ROVERETO, Italy — Marangoni Group has acquired full ownership of a joint venture company in India, which oversees the granting of licenses for Marangoni's retreading processes and supports those licensees.
To effect the change, Marangoni's Leader Rubber Co. (SA) Prop. Ltd. subsidiary in South Africa acquired a 50% ownership stake the Marangoni GRP Pvt. Ltd. joint venture from GRP Ltd., a Mumbai-based producer of reclaimed rubber from used tires, upscaled polyamide from nylon waste and engineered products die-cut from end-of- life tires.
GRP and Marangoni — through Leader Rubber — created Marangoni GRP in late 2015, in part to help Marangoni establish a foothold in India's growing commercial tire retread sector.
Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.
The company has established a chain of franchise partners in India's Gujarat, Maharashtra, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana states, all focused on producing retreads using Marangoni's flagship Ringtread circular precured process.
Taking full control of the venture will allow Marangoni "to deepen and accelerate" its business in India, according to Marangoni Group President Vittorio Marangoni.
Brett Sproson, managing director, Leader Rubber in South Africa, said he believes the franchisees in India will benefit from Leader's experience in the flat-tread market throughout Africa in developing a more "potent" product portfolio for Indian customers.
Hemant Kaul, CEO of Marangoni's business in India, said the revamped ownership is focused on supporting the firm's franchisees in growing their business and margins, particularly in a market where fleets are seeking high-quality retread solutions among galloping new tire prices.