"Retreading Business" writes about Rösler

Rösler: Taking On The World

Dortmund-based Rösler with its commitment to the OTR and earthmover sector has slowly been taking on the world in what has to be one of the most highly prized retreading sectors. Dennis Sladek has partial taken over the sales and marketing role from Klaus Mühlbeck, who has opted to follow an academic career path rather than the cut and thrust of sales in the meantime.

Dennis Sladek takes over the role at a time when Rösler is starting to see earlier groundwork, which Dennis was very much a part of, coming to fruition.

The Indonesian plant which was one of the first big overseas projects has been producing Schelkmann process OTR retreads now since February 2008 and production is now up to some 800 tyres  per annum. A recent Rösler audit of the facility confirmed that quality was being maintained and with stable production and quality the next step is to take the process to the next level by increasing throughput. The key to this, agreed Sladek, is improved tyre management in the mines and this is where training and development work in Indonesia will be focussed to show that the process can reduce lifetime tyre costs for the mine operators, and of course by minimising downtime, improve overall efficiency of the mines.

Sladek explains, "Working in the mining environment creates a very harsh working life for the tyres and we can help prevent damage to the tyres by assisting with mine design, and developing user understanding of the products. The Main advantages we have with the Schelkmann process is that we press our tread stripes with up to 60 bar per square centimetre and therefore achieve a much higher hardness than any other process. Next to that the curing takes place at a lower temperature beneath 100 degrees, to give a far harder and better wearing tread than other processes do."

The partnership in Dubai is also paying dividends and Rösler is selling good numbers of its Rodos remoulds and Winstone new 25" and 33" earthmover tyres in the Gulf States. The partnership already supplies to 12 independent locations in the United Arabic Emirates and demand is still growing.

Elsewhere in the Middle East, tyres are now being shipped to Jordan and to Saudi Arabia.

A project in Khazakstahn will see an on-site retreading facility opened with a Khazak copper mining operation by the end of the year giving Rösler another foothold in another market.

However, the big news is that having purchased a retread operation in Perth, Australia Rösler has signed a deal with one of the world's largest mining organisations, Rio Tinto, to supply Schelkmann precured retreaded tyres. With Australia being one of the world’s largest sources of many raw materials, Rösler has made a significant move into the market by opening the facility in Western Australia. Already Rösler is supplying tyres across Australia, and has secured a client in New Zealand into the bargain and by next year the Perth plant should be producing some 1,000 tyres per annum, up to 63".

Asked about the Chinese market, Dennis Sladek was coy, "Our process is unique and we are very protective of our Patents. Our concern about going into China is the question of how long before a Chinese player decides to copy our process? So China is currently not on the Rösler radar. (We would prefer not to mention the Mongolian customer at this stage)The other big market is the North American OTR sector, but here Sladek took another view, "The North American market is saturated and very, very competitive. It would mean going up against H&H, Purcell, and others who are very well established. We would be starting from the back of the field and at a big disadvantage as out set up costs would make developing our product there prohibitive.

However, South America is a different ball game, and here Rösler has already gained a partner with Del Bosco in Santiago, Chile and will be attending a mining exhibition in Chile 2010 to try and gain a foothold in the Latin American market. The company name is already known there as Rösler supplies a considerable amount of Zeus tyrefill to Brazil every year.

At a time when many retreaders have been putting on a brave face and consolidating to get through tough times, Rösler is still developing its network of licensed agents across the world. Asked whether the preferred clients were mines looking at in-house solutions, or independent retreaders Dennis Sladek hedged his bets. "We'll welcome serious enquiries from both types of operation. There are great advantages for mining companies taking retreading in house, but they then have to start from scratch learning the technology and the processes. Existing retreaders have an understanding of what they are doing and how the retreading sector operates, so the challenge for them is coming to understand our process. So there are pluses and minuses on both sides."

Rösler's unique process, its family structure and its flexibility appear to have given it a great trading advantage against much larger competitors who, if business were based on price alone, should have the market to themselves. But individuality, quality and innovation mixed with a little determination have seen Rösler come out as a global player, perhaps against all the odds.