Marangoni Prepared and Ready for Business in China

There is no doubting that the Shanghai representative office opened by Marangoni in the summer of 2007 has developed since its initial establishment. Talking with Tyres & Accessories at the sidelines of Tyrexpo Asia in Singapore, where the Marangoni Group was also exhibiting, office manager Marcello Gambarini stated that the Italian retreading and tyre business already has a seven-strong sales team operating in China and the 30-plus year tyre industry veteran added that Marangoni has now reached “the end of its preparation phase.” This means that Marangoni in China is ready to supply its tread material and retreading products to the industry. Rather than being used in Marangoni-owned factories these products will be used by partners, Gambarini disclosed, also noting that the company’s premium Ringtread products and top of the line machinery do not at present feature on the Chinese market product list; there isn’t as yet a great demand for these items within the country’s growing retreading industry.

While Marangoni is initially cooperating with off-take partners to handle production the option of its own manufacturing facilities, while not yet under considerations, remains feasible. By the middle of next year the Italian company should have decided whether it will erect its own factory in China, commented Gambarini. Regardless of the ultimate decision, the most important thing for Marangoni has been to establish a foothold in the highly prized Chinese market one way or another. Marcello Gambarini, at any rate, reports that he is extremely pleased with Marangoni’s to-date progress in China.

Currently Gambarini is contemplating expanding the Shanghai office’s activities into Taiwan, a market just as large and ripe for the picking as the Italian retreading market. The Italian manufacturer is also in a position to consider “strengthening Marangoni’s new tyre business” activity in China. This does not necessarily mean that these products will be sold there; Gambarini implied – without explicitly stating so – that its increased activity could take the form of an eventual off-take agreement with a Chinese new tyre manufacturer.