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GB: Does it make sense to have two brands in Germany – Ellerbrock and Marangoni?
MM: Ellerbrock GmbH and Marangoni Tread S.P.A. are two companies in the same line of business (retreading systems) in the Marangoni group. One of the key points of the sales and marketing strategy in the retreading systems business is to offer a complete product line. Furthermore, every manager has to have a clearly defined area of responsibility. Ellerbrock is almost completely responsible for total revenue in the German market.
GB: Won't it be even harder to establish a third brand with "Ringtread"?
MM: Apparently there is some confusion about the product brands and the company names. Ellerbrock and Marangoni are the names of the companies. Ringtread stands for the brands of different product lines for profiles and rings. Ringtread is not just a product but rather a complete retreading system, an innovative technology which was developed and is owned by the Marangoni group. There is no need to launch Ringtread because it is already a firmly established product brand in Germany. Finally, Ringtread technology has achieved market share of 8%. Ellerbrock is very actively involved in Ringtread marketing.
GB: How do you intend to manage both brands Ellerbrock/Marangoni Tread in Germany?
MM: As you will see at the Reifenmesse 2006 (International Tire Trade Fair) in Essen, Ellerbrock will be there as a German company within the Marangoni group. There is no problem with the two brands Marangoni and Ellerbrock – they form a unit and share the same organization and belong to the same business group.
GB: Will the Ellerbrock brand survive the next three years or are you already planning to retire the brand?
MM: That's not a problem. The company Ellerbrock will continue to sell and market the group's products in Germany. As a matter of fact, it will be even more important to capitalize on the company name Ellerbrock.
GB: What did the sales figures for 2005 look like? Are you on plan?
MM: As you learned from the presentation by Mr. Apolloni, the sales figures for the retreading department for 2005 were about € 114 million, with € 36 million contributed by Ellerbrock. That was a very positive result for Ellerbrock in 2005. The company had to make up for the difficulties after the fire. (ed.: The production plant in Henstedt-Ulzburg was destroyed by fire in October 2003.)
GB: What are your sales goals for 2006 and 2007 in the retreading business at Marangoni/Ellerbrock?
MM: We prefer not to give detailed figures. In any case, the group is committed to growth and wants to grow faster than the market. One of the most important guidelines for our goals in 2006 and 2007 involves the consolidation in Western Europe and growth in Eastern Europe.
GB: What advantages does Marangoni Tread have over Bridgestone, Michelin and Goodyear retreading?
MM: The companies named are all manufacturers of new tires. It is a fact that they all have been devoting increasingly more attention to the retreading business. If we look at the current scenario, we can see that Marangoni has plans for working together with a number of tire manufacturers such as Bridgestone, Goodyear and Pirelli.
GB: How successful has Marangoni been in the manufacture of retreading production facilities in 2006?
MM: One thing is sure: our ring technology is "unique" and so far we have developed four factories around the world for the production of rings. That means that our production facilities are already on three continents (Europe, North America and South America). We are producing and selling three types of profiles – Profil Liner, Kontur, Classico.
GB: Is Marangoni interested in cooperating with other retreading companies – perhaps with Bandag?
MM: No. Scenarios change very quickly and in business any alliance is possible. In any case, Bandag is currently one of our competitors. Marangoni doesn't have any alliances now and doesn't plan to go in that direction.
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