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SOUTH AMERICA
Vipal Attends Colombia’s Colfecar
Michelin Retreading Launches a Unit in Santa Izabel
The region of Santa Izabel do Oeste, in the Brazilian state of Paraná, now has a new Michelin Retread service. The new plant is part of the Royal Tyres group, founded in 1991 as a multibrand retail tyre and service outlet, and has also flown the Michelin flag since it was founded as Redisa Pneus.
The service, which will offer the best technology in tyre retreading for of trucks and buses, allows the tyre a far superior overall life and generates
service of Michelin Redisa. The retreading team has received over 160 hours of training from Michelin and Redisa Pneus is certain that it can make a difference. Initial production will be approximately 12,000 retreads a year explained Vilmar Cazali Brufati, Director of Redisa Group.
To ensure more benefits to its customers and aiming to provide maximum utilisation of the potential of the casings, Michelin launched the exclusive Michelin Retreading service
considerable savings in cost per mile. With stores in Santa Izabel do Oeste
and Francisco Beltran, Redisa Pneus has a range of clientele that includes public transport, independent carriers and small, medium and large fleets. With the inauguration of this new Michelin Retreading unit, Redisa Pneus’ goal is to offer carriers in the area the best technology in the retread market, with the quality and
in 2007. Since then, the number of users has continued to grow.
"Thanks to its expertise, Michelin leads the market in innovation in products and services related to tyres, with a focus on three pillars: security, cost reduction and minimisation of environmental impact." added Mauricio Santos, Michelin Retreading Manager for of South America.
The Vipal stand at Colfecar
Vipal has a need to be present wherever the company operates so that it can assess the market and develop products that specifically suit the market needs of each area. So it was that Vipal attended Colfecar, Colombia’s leading transport related conference, at the Hotel Las Americas in Cartagena, Colombia; the event gathers all of those involved with the transport segment in Colombia in order to discuss issues regarding the current status of the sector. Vipal took the opportunity to present its solutions to the market; featuring the VRT3 tread and the innovative ECO treads, as well as the exclusive designs of the DV line.
The VRT3 tread by Vipal is developed for radial tyres and drive axles that ride paved roads and long distances. The product’s uniqueness is its traction and fast response, both on dry and wet surfaces. The VRT3, when compared to a similar product by
The VL130 Eco
the competitors, offered 2.6 per cent higher efficiency in mileage terms.
Another feature of the event was the ECO tread. Released in 2008, the advanced technology of the ECO tread is produced with special compounds and exclusive designs that ensure lower rolling resistance, lower fuel consumption, and higher mileage. That means that it aids the transporter by reducing fuel consumption by up to 10 per cent and also preserves the environment. One of the most successful products by Vipal is part of this line: the VL130 ECO. This tread was the first in South America to be validated as a SmartWay product by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), from the USA. The programme encourages transport companies to use products that offer fuel economy and allow the reduction of gas emissions to the atmosphere. Among the qualities that granted VL130 ECO such validation were its low rolling resistance, which generates less
heat and allows less fatigue over the casing, and its
rounded shoulders, which reduce the effects of lateral drag.
Vipal’s portfolio at the fair also offered other products from the DV line. These are treads of exclusive design aimed at the transport of cargo and passengers, like the DV-UM3, DV-RM, DV-RL, and DV-RT2.
UniVipal International Training in Nova Prata
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Retreading Business
Sharing the knowledge it has acquired over more than 40 years of experience is a priority for Vipal Rubber. The company, which is the Latin American leader and one of the world’s top manufacturers of tyre retreading products, is developing several such initiatives. These activities, like those fostered by the UniVipal corporate university, benefit its customers around the world. In September, Vipal’s partners from Canada, South Africa, New Zealand and Australia attended a four-day training session at the company’s head office in Nova Prata, Rio Grande do Sul.
In addition to visiting the Vipal industrial park, attendees were given an opportunity to see the Centre for Research and Technology (CPT), a high-tech lab where the company develops its products; VipalTec, a high-tech lab where the company
conducts research and testing for certification of new and retreaded tyres; and the Vicencio Paludo Technical Centre (CTV), the standard retreader that serves as a training space for retreaders in the Vipal Network. After visiting the Vipal facilities, the course content included topics such as fleet management, tyre damage and the retreading and repair process, in addition to addressing the topic of sustainability in the segment. At the end of the process, the group assessed the training and received their certificates of completion. For Andreia Peruzzo, coordinator of UniVipal, this kind of opportunity to provide training for international customers is vital for the company, which operates in over 90 countries. As a result, in early 2015 Vipal intends to increase the number of courses offered in English.