Page 74 - RB-98-2021-3

KAZAKHSTAN/RUSSIA
New Kazakhstan Tyre Retreader Opts for Hot Method
A new tyre retreading plant has been recently opened in the city of Kokshetau in Kazakhstan, 300 km north of the country's capital Nur-Sultan. The plant is primarily focused on working with tyres for specialised and construction machinery, Erlan Zhanabergenov, the plant director, explained.
A retreader in Kazakhstan usually has no competitors, said Zhanabergenov, explaining the rationale behind launching the facility. He said that he ran a company selling parts for agricultural machinery before turning his sight to the
200,000 to 250,000 km, like top-quality tyres of the European brands, so customers have different requirements. Despite that, Zhanabergenov stressed, his plant uses no Chinese casings. "Another reason why I liked the hot method is because I don't have to overpay for raw materials. I purchase rubber and use moulds. This turns out way cheaper than when you pay for a ready-for-use tyre," he said. With the right approach the hot method is very reliable, Zhanabergenov added, pointing to the fact that in the aviation industry, all tyres are being
The plant retreaded its first tyres in May – June of 2020. "First steps were tough. Our first tyres were not very good – layers got unglued, and for some time we struggled to figure out what was wrong. It was a time of trial and error," Zhanabergenov said, adding that before long, the product quality became stable. "I would not say that I already know everything. We still encounter traps and pitfalls on our way, but that's fine. We have customers who purchased our tyres last year, and in 2021 they returned to us to order more. They also bring their casings," Zhanabergenov said.
Gaining pace
The company is still very young. During the past year, the plant has been working only with customers from Kokshetau – a small city with limited demand. The production performance is standing at four tyres per day. However, things may change in 2021.
"Our plan was to not rush with development. I didn't invest in advertisements and didn't even launch our website," Zhanabergenov claimed. All those things are planned for the foreseeable future.
As of today, the plant's employees are confident in their production. Reclamation levels have significantly reduced and remain sustainably low.
"We give a two-month warranty for our tyres. This is because of the peculiarity of our business - we retread tyres for Chinese trucks," Zhanabergenov said. There is insufficient awareness of potential customers regarding retreaded tyres. According to Zhanabergenov, the product is absolutely new for most clients, and many people fear that these tyres may simply fall apart during operation.
"Besides, there is an old Soviet heritage that spoiled the image of
retreaded tyres. In our city, there was a plant, and local citizens perfectly remember how bad its tyres were. At that time, the picture was similar all over the country, so this is not only our problem," Zhanabergenov said. The Soviet-style retreaded tyres have even got an unofficial name – galoshes – after dickersons or gumshoes. In the Soviet Union, these shoes were of rather poor quality. They were losing parts and needed constant repair, hence the association with low- quality retreads.
Nonetheless, Zhanabergenov believes that the retreading industry has a bright future, especially against the background of rising prices for new tyres. “Retreads are 30% cheaper compared to new tyres,” he said. "This is an attractive alternative. We hope that more people will try it.
Now, the retreading plant harbours plans to transfer to Nur-Sultan. This is the capital and the main industrial centre, with quite a few potential customers. "We purchase casings from Astana, so it would be a logical step for us. Besides, these cities' populations are significantly bigger than in our town, and they are located much closer to other industrial territories like Pavlodar and Karaganda," he added.
There are no retreaders in Astana, which opens vast opportunities for expansion in this direction. By comparison, another major city Alma-Ata houses four retreaders, including some major companies.
However, no other retreaders in Kazakhstan use the hot method. This is especially important when dealing with 1200R20 tyres.
"For some reason, the cold method is not good for this size. The reclamation level is very high. I could only assume that our trucks have an overload problem, which is frequently being neglected. In this situation,
retreading business in 2020.
"I got this internal fire to not just re-sell things, but to produce something of my own," Zhanabergenov said, adding that he came across some information about retreading accidentally when surfing on the Internet. He spent some time searching for some additional information about retreading and its advantages and decided to take a route less traveled by others.
"I decided to go with the hot method. We retread only one size – 1200R20. It is not popular in Russia, but very widespread in Kazakhstan," Zhanabergenov said. "This is because almost the entire fleet of trucks transporting building materials in Kazakhstan is of Chinese origin, and it is almost always running on tubed tyres in size 1200R20," he added.
Working with this size offers certain advantages. Quarry tyres obviously do not need to serve
retreaded only using the hot method.
As Kazakhstan's retreading market is still in the embryo stage, when searching for equipment for the plant, Zhanabergenov faced the option of purchasing equipment in either China or Russia. "I opted for the latter,” he explained. “I met a Russian entrepreneur Alexander Isaev, who helped me with this task. I found him on the Internet. He retreads tyres in St. Petersburg and is also engaged in supplying equipment".
Since the beginning, Zhanabergenov said, he had realistic expectations regarding what revenue he would generate in tyre retreading. "At the start, I was told that it would take at least two years for the plant to achieve a break-even point. People need to try the tyres first, so that word-of-mouth would start promoting our tyres," he said.
74 Retreading Business