Cuban Retreader Poligom Output 56,900 tyres in 2009

A recent article written by Joel Mayor Loran and published by the Granma and Periodico publications in Cuba gives a fascinating insight into the workings of the country’s National Rubber Company – Poligom. According to the article, which is entitled “How to Save a Million Dollars” the Cuban retreading operation has been facing a scarcity of raw materials and retreadable casings.

The Poligom National Rubber Company reportedly runs five factories specialised retreading work, which retreaded 56,900 tyres in 2009. However, the lack of stability in the supply is said to have affected plans to increase production to 90,000 in 2010. In the year to 10 June the retread companies located in the municipality of Cotorro in Havana City, in the central province of Las Villas, and in the eastern provinces of Camaguey, Holguin and Santiago de Cuba received 34,000 casings, 6,000 less than expected.

In addition to the raw material and casing woes facing the company, there are also – believe it or not – said to be problems with regard to demand in what must be a closed market. One customer – Ombibus Urbanos – reportedly dragged its feet before picking up its 46 tyre order. “Don’t they need them?” Loran asked. And as a result the company received 1 million Cuban pesos from the government.

3 more factories planned

Rolando Alfonso Sánchez, director of Poligom, said that the quality of the product proved the firm’s intention to get more clients: “We will have another three factories, in the western municipality of San Jose de las Lajas, in Camaguey and in Santiago de Cuba.”

According to the company’s registers, the Sugar Ministry the largest customer of the retread service and the most organized in this respect. Meanwhile, the Agricultural, the Transport and the Building sectors are also making some participation, though to a lesser extent. And the ministries of Domestic Trade and the Iron and Steel and Food Industries have lagged behind.

Luis Llanes, director of the Manuel Malmierca Basic Management Unit (UEB) of retreading in Havana, says that “many entities have requested to buy new tyres at a high price. They do not apply for the most suitable solution: they must apply for the retread; that is the government’s will to make a rational use of the resources.”

Writing the article Loran observed: “It is really disappointing to see that you enter a work place and see that the workers have nothing to do. There are not enough cases,” said Lisberto Leyva, a worker with 16 years experience.

Tyre husbandry amongst customers is also less than cutting edge: Rolando Coronado, from the Western Mining Agency, conceded that his entity was weak at enforcing a policy in this respect: “Sometimes, they do not rotate the tyres correctly, as they don’t see the need [to] stop them in time. That should be a work mechanism; or else, the tyre can be spoiled and the vehicle has to stop working. The ones in charge of that task should be the transport and maintenance sections, or the technical management…We do not retread much. Now we are doing it more often, and I hope we keep on.”

Since starting to offer services in Cuban pesos in 2009, Poligom’s main clientele have been medium and heavy transport, as well as light, heavy and land moving agricultural transport. “These are the main sources of currency saving. We offer services of free technical assistance and the possibility of returning the tire if there is any mechanical breakdown attributable to the factory; if it finally proved, we retread it again with no costs to the client,” said Luis Llanes.

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