[SmartCat]

Found an interesting tyre retreading company called INDAG RUBBER. Excerpts from their presentation on retreading business in India:

Retreading Technology:



Retreading Process:



Advantages:



Future of Retreading Industry:



CV Sales Trends:



Radials Vs Cross Ply:



GST Effect on Retreading Industry:



Full report can be downloaded from:
http://www.bseindia.com/xml-data/cor...7fcb1d2040.pdf

Amazingly, Indag Rubber has consistently maintained a net profit margin of 10% in this business - most new tyre manufacturers struggle to maintain 5 to 6% margins.

[abhishek46]

A few questions here:
1. I always thought that Tyre Re-treading is a an un-organized business, performed by local road side Garages.
Looks like I was mistaken. Can I ask who are the Big Players in this, and How do they operate their business? (Do they have any outlets!?)

2. Is Re-Treading of Tyres allowed, Legally?
How do they compare to fresh Tyres in terms of Stability and Safety.

[SmartCat]

Originally Posted by abhishek46

I always thought that Tyre Re-treading is a an un-organized business, performed by local road side Garages.

Looks like Apollo Tyres too is into retreading business
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/tyre-a...2015-16-a.html

Indag Rubber says 50% is organized business and likely to go up further because of GST.

How do they compare to fresh Tyres in terms of Stability and Safety.

The infographic says "Retreaded tyres are tested to the same stringent performance criteria as new tyres"

I have my doubts though.

[Ry_der]

Does this retrading works on old/hardened tyres? I have a pair lying idle at home. Can I get those retreaded? I am planning to use those as spare.

[sagarpadaki]

Re-treading is dicey. I see so many ripped tyre treads(road gators) on highways and all of these happen to be from Truck/Bus since they are the ones who re-tread the tyres. The issue with the re-treading industry is that there is little or no Quality control. There is no way one can judge by looking at the re-treaded tyre if the work is done upto the standards. Not to mention the fact that the trucks are overloaded. Also re-treading is supposed to be done only once. The sidewall's strength reduces with retreading and the second time re-treading can lead to a blow out. One more important point is that the tread compound is unknown. One cannot say if it is soft, medium or hard compound. Basically many of the variables are unknown.This is a major sore point.

Personally i would not retread the tyres of cars since the tyres are the only source of contact with the road. And the lives of people are any-day more important than a few thousands saved by re-treading

[i74js]

My experience with retreading has been bad. I got the retreading done for our old Indica as it was not going to be used for highway runs and just for occasional city runs to keep the car alive and in good condition.

- The wheel balancing does not hold good even for 1000 km. I had to take it twice within the wheel balancing warranty period to the tyre shop in the neighborhood and finally after fixing it second time, the fellow simply asked for pardon. He said, that retreading has this problem for which there is no solution.

I for one will not go for such cost saving measures even if there are no safety hazards. Retreaded tyres can never replace a fresh tyre. I would even rate them inferior compared to cheap Chinese tyres.

[GTO]

Nice thread as always, Smartcat! I guess retreading makes for 10 - 15% of the overall tyre industry. That is HUGE, and driven mainly by commercial vehicles (average of 2 - 3 retreads per tyre).

If any individual car owner is thinking of retreads, please DON'T. This thread has the answers.

Here is an excellent post from an engineer who worked in a retreading plant - link to full post with pictures:

Originally Posted by barcalad

In the manufacture of a new tire, approximately 75%-80% of the manufacturing cost is incurred in tire body and remaining 20%-25% in the TREAD, the portion of the tire which meets the road surface. Hence, by applying a new TREAD over the body of the worn tire, a fresh lease of life is given to the tire, at a cost which is less than 50% of the price of a new tire. This process is termed as*'tire retreading'.

However, the body of the used tire must have some desirable level of characteristics to enable retreading. Retreading cannot also be done if the tire has already been over used to the extent that the fabric is exposed/damaged. Retreading can be done more than once.

a) Types of Retreading :

Retreading can be done by the following two processes:
⦁ Conventional Process (also known as 'mould cure' or 'hot cure' process) - In this process a un-vulcanized rubber strip is applied on the buffed casing of the tire. This strip takes the pattern of the mould during the process of vulcanization.


⦁ Pressure Process ( also known as 'cold cure')- In this process a tread strip, where the pattern is already pressed and pressure is applied to the casing. It is bonded to the casing by means of a thin layer of specially compounded uncured rubber (known as cushion or bonding gum) which is vulcanized by the application of heat, pressure and time.
The present all India pattern, by type of retreading, is as follows : Pressured - 50%, Conventional 50%.

Retreading is primarily done in the Truck and Bus tire segment. On an average a Truck/Bus tire is retreaded 1.5 times. At present only 3-4 large companies are in the organized sector of tire retreading. Organized sector is classified as that comprising of companies which operate through the franchisee route.

