Page 26 - RB-77-16-2

GERMANY
Thomas Wolter, Factory Manager
Investment in hot cure is keeping RuLa at the top end of the quality scale
arisings.
The recycling of the tyres also has implications worth a thought. The chemical content may not be what is required for Europe. There is no funding available to test imports, so there is a
development plans on hold.” What about the challenge created by the dominance of the new tyre manufacturers and their involvement in retreading? Has Continental’s development, for instance impacted upon RuLa? “It
Marangoni machine but it was not as efficient at this Steinbichler shearography unit. We can now process tyres more effectively and in time with our production. However, when it comes to precure retreading we remain solid Marangoni customers. Our main precure lines are all Blackline, plus we do a smaller percentage of budget tread. Marangoni gives us an offer that allows us to approach the whole market with a good to premium quality product. Of course quality itself creates a challenge, in that by creating long running premium retreads the end users don’t need so many, our tyres last longer, so need replaced less often. A nice reputation to have.” The precure line uses a Ring Builder and Blackline Ringtread makes up the majority of production, whilst a Black Dragon tyre builder does the job in the hot cure department.
Investment was not restricted to precure, for when the lines split and green tyres were sent to the hot cure hall, even here there
Reifentechnik
were signs of investment, and amongst the 24 presses were six new CIMA presses (with another one due this spring), which helped improve quality and efficiency by using modern moulds and more efficient heating processes. Wolter says, “As we add new patterns we try to also add modern moulds to accommodate them. The fewer joints the better the quality of the moulding and the better the quality of the end product.
The envelopes used in the plant are largely from Kraiburg, and they have a working life of between 1 – 2 years according to Thomas Wolter.
RuLa is a retreading operation that has seen considerable investment in recent years and is committed to the future of retreading. There is, though, some unease at the direction the tyre market is taking under the onslaught from the Chinese. However, Detlev Biermann is steering a steady course with a quality product and a view to a brighter future.
loophole that allows sub-standard tyres to be imported. In turn when these are recycled they introduce a different mix of chemicals into the process, they may have higher than permissible PAH content.
There is even anecdotal evidence of cement plants refusing to take Chinese tyres because of the chemical content and the impact on their emissions.
“The future is uncertain”, says Biermann, “The market may fall further. We will be able to survive even heavy cuts, but the nature of the market is going to change. We used to have over 100 retreaders in Germany, that has already dropped to around 60-70. Many of these firms are small family businesses, perhaps with the owners coming up towards retirement, and I believe that many of these operations will simply close down.
“We cannot invest in the future at the moment. We have to put
is an interesting question”, says Biermann. “We have not really been impacted directly by the Conti plant, nor by Goodyear at Wittlich. And of course Michelin is pulling out of Oranienberg, so even the mainstream tyre manufacturers are feeling the pressure of Chinese
tyres, maybe even more so than us.
“Yes, Conti in particular impacted on some players when it drew all that business into the new plant, but Reifen Ihle, perhaps the worst hit, had other issues to deal with at the time and its retread operation has been bought and is back in business, so the market is there, it is just under a lot of pressure.”
Assistant works manager, Thomas Wolter gave the plant tour. The first technology that indicated the modernity of the plant was the presence of the Steinbichler shearography machine. Wolters commented, “We used to use a
26 Retreading Business
Germany has a large retreading sector, as many 61 retreaders of all sizes, many of them smaller businesses, and they have all been impacted by the burning issue of the day, cheap Chinese tyres. Many of these retreaders are facing considerable reductions in sales and are facing consolidation.
Yet Steffen Stage, who started his company in 2002 in a small local garage, still has hopes for the future. “Business was good up until 2014, and then the real impact of Chinese tyres hit us,” says Stage.
Reifentechnik was built up
serving the local market around Dessau Rosslau, a little bit of buying and selling supporting a retread operation that delivered to local garages and fleet customers. Business was so good that in 2009 the company bought its current production hall and offices in Dessau.
Steffen Stage says, “I started with one worker plus myself. I was the salesman, and I went knocking on doors selling tyres. We now have four staff in production/ service and delivery, plus myself and my secretary. We also have a small station in Rostock, and the operator there comes in once a