Many retreaders face an uphill battle just to maintain their position in European retreading markets. For those that do, a key factor in their success is – as we’ve previously commented in these pages – possession of a stable customer base. Yet loyalty is only earned through unflagging effort; maintaining close relations with customers is important, as is product quality and price in comparison with new tyres and the competition’s retreads. A fine example of how this works on a small, regional scale can be seen at W.H.H. Reifenerneuerung, a Hamburg, Germany-based retreader that’s been in the business for almost 40 years.