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GERMANY
Reifen Müller retreading starts with an Intact Shearography machine
Reifen Müller repairs OTR tyres but does not retread them
Inspection of every single casing is done with a thoroughness that virtually eliminates returns
2010.
Reifen Müller started retreading in 1993 and moved to Hammelburg in 2000. The plant employs45-55 staff all year round, plus seasonal workers in the second half of the year from July through to December.
The main suppliers at Refien Müller’s retread operation are Marangoni and Kraiburg, and it is important to the company that a high quality of retread standard is maintained. Not only as an in- house policy of providing the best quality, but that reputation
on the premium product. We started with Ringtread in 2006. We were the first in Germany to take on the Ringtread operation, and now we are seeing more and more clients asking for Ringtread.”
Reifen Müller uses the latest technology available. “Our premium tyres demand that our technology is always kept up to date. We cannot build the best tyres with old equipment,” says Schuhmann. “So you will see Ringbuilders for cold cure, and Black Swan for the hot cure.
that Reifen Müller added hot cure to its retread range.
Reifen Müller also carry out repairs to OTR tyres but do not get involved in retreading anything but truck and bus tyres. There can be no escaping the challenges in the current market, and new Chinese tyres have impacted on business for Reifen Müller’s retread operation. However, Schuhmann explains, “We are finding that our customers are more interested in premium quality retreads. They are aware that the mileage is better with a premium retread. When customers tell us that they can get a new Chinese tyre for a price, we can either do that or not. Most of our customers are interested in a premium retread, but even so, some 30 per cent still opt for a cheaper offer.” Chinese tyres aside, what other challenges does Reifen Müller find in the market? Are there casing supply problems? Is there still a shortage in some sizes?
The industry in Germany has been hit by some national economic decisions made by the government. Previously the retread sector was open to receive De Minimus aid, this is a tax-based support for investment in specified industrial sectors. De Minimus funding came in a grant equivalent form designed to assist businesses. For the retread sector it was a small but not insignificant assistance. This has been withdrawn in Germany and on top of other pressures has had an impact on all retreaders, including Reifen Müller. It seems unfair that a new tyre distributer might still access that funding, but a retreader may not. However, that is what has, in fact, happened. (This was a point raised by all the retreaders that we visited.)
At one point German retreaders had built a market exporting tyres to eastern Europe, was this still a factor for Reifen Müller? “Not today,” said Schuhmann,
for quality ensures that the company can hold contracts to supply Goodyear Nextread, Continental retreads and Pirelli Novateck tyres.
Asked about the budget end of the market, Schuhmann responded, “We do use some Vipal but our man supplier is Marangoni. We have two Ringbuilders and 50-60% of our output is Ringtread. We are moving away from budget tyres and are focussing more and more
Every casing goes through shearography from Steinbichler.
“The cold cure operation has five autoclaves, and we have six new CIMA hot cure presses, with another new press arriving in late May. That allows us to process up to 350 tyres per day.”
Refien Müller bucked the trend on hot cure, and whilst in most markets the drive has been away from hot cure to the cheaper to establish and run precure operation. It was only in 2011
32 Retreading Business
“With 44 of our own outlets and dealing direct with individual and fleet customers we can manage our casing supplies quite well. Mostly we can obtain all we need from our own markets and we have some element of casing management through our relationship with our clientele. We have around 9,000 casings in stock at any point of the year. “This gives us almost total control over the quality of our casings, so with our Ringtread and premium tread we have around 80 per cent of our sales in the premium sector. That quality is a selling point for us even in these times with pressure from the Chinese imports.”
“There was a time when we would export 10-15% of our output. We used to sell to a firm in Leningrad, however that finished in 2012.
“You know, the German retread sector is going through a lot of change. In 2007 there were over 100 retreaders in Germany. That figure has dropped to between 50 and 60 retreaders today. Many of these businesses have been “mom and pop” shops where the owner is coming close to retirement and perhaps the family have not invested or have no desire to remain in the business, so we can expect that number to drop further in the coming years.”