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RUSSIA
“On the other hand, taking into account only qualified retreaders in Moscow Oblast, there are three other retreading
the bigger tyres. The truth is that there is no economic feasibility in retreading smaller sizes in Russia at the moment.
their own casings, but they do not have enough tyres.
“For example, a customer provided us with ten tyres, and after the incoming inspection, only three were confirmed to be appropriate for retreading. Then, having the approval from the client, we add one casing of the same size and brand from our own stock,” Veidyashkin said.
It is not a rare thing that a significant number of casings are not fit for retreading. The fact is that some truck tyres in operation in Russia are not even matching the requirements of the Russian State Motor Vehicle Inspectorate in terms of the tread depth.
“Some transport companies run their tyres not just until they are bald, but until the metal is showing. Many casings are rejected because of uneven wear, including deformation of the sidewalls and similar issues. So, sometimes we have a situation, when the casing in general looks good, but one
proper condition even if they wantto.AsfarasIam concerned, the roads there are so bad, that even new tyres sometimes cannot withstand the beating. There are deep potholes, corrugations and similar staff that eventually kill the tyre,” Veidyashkin said.
Expanding the Demand
There is a need to expand demand, so the retreading plant can reach its full capacity, but this is not an easy thing to do. “For example, there is absolutely no demand for tyre retreading from the special machiner y operators, including building companies. Those companies that operate loaders, off-the-road trucks and similar machines, work in a way by which they never have casings appropriate for retreading in the end. They do purchase tyres retreaded on
our casing, but only occasionally,” Veidyashkin said. The demand for retreaded tyres
plants, while if we located in a middle-sized city we most likely would not have any competitors at all. In cities like Bryansk or Tambov one retreader serves the needs of the entire regional market, and there is no room for a second player,” Veidyashkin said.
Like all other companies working in this business, Piper ANZ spent some time on determining which equipment and raw materials would fit best for the requirements of its customers, as well as to see what tyres it was worth working with.
“We started operating on Italian equipment, in particular from Matteuzzi. It was second-hand, but it was relatively new. Now our equipment allows us to produce nearly a thousand retreaded tyres per month. The actual production, however, is just several hundred tyres” Veidyashkin said.
Over the years Piper ANZ tried several different treads, including those offered by Russian suppliers, although in the end the raw materials of one Finnish supplier were chosen.
“We figured out that these treads were the best solutions in terms of price-quality ratio,” Veidyashkin stressed.
The plant retreads tyres with sizes between R20 to R22.5. In future, this range could be expanded only at the expense of
“The price for new tyres is getting closer to the price for the retreaded ones. This means that the average margin per retreaded tyre is shrinking, and it turns out that with smaller sizes, we have a smaller profitability. R22.5 is the best possible option now, but more money could be earned from retreading R24 and R26 tyres, though for us this is a matter for the future,” Veidyashkin said.
Wear and Tear
Piper ANZ offers retreading as a service and also sells retreaded tyres to the customers. In the latter case, the company collects casings through tyre fitting centres across the Moscow Oblast, working exclusively with top-quality casings from European tyre manufacturers.
“There are brands we use more often, and some others we tr y to use occasionally. Basically,
we believe not all casings under the European brands are equal. In addition, these days there are not so many of them available in the market,” Veidyashkin said.
The company retreads 80 per cent of its tyres as a service and the rest on its own casings, Veidyashkin estimated. Piper ANZ sells nearly half of its retreaded tyres to the clients, who order the retreading of
side could be worn out to such an extent that it cannot be used”.
As of today, there are only about 30 per cent of transport companies in Russia that operate their tyres in accordance with the prescribed technical standards. Still, it is believed that the number has been growing in recent years. “Plus, the transport companies that operate in the northern Russian provinces have little chance to save the casings in
in Russia is rather limited, because there is a shortage of high-quality casings. This, in turn, could be attributed to the increasing share of Russian and Chinese tyre brands in the domestic market over the past several years.
“There is another peculiar problem that is common for the local retreading market. Thanks to some of our colleagues [other retreading companies] the ver y reputation of the retreading business has been
56 Retreading Business