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RUSSIA
Emerging with Nokian Tyres
right of possession for the territory where the retreading plant was located. The facility stands nearby the vehicle assembly plant of MAN, and there were discussions about the truck manufacturer acquiring the plant in order to expand its production. So, the former owner of the plant had a dilemma, either to move the plant to some other location, which would be rather expensive, or to put it up for sale,” Sokolov recalled.
So, Maxishina LLC took a chance, negotiated on a good price, contracted a bank loan and eventually acquired the retreading plant. The problems with territory pushed the former owner to sell the plant at a better price than he was seeking originally, when the first negotiations on the deal were taking place. However, after the deal was completed MAN gave up on its plans
to buy additional territory, and so the retreading plant had no reason to change its location.
Production Growth
Maxishina LLC retreads from 200 to 600 tyres per month, depending on the season, according to Stanislav Solomikin, the co-owner of the company. The company is primarily focused on working with R22.5 tyres, of which up to 90 per cent are highway truck tyres of 315/70 and 385/65, he added.
“Since we acquired the plant, the average production volume has doubled. We hired new people, purchased some new equipment, though no drastic changes of the production process have been made,” Sokolov said.
From the early days, the retreading plant has been using raw materials
It is commonly believed that St. Petersburg is the nominal capital of the retreading industry in Russia.
established in 2011. But those plans were not destined to come true at that time, because we had not
Maxishina’s plant between shifts
There are ten retreading plants officially operating in this region, two times more than in the Moscow Oblast, whilst in most of the country’s provinces it is very rare when more than one retreading plant can be found.
Maxishina LLC is one of the leaders in the premium retreading segment in St. Petersburg. The company has been running the retreading plant located within the city limits since 2013, although originally this facility was established a way earlier.
“This plant has been operating since 1998. My partner, Stanislav and me, we were planning to buy that plant even before Maxishina LLC was
enough our own funds, and the Russian banks refrain from lending money to any projects associated with any physical production,” explained Alexey Sokolov, the co- founder of the Maxishina LLC.
So, it was decided to use the funds that were available, to open a tyre fitting centre, and to start doing business with the existing retreading plant. Maxishina LLC was collecting good casings from its clients in St. Petersburg and re-selling it to the plant at higher price. Eventually the company’s tyre fitting centre became the biggest supplier of casings to the plant.
“Then, there began a mess with the