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European retreading market.<br />
It can be seen from the domestic Brazilian market that Borrachas<br />
Vipal is not just spouting hot air when it speaks of providing services<br />
together with its retreading and tyre repair materials. In Brazil the<br />
company offers a whole range of different services to retrea<strong>de</strong>rs and<br />
to end consumers such as fleet operators. For example, in Brazil – as<br />
it began in Europe this year – Vipal offers training for retreading technicians.<br />
Since 1987 more than 3,000 experts have atten<strong>de</strong>d the practical<br />
and theoretical courses offered by the “Vicencio Paludo Technical<br />
Center“ (CTV), a venue known throughout the whole of South<br />
America as “the retreading school.” Furthermore, fleet business is<br />
also part of the unique service provi<strong>de</strong>d by Vipal in South America un<strong>de</strong>r<br />
the “Protrans” brand name. In addition to this, the domesitic market<br />
lea<strong>de</strong>r also offers software solutions for retreading shops. “No<br />
doubt about it, Vipal has the capacity to implant this into Europe in a<br />
quick way,” Maria Locatelli says, emphasising that Vipal is strongly<br />
commited to the European retreading market and maintains the goal<br />
of becoming a fully-fledged supplier of various retreading and tyre repair<br />
materials as well as all the services that typically come with<br />
them. Something that Vipal does not offer at all, although this too is<br />
un<strong>de</strong>r consi<strong>de</strong>ration, is retreading machinery and equipment.<br />
Although Borrachas Vipal does not consi<strong>de</strong>r itself to be a “system<br />
supplier” in the purest sense of the word, it leads a similar network of<br />
about 300 in<strong>de</strong>pen<strong>de</strong>nt retrea<strong>de</strong>rs across South America – the socalled<br />
“Authorized Network.” Nevertheless, (licence) system suppliers<br />
such as Bandag or even Galgo in Latin America offer a valuable<br />
contribution to any retreading market, the director points out. This is<br />
because, due to the relationship between the system supplier and its<br />
partners, such a system is inclined to increase the reliability and<br />
fi<strong>de</strong>lity between retrea<strong>de</strong>r and its fleet customers simply because<br />
prices and quality are controlled and guaranteed; thus they remain<br />
i<strong>de</strong>ntical beyond local limits and thus they remain calculable.<br />
The international business director is also of the opinion that the<br />
(current) second-row material suppliers in Europe – a position Vipal<br />
today still holds – are advancing at a strong pace. This <strong>de</strong>velopment<br />
has been to the <strong>de</strong>triment of well-established material (and system)<br />
suppliers, among them Bandag, a company that has dominated the<br />
European retreading market for so long. However, it is much too early<br />
to proclaim the end for system suppliers, Mrs Locatelli continues. It is<br />
in particular this special sense for quality as well as the services usually<br />
provi<strong>de</strong>d (all this has to be calculated into their prices per kilogram)<br />
that have the ability to strengthen the relationship between a<br />
system provi<strong>de</strong>r and its licensees – and regular relationships generate<br />
partnerships. These relationships are less likely to <strong>de</strong>velop between<br />
a material supplier that can be exchanged at any time and its<br />
customers.<br />
“First we want to arrive on the market” – that was the objective<br />
target for entering the European retreading market as stated above.<br />
After this has been achieved, points out the ambitious director also<br />
responsible for Europe, the Brazilian market lea<strong>de</strong>r Borrachas Vipal<br />
