Bridgestone Invests £400,000 in UK Retreading
Bridgestone UK has invested £400,000 in a twin head Alpha builder. According to the company, the purchase has been made following Bridgestone’s “rapid growth” within the UK retread market. Terry Salter, retread development manager, commented: “This is a part of a long term investment strategy designed to enhance capacity and quality.”
Continue ReadingWestminster Elects…Vacu-Lug
In keeping with our apolitical but pro-tyre, wheel and association industries position, Tyres & Accessories will not be publishing anything that could influence you vote in today’s general election. However, that doesn’t mean we can’t mention anything to do with what’s going on in Westminster…Whilst the rest of the country goes to the polls, Westminster Council has reportedly “elected” to use Vacu-Lug Tyres to provide its tyre and fleet management needs.
Continue ReadingGalgo Europe Wins National Export Award
Galgo Pre-Q was recently honoured with the “National Export Award of Mexico 2009-2010” (Premio Nacional de Exportacion). According to the company, Galgo was the only company of its type to have received this prize “making us best-in-class in what we do.” Since its foundation in 1952 Galgo Pre-Q has aimed to combine modern rubber manufacturing and laboratory equipment with a total quality management system. In 1999, Galgo Pre-Q systems received ISO 9001 certification recognized by ANSI RAB (U.S.A) and DAR (Germany). But last year this was re-certified at ISO 9001 version 2008. Company representatives say the certification assures clients that the company uses high quality processes and keeps a continuous improvement programme. They also point out that part of Galgo Pre-Q’s process SAP R/3 integrated computer systems provide “timely and accurate information upon which to make operational decisions.”
Continue ReadingVipal to Present Fuel Saving “ECO” Retreads
Vipal has announced that the company will launch a new range of fuel saving retreading products at Reifen, 2010. The new treads, named ECO reportedly form part of Vipal’s Transport Sustainability Project. According to the company, these are products that go “far beyond the savings from retreading: they also contribute for the environment and for the success of the transport activity.” After fuel tyres represent the second highest product cost for the transport sector. “This is why we heavily invest in technology in order to produce treads that can help to reduce operational costs besides offering quality and safety. Furthermore, we have most recently achieved another pioneering landmark: we developed the first fuel-saving tread lines”, highlights João Carlos Paludo, CEO of Vipal.
Continue ReadingCosta Rican Tyre Retreader Joins TRIB
Costa Rican tyre retreading company Tire Depot has joined the Tire Retread & Repair Information Bureau (TRIB). According to the association, Tire Depot is part of the Fanast organization and is opening a new modern retread factory in Costa Rica. TRIB reports that it was “instrumental in helping them source machinery and equipment for their new facility.”
Continue ReadingAircraft Tyre Retreading Added to Michelin Norwood Operations
The retreading of aircraft tyres is scheduled to commence at Michelin North America’s Norwood, North Carolina plant during the second half of the year. The addition of a retreading capability to the Norwood site, which currently employs 320 people in the production of new aviation tyres, will cost the company US$11.3 million, and the project will create 74 new jobs over an 18 month period. Hiring for some of the new posts at Norwood will begin in late April, and Michelin anticipates that 50 of the jobs will be filled by the end of 2010.
Continue ReadingAfrican Importer Kingsway to Enter Retreading Sector
Kenya’s Business Daily newspaper reports Kingsway Tyres intends to open its own retreading factory by May 2010. The facility is anticipated to produce 1,000 truck and bus retreads per month, giving it’s the largest capacity of any retreading plant in the country. The tyre importer currently controls 25 per cent of the local market, the Business Daily comments. “With the new retread factory, we are planning to increase the market share to 35 per cent in the next five years,” stated Kingsway managing director Manoj Shah. The company has invested Sh50 million (£404,000) in the new factory.” Shah added that in the new plant Kinsgway is “introducing a new technology that could prolong the mileage span of a retread to almost 90 per cent."
