Page 28 - RB-93-20-2

CHILE
Recauflex Looks to Promote Quality and Professionalism
Multiple sectors of the Chilean economy have been hit by the economic unrest and civilian protests that took place towards the end of last year, and the retreading industry is no exception. However, for Vipal dealer Recauchajes Recauflex, which is based in the Recoleta area of Santiago, the outlook is not all doom and gloom.
operators that supplies services to the Transantiago bus network. Initially, the company supplied exclusively to STP, but after a year of operation expanded operations to cover the open market. The company now supplies three of the seven bus companies supplying the Transantiago system in addition to a number of local hauliers.
says. “There are 8,000 buses in Santiago, and 7,000 of these are on retreads. Despite this fact, the general public is not aware
make a contribution towards creating a new phase in the fortunes of the retreading sector. At the moment it’s hard, and we
Antonio Collao
of it.
“Before the recent economic unrest, the government was focusing only on ecology,” he continues. “Now, however it’s all about economy. We will continue to focus on both economy and ecology and try to
are concentrating on survival and bringing our production back up to around 5000 tyres a year, which is the level we were at in 2016. However, as a family company we believe we have an advantage.”
According to the company’s General Manager, Antonio Collao, Recauflex has had two key cards up its sleeve, which will stand it in good stead for the future. “The first of these,” he says, “was the decision to become a Vipal dealer. Vipal have been an excellent partner for us and they have helped us raise our level through the Vipal network. The second was the move we made to certify to the Chilean Retreading Standard. In January we were one of only four plants in Chile to be certified to the Standard. This is important, because one of the key challenges for the retreading industry is to create confidence by showing we’re at the same level as new tyres.”
Formed in 2007, Recauflex is a small retreader, which produced around 4,000 retreads last year. The company started out thanks to a family connection with STP Santiago, one of the bus
70-80% of Recauflex’s production consists of bus tyres, the remainder being truck.
Recauflex became a Vipal dealer in 2012, and Antonio Collao explains the approach to the market taken by the company since joining the network; “Previous to this time, our plant was pitched at a relatively low level, and we used to buy tread on a multi-brand basis. However, since we became a Vipal dealer, the business has changed, and we’ve moved it upmarket. In recent years the pressure exerted on the market by Chinese tyres has pushed the level down in Chile, but for us the key thing is improving the quality and professionalism of retreading.
Collao believes that the government should incentivise marketing for the retreading sector. “Marketing is what is missing from the equation,” he
28 Retreading Business