The eco-friendly qualities of retreads were a major topic of discussion during a meeting of Bipaver, the trade association of the European retread industry, held last week at the 2009 edition of Autopromotec in Bologna, Italy.
"We want to push the fact that retreads can be green," said Bipaver President Brenno Benaglia.
"What we want to do is produce eco-friendly products that are at least as energy efficient as new tires."
Benaglia told Bipaver members that the association is "starting a strong campaign" to communicate to fleets and transport industry associations that "retreading is a service. We want to let people know the value they have in their tires."
Forty-three percent of all replacement tires sold in Europe -- whether passenger or medium truck -- are retreads. Some 7.5 million retreads are produced in Europe each year.