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REIFEN ESSEN
MAE/MIG Market Leaders
that country. Other states with growing environmental lobbies may follow suit, particularly in South America.
A new development for the MIG group was a refocus on the solid tyre market. Malatesta had long been retreaders of solid tyres and in line with their policy of development and investment they had refined their solid tyre process to cover most sizes of solid tyres, which are expensive, and difficult to recycle or dispose of. (Italy has a law driving the environmental disposal of solid tyres and retreading of solid tyres has seen an increase since the announcement of the law, as tyres previously disposed of are now being collected and retreaded, or buffed down for wire free mulch).
Having refined the process MIG is now looking to sell the know-how and the technology to partners in export markets. One partner has been identified in Singapore and
there is a growing interest in the concept from many markets where there is currently limited or no retreading of solid tyres.
Smiling, Alessandro said, “There is another new market for us. We are now supplying tubes to the fashion market.”
The growth of sales in faded or pre- worn look denims has created a market opportunity. To those of us who bleached our jeans and dragged them behind our bikes to get that worn look it may seem somewhat odd, but manufacturers have seen a need to commercialise the process and they were using modified tubes to inflate inside denims so that they could then be sprayed, blasted, brushed to get the fashionably used look. MAE now supplies custom made tubes to the fashion industry that provide better service and a longer life than the modified tubes used previously.
Alessandro Malatesta told Retreading Business at Reifen 2012 that the company was close to making some changes that would renew the performance of the product range in terms of moulds and compounds. This was all in the aim of keeping the company’s position as the global market leader in tubes and envelopes for the tyre market. The company was carrying out tests to ensure that they had the best quality product that the market was asking for. Experience had taught MAE that cost was not always the foremost factor in the buying decision, quality and service also rated highly in the decision making process.
“We aim to offer a complete range of all our products. MAE is the only company in the world that supplies a full range for every application for pre-cure or for hot cure. The range covers over 200 different sizes or products. Not only that but we need to be able to cover the different needs of the different markets around the world from the USA to Indonesia.
“95 per cent of our production is exported and we are now taking increasing market share in developing markets such as India. It is important when developing new markets to have the right products and the right network for distribution. For instance, we have been exporting to South America and there are some big competitors in that market but we have taken the time to introduce the product and have worked in the market as we are not offering a low cost option. However, professional operators aware of costs have started to realise that the way to look at the cost of envelopes and bladders is to consider the whole life costs not just the purchase price. The quality of the product is correspondent to the level of
investment in the product and that also applies to the retreaders themselves. We will be following the same policy in India where we have a growing interest in our range.”
Questioned on how MAE intends penetrating the highly competitive Indian market, Alessandro responded, “Those Indian companies that we are dealing with are those seeking to produce quality products and they need a good service to ensure reliable supply. However, the key issue is that the profit centre for these companies is in selling retreads. We are a supplier of components that make manufacturing retreads possible. They do not want to have to be worr ying about the short lifespan of envelopes, or of having to trim to make them fit, or of perforations, or other quality issues. They want minimal problems that allow them to get on with making money from retreading. MAE products offer long user life, reliability and continuity
of supply. So, the professional operators recognise the benefits and that is how we will increase our presence in the Indian and other growing markets.”
New products being offered were a bladder in new sizes and a new range of envelope sizes, these coming from a programme of constant investment and improvements in design and manufacture.
As an aside Alessandro pointed out that there were markets around the world taking a positive view on retreading and that was helping create business opportunities, as an example he quoted the introduction of a law in Ecuador that required tyre importers to ensure that 20 per cent of the products they sold were retreads. That was expected to double the number of retread plants in Ecuador and boost retreading in
Nortenha – Keeping Pace
Nortenha, the Portuguese OTR retreader that has made a name for itself in the export market as a supplier of OTR retreads was again present at Reifen with a small stand, perhaps a little too out of the way from the main halls.
Joaquim Sampaio told retreading Business that the company was holding its own
in a competitive market and that demand for its OTR offer was high.
The company was involved with BIPAVER and as a Kraiburg partner was positive that there would be a long term future for truck retreading across Europe as a solution to tyre homologation issues would be found.
New Off-Road Tyres from Malatesta
Italian retreader Malatesta Pneumatici introduced several new 4x4 tyres during the Reifen 2012 show in Germany. Pictured is the Kamel 4x4, a new 80 per cent off- road pattern.
In addition, the company were also introducing the 33 x 12.50/15 size in the Kaimen pattern as well as introducing new pattern in 33 x 12.50/16.
24 Retreading Business