Retreading
Goodyear Dunlop UK has no plans in place regarding redundancies at its Wolverhampton mixing and retreading factory. Responding to a report issued by Wolverhampton Express & Star journalist Peter Madeley, Goodyear Dunlop UK managing director Erich Fric told Tyrepress that the company would wait until after the scheduled consultation on the immediate future of the […]
Mexican carrier Morgan Express says ti achieved reductions by retreading over 800 tyres from its fleet with Vipal materials. Morgan has over 40 years of experience in the logistics markets, with facilities in five Mexican cities (Guadalajara, Monterrey, Nuevo Laredo, Veracruz, and Mexico City). The company, which has a fleet of around 150 vehicles, retreaded over 800 heavy duty tyres in 2014, using Vipal’s VEL B and V167 B treads.
Another of Goodyear Dunlop’s European plants has today announced plans to cease a portion of its production in addition to the planned withdrawal from Wolverhampton. Tyrepress sister site Reifenpresse.de reports that Goodyear Dunlop Tires Germany informed its employees of its intention to relocate remaining car tyre production from Wittlich to other plants within the region EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa). PCR production has been shifted away from the plant gradually for several years, with the latest announcement completing cessation of Wittlich’s production of these products.
Following the news of Goodyear’s planned closure of its Wolverhampton mixing and retreading operations, Express & Star journalist, Peter Madeley has quoted “a union spokesman” on Twitter, saying that the closure proposal was “out of the blue”.
The proposed closure of Goodyear Dunlop’s Wolverhampton retread plant will bring to an end 90 years of tyre production in the city. The factory was part of the first Goodyear factory outside USA, when the manufacturer first started producing new tyres in the city in response to post-World War One import tariffs designed to boost British industry. At its peak, the manufacturer’s operations in Wolverhampton were estimated to have provided more than 7,000 jobs, making it one of the most significant players in the local economy. This role diminished throughout the 2000s, as Wolverhampton job losses became a regular occurrence.
Goodyear Dunlop Tyres UK has announced a proposal to close its Wolverhampton mixing and retreading facility. Under the proposal, the company would move its compound mixing activities and the production of commercial retreads to other existing sites across the Europe, Middle East and Africa region. It has been reported that the process of transferring operations would be completed over the next two years under the closure proposal.
A total of 47.7 million truck tyres are retreaded around the world each year. Pre-cure retreading accounts for 77 per cent of this figure.
We often witness that small and medium-sized retreaders cope much better with the market’s cyclical nature and with any changes in market structure that inevitably occur if they can reply upon a stable distribution network. A good example of this can be seen in Germany’s Remo Reifen GmbH Erneuerungswerk, a firm that considers itself a “typical pre-cure retreader.” When Tyres & Accessories recently spoke to company owner and managing director Roland Stecher, the 41-year industry veteran stressed that long-term business relationships have a positive influence on quality levels and enable a greater degree of flexibility – two factors that help companies in Europe stand firm against price-aggressive competition from the Far East.
The Goodyear Ultra Grip Max winter truck tyre range will soon be completed with the introduction of the Ultra Grip Max T trailer tyre. The 3PMSF and M+S approved tyres will be available in sizes 385/55R22.5 and 385/65R22.5 from September 2015. The first two tyres in the Ultra Grip Max range, the S steer and D drive fitments, were recently released in sizes 315/70R22.5 and 315/80R22.5.
Responsibility for the marketing of Marangoni’s 4×4 and light commercial vehicle retreads in Germany has been handed to the company’s 100 per cent owned subsidiary, Wenzel Industrie. The company, which is based near Bremen, will deal with these products in rim diameters up to and including 19-inches.
With Autopromotec kicking off in just over a week, the organisers of the aftermarket show (which runs 20-24 May 2015) have confirmed “the success recorded in the halls devoted to tyres and tyre equipment”.
On 31 March, Ruud Spuijbroek stepped down as secretary general of Vaco, the organisation representing the tyre and wheel industry in the Netherlands. Spuijbroek had served as general secretary for close to 20 years, and although he no longer holds the top position at Vaco the 63 year old remains secretary general of European retreading association Bipaver. A successor to Spuijbroek was named at Vaco’s general assembly in December 2014, and on 1 April Tim van der Rijken took over as the association’s secretary general.
The Marangoni Group, a recognised world leader in the retreading sector, is also an important supplier of earthmover retreads in Europe. The Italian company says that it is now offering a response to the need for efficiency and cost savings expressed in the OTR market.
India’s Elgi Rubber Co. Ltd has acquired US retreading equipment manufacturer American Equipment Manufacturing Inc., a firm better known in the market as Cincinnati Retreading/Reclamation Systems; CRS was established in 1975 as a division of American Equipment Manufacturing. The Aztec (New Mexico) headquartered firm is primarily known for its buffing machines, which are produced in the CRS factory in Fairfield (Ohio). According to media reports, Elgi Rubber intends to further expand the facility.
The centrepiece of the North American Tire & Retread Expo was the inaugural Miss Retread Truck Tire Contest, won by Industrias Del Neumaticos of Alicante, Spain. The winning company was awarded $5,000 along with a trophy. 22 retread tires were entered in the contest.
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