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INTERVIEW
protectionist policies adopted by the USA in recent months.
In this complex competitive environment, the truck and OTR retreading business based in Rovereto needs to become even more efficient and competitive to ensure continuity, yet this unfortunately means job losses at the original production site.
As a response to this scenario, the Group is continuing to develop its other business areas: indirect retreading, through the supply of retreading materials, above all the Ringtread technology, which does not suffer from the typical logistic limits of direct retreading and permits international growth; the development and supply of sophisticated high-tech solutions for the tyre industry, an area in which Marangoni Meccanica is internationally recognised; and the supply of rubber compounds for industry in general, exploiting the Group’s considerable know- how and mixing expertise.
Retreading Business: How serious is the threat from Chinese tyres and what can Marangoni do to counter the threat?
De Alessandri: The threat from Chinese tyres has changed the truck tyre market, and will continue to do so at least until the Chinese government stops subsidising the industry in order to provide employment, underwriting the balance sheets of companies that operate below cost, and/or the European Union decides to place greater emphasis on environmental factors and consequently better use of non- renewable resources, supporting the quality and thus the subsequent retreadability of tyres.
In the meantime, Marangoni is concentrating on showing how quality retreading is still the best option in terms of cost per kilometre travelled for transport companies that wish to control costs. In this regard, the Marangoni Group is strategically aligned with its partner retreaders to ensure that this clear message reaches the end users, truck drivers, purchasing managers and owners of transport companies. Marangoni offers the best technological solution, the Ringtread system,
which minimises the operating costs of the entire value chain, as well as a whole series of tools to support its partners.
Retreading Business: Is there any way that retread component manufacturing can remain a part of the Rovereto business plan, or will tread manufacture be moved to a lower cost centre?
De Alessandri: Currently no precured retreading material is manufactured at the Rovereto plant. The Group now has six plants around the world that produce precured material, two in Europe, three in the Americas and one in South Africa. In this specific industrial sector, the most significant aspects are logistics and tariffs, rather than trying to reduce labour costs.
Retreading Business: Will Marangoni continue to retread truck tyres, OTR and solid tyres at Rovereto, or will that production be relocated?
De Alessandri: Truck and OTR retreading will certainly remain in Rovereto, and we will do everything possible to support direct retreading by constantly striving to increase the efficiency and improve the technology of our production processes in Italy. As far as solid tyres are concerned, the completion of our manufacturing delocalisation plan is essential in order to maintain the competitiveness needed in this highly competitive sector.
Retreading Business: How many staff would be impacted by the decisions made in the coming months? We understand that an agreement with the local government not to have any redundancies until August 2016 is coming to an end. Will that see those 150 preserved positions end? Will others follow?
De Alessandri: There is no such agreement with the local government, and the August deadline refers only to the possibility to make use of a special arrangement under Italian law to manage redundancies.
In the meantime, complex negotiations have commenced with trade unions to define the
conditions for redundancies. The timing of this will in any case also depend on the delocalisation of solid tyre production, while its extent will be affected by the evolution of the market in the coming months.
Retreading Business: Marangoni is also involved in engineering with its new tyre equipment plant and through TRM its retread equipment supplies. Will these operations also be impacted by any relocation of operations from Rovereto, or are these business divisions secure?
De Alessandri: Considering technological development as one of the Group’s core businesses, our knowledge will certainly be kept at the design and research centres in Rovereto. Our highly sophisticated machinery for the new tyre industry will be developed and manufactured at the Marangoni Meccanica facilities in Rovereto, while some products for the retreading industry, especially when sold on less sophisticated markets, may be manufactured by partners outside of Europe, who in any case must be able to guarantee the typical quality of Marangoni products, no effect on employment in this business being currently expected.
Retreading Business: Has Marangoni been part of any move to ask the EU and National governments to impose trade tariffs on Chinese tyres to help ameliorate the challenge? We have seen figures that suggest that European retreading has been slashed by anything up to 40 per cent in some places and retreaders are struggling to compete with low cost Chinese tyres. How can Europe better
fight this challenge – a challenge that poses knock-on threats to the economy and the environment if it goes unchecked?
De Alessandri: The EU is responsible for defining customs tariffs and certainly there are good economic and environmental reasons for imposing such tariffs. Marangoni, if contacted in this regard, will be more than happy to support the relevant bodies by providing all the information needed to achieve a definition that is favourable for the market.
Retreading Business: Does this crisis also impact on Marangoni do Brasil, Marangoni Tire North America, or Marangoni Argentina in the same way or are these operations more robustly defended by their national governments?
De Alessandri: The companies you mentioned operate in markets that are quite different from one another, with different and at times evolving tariff policies. What I can say is that to date these markets have been less affected than Europe by the arrival of Chinese tyres, due to specific national policies.
Retreading Business: Where does all this leave Marangoni’s operations in China?
De Alessandri: Our current operations in China, considering the market characteristics, are limited to sales and management of some key customers.
Marangoni Meccanica’s role in the Group remains secure in Rovereto
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