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NEWS
the retreader wanted to order the kit then and there.
Just to be sure Harvey sent Larry to a second retreader, where the response was identical. “Once this equipment has completed proof of concept and has been fully automated,” says Brodsky, “this
could be a real competitor for shearography.
The current equipment is hand held but can be upscaled to become machine mounted, perhaps on existing NDT equipment.
This being the case, the ATDD tool will take up far less floor space than
a shearography machine, it will save time, and according to Tichauer, is not affected by vibration or external sounds in the same way as shearography or ultrasonics.
Add the potential to use this in the field this kit could identify “at risk” tyres in use. When one considers
the down time when a truck has a tyre delamination (new or retread) then a depot equipped with this kit for use during regular tyre inspection could save on downtime by detecting damaged tyres before the truck hits the road.
Continental Announces Plans for Mould Cure Retreading Plant
Continental has announced that it is to take its mould cure retreading operations in-house and is to invest a new truck tyre retreading facility in Western Europe. According to Christian Sass, Director Retread Business at Continental, the new plant, whose location has yet to be announced, is scheduled to be operational within eighteen months.
The new facility will be primarily for the production of ContiRe mould cure retreads and will gradually replace tyres produced by Continental’s off- take partners, the
collaboration with which will be gradually phased out. “Setting up a production facility for ContiRe products will further strengthen the position of our ContiLifeCycle concept and make use of our expertise in premium tyre development, quality management and production,” commented Sass.
According to Sass, Continental’s decision to move retreading in-house was not foreseen from the beginning but is now viewed as a logical step. “We see the demand for hot retreaded tyres growing”, he says, “ People are looking for a premium, stable retread from industry”.
However, the emphasis on ContiRe does not mean Continental will be ignoring the pre-cure sector. ContRe is viewed primarily as a part of Continental’s total tyre solution for fleets but Sass recognises that different consumers have different requirements. As such, the company wishes to maintain an offering in both mould cure and pre-cure sectors. According to Sass, Continental will be looking to develop selected partners for Contitread in various markets. In addition, Sass confirmed that the company’s new facility will also include a
small pre-cure plant, which will operate as a test facility in order to develop and maintain Continental’s core competence in pre-cure. Sass took pains to emphasise that the company is not planning
to install a
tread line of
its own.
According to
Sass the new
production
facility will be
more than a
pure
retreading
plant. The
aim, he says,
is to bring
lowest
possible cpk
to customers
but it will also
aim to meet
increased
demand for
green
solutions – a
response to a
feeling that the second life of the tyre should not be seen by the user as a dirty or cheap solution and that the industry needs to rise to a premium level.
Quality means doing it right
when no one is looking. Henry Ford
www.bj-rocket.com