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GLOBAL RETREADING CONF.
above 1,000 tyres per month,” Varughese said.
It is also quite interesting that it is difficult to estimate the actual number of retreaders in India, and in this regard, it is also hard to assess what impact the Chinese tyres have brought. The official estimates show that there are around 10,000 retreaders operating in the country. However, some analysts believe that the actual number could be above 20,000. “This is because some retreaders operate unofficially, which means that they are not paying any taxes and they are not registered,” Varughese said.
It is believed that between 2014 and 2016 top-20 retreaders in India cut production by nearly 40 per cent. Nevertheless, the industry has never stopped developing with many people engaged in retreading industry have been opening their own retreading shop through these years.
Varughese notes that this is a common practice, when the people have worked for several years at a retreading shop they open their own retreading shop, and then after several years already their workers start their own business in the area of tyre retreading. At the same time, many of those retreaders still work half-legally.
“Some retreaders are making
business only in cash, not paying any taxes. One of the reasons for this situation is that the legislation in India is rather slow. If someone owes you money it could be hard to collect from them. Even if you are a national brand with retreading shops located all over the world, it would be difficult to collect your money in India,” Varughese said.
In addition, one of the main changes of the past few years was that the number of franchises in the industry went down. There were many of them once, but now most retreaders are independent businesses. At the same time, despite the high number of small independent retreaders in the market, the analysts believe that some sort of consolidation might be on the way.
“One of the reasons is that the government has introduced a new tax collecting system, and it would be harder to operate without paying taxes any longer. This could become an advantage for the bigger businesses in the years to come,” Varughese added.
Given this, as well as the increasing radialisation and the improving quality of the roads, which means that more casings would be retreadable on the market, it looks like the retreading industry in India is on the edge of big positive changes.
welcomed: Mario Goldmann from "new member" Zeiss and Steven Buytaert from Apollo Vredestein, succeeding Tony Coetzee.
The confirmation of the minutes of last year's General Assembly in Bologna, as well as the adoption of the last year and this year's financial plan of the Association were designed as a pure formality, and so that the main topics of the agenda were dealt with:
Tim van der Rijken and Michael Schwämmlein - technical advisor to the association - informed the attendees about the current state of the Anti-Dumping/Anti-Subsidy process, as well as on the legal and regulatory issues such as labeling for retreaded tyres; the new proposal of the EU Commission for adaptation / enlargement the EU Tire Labeling Guideline 1222/2009; the supplement of the directives ECE - R 108 and 109 regarding the snowflake / 3PMSF marking or the type testing / marking regulation for agricultural tyres and the possible effects and necessary preparations for the members.
On current market developments, the first effects of the imposition of temporary Anti-Dumping tariffs on Chinese new tyres by the EU Commission and the ongoing commitment of the member associations to secure and reach definitive Anti-Dumping / Anti- Subsidy measures in November were also discussed.
Another focus was the question of the future direction and strategy of the association in the changing economic and political environment.
In the form of a brief brainstorming session, the topics of the future core activities, the membership circle / engagement, the resources and the financing of the association as well as the anticipated external influences were mentioned. The collection of material thus obtained would serve as the basis for further discussion.
The turnaround in the BIPAVER Board was also on the agenda: Patrick Sjölin resigned as President, and his office will now be headed by former Vice-President Jukka Lankolainen, from the Finnish association DRF. As new vice- president Tim Hercock was elected by the English association RMA. All members thanked the previous President for the work done and wished the new Executive Board every success for the upcoming tasks.
Thanks also went to all participants in the BRV who provided the framework organisation and the subsequent lunch buffet, during which this year's members' meeting ended. The next General Assembly is scheduled for AUTOPROMOTEC 2019 in Bologna, for which a warm invitation has already been issued by the Italian Association AIRP to all members.
BIPAVER General Assembly Held During The Tire Cologne
An Endless Range of
Support and Information
This year on May 30, 2018, the general meeting of the European retreading association BIPAVER took place at THE TIRE Cologne, a relocation of venue from Essen due to the end of Reifen Essen in 2016. With topical issues on the agenda, such as the EU Commission's anti- dumping / anti-subsidy proceedings against Chinese truck imports,
various legislative and regulatory issues, and the future orientation of BIPAVER, around 25 representatives of the members attended the meeting.
After the opening of the meeting by Patrick Sjölin, representative of the Swedish Federation DRF and Acting President of BIPAVER, two new member representatives were
from TRIB
Wherever in the world that a leading tyre show is being staged, there is a good chance that the Tire Retread & Repair Information Bureau (TRIB) will be exhibiting, as the long-standing organisation is totally dedicated to providing the industry with the
most up to date
information concerning
the environmental and
economic benefits of tyre retreading and repairs.
Based in North America,
TRIB views all
international tyre shows
as a perfect promotional
platform to support the
tyre retreading industry
and Retreading Business
spoke with David Stevens – TRIB’s Managing Director, who explained “Quite simply, our mission at The Tire Cologne Show is the same as always – to promote and defend
all tyre retread and repair industries on a global basis.
“We also present a very comprehensive website that offers information and special links to a wider range of promotional literature and reports for retreaders
including government retread studies. TRIB also has a range of technical DVD’s that can be used as innovative marketing tools.”
44 Retreading Business