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ROMANIA
We can tell that the Swiss market is the one generating premium brands only, and as some retreaders disappear, more good casings are on the market,” Mireuta discloses, adding that some work over recent years has been performed in order to improve the inspection process both for casings and final production.
The second way is reducing costs, and, according to Mireuta, Radburg has been very careful here, so that in reaching this goal the company will not bring any negative effects to the product’s quality.
“By having a tyre collection system we reduce casing costs; by having traditional rubber suppliers we are able to keep the rubber price below our competitors, and we are also developing our own rubber production unit to get the price even lower,” he says.
In addition, reducing overall costs is possible with negotiations in every aspect of logistics and raw materials management, including cutting transport costs by using the company’s own truck fleet.
“The company has also got better value from recycling, through producing rubber mats out of scrap tyres. We see a bright future in this segment and are working on bold projects like pyrolysis, which is taking recycling to a new level. As a result, we are becoming able to produce our own energy out of
scrap tyres. The future will not catch us unprepared,” Mireuta stresses. “Chinese tyres have affected us, as is the case for all retreaders, but the most important thing is that we have grown stronger from this war, and we can compete in terms of price difference and have better quality. Of course, the Chinese will keep putting pressure on the market,” Mireuta stated, saying also that, according to company’s forecasts, the market has already passed the lowest point on prices and these days are promising retreaders the prospect of future price increases.
“A good idea is also the anti- dumping tax, which the USA has put on Chinese tyres. If this happens in the European Union, as it should be, then the retreading industry will be back in force. This market situation has also brought good things for us, like decreasing the prices for casings, even getting them by swapping against our retreads, rubber and equipment. We take advantages in all these things, and as far as we are concerned we have only one direction to go: upwards,” Mireuta stresses. According to Radburg’s information, after the top production performance of 2,500 passenger car tyres daily, reached back in 2011, the production was decreased amid Chinese invasion, but the company managed to “fight back” over the
past couple of years, so at the moment the retreader is still finding orders exceeding the plant’s actual capacity with numerous exacting clients, including in the markets of Germany, the Netherlands and Finland.
Radburg sells 40 per cent of its retreaded tyres in Romania and 60 per cent abroad, including in Germany, Mexico, the Netherlands, Finland, Austria, Spain, and Bulgaria. 2017 is expected to be marked with important achievements, as the company aims to make the first export supplies of tyres to the USA. According to Radburg’s management this is going to be a “real hit”, but plans for the market will only be drawn after
attending the New Orleans show. The company sees a bright potential for the sale of retreaded tyres in the USA, primarily because of anti- dumping duties, imposed by the country’s government, Mireuta indicates.
“In truck tyres we do more than 200 tyres per day and are planning to reach 300 tyres soon. We continue the expansion of the whole business, selling also used tyres and new tyres all over the world. We are extending the facilities here, building new production and storage warehouses, which now reach more than 100,000 sq m in total,” he added. Radburg’s CEO Catalin Turculet further commented; “We aim to reach 4,000 passenger car,
commercial van, 4x4 and 400 truck tyres per day in the next years and aim to increase our direct collection of used tyres in many western counties like Germany, France and Spain.”
Finally, in recent years Radburg has also acquired several retreading facilities in Romania. According to Mireuta, the company needed to expand and the purchase of these assets was a good opportunity in terms of price and equipment quality. The process for incorporating these new assets into the company’s structure is still underway, and, according to the management, the acquisitions will be an important part of Radburg’s future expansion.