Malaysia), Tony Pneus S.R.L. (Italy), Phoenix Tire (USA) and Santarosa Holdings (USA).
Enormous domestic tyre production capacity, a scarcity of domestic rubber supply and increased output prices could be pointing to strong opportunities in China’s tyre retreading business. Zhou Linyan, president of China Tyre Retreading, Repairing and Recycling Association (CTRA), recently told reporters that China produced 556 million tyres in 2007. And while many of these are destined for export markets, Chinese motorists are expected to discard 200 million end-of-life tyres in 2010.
Other CTRA statistics show that the number of end-of-life (ELT) tyres generated by the People’s Republic have sky-rocketed in recent years – from 32 million in 2000 to 150 million in 2007. Meanwhile, the raw weight of ELTs increased from 12 thousand tons to 3.1 million tons in the same period. While the association predicts China will generate 200 million waste tyres by 2010, the amount of retreading taking place has not yet caught up with the growth in new tyre production and the new tyre to retread rate lies somewhere between 4 and 7 per cent of recovered tyres.
In 2008 the Chinese government launched a series of new industrial tyre retreading standards in a bid ot improve the sector’s reputation. The government hopes that the new regulations will open the floodgates for enterprises to make the most of the retreading opportunities available to them. China introduced two national mandatory standards Truck Retread (GB9037 – 2007) and Passenger Car Retread (GB14646 – 2007) on 1 April 2008. Two more state standards of Reclaimed Rubber (GB/T13460 – 2008) and Sulfurated Rubber Powder (GB/T19208 – 2008) were implemented on 1 October 2008.
China Tyre Retreading, Repairing and Recycling Association statistics show that the number of end-of-life (ELT) tyres discarded in the People’s Republic grew from 32 million in 2000 to 150 million in 2007, while the raw weight of ELTs increased from 12 thousand tons to 3.1 million tons. The association predicts China will generate 200 million waste tyres by 2010, however with the new tyre to retread rate in recent years staying between 4 and 7 per cent it is difficult to say how many of these will be retreaded.
Magnum Plus tyre balancing compound is designed to surpass the effectiveness of fixed weights in two principal applications – balancing medium truck tyres economically throughout their life, and balancing light truck and on/off-road tyres that operate in variable driving conditions.
Most medium truck tyres, says manufacturer M & R Tire Products, are only balanced when new, as fixed wheel weights require re-balancing at regular intervals throughout the life of the tyre. The extra cost of doing this, adds the manufacturer, can end up costing as much as the tyre’s original purchase price, therefore money is saved by neglecting this necessary task. In contrast, Magnum Plus can be installed in a new medium truck tyre and will not only keep the tyre balanced for its first tread life, it can also be re-used in the tyre after retreading.
Continental Sime Tyre is relocating its retreading operations. The majority Conti owned Malaysian joint venture company will move the plant from Alor Gajah in the Southern Malay Peninsula to Petaling Jaya, near Kuala Lumpur, in a series of stages, starting early 2009. The relocation is expected to be completed by March 2009.
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