With the global OTR tyre market dragging on into yet another year of shortages, some large scale equipment operators are more than fed up – they are ready to take matters into their own hands. With supplies of quality new tyres remaining scant and some sources asking obscene prices for tyres, and given the impact the number of retreadable used casings available, or not available, has had on the retreading market, keeping one’s vehicles suitably shod at may times require a whole new approach. If you can’t buy a retread, why not buy a retreader….

Or at least partner yourself with a company possessing specialist knowledge in the retreading of OTR tyres. One such company who has done just that is mining giant Rio Tinto, whose vast open cast mines in the expanses of Western Australia make up 20 per cent of the global conglomerate’s assets and deliver more than 70 million tonnes of iron ore per year, as well as a number of other commodities in differing quantities. But operations on this scale cannot be maintained without earthmoving vehicles such as loaders and graders, not to mention the massive dump trucks synonymous with industrial mining – and to keep the supply of wealth flowing from the ground all of these vehicles require tyres.