Expansion for Swedish Retreader

Swedish company Hedbergs has been in the tyre business for over 50 years and started retreading tyres as early as 1958. In 2001 the company decided to switch to the Bandag retreading process.

Demand for Bandag retreads grew rapidly from the outset, propelling production at the Hedbergs shop to maximum capacity in just three and a half years. One of the reasons for this was the opening of the Öresund Bridge between Copenhagen and Malmö, in 2000.

The spectacular sea bridge, which stretches for 16 km, channels heavy transit traffic between the Danish capital and Malmö. It soon transformed the area into the most dynamic economic region in Scandinavia, capturing 25% of all incoming goods. A dense network of roads connects Öresund to northern Europe and the European mainland.

For transport companies operating in the area, competition grew as fast as the traffic. They need solutions that can both reduce costs and enhance uptime. Local fleets and tyre resellers soon discovered that Hedbergs Produktion AB could provide Bandag products and fleet solutions that met their specific needs.

Hedbergs’ business as a Eurofleet partner further contributes to its reputation. The Bandag Dealer is one of the main tyre suppliers to mammoth fleets such as GE Equipment Services (formerly TIP) and DFDS in the seaports of southern Sweden. These fleets under contract with Eurofleet are serviced by Hedbergs’ local Service Partners.

New premises mean better service

“When it became clear that our Bandag workshop in the centre of Malmö would soon reach its maximum capacity, we took the necessary steps to ensure that our growing number of customers would benefit from faster and even better service in the future,” explains Roland Persson, General Manager of Hedbergs.

Construction of the new 2,000 m² Bandag workshop (not including the warehouse) began at the end of September on a 10,000 m² site on the outskirts of Malmö. The new premises are adjacent to excellent roads and motorway links. The building is scheduled for completion by the end of December and the manufacture of Bandag retreads is planned to start by mid-January 2006, when all of the equipment needed has been relocated to the new shop.

The fully automatic Bandag buffer and builder – modern machines that are still top of the Bandag range – will be used to their full capacity at the new premises. “Using all the potential our machinery has to offer will considerably enhance our productivity,” comments Mr Persson.

The reliability of the Bandag tyre products will be assured by the shop’s NDI casing analyser, with its ultrasound technology guaranteeing that only perfectly sound casings make it into the retreading process. A new pressure chamber will triple curing capacity.