CAMPINA GRANDE DO SUL, Brazil — Brazilian retreader Grupo Ivo has opened what it claims is the largest retread plant in Latin America, a 60,000-sq.-ft. factory in Campina Grande do Sul capable of retreading 20,000 truck, agricultural, OTR and industrial tires a month.
Grupo Ivo designed and built the new plant, its sixth retread factory in Brazil, in partnership with Borrachas Vipal S/A, which supplies the Brazilian company's plant with tread rubber and other materials.
Ivo and Vipal have been cooperating since 1997, Vipal said. Speaking at the facility's opening ceremony, Grupo Ivo founder Ivo Moreno Ruy said the project would not have been feasible without Vipal's assistance.
“Vipal Rubber, as a company that is a global reference, had to be the one to support us given our long years of partnership,” he said.
Grupo Ivo did not disclose investment details on the plant.
Ivo's other retread plants operate under the names Robercap Recauchutagem de Pneus Ltda., A M Moreno Ltda. and GVT Reformas e Reciclagem de Pneus Ltda. These five units produce 19,000 tires a month and provide employment for more than 450 workers, Ivo said.
The company's roots date back to 1952, when Mr. Ivo opened a tire repair and vulcanization shop in Alto Parana, Brazil. It wasn't until 1979, however, that the company moved into commercial-scale retreading. From there it's been adding capacity steadily, building up to the opening of the Campina plant.
Ivo and Vipal's association dates to 1997 when Vipal created the Vipal Authorized Network.