Kraiburg reports record sales of 108 million euros in 2011

Rubber and retreading materials manufacturer Kraiburg Austria posted sales of over 108 million euros in 2011, the highest sales figures in the 50 years since the company’s foundation. According to the Kraiburg, the retreading business accounted for a good 65 per cent of the sales. As a result Kraiburg Austria has returned to pre-crisis levels it was achieving in 2008.

Half of the increase is due to the sharp rise in the cost of raw materials which was passed on to customers. The other half was said to have been generated through additional revenues in pre-cured tread lengths from the K_base, K_tech and K_plus ranges and in mould cure compounds.

4 million euro investment in Geretsberg site

Kraiburg Austria almost announced that it is spending 4 million euros on improvements. One upgrade gives Kraiburg Austria its own combined heat and power unit powered by internal combustion and natural gas. The system has been designed especially for the production site and will reduce the energy costs by around 10 per cent. The annual CO2 saving will be approximately 750 tonnes. According to the company, the investment will be recouped after six years depending on subsidies. The unit is expected to go into operation in October. 

In addition a large-volume mixer will be on stream by the end of May. This promises an increase in productivity but it will also improve the homogeneity of the various compounds. A new fully automatic oil weighing station adds to these improvements. Further Kraiburg will be fitting a new mould removal tools for presses in the production section in June. This will make it easy to remove retreads which can be more challenging and complicated from the moulds, such as siped retreads and winter tyre retreads.