[SmartCat]

15 min corporate film from Indag Rubber, explains the tread production process. Apparently, they make different type of tread patterns for different applications (tractor, mining, heavy load etc)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_zZ2_gAqk8

Other highlights:

- Rs. 3,000 cr industry
- 70% unorganized sector
- 24% CAGR revenue growth in 10 years (means revenue is growing 10 times in 10 years)

[theexperthand]

Interesting to know that retreading is still alive and kicking - I was thinking that it have now relegated to few bus and truck owners. I remember that my dad used to get our scooter tyres retreaded long back.

I have seen a big MRF retreading franchise on the Coimbatore Salem highway (called pretreads or so), so one more big name is there in the retreading business.

--Anoop

[fighterace]

If it good for Volvos, Scanias and Mercedes HMVs, it is good enough for the average commuter car. Question is, how long do your tyre tread last, in terms of time. Retreading a 5 year old tyre makes no sense. But if you wear them out on 2 years, a good retread is an excellent option. Unfortunately, the same mentality which causes people to buy cheap Chinese tyres makes them go for the cheapest retreads, leading to predictable results. I personally would prefer that the cabbies use good retreads instead of the rock hard "long lasting" tyres they use.

Another factor is the inexpensive nature of small car tyres and rising disposable incomes, at least in the hands of the section that populates online forums like this one. Getting tyres retreaded isn't worth the effort any more.

And before the safer than thou crowd starts baying for my blood, let me remind them that the airplanes they fly on use retreaded tyres.

[fighterace]

Here is an informative video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmjT_XFNkuU

@admin: Kindly merge with previous post

[Doge]

Originally Posted by fighterace

If it good for Volvos, Scanias and Mercedes HMVs, it is good enough for the average commuter car. Question is, how long do your tyre tread last, in terms of time. Retreading a 5 year old tyre makes no sense. But if you wear them out on 2 years, a good retread is an excellent option. Unfortunately, the same mentality which causes people to buy cheap Chinese tyres makes them go for the cheapest retreads, leading to predictable results. I personally would prefer that the cabbies use good retreads instead of the rock hard "long lasting" tyres they use.

Another factor is the inexpensive nature of small car tyres and rising disposable incomes, at least in the hands of the section that populates online forums like this one. Getting tyres retreaded isn't worth the effort any more.

And before the safer than thou crowd starts baying for my blood, let me remind them that the airplanes they fly on use retreaded tyres.

The heavy commercial vehicles and airplanes that you mentioned have tires which are designed to be retreaded. I don´t remember coming across any car tire which can be retreaded.

Retreading in a car is sheer stupidity, as you also endanger the lives of others on road.

[sandeepmdas]

Originally Posted by fighterace

And before the safer than thou crowd starts baying for my blood, let me remind them that the airplanes they fly on use retreaded tyres.

Originally Posted by Doge

The heavy commercial vehicles and airplanes that you mentioned have tires which are designed to be retreated. I don´t remember coming across any car tire which can be retreaded.

Most airplane tyres are not radials. These are bias-ply tyres and that's the reason they can be retreaded.

Retreadable tyres were once available for the two Indian cars - the Amby and the Premier Padmini/President. My (late) father owned a tyre dealership + retreading business and I still remember the smell inside the retreading works very well. He used to buy tread rubber from MRF, Premier tyres and another brand "India Super". Later he also brought pre-cured treads from a company called Midas Treads.

[Guru_DTSi]

MRF also is into the Retreading Business. I had a sidewall puncture on my new (at that time) around 1500 kms driven Xcent. I managed to use the space saver stepney from Dharmasthala to Shimoga, where I couldn't find the correct tyre size. Left with no other choice, I had to get the tyre retreaded at the MRF Workshop and continue my journey onto Hyderabad the next day. Have totally forgotten about it till I saw this thread. Thankfully, haven't had any issues after the retreading with the Odo clicking at around 7000 kms (Retreaded tyre used for around 5k kms). All I'm ensuring is that the tyre stays at the rear of the car.

EDIT : Would it have been a wiser decision to just use the space saver all the way to Hyderabad (Around 650 kms) ?
Tyre size : 175/60 R 15 (Alloy)
Stepney : 165/65 R 14 (Steel Wheel)

[VivOverland]

My friend worked for Indag during our MBA days, summer project. Some time ago!

Basically there are 2 reasons retreading is apt for the CV segment (Not just HCV, LCV too).

1. Tyre cost. A typical truck tyre costs over 10k, and typically 6 are used per truck. Also the front and rear tyres differ. Retreading is a cost effective way to keep the fleet running.

2. Non-radial tyres. Retreading is ideal for this type of tyre, which is typically found in the CV segment. Not that it is impossible to see in private cars, just that most passenger vehicles use radials for comfort and efficiency. Think of the tyres from vintage cars, or even the old Padminis and you'll realise that those tyres too could be retreaded.

Hope this helps.