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CROATIA
operate a tyre management system, but this is something that the company has under development. “We are looking at using RFID chips in our retreads, and we will try to offer our customers a better service. We are looking for solutions that add value to the sales package that
so that is creating a shortage of casings in the sizes where the Chinese are penetrating the market. (so that is creating a shortage of casings in the sizes where the Chinese are penetrating the market). In general, we operate a mix of 60/40 CoC and bought in casings.
Gumiimpex has the capacity to retread 20,000 tyres simply by doubling the shift pattern. This can be done very quickly if the market demands, because rather than making staff redundant, the company relocated them to other operations in the factory. If needed they can be recalled to retreading
within days.
Gumiimpex claims to be the largest player in the Croatian tyre sector with 44 per cent of the truck tyre market and 50 per cent of the 25,000 truck retread market.
Guma Protekt – Determined to Compete
Guma Protekt is another family run retread operation. This time on a different scale to Gumi Impex and with a different approach to the business.
Founded by Žarko Sinkovski’s father
by careful buying Žarko Sinkovski has built up a production line for hot cure car and truck tyre retreading in this compact factory unit that beggars belief. Not only that, the warehouse to the rear of the plant carries spare
benefits both the clients and Gumiimpex. If we can identify the right solution for our business mix, then we will go for that.
“We hope that Michelin and Goodyear will be able to assist us in finding the right solution. We will then be developing the fleet management package, and our tyre management should be much improved. This way we can involve the owners of the fleets and make them part of the whole deal.”
What opportunities does Damir Telebuh see in the future? “We have to find out how to sell premium products in an increasingly price orientated market. It is not going to be easy, and we will have to work hard with the customers. We will have to show them all the advantages of retreading and all the technical arguments. Price will of course be important, but with the RFID chips we will be able to give an improved service.
“You know that Croatia’s GDP has been in decline every year since 2008. That has put big pressure on the price without any Chinese presence. However, in addition to the economic climate, the advent of the Chinese tyre has impacted on the market in the past three years. The 385/65 super single is becoming an important size, and, at the moment, we don’t have the best solution. Competition in this sector is higher than in any other. We now see vehicles with Premium tyres on steer axles, Premium or Value on the drive and Chinese tyres on the trailers, and of course trailer tyres are our largest potential market.
“We have tried retreading some Chinese casings, but they are not yet of the right quality, and we need to focus on a premium quality retread,
“Due to the economic situation, the construction industry in Croatia has been under pressure. There are few new building projects, so demand for retreads for construction vehicles is also down. So, a large part of our market is restricted at the moment.” The plant at Gumiimpex is premium quality equipment, well purchased and well maintained. “We moved into this new building in February 2016, so it still looks fresh, but all of the equipment that we purchased in 1999 is still fully operational, and of course we have added new equipment as the company has grown. We added shearography when we were involved with Bridgestone, and that is a key element of our quality production today, and we added a second autoclave in 2006.
Improving of technological process was rounded off by the acquisition of an automatic building machine, extruder for applying cushion gum, the new CNC machine buffing and a new faster shearography machine.
“We keep a strong maintenance schedule, and with our in-house machine shops and engineers we can carry out repairs as they are needed without having to await the delivery of parts from the manufacturers, who may have themselves, to order parts. Mechanically, we are self- sufficient. It is the electronics that can be the issue if there is a problem, but generally the suppliers are very good at servicing our needs when it comes to electronic components and digital equipment. “To cover for breakdown, we have duplicate machinery, or an alternative solution that keeps us in production. Since 1999 we have not stopped production for a single day. We have always got a solution.”
when he left the army, the business started out as a small local trucking operation in Gradici, a village outside Zagreb, in fact, not far from Zagreb Pleso Airport. Guma Protekt has grown organically since it started retreading in an old truck garage on the same site that it occupies today. Now run by Žarko Sinkovski and his brother, this is an old school retread operation. Tyres come in, they get checked, they get rejected or repaired, buffed and retreaded. This is a no nonsense retreading operation that follows the essential principles and gets it right.
Sinkovski has a policy of buying equipment when
it becomes
available and
whilst the original car tyre presses are still in use today, he has added numerous presses to his operation, picked up from factories pulling out of the business or restructuring. So,
presses that can be used as replacements or for spare parts. The main production presses came from a business in Italy that closed down. This purchasing policy extends to most of the plant. TRM Eagle buffers were bought, nearly new, from BS Colway when the Brazilian firm withdrew from the market due to competition from Chinese tyres and the shortage of suitable casings due to the import ban in Brazil.
A Marangoni tyre builder is perhaps the most modern and perhaps the most expensive piece of equipment in the factory, and it gets put to good use.
28 Retreading Business