Ellerbrock changes name to Marangoni

Hamburg, Germany - from 1 September

2011, Ellerbrock Reifenrunderneuerungs-Technologie GmbH will trade

under the name of Marangoni Retreading Systems Deutschland GmbH.

Marangoni Group acquired Ellerbrock

in the early 1990s and has gradually been integrating Ellerbrock's

retread activities with Marangoni's operations. The change of name

is just the final step in the merging of the two companies.

At a press conference to mark the

event, Marangoni outlined its strategy in the retread sector and

said it is expecting to expand steadily to improve its position in

the premium retread business around the world.

The company sees China, Russia and

South America as its priority target regions. Currently, Marangoni

estimates the global truck tyre retread market at 65 million units

annually, but within that, the premium segment, where it is aiming,

comprises around 25 million units annually.

Massimo De Alessandri, managing

director of Marangoni Holding said global demand for truck tyres is

around 200 million units annually, of which 20 million are new OE

tyres; about 130 million are new replacement tyres and some 65

million are retreads.

He said of that 65 million units/year

the largest market is North America at 29 percent, and of those

around 80 percent are premium quality, though the large new tyre

makers dominate that market.He said Marangoni hopes to double its sales in North America in the next few years as most of the other independent retread suppliers went out of business during the recession.

The next market in terms of size is

China, with 18 percent, or 11 million units. However, of these, only

5 percent or so are premium quality. The China market is dominated by

price-conscious customers, said De Alessandri, and will take some

time to develop. Nevertheless, the company is exploring options there

and may set up a small retread manufacturing unit as it develops the

market in two or three key provinces.

After China, said de Alessandri,

Latin America is the next biggest market with 17 percent of the

total. In this market, around 60 percent of the retreads are premium

products and Marangoni sees this area as a high priority. It claims

to be the largest of the independent companies there, with a strong

position in Brazil and has recently acquired the market leader in

Argentina. The Argeninian company has been tasked with developing

the Marangoni brand in all local Spanish-speaking countries.

The EU forms the next largest market

with about 6.5 million units/year of which 80 percent are in the

premium segment. Marangoni does not expect to grow its share or

volume significantly in Europe. Instead it aims to cut the length of

the logistics chain to get the product from manufacturer to truck.

In 2011, Marangoni expects to make

2.6 million retread units, of which the EU will take 41 percent;

Latin America will take 28 percent; North America will take 21

percent and the remaining 10 percent will be sold in other countries,

including China.