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NEWS EXTRA
Marangoni Renew Management Team
The Marangoni Group has announced a redefinition of its management structure with a series of new appointments, effective February, aimed at furthering the generational change that is currently taking place within the Group and ensuring the company is well positioned to face the new global market challenges of the tyre industry.
Christoph Frost, previously Co- Managing Director for S&M of Marangoni Retreading Systems Deutschland GmbH, is now Sales and Marketing Director Retreading Systems EMEA (Europe, Middle East, North Africa), reporting directly to Giuseppe Ferrari, Head of the Indirect Retreading Business Unit, who has held this position ad interim until now.
Meanwhile, Matteo Berti will be responsible for the Sales and Marketing management of the
Business Unit now redefined as Direct Retreading (TBR and OTR) and Services, previously Retreaded Tyres, reporting directly to the Managing Director of the Group, Dino Maggioni. Berti joined the Group in 2014 as head of the Commercial & Industrial tyres division of Pneusmarket S.p.A. He replaces Brenno Benaglia, who will be retiring from the company in April. Matteo Berti will be directly in charge of two commercial positions: OTR Sales EMEA, assigned to Luca Mai, and Direct Retreading Sales and Network Italy, assigned to Francesco Capurso. Giovanni De Bei, who has been Marketing Manager for the Retreading and Industrial Units since 2009, has taken on the role of Sales and Marketing Director of TRM (Tyre Retreading Machinery), reporting directly to the TRM Managing Director, in coordination
with the Sales and Marketing of Marangoni Meccanica. De Bei, who will retain the position of Marketing Manager for the Retreading sector ad interim, will replace Michele Sanseviero, who left Marangoni at the end of February.
Also on the move is Giampaolo Brioschi, who has been appointed the new Group R&D Director. Brioschi, who will retain the position of Corporate Product Manager ad interim, replaces Stefano Gaiazzi, who left Marangoni last December.
From 1 February, Giuseppe Magistrale, in addition to his position as R&D Manager for Precured Products, has been operating as Global Project Manager Six Sigma and will be involved in the implementation of the Six Sigma approach in all Marangoni processes, starting from Product Development. Magistrale
will report directly to a Steering Committee, headed by the General Manager and Managing Director of the Group.
Finally, on 12 February 2017, Alessandro Villa was appointed Manufacturing Systems Manager and, in this role, he will report directly to the General Manager and Managing Director. His duties will include supervising industrial investments, approving Manufacturing investment projects, optimising production allocations for the Retreading Systems BU, and ensuring coordination of the industrial team with the aim to achieve continuous improvement and functional coordination of maintenance activities in the Group’s plants. Villa will also be part of the Six Sigma Steering Committee.
Bandvulc Integration Plan on Target, says Continental
Following its acquisition of Bandvulc last July, Continental has reported that the integration of what was the UK’s largest independent retreader into the Continental Group is proceeding according to plan. Speaking at a press conference in Central London, Continental’s UK Managing Director David Smith spoke of a “great opportunity” that was “a game changer in the UK.” Describing the two-year negotiation that resulted in the acquisition, Smith emphasised the “great cultural fit” between the two companies. “It was like talking to ourselves,” he added.
Since the acquisition, Continental has put a comprehensive integration plan into place, which is being
managed by Arthur Gregg, who is moving to Devon to oversee the project. Gregg, meanwhile, has been replaced as Sales and Marketing Director, Truck by Mat Wilkinson, who has joined the company from Bridgestone EMEA.
Currently Continental is drawing its retread requirements from both Bandvulc and Continental’s new retread plant at Stoecken in Germany, although according to Gregg, the medium term plan is that the majority of tyres required for the UK market will be made at Bandvulc’s Ivybridge plant. With this in mind, product alignment has already started at Ivybridge, with Bandvulc having already moved over to new Continental patterns as well
as having added several new sizes. Investments in plant and equipment also include the additional of a new robot, which will help optimise production efficiency in Ivybridge. According to Gregg, both Continental
and Bandvulc branded retreads will continue to be manufactured in Ivybridge with Contire using Continental brand casings only, and Bandvulc using Continental as well as other brands. Continental has acknowledged the significant casing management synergies between the two companies, with the result that in October last year casing collection for Continental was moved to Bandvulc, who are able to handle 2,500 casings per day.
In addition to the retread plant Continental see a number of opportunities provided by the acquisition, particularly with the integration of Bandvulc’s fleet business. Gregg confirmed that the company saw substantial opportunities in aligning and integrating the Conti 360 and BV Plus+ fleet networks, particularly as both networks use the same service providers. The two networks, argued Gregg, are complementary, with Bandvulc being particularly strong in the waste management sector, as well as in logistics, especially with supermarkets, where the company controls 70% of the UK market. The Conti 360 network, on the other hand has particular strengths in refrigeration, fuel and other sectors. Meanwhile, Continental has now been confirmed as the preferred premium brand being offered by
Arthur Gregg
Bandvulc to fleet customers. Bandvulc has also been appointed the exclusive distributor for the Uniroyal mid-range line in the UK and Northern Ireland with effect from the start of 2017, and is also now able to offer a full range of Continental van products. Continental says it also sees opportunities in other areas, particularly in shared warehousing, the use of Continental bladders in the retread plant, and the potential for offering other Continental Group automotive aftermarket products to Bandvulc fleet customers.
62 Retreading Business