will continue to <strong>de</strong>velop in just a single direction, and that is forward<br />
to the top of the European retreading market. “What we can agree is<br />
that our operations in Europe are still small, but not the company. In<br />
comparison with our competitors we have the same or even better<br />
agility to <strong>de</strong>velop new products and we have the financial support to<br />
do this.” arno.borchers@reifenpresse.<strong>de</strong>/sg<br />
22<br />
In Vipal’s production facility in Nova Prata in the south of Brazil about 13,000 tonnes<br />
of rubber are processed every month – the company is easily the domestic market<br />
lea<strong>de</strong>r, with a share of 45 per cent<br />
In Vipals Produktionsstätte in Nova Prata im Sü<strong>de</strong>n Brasiliens wer<strong>de</strong>n pro Monat<br />
13.000 Tonnen Gummi verarbeitet – <strong>de</strong>r Konzern ist daheim mit Abstand Marktführer<br />
Zweifel daran, dass Vipal schnell in <strong>de</strong>r Lage wäre, so etwas auch in<br />
Europa anzubieten“, lässt Maria Locatelli keinen Zweifel an <strong>de</strong>r Bereitschaft<br />
<strong>de</strong>s Unternehmens, in Europa vom Lieferanten von Run<strong>de</strong>rneuerungs-<br />
und Reifenreparaturmaterialien zum umfassen<strong>de</strong>n Anbieter<br />
für die Run<strong>de</strong>rneuerungsbranche zu wer<strong>de</strong>n. Was Vipal allerdings<br />
nicht anbietet, obwohl es dazu entsprechen<strong>de</strong> Überlegungen gibt,<br />
sind die für <strong>de</strong>n Run<strong>de</strong>rneuerer notwendigen Maschinen und Anlagen.<br />
Borrachas Vipal versteht sich zwar nicht als Systemanbieter im<br />
eigentlichen Sinne, auch wenn man in Südamerika ein exklusives<br />
Netzwerk – das so genannte „Authorized Network“ – mit 300 unabhängigen<br />
Run<strong>de</strong>rneuerern betreibt. Dennoch seien entsprechen<strong>de</strong><br />
Systeme, wie sie etwa von Bandag und an<strong>de</strong>ren – etwa Galgo in Lateinamerika<br />
– angeboten wer<strong>de</strong>n, durchaus nützlich. Eine Verbindung<br />
zwischen einem Systemanbieter und einem Systempartner könne<br />
Verlässlichkeit und Treue zwischen Run<strong>de</strong>rneuerern und Flottenkun<strong>de</strong>n<br />
schaffen, Preise und Qualitäten blieben i<strong>de</strong>ntisch und somit<br />
kalkulierbar.<br />
Die Direktorin für das internationale Geschäft sieht für <strong>de</strong>n europäischen<br />
Markt zwar auch die Materiallieferanten aus <strong>de</strong>r zweiten<br />
Reihe – wie in diesem Fall eben auch Vipal – <strong>de</strong>utlich im Aufwind, und<br />
das zu Lasten <strong>de</strong>r etablierten Anbieter, darunter auch Bandag. Es sei<br />
aber viel zu früh, über Systemanbieter zu richten. Gera<strong>de</strong> was das<br />
durch sie geschaffene Qualitätsbewusstsein und die von ihnen angebotenen<br />
Dienstleistungen betrifft, die sich eben allesamt auch im<br />
Preis pro Kilogramm wie<strong>de</strong>rfin<strong>de</strong>n (müssen), so schaffen solche Anbieter<br />
mit ihren Systemen immer auch Bindungen, die in <strong>de</strong>r Beziehung<br />
zwischen einem je<strong>de</strong>rzeit austauschbaren Materiallieferanten<br />
und einem unabhängigen Run<strong>de</strong>rneuerer seltener <strong>de</strong>r Fall sind.<br />
„Wir wollen auf <strong>de</strong>m Markt ankommen“ – so lautet also das Primärziel<br />
von Borrachas Vipal für <strong>de</strong>n Eintritt in <strong>de</strong>n europäischen<br />
Markt. Dann aber, so die Ambitionen <strong>de</strong>s brasilianischen Marktführers,<br />
könne es nur eine Richtung geben, in die sich das Unternehmen<br />
in Europa weiterentwickelt, und die zeigt nach vorn. „Ich stimme<br />
Ihnen zu: Unsere Unternehmungen in Europa sind immer noch klein,<br />
nicht aber unser Unternehmen insgesamt. Wir haben dieselbe, wenn<br />
nicht sogar eine bessere Agilität, um neue Produkte zu entwickeln,<br />
und die notwendige finanzielle Unterstützung.“<br />
arno.borchers@reifenpresse.<strong>de</strong>