Page 24 - RB-67-13-4

PORTUGAL
Pneus do Alcaide’s home in Tremoceira is, like all the retreaders visited in Portugal, a tidy operation
The Goodyear Unicircle plant is a key element of the Alcaide operation, some 90 per cent of production being Unicircle
David Laureano with some Goodyear retreads ready for delivery to his clients
Pneus do Alcaide – Retreading for Goodyear
sell some 4-5,000 new truck tyres each year.”
The challenges at Pneus do Alcaide are the same as for every other player, cheap Chinese tyres, a shortage of casings and competition from used tyres. “Being part of the Goodyear network helps,” says David, “the contracts mean there is a steady supply of casings, but with the rejects we always have to find more. We have some customers who always prefer to buy new tyres and whenever we can, we try and recoup those casings when the client buys new tyres, hopefully from us. So, even in our partnership with Goodyear we face a casing shortage, partly created by the low quality of cheap Chinese tyres and partly by the economic crisis.”
On the plus side of the equation, David sees some opportunities still. “The market is now about quality and price. We can supply the quality and we can supply that quality at a competitive price. We need to build on that quality whilst
extends to all areas of retreading. Through partnerships with a tyre manufacturer the independent retreader has access to the latest tread patterns, the latest technology and a huge and valuable database on tyre wear patterns and casing behaviour, not to mention the sort of R&D and laboratories that are the envy of even University research departments.
The actual retread operation at Pneus do Alcaide is simplified by the focus on Goodyear. Tyres come in from Goodyear clients, they are visually inspected, given a bar code, nailhole tested, passed through an SDS shearography machine, buffed, skived, gummed and the tread applied. The casings are put in envelopes and cured in the autoclave. On curing there is final trimming and inspection and a pressure test and the tyres are ready to head back out to the clients. 80 per cent of the tyres produced by Alcaide are built using Goodyear’s Unicircle process using a ring tread.
The retread operation of Pneus do Alcaide is based in the small town of Tremoceira near Juncal, in part of an original tyre depot
in central Portugal, plus one in Maia between Oporto and Braga. The company has been a Goodyear Authorised Retreader
and warehouse where the 100 per cent precure operation is housed.
The stand alone building is typical of a past industrial period, but a couple of kilometres away sits a fully modern truck tyre fitting and service bay, an indicator of the investments being made by Pneus do Alcaide in its future. This family owned retread business is managed by David Amaro Laureano, son of the owner, and is dedicated to
since 1991, the company having started in 1981 selling tyres, before moving into retreading with Goodyear in ’91.
“We have been with Goodyear since we started retreading,” said David Laureano. “We get all our materials from Goodyear and all our technical support from Goodyear and the bulk of our retreads go directly to Goodyear contracts. We collect from and sell to the Goodyear contractees. We also sell new tyres so offer a full tyre management package to
producing and marketing retreads in Portugal for Goodyear. The company has four outlets in total, The one in Santeira, which has been already mentioned, one in Benedita and one in Marinha de Mendiga, all
our customers.
“Most of our production, some 12,000 retreads each year, goes direct to the managed fleets as we use, largely, customers’ own casings. Naturally, we only use Goodyear Next-Tread. We also
keeping a competitive price. We don’t want to debase our reputation by offering lower quality at a lower price. We must maintain the standards that have enabled us to maintain our Goodyear Authorised Retreader position. That is a key to our future success. We also export about 20 per cent of our product through Goodyear.
“It is now important for retreaders to have a reference to the tyre manufacturers: As the manufacturers push into retreading, not being involved with a tyre manufacturer limits access to the market.”
It could be argued that this
The plant operates on just one shift. David says, “We have the capacity to produce more tyres if we need to but the production has to be viable, we do not produce just to hold stock. Here quality is the top priority in production. We are always analysing competition and prices and we will remain competitive but we don’t change quality to be cheaper. We don’t buy other brands of tread. We have no reason to change what is working well.”
24 Retreading Business