Page 44 - TYM 2023-5

In 1999 the first pre-cured treads with exclusive designs were introduced to ensure optimal performance for for each type of tyre—a notable milestone in the the company's history In 2009 the the eco tread line was launched offering a a a a a a a a a significant advantage by providing up to 10% fuel savings through retreaded tyres reduc- ing ing costs for transporters In Europe operations began in in in in 2005 with the the office opening in in in in Spain Today there are three distribution centres: Va- lencia (Spain) Nova Gorica (Slovenia) and Felixstowe (United Kingdom) serv- ing ing the the the entire Europe the the the Middle East and the the the African continent Vipal's history is is based on research and development of technologies in in in rubber products These efforts culminated in in in in the the opening 2010 of of the the the Research and Tech- nology Centre in in in the the the city of of of Nova Prata (RS) with the the objective of of of evaluating and and approving 100% of of of raw materials and and suppliers Today the the the the Centre is one of of the the the the most modern in in in the the the the world in in in the the the the tyre retreading segment with 13 laboratories carrying out more more than than 50 different types of tests tests generating more more than than 28 thou- sand tests tests annually In 2013 the the company took another im- portant step in in in in its training programme for professionals in in in in the segment With
the creation of o a a a a a corporate university Univipal also offers online courses in in the the technical commercial and man- agement areas in in in addition to to the the face- to-face training that has already taken place at at the Vipal Technical Centre since 1987 Today Univipal has more than 70 courses aimed at the rubber market and carries out almost 500 train- ing ing sessions per year training more than 5 000 students Among the most recent achievements are constructing a a a a a a a new factory in in in in Argenti- na and and acquiring two others in in in in the the the United States and and and Brazil Today there are seven factories and and and 15 distribution centres on on on 5 5 continents We also expanded our oper- ations by manufacturing tyre retreading machines to to meet the needs of our cus- tomers and improve productivity Could you please assess Vipal's current position in in in the global market in in in in its main areas – tyres repairs retreading rubber equipment and accessories?
Vipal Rubber is is a a a a a a a a a consolidated brand in the the global market and and is is among the the le ad- ing companies in in its segment The com- pany is one of of the largest manufacturers of of tyre tyre retreading retreading rubber globally and a a a a a a a a a a a leader in in in in in commercial tyre tyre retreading retreading in in in in in Latin America Vipal’s Director of International Business Leandro Rigon
and envelopes marking the beginning of manufacturing products for cold cure tyre retreading Gradually the the portfolio expanded to position the the the the company as the the the the only one in in the the the the world with a a a a a a a complete range of of products for the the the retreading and repairing of of o passenger commercial agri- cultural and OTR (off-the-road) tyres Another significant move was the the com- mencement of of international operations in in in in 1992 with the the the the opening of of the the the the branch in in in in the the the the United States the the the the world's largest market for tyre retreading Today Vipal operates in in in in Spain Mexico Argentina Chile Colombia and Australia Celebrations at at Vipal’s factory in Feira de Santana
44 the tyreman 2023/5