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INTERVIEW
Interview: Walter van Loon – Tech Europe
The tyre repair sector in an integral part of the retreading industry and a major contributor towards the optimisation of the retreading industry’s role in the Circular Economy. Quality tyre repairs not only help reduce tyre scrap and increase the useful life of tyre assets, they also make up a central part of the retread production process. Despite this, it’s a while since Retreading Business focused on the activities of the main players in this specialist market. With that in mind, we were very pleased to get the opportunity to talk to Walter van Loon, who is VP Sales for Europe, Middle East and Africa for Tech Europe. We talked
slight increase of business, mainly in Quarters 3 and 4. The biggest setback was due to the closure of larger retread shops in Q1 and Q2, but this was recuperated in Q3 and Q4. In a crisis it’s a typical result that demand for repairs increases, mainly due to less investments in new tyres and to larger transport fleets searching for lower value (retread) alternatives. We experienced some setbacks with certain distributors in lockdown countries but most business was recuperated by stock
taking at the end of 2020.
RB
It’s a while now since Salvadori was acquired
by Tech. How successful has the integration of that company been? How has the amalgamation of Salvadori’s range of retreading products with Tech’s world class range of
tyre repair materials helped the position of both brands in the retread market?
WvL
The acquisition of Salvadori came on top of the relocation of the Distribution Centre from Northern Ireland in the UK to Turnhout, Belgium, during the period from the 3rd quarter 2018 to 3rd quarter 2019. The transition of Salvadori stock was completed by Mid-2019, and the Salvadori Sales Team is now fully integrated into the Tech Europe sales strategy for the EMEA region. In the meantime, a new Country Sales Manager has also been appointed to represent Tech and Salvadori in Italy.
The Salvadori EMEA business is now back to normal levels, and we are planning new Sales initiatives for all our Tech/Pang Distributors and Key Accounts. With the addition of the
Salvadori product portfolio to the already extensive Tech product range, we are now even more of a “One-Stop” supply option for our Distributors and Key Accounts.
RB
In terms of tyre repair products what are the company’s latest product developments and what can we expect to see in the future?
WvL
Well, firstly we are now able to supply our “Thermacure” repairs with universal cushion gum, supporting application with normal vulcanising cement as well as without cement (in pre-heated 65°C condition). Rather than developing a completely new “cement-less” product we see it as an opportunity to make our standard product ready for upcoming environmental legislation in the EU,
which will oppose the use of harmful solvents in vulcanizing cements. Some of the major global tyre manufacturers already took the initiative to make their factories completely “Solvent Free”.
Next, all our OTR repairs are now manufactured only with Aramid (Kevlar) reinforcement. Also, we are developing a new Industrial (Conveyor Belt) EMEA Repair catalogue which will be introduced in the 1st Quarter of 2021, and with our partners we are working on Truck
TPMS products. TPMS will become obligatory for new truck designs in July 2022 and for all newly produced Trucks as from July 2023. This will open sales opportunities for OE sensor products and valve accessories.
We also continue to work on RFID products to support “after service” for larger transport fleets and larger Retread Key Accounts, and, last but not least, we are working on E-Commerce solutions for Distributors and End-Users around the EMEA region.
RB
Tech Europe is responsible for Europe, Middle East and Africa. During the year you appointed new distributors in Italy and Moldova. Which other areas/countries are you looking to improve your position in?
Walter van Loon
about topics a wide ranging as Covid-19 to Tech’s acquisition of Salvadori, and from the importance of training to Brexit. The main body of this interview can be viewed on Episode 11 of The Retreadcast, our regular video podcast series. Here, though is a more in-depth and comprehensive version of what was discussed.
Retreading Business
Let’s start with the question I’ve asked everyone for the last 9 months or so. How has the Covid-19 pandemic affected your company, and what measures have you introduced to minimise the impact on your employees and customers?
Walter van Loon
Overall, we calculate the total setback to be a 5 % reduction in terms of revenue, but in some market sectors we saw a
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