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CZECHIA
Fresh out of the mould, a new Pneu Vraník’s 4x4 tyre
Petr Vanča, production manager at Pneu Vraník
A pair of Matteuzzi buffing equipment at the heart of Petr Vanča, Vraník’s retread operation feed the precure line with the majority of their retreads
that they were keen to keep pace with the market and they were constantly adding new moulds to allow the production of the latest sizes required to fit even the most recent models of automobiles. In fact, the company carried a stock of about 150 different car tyre patterns and sizes.
The production and warehousing is housed in a new-build unit outside Slušovice. It has a high roofline that Pneu Vraník uses to its capacity in its storage area, but that admittedly seems excessive in the production hall. However, there is good reason for this. Luděk Vraník has proven himself to be a successful businessman,
not blind to the challenges and the building the company is now based at can easily be converted to other warehousing or manufacturing use without a great deal of alteration. He has futureproofed the investment in his building.
The building also contains the company offices and a showroom. Everything is clean and spacious. A modern approach to retread sales. The showroom carries a range of Vraník retreads on display, plus a display board of popular pre-cure tread patterns and the names of the tread suppliers from whom Vraník can offer those treads. So, for the
and is a member of Point-S. There are also popular sizes of best- selling tyres on view from his partner suppliers.
Pneu Vraník sells mainly through B2B but also locally. It has a team of nine sales reps, eight in Czechia and one in Slovakia, It distributes directly to its clients or via its sales reps in the various regions. It is also possible to send emergency deliveries by courier – anything ordered by 3:00pm is delivered within 24 hours.
The company operates a fleet of 10 vans and two 12 tonne trucks to distribute its tyres. Fleets are dealt with through the sales reps, and tyre management is the responsibility of the sales department.
Petr Vanča told Retreading Business that for the past five years’ business had been growing steadily, but that 2016 had, so far, been a complex year with a number of influences impacting upon business. There had been many changes in the industry and prices were currently too cheap, largely due to having to compete with Chinese tyres, and this was driving down prices and margins. “The quality of the Chinese tyres varies, one batch can be good and the next not so good. Some of the tyres are very cheap indeed, but we find that many clients may only try them once. However, clients do follow the price and we have to be competitive. The telling moment will come in the winter season. We will then have a better idea of where we stand. The market reality is that we are all facing huge pressures and we need to find a way to address those challenges.
“We have to have the best possible control over our quality and our cost of manufacturing and distribution. I believe that the margins on Chinese tyres are
quite low and our clients can earn better margins with our retreaded tyres. If the B2B clients can see the better margin in our products, then I feel sure that they will seize that opportunity.
“There is not much that we can expect the government of the EU to do about the Chinese tyre dumping, we just have to find strategies to deal with the market. We also need to make sure that we keep up to date with the various sizes and patterns to help promote our portfolio. We need to follow the news. There are new sizes all of the time and we need to be ready to offer those sizes. “We have a great relationship with CIMA, who are our mould suppliers, and we can bring in new sizes very quickly.”
“We do also sell Chinese tyres. We don’t like to do it, and we try to encourage the purchase of retreads in that price market. However, if we don’t do it we would just lose the sale to someone else.”
Pneu Vraník started out in hot cure and now has around 40 presses and added pre-cure to its production in 2008.
Every tyre is given an RFID chip so that its progress through production can be followed digitally. All truck tyres are pressure tested, inspected for nailholes before buffing, and every truck tyre is passed through an SDS shearography machine. Buffing is by Matteuzzi RAS90- DC4 (truck) and TRM Eagle (passenger) and building uses a TRM car tyre builder. Repair materials come from Rema, sidewall veneer from Kraiburg, and for the truck pre-cure, materials come from Midas, Galgo and Kraiburg.
building up Pneu Vraník from humble beginnings. He has done this through hard work and proper planning. That has allowed Luděk Vraník to expand his business operations and one of his latest developments is a restaurant with its own micro- brewery. Luděk Vraník looks to the future and whilst he is clearly investing in Pneu Vraník, he is
typical on/off road BDA type pattern, Vraník will show that the tread is available from Midas (the main supplier), Galgo or Kraiburg. Green Diamond is also offered in the retread range, and Petr Vanča reports that the Green Diamond retreads sell well and people tend to come back and ask for them as replacements more than once. Pneu Vraník also sells new tyres
30 Retreading Business