Page 60 - Retrading Business N103 2022-4
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strong demand, high prices, and compliant clients, according to Aleksandrs Cerkovnuks, managing director of the Riga, Latvia-based retreading company Baltread.
Things have started to pick up in the Latvian retreading market following the introduction of the anti-dumping duties on Chinese tyres. However, the real game-changer was the Covid-19 pan- demic, which spurred the logistics costs worldwide, and sent the price for new tyres in Europe, including those imported from Asia, soaring.
“We managed to push through the Covid-19 pandemic without any losses. We were allowed to continue operation, and our work was not stopped for a single day,” Cerkovnuks said, adding that, though some workers occasionally tested positive, this had not impacted operations. “ Covid-19 also had no impact in terms of sales, as the transport industry kept running as usual.”
In 2021, Baltread’s production performance stood at around 7,000 - vious years, and now the company runs at almost 100% capacity.
emerged on the market. The demand is massive. Last year, we al- located investments into additional equipment, purchased a land install our second line,” he added.
With the launching of the new production line, Baltread is targeting a two-fold rise in output to 48 tyres per day.
The new line, among other things, includes a modern electronic 18 tyres. Cerkovnuks said the company plans to use shearography -
costs has shaped up the tyre market, even though recently the tar- past retreaders had to compete with new Chinese tyres, and fol-
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