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INTERVIEW
customers and to give to the end-user the best option. We are very confident with our product. We know this from test results and by following our performance in different regions in the world as we are now present in over 90 countries. We can be very sure that our product is a premium product. But, of course, the image of a foreigner takes longer to build, and I think that we are in the right path.
RB
Clearly marketing a brand to fleets in order to create demand is one way of elevating the brand’s position. How does your marketing approach in terms of fleets vary across different markets?
LR
I think that coming to the fleets, when they don’t have the full picture based on the history of its operation, in order to make an assertive
decision when acquiring these items, sadly purchasing decisions are made based on price. So, we always tr y to show the cost benefit for the long haul. This is very hard to do because sometimes fleets are looking to their pockets
and to the opportunities they have in the moment, and they don’t look at the various features that can help them reduce the cost of the tyres. So, for example, we are investing in a tool that can work to collect this information, and which can show the real picture of the cost of the tyre and its performance in operation. We presented Vipal Fleets in the show in Bologna last year with the will to open this way with fleets and to try to build this concept of cost benefit over time using a new tyre and taking advantage of a good casing by going for retreading, which can reduce costs significantly.
partners. With its own unit in the city of Nova Prata, in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, Vipal Machiner y is the result of initiatives made by the Innovation Group, a multidisciplinar y team formed by Vipal in 2015.
The first equipment produced by Vipal Machiner y was
expand our product portfolio to continue meeting the needs of our partner retreaders,” commented Evandro Rossi, Industrial Engineering Manager at Vipal Machiner y.
Companies from different countries around the world are taking advantage of
Vipal Machinery Consolidates Position in the International Market
the VR01 Smart
buffer in Uno and Duo versions (with one and two buffer towers, respectively). This was followed by the VOT Heavy Duty, which was developed for automated rubber application in the process of retreading agricultural and small/medium
OTR tyres and has several features aligned with the
most modern in the international market.
VOC Cargo, on the other hand, focuses
on the application of cushion gum rubber in the retread process for commercial tyres,
comes in three power versions and seeks to optimise the retreaders' demands at a low cost.
“We are always
working to improve the performance of our customer network. We
integrate our machines with customers' ERP systems, streamlining processes, improving controls and business management. The intention is to
the
benefits of the brand's equipment. Today it is possible to find machines produced by Vipal in Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, the United States, Mexico and New Zealand. "The main objective of Vipal Machiner y is to bring cutting edge technology to our partners, wherever they are, offering them resource optimisation, whether in terms of energy, labour or improvements in terms of physical space," added Leandro Rigon, Vipal’s Director of International Business. “Vipal Machiner y employs all the technical and technological capacity in its engineering that Vipal Rubber has added throughout its over 46 years. Thus, we will continue to invest in expanding our equipment and business portfolio in the global market.”
Vipal Machiner y, the division of Vipal Rubber responsible for developing equipment for the tyre retreading has released data on machinery sales achieved since the division’s launch
in 2016. According to the company, since
As the market leader in Latin America and one of the world's leading manufacturers of tyre retreading products, Vipal
sees
inception, Vipal Machiner y sold a total of 56 pieces of equipment to partner retreaders in North America, South America and Oceania.
the diversification into the machiner y segment as a necessar y move and is part the company's vision to focus on the competitiveness of its
22 Retreading Business
of