Retreading
A big surprise in this category, with none of last year's finalists making it through to the shortlist. In the past the finalists have tended to be waste collection companies or retreaders and this year we have one of each – Vellco Tyre Control and Bandvulc Tyres. The remaining three are all new tyre manufacturers: Continental, Michelin (both picking up their third nominations in this year's TAFF Awards) and Yokohama HPT.
After more than 60 years in the business, Lincolnshire-based Vacu-Lug has grown to the point that it can claim to be the largest one-stop industrial, truck and OTR retreader in Europe. And what’s more, the latest products in the Vacu-Lug portfolio are said to offer eco-qualities that outstrip the premium brands. Tyres & Accessories met with managing director Tim Hercock and fleet sales director Dave Alsop to find out more.
Hankook reports that it has received “positive feedback from many blue chip fleets” following the introduction of the e-cube fuel efficiency orientated commercial vehicle tyre range. The e-cube, which was launched in the UK at the end of 2009, is designed to offer low rolling resistance, long mileage and good retreading capability. According to the company, the e-cube also boasts green credentials courtesy of “lower hazardous materials and low rolling noise.” Since its launch it has been trialled by many of the company’s customers and has successfully built a solid reputation for superior quality and value for money.
“In today’s market fleets are constantly looking to lower their transport costs. Hankook appreciates the emphasis placed on this and the need to invest in the development of quality products that also incorporate essential environmental credentials. This led to the introduction of the e-cube commercial vehicle tyre range which we are proud to report is proving popular amongst our customers,” said Tony Lee, managing director of Hankook UK.
European Tyre and Rubber Manufacturers’ Association (ETRMA) has published data showing that the recovery rate of used tyres (UT) in Europe grew to 96 per cent in 2010. According to the association, this high recovery level is at the top of all waste streams.
In the last decade, tyre industry, dealers and ELT operators have substantially improved ELT utilization. Europe has built up a real experience of three types of ELT management schemes: The tax model, although very limited; free market model and producer responsibility model. ETRMA’s view is that the rapid improvement of the performance of ELT management has been reached “through a sustained deployment of the producer responsibility model in the past decade.” However those operating under the free market model in the UK, which according to the ETRMA’s own figures produces outcomes, which at 98 per cent are 2 percentage points better than the European average, may disagree with this analysis.
Dunlop Aircraft Tyres today hosted Her Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of West Midlands, Paul Sabapathy CBE at its Birmingham facility, where he presented the company with the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in recognition of the company’s sales achievements in the international trade category. “It is an honour to receive this award,” said Dunlop Aircraft Tyres chairman Ian Edmondson.
This year’s TRA forum (held on 17 June) was the association’s 7th annual meeting and was chaired by TRA secretary general, Peter Taylor OBE. As well as hearing from the ETRMA, delegates also heard presentations from a wide range of organisations involved in tyre recycling including the UK’s Environment Agency, the Department for Business Innovation & Skills, HiQ and Bandvulc.
According to the Retread Tire Association, North America’s retreading industry is experiencing a severe shortage of retreadable truck tyre casings. Association managing director Harvey Brodsky comments that this shortage may have a negative impact on those who use retreads as retreaded tyres act as a “brake” on new tyre prices: “Whenever there is a shortage of retreads, new tyre manufacturers do not have any reason to hold back on raising their prices, and everyone who purchases truck tyres feels the pain in their chequebooks.”
The Tire Retread & Repair Information Bureau (TRIB) has announced plans to increase the size of its current board of directors from 12 to 16 directors. The additional four board positions will be held by three retreading companies and one tyre repair firm. A nominating committee has been formed within TRIB's current board potential nominees are due to be selected in the coming months. The new board members will be elected during TRIB's board meeting in Las Vegas on 31 October 2011.
At Autopromotec the chairman and managing director, Sudarsan Varadaraj told T&A: "Elgi’s objective is to provide solutions for the rubber industry. This embraces raw materials including reclaimed rubber, compounds, etc.; rubber products for repair solutions to tyres, tubes, conveyor belts etc.; repair tools and accessories for brazed abrasive tools, high speed cutters, etc.; and rubber processing machinery used in retreading equipment, presses, etc."
Michigan-based business L-Ray has been manufacturing non-destructive tyre testing equipment for almost 40 years – previously under the names IHI (International Holographics, Inc) and Grant Engineering. While a small business, it operates on the global stage in manufacturing and retreading segments – in total, the company says it provides over 250 machines in more than 24 countries – first producing holography machines and then shearography machines. In 2007 L-Ray introduced its new Differometric Technology, which president Lee Petrimoulx says is “much faster and provides high quality digital images for checking tyres or retread casings”.
Price increases averaging 11 per cent are to be implemented on a number of Bridgestone company products in the US and Canada. The new prices take effect August 1 and apply to Bridgestone and Firestone brand truck and bus tyres, Bandag brand retreads and retreading materials, and Bridgestone, Firestone and Continuum OTR tyre products and retread rubber.
An article first published by Bloomberg on June 29 and subsequently reprinted in a number of newspapers around the world has thrown the spotlight on the effect demand for commodities from China and other emerging markets is having on the price of mining tyres. The Bloomberg journalist, Elisabeth Behrmann, compares the price for “tyres about 3.5 metres (11 feet) across,” such as those fitted to Caterpillar trucks employed in for iron ore and coal haulage, are fetching around US$100,000 on the spot market. Behrmann’s figures come from Australian contract miner Leighton Holdings, who works projects for mining majors such as BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto; in reporting the current spot price, she notes it lies above the US price for a Porsche 911 Carrera S or a condominium in Miami. UK buyers, it must be said, have to shell out around 33 per cent more for this particular Porsche model than their American counterparts. But you get the idea.
The European Tyre Recycling Association has been named amongst the eleven most recent companies and organisations to join the Retread Tire Association. In addition to the Brussels-based association that represents more than 250 tyre recycling professionals, two other international and eight US companies recently joined the RTA.
Austrian retreading materials supplier Kraiburg sees the market for HGV retreads in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and in Dubai in particularly, as offering “unequalled” opportunities. For retreading businesses standing one’s ground in such a limited sized market when competing with a large number of rivals was hard enough when the economy was still booming and much trickier in the current climate against the backdrop of the financial crisis. Against all the odds, Kraiburg reports that Standard Retreads can now look back on a “five-year success story.”
Continental reports that its HD Hybrid, first released last year, has “impressively established itself” in the European transport market. The manufacturer has now also announced its availability as a ContiRe retread; the ContiRe version of the HD Hybrid is available in sizes 295/60 R 22.5, 315/60 R 22.5, 295/80 R 22.5, 315/70 R 22.5 and 315/80 R 22.5.
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