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RUSSIA
Goodyear has installed shearography at the plant
In general, prices for new Chinese tyres in the Russian market rose 15 per cent over the last year, according to market participants, which means that either importers took on part of the spend associated with the payment of increased custom duties, or they are really able to import these tyres without payment of the whole amount of these duties.
According to the web-site of Povolgskaya Tyre Company the cost of retreading services per tyre in size 285/70R-19.5 at their facility is RUB 5,950 (US$ 95). This price includes only the cost of service and not the cost of the casing. The price of retreading of a 295/80R-22.5 size will be RUB 10,500 (US$ 170), once again without the cost of casing. With the cost of casing the price per retreaded tyre 285/70R-19.5 for example in St. Petersburg stands at RUB 9,000 – 12,000 (US$ 150 - 200), so they are still more expensive
compared to the cheapest Chinese tyres. With different sizes the ratio of prices between Chinese and retreaded tyres is the same.
The representative of one retreading company, who wished to not be named, said that in general the situation with Chinese tyres has not changed significantly after the introduction of duties as they still remain one of the main factors which constrain the development of the Russian retreading industry. He said that amid the economic crisis the tyre market in Russia has fallen several years in succession, and, according to recent forecasts, in 2016 sales of tyres in the country by the end of this year will drop by another 6 per cent compared to 2015. Many market participants believe that in such a situation the government should pay more attention to protecting domestic manufacturers from the Chinese invasion.
explains Dmitry Marchuk, an engineer in the tyre retreading division of Goodyear Russia.
“Used casings are the main raw material for the production of retreaded tyres. Fleets in Russia are not always ready to take them out of service, even if they have the minimum depth at which retreading is possible of three millimetres. Instead of organising the rotation with a clear and obvious economic benefit, many of them are still trying to ‘squeeze out everything possible from the tyres’. The inevitable result in this case is loss of the tyre. It is important to understand, that the operation upon complete destruction of the casing is only 10 per cent of its life cycle. At the same time the operation of retreaded tyres is a new cycle with 100 per cent run, which also cost 30 per cent less,” he explained.
As explained by representatives of Goodyear Russia, the retreading process at the facility is carried out in the same way, as in other companies’ plants elsewhere in the country. In particular, the retreading of one tyre
from the very beginning takes about five hours, and when the procedure is finished tyres are tested to guarantee compliance with Goodyear’s standards.
“In our new plant, we plan to produce premium retreaded tyres, which will allow automotive companies to reduce the average cost of one kilometre run. Within the Next Tread format at our plant we apply the most advanced and innovative technologies, such as the mounting system of the tread in the form of a ring, that is, we use a Ringtreader, while for incoming inspection and final inspection we use the shearography machine SFERA ITT 3000. There are only five such devices operating in Russia now, and three of them are involved in the production of retreading Next Tread tyres. One of them is installed here in Nakhabino at the facility of Protector Next,” Marchuk stated.
“We also use a high-quality autoclave for the vulcanisation process. The whole process of the casing movement at the facility before completion of the tyre can be tracked in the cloud
Goodyear Authorises Fourth Russian Retreading Plant
in Moscow Oblast
In June Goodyear Russia officially commissioned a new Next Tread truck tyre retreading facility at the joint venture company Protector Next. The opening ceremony of the new plant in Nakhabino, 29 km away from Moscow, was attended not only by the General Director of Goodyear Russia, Frank Tietz, and the General Director of Protector Next Maxim Nikitin, but also by the head of the municipality Mikhail Sapunov, indicating the value this project may contribute to the regional economy.
The new Goodyear facility will focus on clients from the neighbouring cities and, in the first place, of course, Moscow, producing nearly 12,000 retreaded tyres per year.
“The designed capacity of the company’s retreading programme is more than 1,000 units per month. This will meet the demand of transport companies in the nearest big cities. Next Tread retreaded tyres under the Goodyear brand not only meet all the basic characteristics of the new Goodyear tyres, but also have an attractive price. Their cost is about a third less compared to new tyres, so they can significantly reduce the operational costs of transport fleets,” explained Vyacheslav Vilisov, Truck Tyre Sales Department Director at Goodyear Russia.
At the same time, representatives of Goodyear Russia admit that there are still several factors, constraining the development of the Russian retreading industry in general, and which in theory could negatively affect the
operation of the new facility as well. In the first place this concerns the low culture of tyre use among transport companies and the lack of knowledge about the advantages of retreading in the business community.
“Our retreading programme guarantees high quality, and it has been well-established in Europe. However, at the moment an obstacle for the development of the programme in Russia is the old practice of truck tyre exploitation,”
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