Retreading
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.
Swiss retreading supplies firm B&J Rocket reports that it enjoyed a successful return to Bologna this year after not attending the exhibition in 2009. A permanent absence from the Italian Autopromotec was never the intention of the retreading tools market leader of according to Andreas Müller, managing director of B&J Rocket. Instead the MD reports that he had several reasons to be happy about this year’s exhibition: “Not only did we have intense discussions with our long-time loyal dealers and customers, we had in addition visits from many potential new customers who are set on the product range of B&J in future!”
Vipal’s international presence provided the reason for the company to exhibit at Autopromotec, where the firm showed its wide range of products for the automotive segment. At the show, Vipal showcased solutions and products for tyre and tyre tube repair, with more than 6,000 items in its portfolio.
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Automechanika 2011 features a strong contingent of Indian tyre manufacturers and distributors including well known names such as JK Tyre, BKT and Emrald, to name just three. As the show organisers expanded the number of exhibitors many times over at the fair in general, it appears to have been a conscious decision to invite tyre makers from the subcontinent to the tyre halls in a bid to attract increasingly influential companies in addition to leading Chinese firms such as Hangzhou Zhongce, Shandong Linglong and Sailun.
Following several years of having what it calls a ‘marginal presence’, Marangoni Retreading Systems has announced its return to the Dutch and Belgian markets. This Benelux comeback comes courtesy of a partnership with tyre reseller and fast-fit chain Profile Tyrecenter. Marangoni states it will now expand its business in co-operation with what is the largest local tyre fitting network in these two markets; under the agreement, Profile Tyrecenter takes on exclusive management of the Ringtread brand in the Benelux. The Ringtread tyres distributed there will be manufactured by Dutch retreader Frapa, a founding Profile Tyrecenter member.
Automechanika Middle East 2011 will feature a strong showing from Al Dobowi when the company will further promote a new pattern for its Infinity range of tyres, which the firm began promoting at the recent Autopromotec event in Bologna. Al Dobowi Group will be on-show in the dedicated tyres section of the exhibition located in Hall 7.
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