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AUSTRALIA
reason why. Cheap Chinese new tyres, in case you were wondering. Despite this, Artic Cool has managed to win contracts with Brisbane and Rockhampton City Councils using Vipal DV-UM3, whilst additionally providing retreads for garbage trucks. On top of this, the retreader has also recently acquired a new account, which boasts 100 trucks and 200 trailers. David Way added, “we do a significant amount of work for councils, and nowadays we cover the Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast and have a few customers in Townsville and Cairns as well.” Way touched upon the colossal global impact of inexpensive Chinese new tyres and its associated problems. “An issue for us is a lack of knowledge on the balance between price and quality. We have tried to educate the end- user on this subject, but it has been very difficult with so many individuals taking a shot in the dark to see if a Chinese tyre has good results, before simply trying another if it doesn’t work out.” When asked what weapon is best to combat this threat, Way added, “our most effective strategy is to do it at a better price, whilst consistently knocking on doors to foster and maintain great relationships.”
The past decade has seen Arctic Cool collaborate with Vipal, making use of their tread rubber range. How did they come to retread using Vipal, you ask? David Way revealed to us that at one stage they used to manufacture tread rubber themselves, before utilising several different suppliers until at one stage they trialled the Tortuga brand and achieved eye-brow raising results. After searching in vain for the supplier of Tortuga,
David Way by chance came across the brand on Vipal’s stand at a trade fair. The rest is history as the saying goes.
We asked David what was the key to the relationship and the answer was loud and clear. “Quality”. It’s still ringing in our ears. “The treads they provide us are of such good quality. They just don’t wear out. We have always been an operation that has stayed loyal to one supplier and, with a product, which delivers high quality performance and results, it lends itself to fostering a brilliant relationship.”
On the state of current and future investments Arctic Cool revealed that in 2016 they acquired a new shearography machine, as a part of the agreement for the buses with Brisbane City Council. Simultaneously, a quality management system was also implemented to ensure high working standards were abided by at all steps in the production process. No investments are planned imminently, but Way did state that, “future investments are in the pipeline.”
What about the future then? Regarding client acquisition, Arctic Cool are considering tr ying to get more work with garbage trucks, due to the opportunity to retread more frequently compared with buses. “With buses having a tread range of about 90,000 kilometres and garbage trucks anywhere between 8,000 to 13,000 kilometres, the possibility to retread more is clear with this type of client.”
Penrith, Sydney based retreader NBR Tyres has recently managed to win several new contracts and invest in new machinery following on from an unfortunate fire suffered by one of their competitors. James Yates, the Operations Manager at NBR Tyres, was on hand to give us the lowdown on NBR Tyres’s latest activities during a recent visit to the company’s plant. NBR Tyres are owned by Malaysian tread rubber manufacturer Nam Bee Rubber, who also own St. Mary’s Tyre Shop. Nam Bee was originally founded in 1938 as a manufacturer of rubber compounds by the late Tan Kok Cheng. This lead to them eventually expanding downstream into commercial tyre retreading and repairs in the 90s. Nowadays, Nam Bee exports to 30-40 countries. During the 90s, Yates’s father
South Wales and also send tyres to Perth through the tyres4u programme. The retreader also sells into Townsville and has a number of clients for tread liners and cushion gum in Melbourne. The retreader employs fourteen people, including three drivers. They are open thirteen hours a day from 5 am until 6 pm, operating a split-shift.
Yates added, “We have a good team that has been here for six or seven years. The long- standing nature of the team means they are well-trained and have, over time, developed the capability of changing roles with ease.”
NBR Tyres work off a casing exchange system that sees them use 60 per cent COC casings and 40 per cent stock casings, with truck drivers going out to collect them. Yates expanded, “In general we take any casing. If we have too many, some are sent
NBR Tyres Benefits from Contract Wins
The Arctic Cool team
James Yates, the Operations Manager pictured alongside an NBR Tyres branded truck
38 Retreading Business
worked in St. Mary’s Tyre Service as a rubber salesman. However, when the company suffered a fire, it led to the establishment of NBR Tyres as a retreader with full ownership of the Nam Bee Rubber Group. As such, the retreader has been based at its current location in Penrith since its inception in 2004.
At present, NBR Tyres only sell retreads, meaning they are effectively a wholesaler of retreads, whilst also doing OTR repairs and acting as a distribution centre for Nam Bee’s repair materials.
NBR Tyres cover all of New
to Malaysia, as they struggle to get good casings. As for scrap, we use Tyrecycle and charge the customer on the cost of the scrap.”
Recently, NBR Tyres has taken on Bus Ways and NTA contracts for NTR through the tyres4u programme. These contracts mean that NBR now produce around 100 retreads a day, as they look to target 25,000 annually. Yates comments, “Without the tyres4u contract we would be at around 60 retreads per day. However, with the upturn in production, we have been able to take on four