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EDITORIAL
Patrick Meyfroit from Belgium’s Unigom hopes that the industry will survive, and in a worst case scenario where no solution can be found he asks, “What will they do? Will they throw away the phenomenally important environmental benefit of retreading for the sake of rolling resistance, or wet grip? Are we to simply burn all tyres after a first life?”
Patrick actually has a very valid point. In the waste hierarchy the second most beneficial use for a part worn tyre is to retread that tyre. It saves huge amounts of oil and energy, extends the lifespan of the tyre and delays the cost intensive and often environmentally costly disposal of the casing.
There is a great deal of time, energy
and effort going into the preparation of casings, the data gathering and the empirical measurement of casing performance and perhaps alongside that the retread industr y ought to be engaging with the environmental lobby groups to build a campaign
in favour of high quality retreading. Tyres may still need to be tested, and retreading operations may need to be audited for compliance but the level of the bar could be influenced by environmental factors as much as empirical evidence.
The industr y needs to work towards a solution, it needs to operate on different levels, it needs an alternative route to address the issue, something more than just research.
The independent retread sector needs to understand that it needs to take action, be that by supporting the ReTYre project or by improving their own standards, or by developing a PR campaign at local and national levels to protect their investments and their long term futures.
Without developing standards for the retread sector, there is a real and present danger that the EU will turn around and say, “You have not developed your standards as required, so you must meet the same requirements as the new tyre industr y.”
There will be many twists and turns in this issue in the coming months and years, but it would be less than wise to cross ones’ fingers and hope
that all will be well. We need to back the industry, we need to back BIPAVER and the ETRMA and hope that the outcome is as wide and as open a solution as is best for the industr y.
All this is of course in reference to truck tyres. No mention has been made of the retreading of car tyres, light truck or 4x4, which will also be impacted by the coming requirements. One cannot imagine the difficulties faced by car tyre retreaders in establishing a standard, but that is perhaps one reason why car tyre retreaders must up their game, physically and politically, or face extinction. No-one can afford to bury their heads in the sand.
retreaders. If this is true, and if the 80 per cent claim is also true, then unless BIPAVER can come up with an independent solution, then 20 per cent of the European market is at risk.
One has to ask the question, if the ETRMA is one of the most active players in shaping EU legislation, has ETRMA engineered the legislation to an extent that its members can gain complete control of the retread sector? If so, should BIPAVER be speaking to the DG Competition; for it is a breach of EU regulations to create a business practice that excludes competition and directs control of the market in a single direction?
ETRMA Prepares for Retreading Challenge
BIPAVER’s ReTYre project is not alone, and is running in parallel to that being offered by the major tyre manufacturers through the ETRMA.
In a release in May the ETRMA declared, “ETRMA and its members are some of the most active players in the process of shaping EU regulations with regard to tyres, their safety and sustainability of production and use. In recent years, ETRMA has been particularly active with regard to a number of EU laws with an impact on the tyre manufacturing, tyre performances and lately also on information to consumers about tyre properties. This activity adds to ETRMA’s commitment to support sustainability and innovation, which are key to ensuring that Europe’s tyre industry remains strong and competitive. In the words of ETRMA Secretary General Fazilet Cinaralp, “ETRMA’s active contribution in the re-launched CARS 21, its compliance with REACH requirements and the intense ongoing research and development for more environmentally sound products are all examples of the determination of our industry to maintain the position of leaders in the European and global tyre markets.”
In this context, ETRMA has also been focussing on the aspect of retreaded tyres, which offer a significant contribution to sustainability by extension of the tyre life cycle. Known benefits
include the use of less resources and less energy to produce a retreaded tyre, the performance of which is
comparable to that
of a new tyre,
particularly for the
heavy duty vehicle
segment. The EU
Tyre Labelling
Regulation, which
will enter into force
next November,
requires the
Commission to
perform an
assessment, also on whether it will be feasible to extend the labelling to retreaded tyres’ Retreaded tyres account for approximately 40 per cent of the total European replacement truck tyre market. ETRMA members together with hundreds of franchised or licensed retreaders collectively represent approximately 80 per cent of the volume of retreaded tyres sold on the European market.
Therefore, ETRMA, in cooperation with ETRTO retreading specialists, have already begun an assessment in order to be able to effectively contribute to future policy actions and their feasibility assessment. The goal for ETRMA is also to represent the interest of the hundreds of retreading companies, many of which are SMEs, and whose economic viability represent
an important element for the European environmental and
industrial future.”
In retread terms, ETRMA represents Michelin, Goodyear,
Continental and Marangoni. Michelin, Goodyear and Conti are all investing in retreading, so one might presume that these major players believe that there is a solution to the
question of homologation and labelling for retreads. However, at least two of these players have rebutted the idea that the solution will involve own casing retreads and the possible licensing of retreading to other
Finland: Growth in Passenger and LCV Sectors
The latest figures published by the Finnish Tyre Association (Autonrengasliitto) show that in 2011 the passenger and light truck tyre sectors experienced buoyant growth in retreading whilst the heavy truck sector showed a slight decline. According to the Association, there were 89,072 passenger retreads manufactured in Finland in 2011, up from 66,828 the previous year, a growth of over 33 per cent. LCV tyre sales also increased at the same rate, from
1,044 units to 1,390.
Truck retread sales on the other hand experienced a slight slow down with pre-cure retreads falling from 177,920 units to 175,655. Mould cure retreading is now negligible in Finland – only 200 units were manufactured in 2011.
6 Retreading Business