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GERMANY
The manual buffing is a far cry from the state of the art Bandag plants we are used to seeing, but it shows that the global player is
still prepared to support the smaller business
A pair of Ringbuilders feed the precure line with the majority of their retreads
Reifen Schuchardt is a Bandag franchise operator that serves the local community, the local agricultural sector and the local fleets, mostly small companies or individual operators.
Reifen Schuchardt is the antithesis of the Bandag plant that we are used to visiting, there is no large retreading hall. However, Peter Schuchardt has installed a shearography machine as mandated by Bandag and every casing gets checked prior to any work being done. The finish of the end product is as
created, and there is no variation here at Reifen Schuchardt.
Peter Schuchardt says, “We have been hit by the same challenges as the bigger players. Perhaps more so because our clients are smaller businesses and they often look at the cost to purchase rather than the mileage. So, the new Chinese tyre is our biggest challenge and we have to try and persuade the clients that buying a retread is a better option.” Reifen Schuchardt, had been a passenger and truck tyre retreader in East Germany prior
and we have stuck with the company ever since.”
“We do get some support from Bandag. They do help us with all the technical support that we ever need. However, the reality is that unless something is done with Chinese tyres being dumped in the market then things are going to remain difficult for some time.”
It has been a long steady climb
Reifen Müller
Reifen Müller is amongst the largest of Germany’s retreaders. Travelling across Germany, Reifen Müller is a name and brand that can be found in many towns, for the company is a veritable giant in the German marketplace.
Not only is Reifen Müller one of the largest retreaders, the company also distributes and retails new tyres from its own retail outlets. It is these retail outlets that have in some way assisted Reifen Müller hold its own in the retread market, for no player is unchallenged by the current market conditions, and even a large operator such as
to build a reputable business and Peter Schuchardt appears philosophical about the current state of affairs. “The production of retreaded tyres every year is still a decreasing process.” So the retreading sector needs something to be done about the dumping of Chinese tyres if we are to have any real prospects for the future.
than an hour from Frankfurt, and Nuremburg, two large urban populations and centres of industry. Moreover, the German autobahn network facilitates transport across the country in a way that UK business can only envy.
Reifen Müller started out as a family business selling and repairing tyres back in 1965, and remains a family business today, having grown from a single retail site to become a key player in the German market today with 44 retail outlets across south and central Germany. The company recently bought 12 retail outlets
good as any we have seen from any larger Bandag plant. This is perhaps the modern day equivalent of the village blacksmith.
The process is typical of Bandag operations and we are all familiar with how the Bandag retread is
to unification, and Reifen Schuchardt was established as a private business in 1990 after a first visit to Reifen Essen. “We built our first retread tyre in 1991 here in Obertopfstedt.” Explains Schuchardt. “In 1997 we became a Bandag franchisee
30 Retreading Business
Reifen Müller has been feeling the chill of Chinese tyres.
Reifen Müller’s headquarters are based outside Hammelburg in Southern Germany. A pleasant rural town set in rolling scenery. The first impression is that this is perhaps not the ideal location for a retread plant, for there is no large conurbation on the doorstep. This is a near rural operation. However, a closer inspection of the map shows that Hammelburg is little more
rom Reifen Ihle when it went bankrupt – Ihle has reopened his retread company under new ownership as Rigdon.
Matthias Schuhmann explained, “We produce up to 75,000 retreads per year, of which 10,000 will be hot cured. All our retreading is done here at Hammelburg. We do still have some spare capacity.” It is interesting to note that the hot cure operation came after the precure and started around