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nies in the industry to present OTR tire repair classes where visitors can attend and record them,” said Bassitt.
“With regards to the prevalence of Chinese tyre manufactu- rers, due to the size of the Chinese market, they will always be the highest percentage in their presence at the Expo,” she con- tinued. “Today there are more than five hundred tyre manufac- turers in China, each with two or three tyre brands and they all want to sell in LATAM and where there are many possibilities to bring more diversification is in the Tire Retreading Industry and in Recycling and environmental conservation solutions. Today we have a lot of work to do to attract those industries to the Expo.”
During a tour of the show halls, meeting up with old indus- try friends and meeting new ones, we spoke briefly with Alan Shaw, UK & International Sales at Gradeall International Limi- ted who told us the following: “We’ve had people visit us 2-3 times. They have come back. We give them prices and they’ve come back. So, we must go back and work out what the trans- port costs are going to be. But we are convinced that we will at least cover our expenses and it will give us the opportunity to do another exhibition.”
We also had the opportunity to speak with Salvador Pérez, International Sales Manager of Grupo Soledad from Spain, who had an Insa Turbo booth at the Expo. Pérez told me how pleased he was with the Expo, which has allowed them to meet new people, generate new contacts and thus reinvigorate with more strength the arrival of all their products in Latin America after having recently dealt with the COVID-19 pandemic.
CONFERENCE SPEAKERS
If the number of exhibitors from the retreading sector were a bit thin on the ground this year, the organisers did make an effort to attract visitors with side events including a series of conferences, which began on the second day with a presenta- tion by David Stevens, Managing Director of the US organi- sation TRIB, who strongly promoted and defended the need for retreading tyres with a wide range of arguments (econo- mic, safety and environmental benefits). He also focussed on prevailing issues of concern relating to the lack of personnel in retreading plants as well as presenting an overview of the retreading process; industry statistics; economic benefits; and finally, the benefits in terms of carbon footprint reduction and how retreading is ultimately a natural example of the circular economy.
Following Stevens’ presentation, Eduardo Minardi, former Bri- dgestone executive and founder of the consulting firm Minardi Global, presented an extensive presentation full of valuable arguments such as the profile of the new customer, the need to understand the agile and wide range of new technologies in the industry, the new store formats (and companies without phy- sical stores) and so on; in short, a bombardment of data that made you understand how necessary it is, in the tyre industry, to stop and look and analyse everything that happens around your business.
Show Director Gustavo Lima opens the show
ALARNEU MEETING
On the Wednesday afternoon, June 14, a meeting of the Latin American Association of the Tire Retreading Segment (ALAR- NEU) was held during the show to discuss various topics and make important decisions. Attendees included Santiago Avellán (ANRE - Ecuador), David Stevens (TRIB - United States), Esteban
EXHIBITION
REPORT
YOUR ORIGINAL CHOICE FOR TIRE RETREADING AND REPAIR
OTR EXTRUDER - 750 W
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