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NEWS
Vacu-Lug Follows Aircraft
Tyre Technology for New
Four Jeddah Retread Factories Closed
Tyre Range
Vacu-Lug Traction Tyres has launched the first in its new flagship range of commercial vehicle drive axle tyres, inspired by the latest production techniques and technologies used in aircraft and high-performance tyres. The Vacu-Lug Logistik range is designed to offer operators the “very, very lowest costs per kilometre”. Grantham-based commercial tyre
ability to use “every mm of tread depth throughout the tyres’ rolling circumference” available. Additionally, the new press is also a substantial upgrade in terms of curing pressure. Whereas the traditional curing pressure is +/- 200psi, the new press curing pressure is 300psi.
“The theory is that there is a level of micro-porosity in a cured rubber compound and increasing the curing pressure or consolidation eliminates that completely,” adds Barron.
“More pressure equals more consolidation and it means that we can maximise the tread compound performance, not only in terms of kilometres, but also in terms of fuel efficiency.”
At a competitive time for the commercial vehicle industry, when many operators are working to low margins, the upgrade in segments and curing pressure can lead to a longer tyre lifespan and lower rolling resistance, hence lower operating costs.
“The end user is going to get the very, very lowest cost per kilometre,” stresses Barron.
“We believe that the technologies we have employed will optimise the kilometre potential and fuel efficiency of the Logistik tyre beyond that of what is currently available.”
Vacu-Lug is ahead of the game on technological advancements when it comes to tyres but also in terms of its compound sourcing. Barron points out that they work with world-leading custom compounders supplying a global customer base.
“I personally think that this puts us at an advantage – we develop our materials with our supply partners who have decades of experience and technical excellence of innovative solutions for today’s global industries. Based on the impressive Logistik platform, we have developed two evolution compound blends to enhance the products’ performance further. The first maintains the already-proven km potential whilst focusing on minimising rolling resistance and optimising fuel efficiency. The second works the other way to maintain the low rolling resistance whilst focusing on maximising km potential.”
Vacu-Lug is rightly excited by its new Logistik tyre as it stands on the runway ready to fly the commercial vehicle industr y to a new level.
The Saudi Ministry of Commerce has shut down four car tyre treading factories in Jeddah for violation of safety and storage norms. The ministry also seized over 2,500 tyres and summoned the factory owners for investigation.
The factories ordered to be closed down include Tire Retreading Limited Company, Modern Wheel for Tire Retreading, Al Jawad for Tire Recapping and Processing and Al Huwail Factory for Tire Retreading. Ministry inspectors found the final products lacked quality and were in violation of the ministry’s specifications caused by storage under the sun for long durations. Some of the factories stored tyres to be recycled with scrap tyres, while some had insufficient lighting in the work area, exposing workers to work hazards.
The closure of the factories is part of the continuing campaign taken up by the ministry and the Saudi Standards, Metrology and Quality
Organization on tyre factories to protect consumers from the dangers of faulty products.
Several factories in Riyadh, Al-Zulfi province, Dammam, and Al-Khobar also faced closure following detection of irregularities during the inspection campaign. These include Riemann Factory, Abdulrahman Rashid Al-Rashed factory for tyre retreading, Ibrahim Al-Jaffali and Brothers Company’s factory for tyre retreading, the General Company Ltd., and Tire Solutions Factory. The ministry has said that inspection authorities conduct performance tests to ensure that factories correctly store recyclable tyres, check on the factory mechanisms to store finished products, and assess safety systems for the factory workers. They also inspect lighting arrangements, proper organisation and arrangements within the factory, and ensure inscription of origin and other details on the product.
Vipal Opens Distribution Centre in England
A Brazilian company with global reach: This is one of the main claims of Vipal Rubber, Latin American leader and one of the top worldwide manufacturers of tyre retreading products. Now, Vipal is further strengthening its presence in Europe with the opening of a new distribution centre in
England. Located in the coastal town of Felixstowe, home to the largest container port in the United Kingdom, the distribution centre measures 2,000 m2 in size and has capacity to store up to 500 tonnes of products. The opening of this distribution centre seeks to cater to countries such as England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland with the new facility, which commenced operations in November 2014, Vipal intends to increase its market share in the region, striving for growth of up to 8 per cent.
Among the top five markets on the European continent, the United
Kingdom has been served by Vipal since 2007. A major Vipal customer since that date is Vacu Lug, one of the top retreaders in England and in Europe. Previously, Vipal served this market from its distribution centre in Germany. Now the company has invested in being closer to local customers. “We perceived the need to increase agility in the process, which is why we pursued the partnership with Denholm to open the English centre,” emphasises the General Manager of Vipal Europe, Alessandro Campos. Denholm is part of a group of companies that operates in various segments, including shipping and logistics.
In addition to this centre, Vipal has three other distribution centres in Europe, located in Spain, Germany and Slovenia. It also has centres in Australia, Mexico, Colombia and three in the United States (Florida, Virginia and California).
remoulding specialist Vacu-Lug has already launched its Logistik 295/80R22.5 drive tyre, in its new Logistik drive pattern. The 315/70R22.5 tyre was launched early in 2015.
Vacu-Lug Plant Manager Brian Barron says: “With this latest development of our drive axle tyres, we looked outside of the envelope of current truck tyre production to see what was setting the benchmark, asking ourselves constantly how we could do things better and what was being done by those at the top end of today’s tyre production. Leading the way were the technologies used by aircraft and high-performance tyre manufacturers, so we adopted their methodologies and put them into our truck tyre technology.”
One of the innovations centres on increasing the traditional retread press of six segments to 12 segments. Barron is not aware of any of Vacu-Lug’s competitors currently using that number. “Some of our other competitors are at 10...so far as I’m aware, and I think we are the only one with 12 at the moment,” says Barron.
The advantage of moving to 12 segments is a significant increase in true roundness and hence the
Leader Rubber Company
Confirms KTM Factory Sponsorship
Leader Rubber Company has renewed its co-sponsorship of Africa’s premier Offroad and Enduro racing team, the ‘Brother Leader Tread KTM Factory Team’ from 2015, proudly supported by
their two title sponsors, Brother International SA and Leader Rubber Company.
“Leader Rubber Company, manufacturer of the Leader Tread brand of pre cure truck tyre retread
4 Retreading Business