Interview: Prepared for success
What was the thinking behind creating Prometeon as a separate entity from Pirelli?
It was not a separation, really, just a different identity to Pirelli. Prometeon is now the only manufacturer focusing entirely on the truck, bus, agro, and OTR (off-the-road) sectors. We have our own factories and R&D centres, two in Brazil, one in Egypt, and one in Turkey.
But these retain the same DNA with over 100 years of valuable experience and expertise. Now, looking at the Prometeon 02 series, the sidewall also says “Engineered by Prometeon,” showing that we now have our own technology in all of our products. We are more agile, and we can offer our customers more tailored solutions.
What proportion of your business is the UK HGV market?
Up to 2023, truck and bus sales comprised almost 100% of sales.
We now have a dedicated sales manager on Agro, so we are expecting to see the benefits of this from 2024 onwards. And with OTR, we are now finalisingplans for 2025 onwards. But right now, nearly all of our business is coming from the HGV sector, with a small portion from the bus market,
Is the UK market different to other markets?
I started in the industry in 2010.
During that time, I have had a chance to visit other countries that are important to our industry. The answer is definitely yes. There are some significant differences.
The first is PPK (price per km). To grow in the UK market, you need to have a strong offering on PPK because a significant majority of our customers would like to receive a service in the form of PPK. The PPK method not only helps our customers receive all the services under the same umbrella but is also critical for budgeting.
This is really important. The second is sustainability. Everyone is talking about this.
I moved to the UK in 2020, but I can already see how the seasons and weather are changing because of the climate. Our customers ask, “What is your investment in sustainability, especially carbon footprint?” Customers will decide what the effect on the world will be if they buy from your company versus brand XYZ. After the launch of the 02 series, most of our patterns in many sizes are best-in-class, which offers our customers a huge benefit in terms of carbon footprint.
I know many distributors and retailers are demanding sustainability from their entire supply chain, and that includes the tyres and fuels that trucks use. Sustainability now affects everything.
18-20 years ago, we couldn’t find anyonefocusing on this topic, but I’m really proud of what’s happening in my company.
Have you seen any noticeable changes in the past 7 years?
When you look at the overall market, there are two important years. The first is 2020, and then 2023.
There was a significant drop in 2020 because of COVID, followed by another significant drop in 2023. The main reason of thatsecond drop was the huge post-covid demand from 2022 prompted price increases from all of our business partners who tried to buy more tires because of the expected increase in demand. The 2023 surge didn’t happen as predicted, and the market actually dropped.
But we should look at the general trends for transport. The car business is changing very fast. Just five years ago, many popular sizes were different from what we have today.
In the truck segment, the sizes are relatively the same. But the main changes have to do with the switch from diesel vehicles to electric, which we definitely also see inbuses. It has developed very quickly and there has been a significant growth.
Mainly because the public transport sectors have benefited from more government funding to switch to alternative fuels. So, there are a lot more operators running electric vehicles.
Has the market for new tyres and retread tyres changed or remained stable?
Operators certainly mention retreads more. Some of our customers are very price-sensitive and they use retread tyres in their fleets.
I’m expecting a very stable market for 2024, but it looks like there could be some price fluctuations. The retread market will likely decrease, but for our strategy and plans for 2024, I’m sure that nothing much will change the main manufacturers.
Do you have any plans or new lines?
As I mentioned, we have four factories: Tunisia, Turkey, and Egypt. Turkey and Egypt service the whole of Europe.
When you compare our production capacity with around five years ago, our production capacity is also increasing year on year. We are planning to grow in two important areas. First, the OE segment is important to us as a company.
Then, there is our new 02 product range, in many sizes. We are best in class, which allows us to offer the best sustainable solution to customers. We had one customer visit in December on the OE segment, and in January, they started placing orders.
This is good news. As for the second priority for 2024, of course, we will continue to focus on our business. We also launched our U02 Urban-e range.
The ‘e’ stands for electrical vehicle. When you choose an electrical vehicle, you expect a different experience from old-school vehicles. It is a heavier vehicle compared to the previous one, so your tyres need to be different too.
I have already seen a couple of performance results from Europe. In January we announced that we have gained an extra 2% market share versus last year, this is a really good news, this kind of increases is not very easy so I’m really proud of what my team is doing.
Prometeon at the Dakar
Prometeon proved the durability of the new Serie 02 Pista range by sponsoring and supplying tyres to the Italtrans and Tibau teams. The Italtrans Iveco Powerstar trucks compete in Class T5.1: Prototype Cross-Country Trucks.
Tibau runs MAN TGA T5.2 vehicles as support and service-assistance trucks. The speed rating of the Serie 02 Pista has been increased from 90 km/h to 110 km/h, while retaining the same load capacity and features an entirely redesigned tread pattern. The new tyre can also operate at low pressures and be equipped with ‘run flat’ and ‘bead lock’ systems, on all types of terrain including asphalt, sand, gravel, grass and marshy or uneven terrain.
Available in size 14.00 R20with a load capacity of 10 tonnes when used on its own, and 18 tonnes in the twin-tyre configuration.