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LATIN AMERICA EXPO
not easy to do business,” Lima said.
Basically, it is easy for truckers to prefer new tyres to retreaded tyre, and this has definitely put a burden onto the retreading industry in the world, including in Latin America, according to Lima. So far, there are no signs that things are about to improve. “I don’t see any signs of that because the only move towards some improvements would be associated with an increase in prices for Chinese tyres, and that would alleviate the current crisis, but I don’t see any increase in price for Chinese products so far. There are anti-dumping measures introduced by the major economies against Chinese tyres, and this is likely to continue for a while”.
“In addition, it could be turned around if the Chinese economy would start growing at 8% per year, with a corresponding growth in domestic demand, so there would be not as many tyres supplied for the export markets offered at the same low price as today. Right now there is a moment of crisis in the tyre industry of China because of the anti-dumping duties introduced by the United States, in Europe, in Russia, in India as well as in some other countries. So, it is a pivotal moment right now”.
No extinction possible
In spite of that, there is no chance that the retreading industry will one day die and become extinct from the show, according to Lima.
“The ecological movement in the world is very strong, and governments have to get involved and require that manufacturers of new tyres are engaged in retreading, which most of them do. The government can play a big part in this project of evolution by requiring their departments to buy a certain percentage of retreaded tyres. For example, in the United States the federal government ruled that government agencies have to submit a percentage of the tyres they purchase to be retreaded,” Lima said.
In general, Lima believes that the share of the companies engaged in the retreading industry in the Latin Tyre Expo will grow.
“As the economic conditions of retreaders go back to normal, many more companies will come. We see that many companies are cutting their budgets because they are in a rather difficult situation right now. These up and downs are normal in business,” Lima added. 10 years’ of Latin Tyre Expo
so on,” he said.
There are approximately 2030 retreading plants in the region and the “retreadability index”, which means the percentage of retreaded tyres from the number of new tyres, ranges between 0.2 and 1.8 depending on the
countr y, Barros added.
“The 1.8 is seen in Brazil. That means that almost each new tyre in the region would be retreaded twice. The figure of 0.2 is common for Central America. This means that five new tyres have to be purchased so that one tyre can be retreaded in the countr y. It is important to understand that there is a world of difference between one countr y and another in this region,” Barros said.
“That difference is obviously related to the difference in culture, public support and the state of the retreading industr y across the countries of the region. Several different things may be related,” he said.
It is estimated that 26.5 million retreaded tyres are being sold in America on average ever y year. The biggest market is the United States with 54% from the total figure, followed by Brazil with 28%, Mexico with 5%, Canada with 4%, Argentina – 3%, Colombia - 2%, Central America, Peru, Ecuador and Chile – all 1%, and the rest of the countries, less than 1%, Barros estimated. In 2018, Latin America accounted for 11.5 million retreaded tyres. “Mexico and Canada retread 5.2 million tyres per year each. Caribbean countries account for 2.3 million tyres per year.
Ecological burden
“We have reached very high levels of tyre consumption, to a large extent due to the lack of technical standards that define the quality of tyre bodies, but also due to the lack of incentives for the retreading industr y,” Barros said. “The tyres that could be only disposed of do not generate long- term savings for transport companies. They do not favour a sustainable chain and significantly increase the footprint, in particular the number of tyres ending up at the garbage dumps. According to Barros, there is not a complete list of problems caused by the excessive use of cheap tyres. In addition, they negatively impact the retreading industr y since the number of good casings on the market tends to shrink,
plus their use is commonly associated with the increased risk of road accidents, which in common perception cannot be tolerated.
There are certain efforts taken in a number of countries of Latin America aimed at protecting the environment from plastic waste. It would be good if something similar could be applied to the rubber waste as well, he said.
“It is good to see citizens and some governments concerned about the plastic waste generated daily, in particular plastic bags and straws. In Mexico City, for example, the use of straws is already prohibited, and by the year 2020 the use of plastic bags in commerce will be prohibited as well,” Barros said.
“However, I see with a great concern that tyres are products which should receive special treatment, because of their ability to pollute rivers and soil, serve as a breeding ground for
mosquitoes, or simply stack on the dumps waiting for a casual fire, but unfortunately, they do not receive due attention,” Barros added.
If the environmental impact of products that could be only be disposed of is already well-known, it is a big question, why are governments, with rare exceptions, continue to allow the free import of these products into their countries, Barros demanded. According to Barros, it takes only 20% to 25% materials needed to manufacture a new tyre to produce a retreaded one. This means that ever y retreaded bus or truck tyre saves around 57 litres of oil, and every retreaded car tyre saves 17 litres of oil. Barros added that in many countries, including Japan, Brazil and the countries of the European Union, the retreading industr y is considered to be a part of the green industry and in this regard enjoys state aid. “In 2018 alone, the tyre retreading industr y in the Americas has prevented at least 26.5 million tyres from ending their life cycle prematurely. If we can easily measure the benefits of retreading, why is it so difficult to raise the awareness of governments about supporting a green and sustainable industr y? How many more years do we have to wait until we realise the serious damage we are causing to the environment and, consequently, to future generations?,” Barros stressed.
Jean Barros: Retreading in Latin America 19
The retreading industry is still quite strong in Latin America, said Jean Barros, commercial director for Vipal Rubber Corporation in Mexico and Central America. In 2018, 11.5 million tyres were retreaded in
this part of the world, including 5 million car tyres and 530,000 OTR tyres, Barros said.
“There is a demand for all types of retreaded industrial tyres, including those used in the agricultural industr y, forklifts and
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