It’s not often that an event exceeds expectations; however, this is exactly what happened at The Tire Cologne 2024, especially for the plethora of companies present from the retreading sector, including the Retreading Business team.
Retreading Takes Central Stage
Set across three halls at Cologne’s Koelnmesse, renowned international exhibitors met young, up-and-coming brands ranging from budget to premium in the halls. 430 exhibitors from 35 countries presented the entire world of tyres and rims. They met with around 14,400 participants from 109 countries. Around 65 per cent of visitors came from abroad, mostly from Italy, the Netherlands, the UK, and France, but also increasingly from Eastern Europe, such as Poland and Romania. International trade visitors from China, the USA, the United Arab Emirates, and Morocco were also represented.
This year’s show was entirely defined by sustainability and the responsible use of resources. It became clear how much the trade fair struck a chord with the industry at the stands, where nearly all companies recognised the increasing importance of environmental issues. Themes like the conservation of resources or re- and upcycling played a decisive role in many exhibitors’ innovations: proof that the tyre industry can no longer be imagined without the circular economy. Retreading Business hosted talks across all three days of The Circular Economy Forum. With a central position in Hall 7, the 50 companies dedicated to retreading and recycling had considerably greater visibility than usual and were so busy that the Retreading Business team had little time to explore other halls! However, we wanted to talk to the exhibitors and get a feel for how the show was for them.
A Rejuvenated Gathering
The feedback from almost everyone present was overwhelmingly positive. We tried to speak to as many people as possible; some were too busy with their sales endeavours, but on reflection, what a great problem to have! We’ll have video interviews and some Retreadcasts going live in the coming weeks, but it felt worth outlining some experiences from the show, our team and exhibitors alike.
MIG’s Flavia Malatesta summed things up perfectly: “The Tire Cologne 2024 marked a triumphant return for many in the retreading industry, with an atmosphere buzzing with enthusiasm and optimism.” We can echo this sentiment wholeheartedly. Almost without fail, we were surprised by the volume of customers visiting, deals being made, and new relationships being formed across the three days. The face-to-face nature of having so many relevant companies together in such close proximity felt like the flourishing of the retreading sector needed. CIMA’s Daniela Fanti agreed with our analysis: “This year has been livelier than before. Apart from meeting existing customers, we don’t usually have the opportunity to visit each other. We’ve also met new companies, and there has been significant interest in our new products,” she explained.
Most people wanted to come to meet other companies, suppliers, and customers. The first feeling was the excitement of reconnecting with industry peers. Many companies took proactive steps by inviting their customers in advance, resulting in fruitful meetings that facilitated the exchange of market information and product updates. Additionally, they established contact with new customers, broadening their network.
VM Rubber’s Camila Raffelli expressed delight at the turnout and engagement. “It’s much better than we expected. This is our first time here with VM Rubber. I knew the show from 2018, which was our first year, but it wasn’t very busy then,” she recalled. This year, however, the event exceeded expectations, providing ample opportunities to showcase VM Rubber’s brand and products while connecting with customers and industry peers.
Radburg’s Vasile Mireuta reflected on the show’s importance and emphasised its value: “The show in Germany is always a major event for us and everyone with a name in the industry. Despite the pandemic leading to a decline in the importance of physical shows as everything moved online, we are still here. Meeting old friends and industry peers reaffirms our presence in the business,” he noted. The continued participation underscores the resilience and commitment of the industry players.
Matteuzzi’s Claudio Matteuzzi expressed satisfaction with the exhibition’s outcome. “We are quite happy with the exhibition. We’ve met many people, including some we already knew and some new contacts. It was a pleasure meeting them for the first time. This event has allowed us to strengthen and forge new relationships.” The show has proven to be a valuable platform for expanding their network and reinforcing their presence in the industry.
Resilience and Tenacity
MIG’s Flavia Malatesta expressed admiration for the resilience within the retreading community. “The retreading industry is filled with tenacious, hard-working individuals. Despite the challenges, people here find ways to win. It’s heartening to see this positivity and determination,” she concluded.
The Tire Cologne 2024 highlighted the importance of community and innovation in the tyre-retreading industry, providing a platform for reconnecting, networking, and showcasing new products. The resilience and dedication of industry professionals, like those at MIG, continue to drive the sector forward amidst a challenging market landscape.
Promoting Recycling and Retreading
While at the show, we also had the opportunity to sit down with AZuR Network’s Stephan Rau. AZuR is a lynchpin in our industry and is doing things to improve the state of the whole industry through activism and collective action that should be a blueprint for the retreading sector globally.
The AZuR Network’s primary goal is to unite stakeholders across the industry to endorse the benefits of recycling and retreading tyres, “We want to present a united front as an industry and seek governmental support. We need regulations or at least political frameworks to support our goals,” Stephan said. So The Tire Cologne was the perfect touchpoint and led to quite an extraordinary action on their part; they also participated in the Woche der Umwelt (Week of the Environment) in Berlin at the same time, an event organised by the federal president of Germany. “Our aim was to get everyone in the market to sign a resolution supporting sustainable tyre production and recycling.” Which was done at The Tire Cologne. “We then presented our resolution at this prestigious event, which included a discussion on retreading and tyre recycling with various stakeholders, including government officials and academics.” Having so many players in the industry together provided a valuable platform for AZuR to showcase their efforts and advocate for political support.
More to Come
Alongside the people we spoke with for this article, we also captured two Retreadcasts and a series of video interviews at the event. One Retreadcast is online now, with the other video content to follow shortly, including interviews with TRM, B&J Rocket, EIB, Italmatic, Presti, Rover Research and Vipal, so stay tuned for more from The Tire Cologne over the coming weeks.
