Vipal Rubber, a leading tire retread manufacturer, has just received the Alpine Symbol certification on two other treads, VM729 and VDE2. As a result, the brand portfolio now includes six verified treads, including VDA4, VT160, VT220 and VRT3.
“With constant work, Vipal Rubber has been following the increasingly specific requirements of the European market, mainly aiming to ensure more tread safety and in the products, which respect health and the environment,” says Leandro Rigon, Vipal Rubber’s director of international business.
VM729 is a tread designed for radial tires and drive axles. It provides uniform wear, low noise levels, and excellent drive on dry and wet surfaces, and is particularly recommended for long-distance services on paved surfaces. VDE2, on the other hand, has excellent drive power and tread direction, offering more abrasion wear resistance, being suitable for highway freight transportation. Both the VM729 and VDE2 treads are also available in the ECO version.
Under the new European rules, all tires, including retreaded ones, must present the 3PMSF (Three-Peak Mountain Snowflake) certification, holding the Alpine Symbol seal identification, shown on the tread side. The European regulations ECE R117 and ECE R109, which define testing methodology, point out that the condition for a tire to be approved and to receive the symbol, is to have a grip index on snowy floors, or a snow grip index (SGI), 25% higher than a reference standard tire.
With a focus on some European regions, Vipal Rubber has been investing since 2016 in verified treads through 3PMSF. The tests were conducted at the Test World laboratory in Finland, which performs analysis for vehicles, tires, and other components.
Vipal is responsible for supplying around 90 countries on all continents, with Europe, Latin America and the United States as its main markets. To meet the specific needs of each location, which range from technical requirements to cultural, geographic and legal differences, the company invests in the development of specific products to improve performance in different regions. Moreover, it has authorized retreaders, permanent regional teams and its own distribution centers at strategic locations to provide support to international customers. This has kept Vipal in a prominent position in many countries around the world.
Apart from its three plants in Brazil, Vipal currently has distribution centers (DCs) in Germany, England, Slovenia and Spain. Its Spanish center is also Vipal Europe’s headquarters. It also has branches and Distribution Centers in Argentina, Australia, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and the United States (with centers in Florida, Virginia and California), and the Vipal Overseas commercial office, especially dedicated to the African and Asian markets.
