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PANAMA SHOW
Vipal Offers Support to Central American Fleets through Strong Network
new accounts, particularly with intermodal fleets, offering guaranteed regional support.
“We still see that Chinese tyres are low in price,” he adds, “but we also note that fleets are looking for real savings, and as a rule they do understand that retreading is a good
way to achieve this.”
Barros is pictured here (right) on the Vipal stand at the Panama show together with Commercial manager NAFTA Gabriel Fuma (left) and NAFTA Manager Antonio Brito.
Barros is pictured here (right) on the Vipal stand at the Panama show together with Commercial manager NAFTA Gabriel Fuma (left) and NAFTA Manager Antonio Brito.
Anji Rubber Present Retread Products in Panama
Present at the Latin American Tire Expo were Daniel Xu and Grace Lu from Jiangsu based Anji Rubber. Best known for its range of tyres for motorcycles and inner tubes, the company is also
well established as one of China’s leading manufacturers of tyre retreading materials, having established a joint venture in 2009 with Shanghai Tyre & Rubber Co. to produce premium pre-cured treads under the Double Coin name at an RMB 200 million production facility
close to Jiangyin port. The plant has the capacity to produce 50,000 tons of pre-cured treads, cushion gum, extruder gum and envelopes annually.
Daniel Xu and Grace Lu from Anji Rubber
Vipal’s activities in Central America are managed from the company’s regional NAFTA office in Miami, Florida. In the Central American countries, however, the Brazilian manufacturer has built up a strong network of seven retreaders, three in Guatemala and one each in Honduras, El Salvador, Costa Rica and Nicaragua, all acting under the Vipal commercial model as authorised dealers.
The company’s main purpose at the Panama show was to offer support to fleets and the Vipal network of retreaders as well as to search for opportunities to expand into Panama and increase coverage in Nicaragua. Commercial Manager Jean Barros explained the company’s approach; “Our dealers in Central America operate like a real network and have been working with us for a long time. We are working hard to attract