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INTERVIEW
they’ll have to meet the same but adapted standards, such as rolling resistance, noise and
wet grip labels, required of new tyres. Since 2016 the option to add retreads within the labelling regulation has been an extended discussion, although at the moment the European Commission has delayed the process. Schwämmlein believes that special testing and verification procedures from the ETRTO, as well as BIPAVER
and the EC Body DG Energy are working in sync to find a treatment specific to retreaders, citing C3 retreads as an area of particular focus, especially the 10-12 most popular sizes, as they account for 90% of the aftermarket. Schwaemmlein also points towards the impact on independent retreaders using their own designs and compounds, who would not be able to switch compounds if they get a cheaper supply or change production parameters, thereby affecting flexibility of production and higher quality maintenance levels. Because of
the complexity of these issues Schwaemmlein felt it was unlikely that legislation would be in place before 2023.
We were intrigued to know whether Schwämmlein felt the upcoming legislation would mean the market becoming more challenging in future, especially for smaller companies. Schwämmlein commented that only suppliers capable of doing all the necessar y measurements and supplying all the necessar y data will be able to survive in the long run unless you have a really large retreader capable of taking on all the testing costs and effort on its own whilst remaining flexble. On the other hand, he welcomed the fact that the legislation would improve the stability of overall quality levels. However, he conceded that smaller businesses may not be capable of fulfilling these new regulatory demands. Schwämmlein also explained the thorny issues of legislation for agricultural and forestry
tyres – a rapidly growing market, mentioning that although retreads are a crucial part of the aftermarket, with the current EU regulation (109), the regulation is geared only to new agricultural and machiner y tyres, making retread tyres in this sector theoretically illegal. Although the EU Commission have been made aware about this issue, which is now being addressed, Schwaemmlein said “in the future, it has to be made sure that these incidents are prevented from happening right from scratch instead of waiting until a regulation has gone into force and you have to run afterwards to find the solution.”
We finally focused on whether he felt BIPAVER had lost some of its influence in resolving technical issues, with only the BRV and Italian AIRP still effective influencers. Schwämmlein offered a measured response, conceding that BIPAVER “at the moment has limited resources as far as
money and personnel is concerned,” explaining that BIPAVER made inroads by having an employee, Michael himself, to help with lobbying. Whilst they have reactivated the technical committee, focused on preparing on the labelling proposal for DG energy, having Christoph Priewasser from Kraiburg representing BIPAVER at the UNECE in Geneva, the absence of a dedicated lobbyist has had a negative impact on effectiveness. That said, the future objective is to consolidate the business, connecting manufacturers and retreaders more closely, and at least the UK will stay aligned to ECE Regulations, which makes that consolidation far easier to manage.