Retreading
Vipal’s tyre retreading equipment development has sold 56 machines since the start of its operations in 2016. According to the company, these were sent to countries in North America, South America and Oceania. Now, the plan is planning to expand internationally.
TECH Europe has partnered with Italmatic as its new distributor in Italy. According to the company, the news means Italmatic is “positioned now more than ever to offer a complete line of tyre repair materials and wheel service solutions to the Italian market, which includes everything from motorbike to OTR repairs, along with the essential chemicals and tools to ensure a safe and high quality repair”.
The Yokohama Rubber Company has appointed Atao Kishi head of its retreading operation in Japan. He begins as president of Yokohama Tire Retread Co., Ltd. on 1 May 2020.
Michelin UK Plc is restarting operation at its retread manufacturing plant in Stoke-on-Trent, UK following as part of a pre-planned stoppage that coincided with other coronavirus-related closures around the country on 26 March 2020. In practice this means the company is planning to start receiving materials from 27 April 2020, with phased tyre production restarting from 29 April 2020.
Berwin Industrial Polymers, which is part of Hexpol AB, was recently named amongst the winners of the Queens Award for International Trade 2020.
When Zenises Group chairman Harjeev Kandhari bought Lincolnshire-based retreader Vaculug in July 2018, some questioned the logic of buying a British manufacturing business while the country was on the brink of Brexit. However, shortly afterwards he told Tyres & Accessories that the circumstances only added to the opportunity and that he had plans to invest in the business via its staff, products and production lines. 18 months on, before the Coronavirus outbreak, T&A asked Kandhari how the transition has progressed and what the company is doing to celebrate its 10th anniversary. In short, the Vaculug transition is said to be going “absolutely wonderfully”, with a new MD appointed from within the ranks of Zenises, a number of other new personnel as well as new products and a developing van tyre business.
Prior to Bandvulc’s contract with CSG, in autumn 2019, the fleet tyre and retread specialist entered its third contract term with distribution giant Bibby.
Waste management group, CSG, has committed to a further two years with Bandvulc, the retread subsidiary of Continental. The decision takes the tyre management contract between the two companies into its seventh year, at a time when fleet numbers across CSG and sister company J&G have risen to close to 150 vehicles.
Marangoni Tread North America (MTNA) has communicated that it “remains operational” despite the Covid-19 pandemic. According to MTNA, the company is “committed to providing superior products and services to our customers. We are taking active steps to prevent any interruption in our business processes.”
Goodyear’s decision to exit UK retreading in 2015, followed by Continental’s 2016 takeover of Bandvulc and Vaculug’s 2018 acquisition by Zenises Group changed the face of the UK retreading business in just three years. However, while the market has both contracted and consolidated in recent years, a core group of key retreading production bases remain. And while the largest retreading businesses often gain the spotlight, it is worth mentioning fast-growing operations as well. Sussex-based Seryt Tyres is one such company, so Tyres & Accessories got in touch with director Kevin Gillin and marketing manager Olly Townsend in order to find out more.
Marangoni has confirmed that its production and logistics activities are “running smoothly in all…plants” despite the Covid-19 coronavirus outbreak in Italy.
Writing in a statement published on 11 March 2020, Marangoni representatives said: “We are therefore able to receive and process the orders while adopting all the necessary procedures to protect the workers’ health. In particular, our company is taking all the actions to be consistent with the measures provided by the responsible Authorities.”
Marangoni Group has posted a statement on its twitter feed reassuring customers that its Italian production facilities will continue manufacturing despite the coronavirus (Covid-19) emergency. The statement follows the news that 16 million Italian citizens have been quarantined in the North of the country as a result of the epidemic.
Malaysian firm Maxrubber Industries Sdn Bhd claims to be the fastest-growing manufacturer of tyre retreading materials, and the company has Europe firmly in its sights. Following what it calls an “extensive period of investment” at its manufacturing facility in Klang, some 25 miles southwest of Kuala Lumpur, Maxrubber has announced the start of a “targeted export drive” with a view to “developing a strong presence in the European market.”
Following the purchase of Bandvulc in the summer of 2016, then managing director David Smith was promoted into the wider international role of Head of Channel Management Distribution and Region, North Europe for Continental. His 2018 promotion followed a 12-year tenure as UK MD that saw turnover at the UK business more than double. The latest news is that he has returned to the UK, so with all this in mind, Tyres & Accessories recently caught up with David Smith in order to talk about his return as well as both Continental and Bandvulc in the UK.
H&H Industries of Ohio, USA has invested in a TRM Eagle 51 buffer and tread grooving machine as part of its strategy to be a leader in the large OTR tyre market segment. Installation is planned for the third quarter of 2020.
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Vipal, Vipal Machinery
Michelin
Vaculug