In Werlte, on 16 and 17 September 2025, the second AZuR retreading summit took place. AZuR is a network that has been working across Europe since 2020 for a sustainable tire circular economy. More than 80 participants attended the summit. During these two days, a wide range of topics related to retreading in the tire industry were discussed. Among others, Janne Ruhanen, Sales Director of Nokian Tyres, illustrated the Scandinavian retreading
market. According to Ruhanen, the market share of retreaded tires stands at over 50 percent. In Germany, the share remains at around 20 percent.
Germany's progress on the topic of the retreading market was presented in two practical presentations. According to one presentation, the Berliner Stadtreinigung's (BSR) fleet has sustainability long been part of its program. A large part of the BSR fleet consists of gas- or electrically powered vehicles. Eighty
percent of the BSR vehicles are already equipped with retreaded tires. Christoph Kischa, presenter for the Winner forwarding company, said that more than 80 percent of their fleet drives on retreaded tires.
Technological Innovations in Focus
The retreading summit also included an exclusive factory tour that provided insights behind the scenes of the trailer manufacturer Krone. In groups, the participants were guided through Krone's assembly plant as well as the painting
and surface-finishing center. There, insights into production processes and technologies were shared that should make KRONE's sustainability and efficiency visible. Another part was the presentation of the Bear-Cut machine by Mark and Stephan Berendsen. They have developed a semi-automatic machine that is designed to re-profile commercial-vehicle tires efficiently. It was also emphasized that the European Commission has confirmed that retreaded tires are taxonomy-compliant and thus remain permissible for sustainably operating companies.