Continue ReadingTyre Retreading Company Ltd Joins TRIB
The largest retreader in Israel, Tyre Retreading Company, Ltd has joined US-based international retreading association Tire Retread & Repair Information Bureau (TRIB). According to a TRIB press release, Tyre Retreading Company has a reputation for producing “the highest quality retreads in a variety of sizes.”
Continue ReadingB&J Rocket Introduces Jensen Budget Range
Buffing and grinding tool maker, B&J Rocket has announced plans to launch a second budget brand called Jenson. The Jensen product line consists of most in-demand buffing and grinding tools, with production of the tools remaining at the firm’s Middlebury manufacturing plant. B&J Rocket’s new second line offers three types of copper carbides like flat faced and round faced buffout wheels as well as most commonly used contour wheels. The blades cover all general applications and fit in all standard buffing hubs. Furthermore they will be available without restrictions through the worldwide network of B&J Rocket.
Continue ReadingMarangoni Claims Leadership in Russian Retread Segment
Marangoni Retreading Systems reports that it is a strong position to capitalise on the initial recovery of the Russian truck market. The company reports that reliable estimates on the retreaded truck tyre sector, in the absence of official figures, show a market volume of around 150-200,000 tyres, half of which are retreaded locally and the other half imported, mainly from central and western Europe. Marangoni Retreading Systems, which has been operating in the Russian market for over a decade, has made significant investments in developing important local retreaders, apparently achieving good results quickly.
Continue ReadingRetreads Gaining Ground in Germany
Statistics released by Germany’s Federal Tyre Trade and the Vulcanisers' Skilled Trade Association (BRV) show that while year-on-year fewer retreaded truck tyres were sold in this market during 2009, they gained market share at the expense of new tyres.
Continue ReadingMichelin: Winning Customers Over to Four Lives
If a retreading themed interview began with the sentence “we operate no retreading business”, than the interviewer has either turned up at the wrong appointment entirely – or is speaking with those in charge at Michelin. The focus of the French company’s commitment thus does not centre upon a marketable product or item, but on a concept – specifically, the concept that a Michelin commercial vehicle tyre has “Four Lives”. “Our concept is the most economic and most environmental on the market,” Jean-Marc Lechêne told Tyres & Accessories. The executive vice-president and chief operating officer (COO) for truck tyres in Europe is convinced that the ongoing professionalisation of truck fleets in Europe will further increase the establishment of professional (service) arrangements.
Continue ReadingMalatesta Pneumatici – A Belief in Retreads
Although the Malatesta name may not be as widely-known as the brands owned and promoted by the major new tyre manufacturers, the company behind this Italian produced range of retreads, Malatesta Pneumatici, boasts a long and solid history. The firm was founded in Rome shortly after the end of the Second World War, at a time when new tyres were in short supply and any means of keeping existing tyres on the road was highly valued. Company founder Alberto Malatesta built Malatesta Pneumatici into a strong player in the Italian retreading scene before handing control of the business over to eldest son Massimiliano. Today a third generation of the family is also contributing to the future of Malatesta Pneumatici.
Continue ReadingMarangoni Becoming a “Global Player“ in Brazil
Although Italian firm Marangoni celebrated its 50th anniversary in the new Millennium, the year 2000 primarily represented a significant milestone on its path towards becoming a global operator. Today, ten years later, the Marangoni Group is, aside from Bandag and the new tyre manufacturers’ retreading activities, the industry’s sole genuine “global player”. The company has not only successfully established itself in Europe and North America, it is now slowly gaining a foothold in China. However in the last decade it is the operation in Brazil that has, above all, become the backbone of its global industrial presence.
Continue ReadingBandvulc Reports 50% Increase in BIG Tyre Sales
Bandvulc has reported that its BIG range (retreaded tyres for quarry and heavy application) expanded sharply in 2009, despite difficult recessionary times. According to Bandvulc, the company saw sales in this market increase by over 50 per cent. Bandvulc representatives commented that this because “customers are still looking for value for money and tangible longevity, not short term benefits.”
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