"Retreading Business" writes about Rösler

Rösler: Taking On The World

Dortmund-based Rösler has slowly been taking on the world with its commitment to the OTR and earthmoving sector which 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 decided to follow an academic career path rather than the cut and thrust of sales. 

Dennis Sladek takes over the role at a time when Rösler is starting to see earlier groundwork pay off. Dennis knows this, as he was very much a part of the start up process. 

The Indonesian plant (one of the first big overseas projects) has been retreading OTR tires using the Schelkmann precure process since February 2008 and production is now up to around 800 tires per annum. A recent Rösler audit of the facility confirmed that quality is being maintained. With stable production and quality, the next step is to take the process to the next level by increasing output. The key to this, agreed Sladek, is improved tyre management in the mines and this is where training and development work in Indonesia comes in. The training will show that the process can reduce tire costs for the mine operators and improve overall efficiency of the mines by minimising downtime. 

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" OTR tires in the Gulf States. The partnership already supplies 12 independent locations in the United Arabic Emirates and demand is still growing. 

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

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

The big news is that having purchased a retread operation in Perth, Australia Rösler has signed a deal with Rio Tinto, one of the world's largest mining organisations to supply Schelkmann precured retreaded tires. 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. Already Rösler is supplying tires across Australia, and has also secured a client in New Zealand. By next year the Perth plant should be producing some 1,000 tires per annum, up to 63". 

Asked about the Chinese market, Dennis Sladek modestly replied: "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 our set up costs would make developing our product there prohibitive.” 

However, South America is a different ball game. Here Rösler has already gained a partnership with Del Bosco in Santiago, Chile. Together they will be attending a mining exhibition in Chile (Expomin 2010) to try and gain a foothold in the Latin American market. The company name is already known in that area as Rösler supplies a considerable amount of Zeus tirefill products to Brazil every year. 

While many retreaders have been putting on a brave face and consolidating to get through these 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 spread 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. There are advantages and disadvantages on both sides." 

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