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AUSTRALIA
perfectly as at this moment we have business in that region that we are not able to service. This expansion should help us increase our passenger business. We are not out there looking for it and pushing it excessively. We will increase this through our retail division”. Additionally, Tyre Lug is aiming to expand its service division for company breakdowns. This investment should allow operations to become more streamlined, making things fast and quicker, whilst simultaneously complementing other parts of the business.
Further expansion will be made in scrap tyre activities. In the past, Tyre Lug used to scrap their own tyres. Nevertheless, they started picking up more and more tyres that couldn’t be retreaded. This has meant that their sales of scrap tyres have increased by 60 per cent. “We work with Tyrecycle and service accounts on their behalf, allowing us to make money for waste,” continued Stevens.
As we turned to cost-saving investments, the effort Tyre Lug had put in to become more energy efficient and reduce its carbon footprint became more obvious. Tyre Lug has in recent times invested in high bay lighting which has similar characteristics to LED, solar panels
on the roof and a water tank to collect water.
Danskin commented; “these investments delivered a big return on investment, but what’s exciting is that we are still in the baby stages of this process. Our overall objective is to become energy neutral.”
As if all of this wasn’t enough, Tyre Lug has also overhauled its pricing structure with a view to incorporating a second-tier retread into the product range.
Looking further ahead, Tyre Lug’s main focus of activity will be on expansion, reducing costs and increasing their profile through retail operations. This will be done through a more coordinated marketing approach.
Danskin explained the strategy for the company’s marketing approach, “we have envisaged that we will start attending field days, agricultural days, bus shows and earthmover shows with an earthmover service provider.”
This approach aims to give Tyre Lug the value-added service capability in areas such as regrooving, repairing and retreading. This, says the company, goes hand in hand with an increased profile across all of the industries that they work in.
Bandag Sees Positive Future for Retreading in Australia
The Bandag brand has always been one of the leading players in the Australian retreading market, and no analysis on trends in that part of the world would be complete without an update on their activities. Fortunately, during Retreading Business’s time in Australia we were able get in touch with Andrew Moffatt, the Managing Director for Bridgestone Australia and New
Zealand, who gave us a step-by-step breakdown on Bandag activities in Australasia.
At this point in time, Bandag has a network of 32 franchised and licensed dealers around Australia, with four in New Zealand, two in Fiji and one in Papua New Guinea. Of the plants in the Australia and New Zealand network, there are nine Bridgestone owned facilities. A
Andrew Moffatt, the Managing Director for Bridgestone Australia and New Zealand
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