Keolis, a key player in Swedish public transport, has agreed a new long-term cooperation agreement with Colmec starting as early as 1 June 2024.Keolis, a key player in Swedish public transport, has agreed a new long-term cooperation agreement with Colmec starting as early as 1 June 2024.
Half a year after producing the first car tyres under the Leonard brand name, Black Star has already entered into several agreements regarding the range’s distribution in France. The retreader, which is 60 per cent owned by automotive aftermarket group Mobivia, is now bringing the first vehicle manufacturer on board.
The ups and downs of European retreading continued last year. According to current figures from the European Tire & Rubber Manufacturers’ Association (ETRMA), the association members retreaded and marketed a total of 4.298 million truck tyres in Europe (excluding Turkey) in 2022. This corresponds to a decline of at least 6.2 per cent compared to the previous year, but is still 4.9 per cent above the figures for the previous year. However, since the new tyre business of the ETRMA members was largely stable (down 0.5 per cent), the importance of retreaded truck tyres fell again significantly compared to the new tyre market and was only 37.2 per cent at the end of last year. The association’s figures also show something else very clearly: the EU tariff effect, which had reduced imports of truck tyres (by non-ETRMA members) for a number of years, has now completely fizzled out.
Retread supplier Kraiburg Austria navigated choppy 2022 waters successfully to achieve 92 million euro in sales, a figure the company called “satisfactory” and a demonstration of its crisis resistance according to managing director Stefan Mayrhofer. The company registered growth in high-performance compounds for hot cured retreads alongside stable mould cure figures, while developing its business in key Central and Eastern European markets. New Kraiburg products in 2022 included the local public transport focussed K708, the Nordic winter K727 tread, and the 3PMSF-certified K738, which was operational on construction sites and public roads from September. Kraiburg Austria also bolstered its sustainability credentials via its membership of the Global Platform for Sustainable Rubber.
Leading Spanish retreader Insa Turbo, which is part of the Soledad Group, has signed a collaboration agreement with Kraiburg Austria that leads to the use of Kraiburg retreading materials at the retreader’s Aspe (Alicante) factory. According to an Insa Turbo statement, the alliance includes a roadmap which “defines the gradual implementation of Austrian technology in the process of hot retreading and pre-curing of truck tyres.”
Marangoni Tread North America reports that an RDG 200 Ringtread Drive retread has been driven for over 500,000 miles. The RDG 200 Ringtread is a closed shoulder drive tread uses particular compounding technology for “extreme mileage”. The RDG 200’s original tread depth is 27/32nds (21.5 mm).
Following initial claims earlier this year, a group of former shareholders and directors of retreader and commercial vehicle tyre supplier Vaculug have denied that financial accounts were manipulated ahead of its sale to Grantham Capital and launched their own legal action against the new owner.
TBC Brands, one of the largest distributors of private brand tyres in North America, is offering an enhanced Sailun Advantage truck tyre warranty. According to the company, the new warranty programme is a “game-changing” combination of outstanding quality, competitive pricing, expansive product selection, enhanced warranties and multiple retreads.
After years of fitting Bandvulc and Continental tyres to its fleet, leading supply chain logistics provider, Fowler Welch, has now put the two manufacturers’ low rolling resistance (LRR) offerings to the test. In a joint-trial at Millbrook Proving Ground, Fowler Welch and Bandvulc arranged an evaluation of the performance and efficiency benefits of low rolling resistance tyres, with support from Continental and its ContiPressureCheck TPMS system.
King Country Retread of Friona, Texas, USA has joined the Marangoni Tire North America (MTNA) family of independent retreaders and will be offering Marangoni’s signature brand Ringtread throughout Texas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico. The King Country Retread plant has a capacity of over 30,000 retreads a year.
In addition to saving money, truck fleet operators can reduce their vehicles’ environmental footprint by adopting a tyre programme that includes retreading. In light of the current public debate about CO2, Continental has shared on how its ContiRe retreads can help.
The UK government is consulting on plans to ban old tyres for buses, coaches, lorries and minibuses and a new law could be introduced this year and come into force early 2020. Tyres aged 10 years and older would be banned from use on buses, coaches, lorries and minibuses under the new proposals. However, further clarity about precisely what the new rules will cover is needed.
The EU’s decision to implement import tariffs on Chinese-produced truck tyres marks a sea-change in both the truck tyre market in general and European governments’ approach to the subject in particular. As of the 8 May 2018, truck tyres produced in China and imported into the UK have become between 52.85 euros and 82.17 euros per tyre more expensive than before. And what’s more, with product registration having begun back in February 2018, such charges look likely to be backdated to February on tyres already sold. This cannot fail to have an enormous impact, but what exactly will it mean for the truck tyre sector?
The latest Kraiburg Austria tread design programme is now available. The retreading specialist has optimised its product range again this year in response to broad customer demand. It says it has streamlined its core range to cater more precisely to the needs of the retreaders, and this has resulted in the discontinuation of some tread lengths and the addition of others.
Galgo has extended its portfolio of pre-cure treads for winter use. The Mexican materials supplier reports that six additional winter tread patterns are now branded with the Snow Flake symbol. These “Winter Range” patterns are eligible for 3PMSF certification after passing the tests set out in ECE – 109R Annex 10 and thus demonstrating their increased grip and traction performance.
If you would like the latest news from the Chinese tyre industry in Chinese, visit our partner site TyrepressChina.com. Or click below to continue on Tyrepress.
Kraiburg Austria
Grupo Soledad
MTNA
Vaculug