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NETHERLANDS
Ursula Abels demonstrates how clean the factory is by visiting in a white jacket...
One of the buffers being refurbished to keep the plant fully up to date
Obo Banden – Dutch for Retreading
In some ways the Netherlands is not where we would expect to find an earthmover tyre specialist based. The countryside is devoted to agriculture and digging a large hole in the ground just about anywhere inside the Netherland’s border is
almost guaranteed to develop into a new water filled pond in a matter of days. However, the nature of the land has created a demand for low ground pressure tyres for use in agriculture, grass care and other similar markets, that has in turn helped to generate an earthmover market for Obo.
Obo was originally founded in 1959, in Beerzerveld, as a bus company. The company started repairing its own tyres. It was a small business but over the years the repairing developed and the company started some specialist retreading. However, by the 2003 the firm was bought out by Herman Hutten and it was decided that it would only focus on retreads and repairs. In 2006 Hutten relocated Obo to the current location and it
in the Netherlands. The total output is somewhere around 20,000 tyres per year.
In 2012 Obo bought an extra line of presses and is now able to retread an even wider range of tyres, up to 30.5 inch. The opening of the
plant in Leipzig in 2008 not only increased production capacity, but also allowed Obo to extend its markets.
In 2011 there was a change in staff and the then Commercial Director and Sales Manager left the company. This created an opportunity to infuse the firm with a new brand of management and a younger team was brought in and given “ownership” of the operations.
General Manager is Ursula Abels and Commercial Manager is Eef Brinks. The oldest member of the management team is currently 40 and there is a real buzz about the operation in Hardenberg. Ursula says, “The company is benefiting from the enthusiasm of the younger team and we now have a new vision
the German one. We are very much open and treat each other as equals, the German operation is more traditional and sometimes finds our open approach a little unusual, but we are making progress.”
Obo also has a record in developing its team members, the Technical manager Frederik Zandman is 37, and started out working on the shop floor, working his way up through the company to the point where he is end responsible for all
to meet customer requirements makes us well respected in the sector.”
We later saw another example, where tyres with shoulder wear but good central tread were being hand built and re-cut so that only the shoulder tread was replaced. “Throughout the recession we have faced the same issues as every other retreader. However, we decided that the long term response had to be that we held our quality and
now employs 50 staff at Hardenberg and also owns a plant in Germany. Hutten had a vision for a successful and sustainable retread operation and now in 2014 Obo is still developing and growing in its specialist markets.
Today Obo retreads industrial tyres, agricultural tyres, lawn tyres and OTR tyres, and as such are unique
and there has been a clear change in attitude throughout the company, particularly here in Hardenberg.”
Eef adds, “We have seen so much growth in demand, also in our plant in Leipzig, and we are working to develop our approach at that plant too. There is a cultural difference between the Dutch operation and
technical affairs including the production and logistics at Obo. He has been instrumental in acquisition of and developing new equipment and building the efficiency of the plant.
“We all know our own and each others’ strengths.” Said Ursula Abels. “We work together as a team and we all have ownership of the roles we have.”
The whole team is eager and enthusiastic about further developing the company, and the owner, Mr Hutten, is always available to give guidance and support.
How successful is Obo today? Well, the Hutten Group built its strength in the finished steel business, but now retreading has become the largest operation in the Group.
“We care about our business. We care about our customers.” Said Eef, “We can match people with the tyres they really need. We can fine tune products to accommodate technical requirements. One example is that on some 4WD tractors there is a rotational difference between the front and rear tyres. In effect, they rotate at slightly different speeds. That can cause slippage and increases wear and tear. We can fine tune the retreads to create that speed differential between the front and rear tyres. That ability to fine tune
maintained our prices.”
Obo production is a mix of precure and hot cure. The Leipzig plant only does pre-cure, but the Hardenberg plant does both processes. There is a regular flow of materials and casings between the two plants and this has seen Obo develop a market for its hot cure products in Germany that would not have been quite as viable with just the Dutch plant in operation.
“We now export 60 per cent of our output to Germany, France, Belgium and Luxembourg and we are looking to expand our sales and service into new markets. “ Said Eef. “We are looking at Scandanavia, Poland and the Baltic States, and will also be looking for distributors in the UK.
“It has been an interesting experience for us, growing with the business. When we joined every customer was a new customer and so we went out and talked to everyone, we met a lot of people who didn’t know of Obo
Banden, but we have changed that perception and built our customer base as well as our production base.”
The plant is in many ways no different from most modern retreading plants, the inspection, the buffing, the repairs and skiving, the building, the curing and the inspection. The autoclaves for the
28 Retreading Business