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one or two notable exceptions such as the efforts of TRIB in the USA) and a generally uncoordinated approach by the retreading industr y as to how to promote retreads positively.
In many quarters we have seen a general acceptance of the scenario where the future of retreading comes down to a battle for survival against the budget new tyre sector, a lack of desire to work to promote the many benefits of retreading, as well as a general pessimism and Lack of drive to achieve a marketing-based solution.
And finally, there is one other thing – the impact of low-cost Chinese tyres.
Now, I don’t intend today to analyse the reasons why the challenge posed to retreading by the Chinese new tyre industry has arisen and what the retreading industry should do about it. That was the subject of a previous presentation. Only to recognise the fact that the rise of the Chinese tyre manufacturers is and will remain the single biggest challenge that the retreading industry has had to
face. As I’ve said before, there’s no point complaining about it. It’s up to the retreading
industr y to face up to the problem and come up with the necessar y solutions. Fortunately, as I will show you, many of the suppliers to the sector are doing their bit to help retreaders become more competitive.
To be fair, we’ve seen a number of political actions, which have helped the situation somewhat – the introduction of anti- dumping and anti-subsidy actions in many parts of the world, the introduction of import tariffs, government purchasing programmes, funding programmes and tax relief for retreaders.
We’ve also seen an increase in political lobbying by organisations such as TRIB, BIPAVER and other national associations around the world. Much of this has been helpful, of course, but, in my opinion, everything comes back to the fact that a successful and vibrant retreading industr y can only be assured by focusing on quality and customer service
and by recognizing a number of key facts:
Firstly, new tyre manufacturers are not necessarily the enemy. Retreading is important to them too.
Secondly, retreaders with their own distribution/service outlets and/or direct access to fleet customers are much better equipped to survive.
Next - SME pre-cure retreaders are at a disadvantage and therefore need increased support from tread rubber suppliers – and I will be talking about what some of those companies are doing in a moment.
But also, it is necessar y to recognise that the identification of those who can be persuaded to use retreads is of key importance as only this way can marketing resources be used optimally – and crucially, tr ying to compete on price alone is a dangerous waste of time. Indeed, Optimising costs in the factor y (not just reducing them) is vital to improving the competitiveness and cost- efficiency of the retreading
industr y.
However, it should also be pointed out that the success of the retreading industr y in optimising cost-efficiency and competitiveness also lies in a number of key areas;
• The ability to justify, measure and explain pricing as it relates to retreads and new tyres- and particularly the concept of cost per mile (PPK) • Investment in continually improving the performance of retreads, particularly relating to mileage and fuel consumption
• The promotion of retreading as a premium product and an avoidance of a price war with Chinese new tyres
• The ability to identify and keep potential new fleet customers, the ability to communicate direct with them and service them properly
• The ability to add value added services such as fleet management programmes
• The ability to spot and develop application specific niches where the competition from cheap imports is less severe or where the
ARC CONFERENCE
SAFE HIGH-QUALITY ECO-FRIENDLY COST-SAVING LONG-LASTING
KRAIBURG TREADS
For all trucks. On every road.
KRAIBURG Austria, A-5132 Geretsberg, T+43(0)7748/7241-0 www.kraiburg-austria.com