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COMPANY NEWS
Marangoni Meccanica:The Leading Light in Tyre Equipment
Anyone who has known Marangoni over the past 10 years or so will recognise that the Italian tyre organisation is one that is both dynamic and determined to succeed. Recent years have seen several changes as the company has refinanced, restructured and adapted to the prevailing market conditions. The latest move being the bringing of all the Marangoni retreading activities under one company. So, now we see divisions of the same company, rather than companies within a group. Marangoni Meccanica, which incorporates highly qualified machinery engineering and its important manufacturing capabilities is based in Rovereto in a large plant on an estate on the south side of the town.
Here, Retreading Business met with Marangoni Meccanica Spa Commercial Director, Edoardo Salaorni, technical department manager of Marangoni Spa Retreading Systems BU, Silvano Turella, and Anna Cescatti from the sales department, along with PR manager Mario Apolloni.
Mario explained that Marangoni Meccanica Spa’s key focus was in two areas of expertise, machinery for the new tyre manufacturer and machinery for retreading each allocated its own department. Marangoni's acquisition of retread equipment manufacturer TRM, increased Marangoni’s dedication to the retreading market. The new organisation enables the company to share all the competencies achieved during several years all around the world in the many different and demanding markets Mario explained that Marangoni Meccanica plays an important role in Marangoni Group activities in relation to important commitments with the most qualified tyre manufacturers and retreaders. Edoardo Salaorni explained, "Marangoni has built its reputation on quality and convenience. Quality in everything that we do. Companies spend many millions of
dollars with us every year and they still keep spending that money with us because they know that we will provide them with the quality that they need."
"We are still refining the operation to have all our engineering done in Rovereto, already we employ 90 staff, but we plan to see that grow to 110-115 staff who will design and manufacture our hardware and software, to enable us to produce the best equipment in the world." Precure Marangoni Ringtread Systems is Marangoni's focus in the retread sector and so it follows that Ringtread equipment and the development of high performance, high quality buffing and building machines is critically important to Marangoni, as well as shearography and other developing technologies. Hot cure also plays a role and Marangoni is a key player in serving the premium retread sector.
As a supplier of equipment, Marangoni Meccanica machiner y can be found in factories around the world, with the key markets being in Europe and the USA.
The company sees South America as being of growing importance, and of course China has to be considered as a challenge for all western manufacturers.
Whether it is Marangoni's Shearography equipment developed specifically to meet the needs of the retreading market, or its buffers or autoclaves, Marangoni is constantly looking to refine and develop its equipment. With regards to the hot retreading method, the Alpha Twin tread builder has been hailed as a market leader for several years, and put together with the Dual Black Swan extruder sidewall builder with the capability of 22 tyres per hour, this represents the most convenient and efficient solution available in the market. It is a system that is used by the leading retreaders worldwide.
Just as the OTR sector is important to the retread side of the business, so too is it key to with the Super Alpha Mammuth 63 and the Super
Trio P63Trio buffer, which together enable Marangoni to offer a high quality hot cure OTR solution for up to 63 inch tyres.
"The question is, said Edoardo, "How we might develop and execute our ideas well. How can we help the end user make his business a success? For example, the Black Swan and Alpha Twin have been improved and developed to the stage where the retreader has no need to use cement. A powerful and qualified engineering capability enables a company to study solutions meeting the most demanding safety regulations. As a consequence the most demanding markets can be approached in a responsible manner as an example of how critical could be a market in this respect. In general terms, it is sufficient to consider what determined the so called “Proposition 65” in the USA.
(A Proposition 65 warning is a notice that warns the consumer in California that a product in question may expose the consumer to any one of the hundreds of chemicals that are “known by the State of California” to cause cancer and/or birth defects. Warning language and methods are included in many Proposition 65 settlements. You are advised to review such settlements and consult with an attorney before determining if or how you will provide Proposition 65 warnings in California.) According to Mario Apolloni it is an apocryphal story in Marangoni that Mario Marangoni has repeatedly said that "We push engineering. We always need to be 10 years ahead of the competition. If we don't maintain the distance in the competitive gap, we will lose. Our driving force is that we must be the best."
Edoardo continued, "By merging the machinery activities we seek also
the best rationalisation of the equipment in a way to fit the modern market's demand of high convenience of production.
"We have the right commitment to our customers by ensuring that Marangoni is convenient. There is a need to balance all the elements of the product. Regarding retreading machiner y, we are continuously committed to improve the already successful extrusion, buffing and inspection methods.”
Asked where the lead comes from for new developments, Eduardo responded, "We take our lead from customer requests. They ask ‘can we do this?’ and we look at the engineering possibilities.
According to Silvano Turella "Marangoni developed the first fully automatic buffer, the Giotto. We have also made all our equipments' software remotely accessible. So that if a client has an issue, we can, with his permission, access the equipment's computer and see what he sees from our offices in Rovereto, and we can usually clear up issues in minutes that previously may have required a technician's visit. Or, we can advise the client on how to repair it himself. All this is helping to keep the equipment working and the operating costs down.
"We are also working with RFID technology in retreading, to help the retreader track the casings and the work done on the casing, and of course manage the casing when it is in use. We can make the RFID system work, we just need to refine it and start making it available as a tool to assist retreaders win and retain contracts.
Edoardo Salaorni in the new tyre equipment plant
22 Retreading Business