Retreading
Giti Tire has launched its new non-directional, all-position commercial vehicle tyre, the GAM831. Available in 295/80R22.5, the tyre extends the GT Radial mixed service offering, as the tyre has been developed for on and off road applications. It features a robust tread pattern and casing construction, with an extra reinforced sidewall to offer increased performance, even wear and good mileage in the most arduous terrain conditions.
The Al Dobowi Group, UK importer of Linglong TBR tyres, has announced a new distribution partnership with Essex’s G&S Tyre Services. Al Dobowi says G&S has developed a reputation for providing an exemplary level of service to the UK fleet market and demanding vehicle operators, while G&S identified Linglong as a brand with UK market potential.
Italmatic Group has entered into a Joint Venture with Tesco of America Inc., the US based supplier to the automotive and tyre sector. The joint venture will be renamed as Tesco Italmatic LLC, with headquarters in Oakland Park, Florida, USA. According to the company, the partnership will focus on “making a strong statement for the distribution of Italmatic products in the North, Central and South American regions, offering a wide and complete range of products and services.”
Marangoni Group has confirmed that it will end new passenger car and van tyre production at its Anagni factory. The announcement comes amidst local news reports of despondency amongst workers who expected to return to work in September after two postponements in August. Around 400 employees at the Anagni plant will be made redundant. The group said it would “assess possible solutions with relevant organisations and parties in managing this difficult period”. Unions are said to be planning solidarity events in support of workers.
The DC, located in Los Angeles Vipal is opening a new distribution center (DC) in the city of Los Angeles, California in the USA. The company reports that it will serve the Western regions of the United States and Canada. Vipal already has two other DCs in the US – one in Florida and another in Virginia. With the addition of this new investment, Vipal will have a structure with a capacity of 1,500 positions for pallets. The Los Angeles DC is being run by local partner JAS Forwarding (which also operates the Florida DC).Vipal describes the move as a way of boosting its presence in the country, which will enable further growth in the world's largest market for retreaded tyres, the US.
Continental says its tyre management procedures are helping one Northern Ireland transport and logistics business to achieve significant savings. Surefreight, one of the leading logistics companies operating between Ireland, Britain and mainland Europe, turned to Continental for support last year, resulting in its annual spend on tyres falling by £59,000 when compared with 2011.
US retreading association the Tire Retread & Repair Information Bureau is partnering with the Retread Manufacturers Association to offer a ‘Retread Workshop Practice’ course in the UK, commencing in September 2013. The correspondence based course includes two ‘mock’ exams to monitor progress during the periods of study, extending from September 2013 to May 2014, and a final exam, which can be taken at a local university or technical college.
Truck tyre retreading is an important means by which transport companies can reduce costs per mile. Goodyear Dunlop operates three mould cure retreading facilities in Europe – in Lyon, France, Wolverhampton, UK and the 2011-opened Wittlich plant in Germany – and has built up its mould cure retread portfolio. The company has now extended its range of services; in addition to acquiring and exchanging casings, as of September 2013 it will mould cure retread customer own casings.
When B&J Rocket kicked off its new worldwide marketing campaign in January, managing director Andreas Müller commented that the company wanted “loyalty to pay off.” Now, after six months, B&J Rocket has paused to take stock of how the year-long campaign is progressing; Müller confirms that the retreading equipment supplier has “seen a significant increase in demand” since the campaign got underway.
Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to the Secretary of State for Transport, Gavin Williamson visited the Goodyear factory in the West Midlands last week. The famous Wolverhampton factory has been developing tyres for 85 years in the region and is now a ‘Centre of Excellence’ for retreaded truck tyres.
Gavin Williamson MP started: "Goodyear are an important employer for the local area. My constituency starts at the edge of Wolverhampton so many of my constituents will be working at the plant. It is an important local employer and important local investor in the West Midlands.”
The Retread Tire Association has launched a new website at www.retreadtire.org.
The site will be under construction, but active, until RTA “achieves its goal of being the most complete site for retreading and tire repair,” according to the association.
Vipal has been recognised for its activities in international markets in an awards ceremony hosted by Porto Alegre trade association ADVB. President Arlindo Paludo received the 2013 Export Award for Market Diversification on 8 July, joining other exporters from the state of Rio Grande do Sul in a variety of categories. Paludo said: “This award is one of the fruits of Vipal’s entire 40 year history. We have always bet on developing products featuring high quality and technology, and have never set environmental preservation aside. It’s a great pleasure to see important competitions like the Export Awards recognizing that.”
On 19 July, the first all-new ContiTread licensed retreading facility in the US officially opened. The DLS Retreading plant, located in Fort Mill, South Carolina, will serve the retreading market in its home state with truck tyres retreaded with ContiTread flat pre-cure treads, and will also offer emergency road service, truck tyre service and new Continental and General-branded tyres. The 72,000 square foot (6,689 square metre) facility includes a 16,000 square foot retreading unit as well as 11 service docks. DLS Retreading is expected to employ 50 workers within four years.
On 16 July, Bridgestone’s domestic tyre subsidiary, Bridgestone Tire Japan, opened a new facility that integrates its Osaka Bandag retreading factory and waste tyre processing plant into a single location. The new 7,100 square metre plant takes in used casings collected from the within Osaka and Kyoto, Hyogo Prefecture, Wakayama Prefectures and has the capacity to produce 3,000 truck and bus retreads per month, including Ecopia retreads. This figure is 30 per cent higher than the combined output of the two previous facilities. Tyres not suitable for retreading are shredded and sold as fuel.
Oman’s official news agency reports that the country’s Public Authority for Consumer Protection (PACP) has taken action against an establishment that regrooved end of life passenger car tyres and sold them to consumers as semi-new. In a statement, PACP chairman Dr. Said bin Khamis al-Ka'abi shared that a number of businesses, with links to “some expats”, have sold tyres unfit for use as semi-new; he referred to this as a “serious crime” that has “negative dimensions and effects on the safety of consumers.”
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