Interview: Danny van Essche

It is now 13 months since Danny van Essche joined Goodyear Dunlop Europe as Manager Retread Truck Tires, Europe. We visited Danny at his offices in Diegem near Brussels where he professed himself to be impressed by the level of Goodyear's commitment to the retreading sector and the company's efforts to lower overall costs for its fleet customers. We took the opportunity to ask some questions relating to Goodyear's retreading strategy as well as his own view on the market

Retreading Business

Danny, Goodyear Dunlop is clearly investing heavily in the retreading sector in many areas. TreadMax, which is scheduled for launch in the next month or so, is the latest development. Could you explain the strategy behind this new product?

Danny van Essche

Our aim is to set a new standard in retreading for our fleet customers and TreadMax will be our top of the range mould cure product designed to the same standards as the new tyres in the Max Technology range of tyres that we launched in 2006/7. TreadMax retreads will use only Max Technology casings, will use the same rubber compounds as the new tyres and will be produced in-house at our factories in Riom, France and Wolverhampton in the UK.

Retreading Business

What is the difference in positioning between TreadMax and the already established Next Tread brand?

Danny van Essche

Tread Max will be our top level mould cure product, built exclusively on Goodyear Max Technology casings. The Next Tread brand will include the mould cure retreading of all standard Goodyear/Dunlop casings as well as the retreading of competitive casings. Also included under the Next Tread brand will be our precure range, which is marketed to our network of Goodyear Authorised Retreaders (GARs), of which there are 75 in Europe.

Retreading Business

What investment is being made in Goodyear/Dunlop's company owned retread plants?

Danny van Essche

We have made significant investments in the Wolverhampton plant, aimed at improving both capacity and productivity. We now have sufficient capacity there and at our Riom plant in France to meet our requirements. The investment at these plants has also assured that the two plants are standardised in terms of usage, technology, standards etc.

Retreading Business

Are there any plans to further develop the GAR network?

Danny van Essche

The GAR network is widely spread and we think we have enough distribution capacity within Europe to deal with local fleet demands. However, we are always looking to improve our market approach. We will continue to invest in new Next Tread designs for our GARs so they can continue to offer service to their customers. Although the bigger long haul and consolidated fleets are now tending to look more at the more industrialised programme approach offered by our own retread operation, we believe that at a local and regional level our independent retreader network is crucial. Their strength is in the service they offer to clients, offering independent advice and a diversified range of products. We believe this is the direction that pre-cured retreading is developing and a key reason why we take our relationship with our strategic retail partners very seriously.

Retreading Business

What is your view on the growth of imported tread rubber brands into the European market?

Danny van Essche

I believe there will always be a market for budget lines. However, our strategy is to provide a second life for premium products, where savings are made in mileage, fuel savings and durability, not simply in the price of the product.

Retreading Business

How do you view the potential for the retread market in Eastern Europe?

Danny van Essche

It depends on the market. The Central European countries are already highly developed. The perception that fleets have with regards to quality is not different to that in Western European markets, although in these areas traditional national brands may have higher shares. These countries have invested heavily in technology so you can see both very new and very old trucks in the market. Russia though is still very different. There are still a lot of 20" tyres there but if you look at the size of market there is huge potential for growth.

Issue 2009/1