SRI LANKA WILL CONTINUE AS GLOBAL SOLID TYRE HUB - World Rubber …€¦ · Rubber Asia |...
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INTERVIEW There is a great opportunity in off-the-road-tyre business across the globe since there will always be a need to build or move something. In an interview to Rub- ber Asia, Koenraad Pringiers, Chief Executive Officer, Camso Loadstar, says that his company believes there’s a strong future for the solid tyre business. The ma- chines which use the company’s tires and tracks are becoming more and more sophisticated. According to him, Sri Lanka will continue to be the global hub for solid tyres. However, the solid tyre makers should continue to innovate to ensure that their products provide maximum performance, he adds. Excerpts: 50 | Rubber Asia | March-April 2018 We are happy to know that your esteemed company is a Silver Sponsor of the forthcoming WRS 2018 to be held in Colombo. Could you tell us of your expectations about the event. We’re very happy to be a part of this event. Camso Loadstar has been a key producer of rubber tires since 1984 and therefore has a vested interest in the sustainable growth of the industry. We hope to exchange ideas with other professionals, discuss common challenges, learning from each other in the process. We hope to educate all stakeholders in industry that price is a result of market forces and is a transparent derivative and not the act of an individual or few individuals. We expect participants to share their countries’ performance and experience so that Sri Lankan trade can learn from them. We also look forward to sharing opinions on the future of the rubber industry. We also expect this event will give recognition to Sri Lanka as a major rubber producing country. Your company is one of the leading industrial and agricultural tyre manufacturers. How competitive is this industry and what are your cutting edges? We do not make Agricultural tires at present. We’re a leading producer of Construction tyres, tracks, wheels, and undercarriage systems as well as Material Handling tyres. We focus on Agricultural and Power-sports tracks and systems in countries outside Sri Lanka and, like any business, we have competition. Our edge is our people and the dedication they put into developing highly performing, quality products engineered for specific mobility applications on the off-the-road market. We have fantastic teams here in Sri Lanka always looking to find betters ways to make our products and serve our customers. How is the prospects for the off- the-road tyres industry globally and what are the challenges ahead? We believe there’s a strong future in our business in that there will always be a need to build or move something. The machines in which our tires and tracks are used are becoming more and more sophisticated. For us, we need to make sure we continue to innovate to ensure our products provide maximum performance regardless of the application for which these vehicles are running. But, as opposed to the challenges, we prefer to see the opportunity that lies ahead to keep pace with technology and best support the needs of customers. What are your company’s latest innovations in terms of technology and products? In 2017, we launched an entirely new line of Resilient tires and brought to market the concept of usage intensity to lower the operating cost of a tire. For us, a tire’s life should not be measured by the number of hours it works, but by the intensity of the application in which it is used. SRI LANKA WILL CONTINUE AS GLOBAL SOLID TYRE HUB Koenraad Pringiers, Chief Executive Officer, Camso Loadstar
Transcript of SRI LANKA WILL CONTINUE AS GLOBAL SOLID TYRE HUB - World Rubber …€¦ · Rubber Asia |...
50 | Rubber Asia | March-April 2018
INTERVIEW
There is a great opportunity in off-the-road-tyre business across the globe since there will always be a need to build or move something. In an interview to Rub-ber Asia, Koenraad Pringiers, Chief Executive Officer, Camso Loadstar, says that his company believes there’s a strong future for the solid tyre business. The ma-chines which use the company’s tires and tracks are becoming more and more sophisticated. According to him, Sri Lanka will continue to be the global hub for solid tyres. However, the solid tyre makers should continue to innovate to ensure that their products provide maximum performance, he adds. Excerpts:
50 | Rubber Asia | March-April 2018
We are happy to know that your esteemed company is a Silver Sponsor of the forthcoming WRS 2018 to be held in Colombo. Could you tell us of your expectations about the event.
We’re very happy to be a part of this event. Camso Loadstar has been a key producer of rubber tires since 1984 and therefore has a vested interest in the sustainable growth of the industry. We hope to exchange ideas with other professionals, discuss common
challenges, learning from each other in the process. We hope to educate all stakeholders in industry that price is a result of market forces and is a transparent derivative and not the act of an individual or few individuals. We expect participants to share their countries’ performance and experience so that Sri Lankan trade can learn from them. We also look forward to sharing opinions on the future of the rubber industry. We also expect this event will give recognition to Sri Lanka as a major rubber producing country.
Your company is one of the leading industrial and agricultural tyre manufacturers. How competitive is this industry and what are your cutting edges?We do not make Agricultural tires at present. We’re a leading producer of Construction tyres, tracks, wheels, and undercarriage systems as well as Material Handling tyres. We focus on Agricultural and Power-sports tracks and systems in countries outside Sri Lanka and, like any
business, we have competition.
Our edge is our people and the dedication they put into developing highly performing, quality products engineered for specific mobility applications on the off-the-road market. We have fantastic teams here in Sri Lanka always looking to find betters ways to make our products and serve our customers.
How is the prospects for the off-the-road tyres industry globally and what are the challenges ahead?
We believe there’s a strong future in our business in that there will always be a need to build or move something. The machines in which our tires and tracks are used are becoming more and more sophisticated. For us, we need to make sure we continue to innovate to ensure our products provide maximum performance regardless of the application for which these vehicles are running. But, as opposed to the challenges, we prefer to see the opportunity that lies ahead to keep pace with
technology and best support the needs of customers.
What are your company’s latest innovations in terms of technology and products?
In 2017, we launched an entirely new line of Resilient tires and brought to market the concept of usage intensity to lower the operating cost of a tire. For us, a tire’s life should not be measured by the number of hours it works, but by the intensity of the application in which it is used.
SRI LANKA WILL CONTINUE AS GLOBAL SOLID TYRE HUBKoenraad Pringiers, Chief Executive Officer, Camso Loadstar
Rubber Asia | March-April 2018 | 51 Rubber Asia | March-April 2018 | 51
Most customers buy based on good, better or the best, based on hours guaranteed, we’re educating the industry that you should buy based on the intensity of your application. We’ve also launched a new Pneumatic line and a new press on line this year. In our Construction offering, we’ve launched new Skidsteer and Telehandler tires in both bias and solid technology. All this information can be found in the content room at www.camso.co
Sri Lanka is a major global hub for solid tyres. What are the
prospects of this industry in Sri Lanka?
We expect Sri Lanka to continue to be the global hub for solid tyres. All the major manufacturers are here and this has created a center of excellence in the world. We will continue to develop our solid tyre products here in Sri Lanka with our R&D center based here and continue to invest in improving the efficiency of our operations.
Please explain to us briefly your company’s future plans and vision
Our plan is fairly straight forward. Everything we do is to elevate our customers experience and provide mobility solutions for end-users. This is clearly stated in our mission and vision. Our mission is to be a customer-focused, world-class manufacturer and service supplier of high-performance products that meet the mobility needs of the off-the-road vehicle market. We have a strong vision for the future: Global leadership in tires and tracks by meeting the mobility needs of the off-the-road vehicle market through the lowest cost of ownership.
