Marangoni Opens Office in Shanghai

Italy’s Marangoni Group has highlighted its interest in the Chinese market with the opening of its Shanghai office, an initiative initially announced during the Citexpo exhibition in Shanghai at the end of 2005. For the Italian corporation a representative base in China is seen as just the first of a number of steps into the Chinese tyre market. Marangoni’s plans focus upon both the new tyre market and the retreading business, and include the installation of retreading plants and the production of Marangoni retreading materials in addition to a general boosting of Marangoni’s presence in the Chinese tyre market. Furthermore, the office will also be responsible for increasing Marangoni’s exports throughout the region. The new Maragoni office in Shanghai is run by Marcello Gambarini, who has more than 30 years of experience in the tyre business, and by Zhu Pei Fang, who the company reports is very well known in the Chinese tyre market.

One of the main features of the Chinese tyre market is its sheer size and, at the same time, the (still) high number of bias-ply products. These tyres account for about 60 per cent of the Chinese truck tyre market. But according to the Marangoni Group it is worth pointing out that currently there is a strong shift in the Chinese tyre market from bias-ply to radial tyres, a move that coincides with heavy investments into radial truck tyre technology and an increase of related production capacities. This modernisation has been further accelerated by the fact that most major new tyre manufacturers are currently in the process of implementing “total service” concepts in China. This means that retreading facilities will also be required in China, facilities that are either operated by the new tyre manufacturer itself or by franchisees.

Currently, truck tyre retreading in China is the domain of thousands of small-scale retreaders. Most of these small independent operators employ fairly outmoded technology. “Aside from them there are some medium-sized retreaders in China that have a definite need for more efficient technologies,” says Marcello Gambarini. “Thus, it is quite possible that technological developments in the area of new tyres will eventually foster the implementation of more modern retreading technology in China as well.”

“We at Marangoni expect a strong demand which will be generated as a result of current technological progress as well as the higher number of radial truck tyres that will be available for retreading. The retreading ratio will also eventually go up in China and reach Western levels. If this occurs as we anticipate we will see China becoming the second largest retreading market in the world,” Mr Gambarini continues. “It is our goal to supply our future customers in China our full product line-up, ranging from retreading technology to the production of machinery and retreading materials. During the start-up period our market approach will be in cooperation with a number of local partners that are appropriately sized, extremely dynamic and present in the market; partners that are committed to building-up the Chinese tyre market.”