Page 16 - Retrading Business N103 2022-4
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COUNTRY
REPORT - SPAIN
The retreading industry is seemingly bouncing back in Spain, following a decade-long downward trend when numerous factories were driven out of business. Rising demand for ecological solutions in Europe is expected to bolster this trend in the future, said Javier Herrando, head of the Zaragoza-based retreader Herca. The company is a family-run business managed by the second generation of the Herrando family.
The history of our company traces its roots back to the mid- 1950s when our father Antonio Herrando, the founder, started this business from scratch and turned the company into one of the most advanced in terms of technology and product quality,” Herrando said.
The Spanish retreading market shrank considerably between 2008 and 2018, forcing some owners to shut down their factories. However, the past few years have been marked by a reversal of this trend.
At this time, it seems that we are experiencing a slight boom in terms of the sale and acceptance of retreading by the market segments that value and understand the economic and environmental advantages of retreading,” he explained.
IMPACT OF CHINESE TYRES AND LOGISTICS COSTS
Like in most European countries, Spanish retreaders have been affected by cheap Chinese tyre imports. European anti-dumping duties against Chinese tyre suppliers brought some relief, but they are still seen as the main competitors for retreaders in Spain. On the other hand, Herrando said, a sharp rise in logistics costs in the past few months has made retreaders more competitive.
Spanish retreaders have not seen their business suffering from the Covid-19 pandemic. As explained by Herrando, the fallout of the Covid-19 was not particularly noticeable in the sale of truck and industrial tyres in the country since food and parcel transport, as well as public works, withstood the pandemic rather well.
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