Tyre company Vipal proved that its VRT3 tread gives 8% more mileage than its competitors. VRT3 is a tread designed for heavy-duty vehicles like trucks and buses.
Vipal put the tyres to the test in the streets of Puglianello, Italy. VRT3 and a competitor tyre were put on cargo trucks with trailer and drive axles. The trucks then drove on equal conditions, paved roads with moderate climbs on rough surfaces. The performance evaluation was supervised by the Vipal Europe team and the R&D and Technology team in Brazil.
The General Manager of Vipal Europe, Alessandro Campos, emphasises how essential this kind of testing is, saying “in addition to demonstrating the quality of our treads in a practical way, these initiatives bring us closer to customers and reinforce the benefits of retreading, two key issues for Vipal Rubber.”
The cargo trucks used in the test were from Autotrasporti Felice Michele Vinchiatauro, a cargo company with a 20-truck fleet. Autotrasporti Felice has been in the market since 1978 and retreads most of the tyres it uses.
For company owner, Michele Vinchiatauro, 60% cost savings achieved with a retreaded tyre compared to a new one is crucial. “We always strive for quality and savings, which is one of the reasons we are steadily increasing the percentage of retreaded tyres in our fleet,” he says.
Vipal Rubber was founded in 1973 in Nova Prata, Rio Grande do Sul. With 3,000 employees, the company has two plants in Nova Prata and one in Feira de Santana in Bahia, totalling about 160,000 s1 m of manufacturing facilities and three distributions centres in Brazil. The company exports to all continents and also has distribution centres in South America, North America, Europe and Oceania.