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NEWS
Kraiburg Invests in Geretsberg Site
grooves care for stone ejection and crack prevention. The wide, solid shoulder area provides a higher mileage and helps to prevent belt separation. Its massive kerfless centre rib enhances free-rolling on axle thus increasing the trailer’s riding stability. “Hankook invest constantly in research and development to provide our customers with environment- friendly products”, said Hee-Se Ahn, Vice President for Marketing and Sales
at Hankook Tire in Europe. “Above that our new alphatread range aims to reduce running costs thus meeting the demands of our customers.” Hankook’s ‘alphatread’ tyres contribute to the environment by using significantly less raw material as well as energy during manufacturing. They are produced by Bandvulc and will be available in the UK from the second quarter in 2013.
Kraiburg Austria has announced that it will be investing in plant, machinery and processes again this year. The aim is to guarantee the company’s retreader customers the best quality and the best service possible. A budget of three million has been set aside for this, a large chunk of which will be spent on the extrusion line, which is being upgraded with a view to meeting potential requirements which may be imposed as the tyre label is extended to retreads. The company from Upper Austria have allocated some funds for an additional mixer for the Research and Development laboratory. The final tranche of investment will go towards improving efficiency in the production and administrative processes.
According to Kraiburg, the
measures put in place last year are already starting to bear fruit. A combined heat and power unit was installed in October 2012, the heat recovered by which powers the presses on the retread production line for the K_base, K_plus and K_tech ranges and also supplies the entire production site with process heat. This cogeneration system combined with the waste heat recovery and utilisation equates to an annual reduction in CO2 emissions of around 1,000 tonnes. In making these investments Kraiburg Austria says it can remain true to the environmental protection philosophy it has practised for more than 60 years while still maintaining its high quality and service standards.
Some US Retreaders See Positives
Hankook Launches Bead-to-Bead Retread Truck Tyre Range in UK
According to US Tyre trade magazine Modern Tire Dealer, domestic retreaders produced 7 per cent more truck tyre retreads than they did in 2010 in 2011. However, production fell in 2012 to 14.8 million truck tyre retreads, 3.2 per cent less than the prior year.
“We saw same-store growth in dollars and units in 2012 versus 2011,” said Mick Pickens, president of Royal Tire Inc. “However, we believe the unusually strong volume in 2011 was driven primarily by significant price increases in new tyre prices which caused many fleets to try, or increase their use of retreads.”
David Stevens, managing director of the Tire Retread & Repair Information Bureau (TRIB), attributes pent-up demand coming out of the recession for the year-over-year variances in production. “2012 had a strong-start trajectory and then all the uncertainty with the economy and election led to pull-backs across the board.”
At the RTA, Harvey Brodsky suggested, “There is an ongoing shortage of casings in the most popular sizes and this prevents retreaders from filling pent-up orders. Another is the state of the economy, meaning that fleets are being very careful how they spend their money and are putting off purchases while they are waiting for an upturn, as well as wanting to see what the future holds under the present administration.”
Despite the drop in the industry’s output, a number of retreaders appear to have boosted production levels to meet demand , or have expanded their geographic coverage, or both in 2012. Among the nation’s largest retreaders, production increases in all categories have been seen at Southern Tire Mart LLC putting them ahead of Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations in terms of retread volumes. Southern Tire Mart entered the OTR market with its purchase of H&W Retread and Repair in Sulphur Springs, Texas. The Columbia, Miss.-based company is retreading five OTR tyres per day using the Bridgestone/Bandag Continuum precure process.
Along with new equipment, McCarthy Tire Service Co. Inc. of
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, purchased Main Tire Exchange Inc.. McCarthy says the December acquisition of the Dansville, New York, company had minimal impact on its overall results for the year. The company used 8.5 million pounds of rubber, 1.8 million pounds more than in 2011. McCarthy’s Charlotte, N.C., plant more than doubled its output; the Wilkes-Barre operation also increased production levels. Graham Retread Co. of Spencer, Iowa, plans to add warehouse space as well as equipment in 2013 to keep up with demand. Says President Pat Shaughnessy: “We are planning on purchasing a 25-tyre chamber. We have six now and will go to seven. We plan to add a new A-TEK repair station. We lack warehouse space. We have to maintain so many pounds of rubber; it’s a perpetual back-order situation. We have casings outside and we want to get them inside. We are planning on adding 21,000 square feet to our building. Wonderland Tire Co. Inc. of Byron Center, Michigan, also reports significant demand for its retreads. About 50 per cent of revenue is generated from sales of Wonderland’s AcuTread truck tyres.
Wonderland added a new computerized Matteuzzi buffer, new A-Z Formen cushion extruder, new automatic tread rubber extruder, and four new CIMA presses in 2012. “In 2013, we have already increased our warehouse space at our AcuTread plant and have four more new CIMA presses on order. We also have plans to add new inspection equipment later in 2013. Most of these improvements and new equipment investments have been made to increase production of the AcuTread product,” says Wonderland’s Langerak.
What does the industry anticipate for the remainder of 2013? “I believe we will not see strong growth by many retreaders. In the parts of the country where coal is a factor, there is a definite turndown in the movement of trucks,” says the RTA’s Brodsky. TRIB’s Stevens echoes that outlook: “The discussions I’ve had with TRIB members show that they remain very cautious about growth this year. Source: Modern Tire Dealer
The ever increasing demands in the area of environmental friendliness and continued pressure upon fleets to reduce their running costs have led to the development of the Hankook ‘alphatread’ range. The premium
manufacturer’s retread truck tyre line has been specifically designed to maximise mileage as the casings of Hankook’s 1st life A1 grade tyres are used to mirror Hankook’s existing tyre patterns to produce the alphatread tyre. For the time being the products are available in the UK market in two drive axle sizes and a corresponding trailer size.
The Hankook alphatread R-DH05 is a drive axle tyre for medium haul, available in sizes 295/80 R22.5 and 315/80 R22.5. With its wide outline
and a unique compound the R-DH05 provides excellent wet and dry performance, driving stability and long lasting wear. While the extra wide tread and deep grooves ensure high mileage, the optimised block shape provides block rigidity also under heavy loads for an outstanding traction and tread stability. Its lateral oriented tread design with high density grooves help to provide excellent traction in all weather conditions.
The Hankook alphatread R-TH22 sized 385/65 R22.5 is the corresponding trailer tyre for medium haul purposes. It provides a 5 rib
tread design and a so called cool running compound for optimum performance. Optimised zigzag
10 Retreading Business