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tyres every three months. Imagine how much it
costs the companies to change tyres,” adding that
retreaded tyres are 30 per cent to 50 per cent
cheaper than new tyres.
The timing of his comments was interesting,
given that they were pitched to a world in massive
financial turmoil; a state of affairs that some
would argue exists just as much in the second half
of 2009. When tyre costs comprise 15 per cent of a
truck company’s total operating expenditure in
addition to the period of extended ecological
awareness, no doubt from the company’s point of
view, it makes sense to be promoting a cheaper
retread’s benefits right now, and doing it vocally.
“Through retreading, the life of original tyres can
be prolonged up to four times longer. The quantity
of disposed tyres may be reduced by as much as
75 per cent if retreading is employed,” he claimed.
Opportunities and business strategies
Goodway’s view of the current worldwide economic
predicament could be described as more optimistic
than many, since it is viewing the worldwide
problems as a significant opportunity to push retreading
forward against the option of new tyres. Goodway
bel-ieves that as demand for new tyres contracts, there will be an
inverse reaction in the market for retreads. According to the
company, retreads will attract additional business as a cost-cutting
measure for customers who would previously have bought new tyres.
Thus, Supercool’s tagline comes into play again, with company
sources insisting, “we will continue to focus on enhancing our
market positioning by focusing on branding, supported by in-depth
knowledge of customers to provide products and services to fulfil
their needs. Furthermore, we will intensify our value-added services
through activities such as technical support, end-user visits,
tyre management programmes and community campaigns.”
Of course, Goodway is not claiming that it is entirely resistant
to the forces of the general worldwide financial predicament: “With
the worldwide economic slowdown, Goodway has implemented
strategies to cope with the financial turmoil.” It has worked to
“streamline the group’s operations through revenue and expenditure
management, cashflow management as well as improving
sales and marketing efficiency and competency.” These measures
are symbolic of the importance to an ambitious company of withstanding
the tough times, though Goodway also emphasises its
“commitment to our customers” as a driving force.
Whereas the expansion of production capacity has taken precedence
in the past, Goodway says it will refocus on offering customers’
“competitive pricing, advertising and promotion support”
alongside increasing its distribution network. In this way, the company
believes it is well positioned to tap into the opportunity for
growth in countries where retreading is relatively untapped; Goodway
cited specifically Indonesia and China: “We predict the market
to develop as they become more receptive to the cost-savings re-
24
Bigwheel OTR (BWOTR) is laying claim
to being the world’s first retreader to
successfully pre-cure retread 40.00 R57sized
OTR tyres
Bigwheel OTR hat erst kürzlich die
erste Kaltrunderneuerung eines 57 Zoll
großen EM-Reifens (40.00 R57) voller
Stolz gemeldet
Authorised Retailer“. Dabei müssen die Goodway-Runderneuerungspartner
bestimmte Voraussetzungen erfüllen, etwa in Bezug auf die
Ausbildung der Mitarbeiter, die Produktionsprozesse und -abläufe, die
genutzten Anlagen, Maschinen und Technologien und zu guter Letzt
die sogenannten SAR-Reports selbst („Safety Analysis Report“). Auf
diese Weise verbreitet Goodway die sicherheitsbezogene Definition
der Marke Supercool im Markt.
Zusätzlich zu den Bemühungen, der Marke Supercool ein verändertes
Image zu geben und an den Produkteigenschaften zu arbeiten,
geht Goodway auch ganz allgemein in die Offensive und versucht das
Ansehen von runderneuerten Reifen auf seinen Märkten zu verbessern.
Gegenüber der Zeitung The Star erklärte Tai Boon Wee Anfang
2009, dass die Produkte des Unternehmens – mit moderner Technologie
und modernen Prozessen – „mit jedem Neureifen“ verglichen
werden können. Hinzu komme die Kostenersparnis durch die Verwendung
von runderneuerten Reifen, die im Schnitt nur 30 bis 50 Prozent
von vergleichbaren Neureifen kosteten.
Der Zeitpunkt seiner Wortmeldung scheint dabei interessant, befand
sich die Weltwirtschaft doch Anfang des Jahres auf dem Weg in
ihre größte Finanz- und Wirtschaftskrise seit dem Zweiten Weltkrieg;
eine Krise, von der beinahe alle behaupten, dass sie auch in der zweiten
Jahreshälfte fortdauern werde. Wenn die Reifenkosten rund 15
Prozent der Betriebskosten eines Fuhrparks ausmachen und auch das
ökologische Bewusstsein der Menschen zunimmt, müsse man die
Vorteile einer guten Runderneuerung nur immer weiter anpreisen, so
Tai Boon Wee weiter. „Durch die Runderneuerung kann die Lebensdauer
eines Reifens um den Faktor vier verlängert werden. Außerdem