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SOUTH AFRICA
“Anyone doing business in Africa will tell you that it is not easy, there will always be challenges, it is how you approach them that defines how we get through the obstacles.” “Our hearts lie here, and we believe in the products we offer,” he told Retreading Business.
Although TRS supplies customers across the tyre distribution sector, one of the company’s key strengths is its large customer base of more than 56 retreading factories, including all the major players like Bandag SA and Bridgestone Commercial, as well as Recamic factories and many
independent retreaders. The company’s product range includes tyre repair patches (passenger to Ultra Large), rasps, buffing blades, extruder guns, abrasives, preparation tools, curing envelopes, OTR repair rope and vulcanising cement, as well as spare parts for machinery.
With specific reference to
Vipal, Goosen says the Brazilian brand is well recognised and accepted in Africa due to its consistency and quality. “It’s a premium product that also offers value for money, you cannot beat it. We will increase the profile of the brand by educating the users of the product, which in return improves the overall quality of the product and the service offered.”
Beside its large supply chain and acceptability, TRS hopes to retain its long-term relationship with Vipal and is also making efforts to expand its footprint by expanding further into the African continent and by developing its product range
further with the introduction of new products.
It’s a future development Goosen believes will go a long way. Although Goosen says TRS does not have any plans to sell Vipal tread rubber due existing partnerships, he is positive about prospects for the company’s machinery range “As our partnership grows, we will most definitely add Vipal equipment to our offering as the need to modernise the technologies used in retreading
continues to advance,” he says. Although the retread sector remains highly competitive, TRS’s goal for the next five years remains it aim to maintain its position as the dominant supplier to the retread market, as well as maintaining its reputation as a supplier of high-quality products with value for money.