The European Tyre and Rubber Manufacturers Association (ETRMA) has agreed to bring up its market surveillance as its top priority this year followed by the social and economic sustainability as the second priority to remain its focus in the European tyre and rubber industry.
The labelling regulation which comes into force on 1 November is a game changer for our industry as it sets a new benchmark for competition. Essential for the success of the new regulation is effective market surveillance. A lack of strong enforcement would damage the label’s credibility in the eye of the consumer, as well as the competitiveness of manufacturers who play by the rules and have invested in compliance. It is therefore essential that national market surveillance authorities put in place their respective control activities, with the outstanding support of the European Commission which has started to organize regular meetings of the Market Surveillance Authorities for benchmark purposes”, said Patrick Lepercq (Michelin), President of the ETRMA.
The board of the association has also stressed the significance of their continuous efforts to make the tyres and rubber industry manufacture products that are sustainable. The secretary general of ETRMA, Fazilet Cinaralp said that this objective of the association is for long. “Fair access to and safe use of raw materials, high performances of our products and environmentally sound treatment of end of life products remains key elements of our industry’s long term objectives”, he added.
“The European legislator envisaged for the tyre industry to follow a truly integrated approach where both strict and ambitious environmental and safety rules are to be met. Our sector should therefore be allowed to first concentrate on current legislation, and on delivering in the existing timelines, before it is asked to focus on new targets”, continued Cinaralp. “Also it is important that any further regulation does not hinder the efforts of the industry, which has not yet fully recovered from the crisis ”.
The association is characterizing the economic recovery as slow and expecting that next year will be another hard year for the industry they belong to.
The board of ETRMA includes companies such as Apollo Vredesteine, Bridgestone Europe, Cooper Tyres, Continental, Goodyear Dunlop Tyres Europe, Hankook, Marangoni, Michelin, Mitas, Nokian Tyres, Pirelli and Trelleborg Wheel Systems. (RJA)