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VIETNAM
Vietnam are not trying to change the situation. Ho-Com and Toan Tah are working with the government and bus companies to change the regulations. Watch this space. As expected, like everywhere in the world, cheap Chinese tyres have impacted the local domestic market in Vietnam. With new tyres priced at a similar level to that of retreads,
it makes it very problematic to encourage customers to move to retreads and accept the importance of extending the tyre life cycle.
Mr Yew said, “We are hoping that the price of new Chinese tyres increases and the strength of the casing improves, which would substantially aid the market.”
month), Yew the CEO of Ho- Com Rubber Technology Co. stated, “we will have to get two more machines to help with production.”
Yew explained to us that, on the product front, the company had added two more sizes
to the inner envelope
range in the form of 14 inch and 15 inch sizes. Additionally, a 17.5 inch size was due to come later this year.
Yew outlined the
thinking behind the development of the
new sizes for the
envelopes, “At present
we have seven sizes
for the inner
envelope, but we have
decided to add a new
size with the market
trending to towards
19.5 inches in South
Korea, China and
South Malaysia. We
have also seen this
trend in Brazil.”
Ho-Com additionally
produces curing tubes, wicking pads and outer curing envelopes to offer a wide range of materials for retreaders, with the outer envelopes proving to be the company’s best seller.
Yew adds, “the outer envelopes are doing a good job in China, due to the high amounts of wear on tyres in use in the coal mining industries. The current range that we offer in the outer envelopes is perfect for all truck sizes.”
Yew had some interesting comments regarding future envelope trends; “Most mature markets will change from the ring system to one that incorporates double envelopes. This is simply due to the shorter curing times required by a double envelope system in comparison to the ring system. “The quicker production times are made possible by the inner and outer envelope allowing for curing from the inside and outside, meaning that the curing time is much shorter and therefore resulting in cost- savings.”
When asked about the possibility of an envelope for OTR tyres, Yew clarified, “we are not yet thinking of developing envelopes for the OTR market.” In terms of markets, 95 per cent
of Ho-com’s sales are overseas, with the principal markets being China, Brazil and most of Asia, including Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia. The remaining 5 per cent is accounted for by the Vietnamese market.
Ho-Com Looks Beyond Asia to Solidify Position through International Growth
Mr TH Yew met up with correspondent Richard Wilson to discuss the company’s latest developments
Retreading Business recently met up with TH Yew, the CEO of envelope manufacturer Ho- Com, to discuss the company’s recent developments and
ongoing plans, during which, Yew revealed that Ho-Com was looking to grow through a strategy of sourcing international dealers.
Ho-Com Rubber Technology Co., Ltd. was founded back in 2005 and has been situated at the company’s current 5,000 square metre location in the Nam Tan Uyen Industrial estate in Vietnam since inception. Currently, over 20 people work for the company, with approximately 80 per cent working in the factory in a production
capacity and the remaining 20 per cent in the office. At this stage, Ho-Com has 2 sales representatives, mostly focusing on overseas sales, with the local
market accounting for a small proportion of sales. The production staff work according to a system of two 12- hour shifts per day from 7:30am to 7:30pm, with the second beginning at 7:30pm for another 12 hours. Considering that Ho-Com is working to maximum production capacity (3,000 outer envelope units per month and 2,000 inner envelope units per
Despite Ho-com’s strength in overseas sales, Yew and his team are constantly searching the market for more opportunities. Up until now, the company’s current strategy has been focused on picking up an exclusive dealer in each countr y to manage their operations in that territor y.
How does Ho-Com find those dealers? Normally, the company attends global trade fairs which retreaders will be attending to strike up business relationships. Profitable shows for the firm in the past had been the REIFEN fair and the CITExpo in China. This, according Yew, is the company’s ‘most important marketing tool, as it gives Ho- Com exposure in the market. Yew revealed exclusively that the main market that the company is currently looking at is Argentina. However, since there are a lot of agricultural applications in Argentina, they would need to develop a curing tube for agricultural operations. The main difficulty Ho-Com has in dealing with international customers is the longer shipping times required to realise an order. Yew added, “it normally takes thirty to forty days for us to complete an order to Europe and forty-five to North America.
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