Hankook Tyre is looking to invest significantly in its retreading activities as it looks to increase its share of the European TBR market. This was revealed by the Korean manufacturer’s newly appointed European Truck Tyre Marketing Director Guy Heywood during the recent Commercial Vehicle Show held in Birmingham, UK.
New Marketing Director Lays Out Retread Strategy
Says Heywood; “Hankook can currently claim 11% of the European market for new truck and bus radials, and that is a remarkable achievement, but we believe the opportunity is there for us to double or triple our volumes. To do so, however, requires that we have a good retread offer for success in the fleet business. There is clearly a significant opportunity for us in the retread market, and we aim to achieve a good share in this sector within the next 2-3 years.”
According to Heywood, Hankook will be expanding its Alphatread range of retreads, which uses Hankook casings by adding new compounds and tread designs. The company also plans to use the recently acquired German retreader Reifen Mueller to help it achieve the increase in retread sa les.
“We will also be looking to add more services within the retread arena,” said Heywood. “In addition, though, new technologies will be a key area of our focus in the coming years, as it will for all manufacturers. Areas such as the development of tyres for electric vehicles, the move by tyre manufacturers into mobility integration and the implementation of technologies such as RFID, will provide both a change and a challenge for the retreading industry, but will invest in these areas, as we believe retreading will be of key importance in the future,” he concluded.
