Swedish bus firm signs Marangoni supply agreement

Marangoni Retreading Systems has announced a new deal with Bergkvarabuss AB, one of the largest private tourist bus and coach companies in Sweden. The Italian retreader will supply tyres with its BUS-T tread pattern, manufactured using its Ringtread joint-free procured ring technology, to the transport firm, becoming the first retreader to supply Bergkvarabuss. Founded in 1975 as a small taxi and bus business, the fleet has since grown to become the biggest family business in the sector in Sweden.

Bergkvarabuss operates a fleet of ultra-modern buses that includes around 550 top-of-the-range vehicles travelling all over Sweden and around a further 65 in the rest of Europe. The Marangoni agreement involves its buses (city, intercity and school buses) serving fixed routes in the province of Blekinge, Sweden.

Marangoni says the partnership derives from Bergkvarabuss AB’s need to change its vehicles’ tyres just once a year; the tyres are fitted on the buses in October, at the start of winter, and need to remain in service for 12 months. Until now, Marangoni says the company had not managed to find retreads able to satisfy their annual replacement policy.

At the end of 2009, Däckia AB, a major Swedish tyre retreader and historic Marangoni partner, offered Bergkvarabuss AB the opportunity to test the Ringtread solution, specifically the BUS-T pattern. Given encouraging initial results, a second set of tests was carried out at the end of 2010, with a minor improvement to the product. The results of this test convinced the Swedish fleet to fit the Marangoni retreads it tested on all its city buses.

Bergkvarabuss said it is very satisfied with performance in terms of the traction and grip provided by the pattern, but above all impressed by the tread’s high mileage. Marangoni says the BUS-T is “an excellent drive pattern for city buses that start and stop frequently”. The pattern features two rows of deep blocks to increase mileage, with transverse siping to increase the tread’s footprint and grip. Its large shoulders improve resistance to impact, rubbing against footpaths and abrasion.