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GHANA
Kal Tire Looks to Expand its Presence across West Africa
Canadian Kal Tire’s Mining Tire Group is looking to expand its presence in West Africa. Currently located in Ghana, the OTR tyre retreader specialises in the tyre service and supply business, defining itself as being a complete service provider rather than simply a retreader. The Ghana plant focuses on large tyres, and provides services around technical equipment, tyre fitting trucks, and technical tools with highly trained tyre technicians who handle the installation of the products.
The plant also focuses heavily on tyre management services. “We advise on the best tyre solution, we look at the customers’ application and make recommendations on what is best for them,” Darren Flint, Regional Vice President UK, West Africa, and Vice President Tyre Lifetime Services, Kal Tire’s Mining Tire Group, told Retreading Business.
been in Ghana, West Africa. “We first began servicing mines in Ghana around 1998,” said Andrew Kwao, Technical Services Manager Kal Tire’s
much as we could, but it became too much at the peak of the tyre shortage, so the idea came out that it was time to set up a retreading plant in Ghana
because the market is here and the mine sites are here,” he added.
In 2007, the initial construction of the Ghana plant began, and by the close of 2008, the first phase of tyres was rolled out into the market. According to Kwao, although the factory had a capacity for 25 inches to 51 inches, the initial focus at that time was on 33 and 49 inch sizes because that was where the shortage was for the mining companies. The Ghana facility was established under the Europe and West Africa
Division of Kal Tire. Flint says its strength as one of the leading OTR tyre supply and service providers hinges on the partnership approach taken with its customers across the organisation. “We saw where we can add value and grow our business; and we leverage our collective experience across many different regions of the world to benefit our customers.” Kal Tire provides customers with a complete on-site tyre management service, from taking care of the procurement, fitment and
rotation of
tyres, to
carefully
monitoring tyre
performance,
performing
repairs and
running
retreading
programmes to
give premium
tyres another
life and
lowering the
total cost of
ownership for
miners.
Timothy Ackon,
Production
Manager Kal
Tire Retread
Factory, Ghana,
says the
company’s
retreading
activity in Ghana is basically about earthmovers. “We are not doing truck or light vehicle tyres, our tyres are specifically for the mining industry.”
The mining company is certified and granted by the Ghana Minerals Commission, an agency of the Ghanaian government tasked with the primary responsibility of
Andrew Kwao
Mining Tire Group Europe & West Africa. Kwao joined Kal Tire in 2007 when the company was recruiting workers to start
its retread plant in Ghana; he started off as a machine operator and later moved from there to become the first Ghanaian factory manager.
In the beginning, the company sent its tyre casings to its factory in the United Kingdom to have them retreaded and then sent back to Ghana for the customers. However, the process began to be somewhat rigorous when the earthmover tyre shortage was at its peak in the mid-2000s, due to inefficient infrastructure and logistics systems which
posed as a bottleneck in the logistics process, ranging from customs barriers in foreign trade processes, to high taxes and delays in the inspection and release of goods.
Thus, it became difficult for the company to export its casings to the UK and re-import the retreaded tyres back into Ghana for the customers. “It was a big problem having to deal with the logistics and customs requirements of several mine sites that were bringing in their tyres at the same time,” said Kwao.
“It was a tough one, and we tried to manage the situation as
fostering efficient and effective regulation and management of the utilisation of Ghana's mineral resources. “Having met the requirements for our tyre production, I can tell you that we are part of them and the OTR tyres that we manufacture have been accepted. When it comes to regulation, we don’t have a problem at all in Ghana,” Ackon told Retreading Business. Priding itself as the only
Darren Flint
Flint has been in the industry of retreading and repairing tyres for over 28 years and was involved in the installation and set-up of the retread factory currently operating in Ghana. Kal Tire's Mining Tire Group is one of the world's leading off- the-road (OTR) tyre management suppliers and retreader of tyres for large-size earthmovers in six world-class retread facilities located in Ghana, UK, Chile, Mexico and Canada, with skilled teams to provide proactive tyre management, supply expertise and retreading.
For over 23 years, Kal Tire has
12 Retreading Business
Timothy Ackon