On Friday, October 11th, and Saturday, October 12th, we took part in the 62nd AIRP Conference.
AIRP is the Italian Tyre Retreading Association.
The Eternal City offered its frame to this meeting, welcoming Tire Retreaders and companies dealing with this industry.
The agenda included speeches of the board members and external speakers.
To sum up the afternoon topics, we want to use 3 words:
UNION
Union because the strength comes from sharing common objectives and not from competing.
The retreading industry is suffering. The estimate speaks of a decrease between 25% and 30% in the European market, mainly due to low-cost tires from Eastern Asia. Therefore, the strength must be in the alliance with companies producing new tires.
Mr. Stefano Carloni, AIRP president, specifically stated that when tire retreaders and premium quality manufacturers compete against each other, they allow brands of doubtful quality to penetrate the market, dumping prices. Instead, the cooperation between the two parties will re-grow the market share.
Relevant data, about which we were not fully aware, is the 30% reserve on the use of retread tires for public institutions’ tenders. In the notes, you can find an article written by the Italian agency ANSA.1
In short, public institutions and authorities are obliged to buy at least 30% of retreaded tires for their fleets. Most of the time, there’s no control over the application of this rule.
This reflection opened Pandora’s box on tire retreading legislation and the environment.
LEGISLATION AND ENVIRONMENT
“Retreading is Recycling” is the most famous slogan for the industry and the truest one. As the world is moving towards more sustainable means, someone would believe this will give recognition to those who made this motto their job.
It will happen in an ideal world. The reality is that little attention is paid to retreading, even if it contributes to huge savings of raw materials.
You can read more about this in our blog’s article https://vmrubber.com/en/blog-en/tire-retreading-practice-environment-and-myths/.
For instance, those who make the rules often forget about this product, harming it. An example comes from the lack of labeling norms for retread tires, which causes a misalignment of quality compared to new tires.
DEFORESTATION
The weekend hot topic was DEFORESTATION, part of the European EUDR Regulation. This rule impacts many industries: coffee, cocoa, soy, and natural rubber.
If the goal is noble, the methods are poor due to the bureaucracy. The aim is to reduce the environmental impact of some products imported into the EU and create a sustainable supply chain.
The suppliers of those materials will need to release a certificate stating they comply with the guidelines, and the importer will have to draw up the due diligence.
We don’t have the authority to speak about this regulation, but try to follow our stream of consciousness: rubber comes from a plant; who makes new tires uses natural rubber; tire retreaders use a casing; the casings already had a life, and its due diligence made.
So, how should a retreader behave? The answer is in the limbo. We hope a ferryman will arrive, transporting some clarity.
Friday ended with an aperitif and dinner. An informal setting to give people the opportunity to connect. A place to share opinions and ideas about what was discussed earlier that day.
SATURDAY AND THE BATHS OF CARACALLA
On Saturday, we woke up excited like a group of scholars because of what AIRP had planned.
Our schedule involved the Baths of Caracalla with two guides, history enthusiastic as we are passionate about rubber, and lunch with a view of the Roman Forum.
It is typical of events like the US OTR CONFERENCE to organize moments for leisure. Something we always appreciate because it gives everyone the chance to network in a chillier atmosphere.
Despite the chaos, Rome is magic. A city on the edge of time. You walk among the magnificence of history.
AIRP has already scheduled other events for 2024, like its first participation in ECOMONDO, and a firm one for 2025: AUTOPROMOTEC.
We, on the other hand, will continue to work on spreading content about Tire Retreading. Reassured that many care about this topic and a chorus of voices makes more fuss than a single’s high note.
If you are curious about this world, you can visit the AIRP’s website www.asso-airp.it/index_en and their LinkedIn page www.linkedin.com/company/asso-airp.
And you’ll be happy to know that other Countries have their associations dedicated to tire circular economy.
Like AZUR in Germania (www.azur-netzwerk.de), ARNEC in Chile (www.arnec.cl), TRIB in the US (www.retread.org) and BIPAVER (www.bipaver.org). And a magazine that we mentioned a lot which is RETREADING BUSINESS (www.retreadingbusiness.com).