The final part in Commercial Tyre Business’s latest feature takes a look at leading OTR retreader Kal Tire. Fraser Flint, Manufacturing Manager at Kal Tire’s UK operation gave his views on various facets within the retreading sector from the importance of marketing the role of retreading in the circular economy, to supply chain disruption, to the role of technology in retreading, to the impact of COVID on the demand for retreads in the OTR sector.
TOMS Management System Delivering Efficient Casing Management and Real-Time Tyre Performance Data
We began by looking at the continuing disruption of the supply chain and how that has been affecting OTR retreaders such as Kal Tire and specifically their casing supply. It’s no secret the stress that global supply chains have been under from what seems to be the perfect cocktail of external crises coming to the boil. Before detailing how Kal Tire have tried to navigate the turbulent market environment, it’s worth noting these factors to highlight the complex dynamics that the supply chain is having to deal with, above all in the United Kingdom.
Firstly, the global container crisis is showing no signs of abating, with prices continuing to soar. The latest report in Reuters as of August 6th highlighted data from the freight-tracking firm Freightos. This data underlined that the spot price of a container travelling from the US to China had risen 500% to $20,804 from its price point a year previously. Their data also highlighted that the cost of freight from China to Europe was nearly $14,000. This complexity has been compounded by the HGV driver shortage in the UK with the Road Haulage Association in a survey being quoted by the BBC that the UK is short of nearly 100,000 HGV drivers.
With factors such as this, strict and efficient casing management comes into to stark focus for retreaders and even more so in the UK. For Kal Tire to face up to this challenge, its Tire Operation Management System has become a key part of its strategy. The Tire Operation Management System (TOMS) is a tyre management system that provides and powers uptime, performance and safety. TOMS has a keen focus on fleet productivity and has accessible, near-live reports with the system allowing the user to make informed decisions for not only the work in front of them but the road ahead as well.
TOMS gives real-time tyre performance data including fleet inspection findings, with its accessible dashboard offering KPI reporting that guarantees that tyre maintenance activity aligns with their service agreements. The system also allows Kal Tire teams around the world to access tyre management data from a single platform, thus giving them the opportunity to identify methods to improve their fleet use.
On TOMS, Fraser Flint, the Manufacturing Manager at Kal Tire said, “the implementation of TOMS will be able to provide more data than ever before, hopefully increasing the rate of tyres that pass our thorough initial inspection process, thanks to the deep analysis of data.
“These tyre management plans allow us to provide customers with insightful information on their existing tyre fleet including recommendations for removal at the correct time to ensure casings are suitable for retreading at the end of their first life.”
The use of TOMS isn’t the only technological advancement that is assisting Kal Tire step forward in the sector. Flint pointed to the roll out of Kal Tire’s thermal conversion plant in Chile that according to him is helping to “close the loop on the circular economy and provide a final end-of-life solution to our customers”.
Following three years of pilot plant testing, the facility, located in the heart of Chile’s mining region, can recycle 20 tonnes of tyres each day, with 40% of the weight of those scrap tyres having the possibility of returning to those same mines as alternative fuels. The process only involves melting and decomposing the tyres into three elements: steel wire, fuel oil and carbon black. As part of the offer, Kal Tire arranges transport, loading and unloading of all the scrap tyres including 63” tyres.
Flint added, “This project is a huge advancement for retreading as it will, over time, put an end to the landfill of OTR tyres that are not suitable for remanufacture.”
