The legislator has shown the way in France with the AGEC Law article 60 relating to the fight against waste and for the circular economy, by asking communities to equip themselves with retreaded tyres.
And yet 5 years later, according to our analyses, only 15% of markets respect it...
The retreading of heavy goods vehicle tyres has long been mastered by public stakeholders. But it is a completely different story for light vehicles and utility vehicles.
The challenge of Article 60 is significant: to contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving our living conditions by building a cleaner world.
BLACK STAR and TIMAO provide public buyers with a white paper, a real methodological guide to help bring their public tender into compliance. Based on the analysis of 70 public markets and enriched by the feedback of more than 15 public buyers, this white paper co-written by public procurement experts provides you with concrete and proven solutions.
We have endeavored to make it a genuine methodological guide for the application of Article L.2172-6 of the CCP in public procurement contracts for tyres for light vehicles/light commercial vehicles.
Our objective is twofold: to enable public stakeholders to maximise the ecological impact of their purchases of light vehicle/light commercial vehicle tyres in compliance with the law, whilst taking into account the reality of the maturity of the remanufactured light vehicle/light commercial vehicle tyre sector so as not to destabilize their purchasing process or the proper functioning of their vehicle fleets.
Download our free guide now:
https://livre-blanc-pneus-rechapes-vl-vul.fr/
Discover our company portrait in video with Laurent Cabassu, Managing Director Black Star. 🎬
BLACK STAR is a company in the south of Lyon which has existed for more than 40 years and which has always had the same activity, namely the production of reconditioned tyres for light vehicles.
LEONARD was the second life of BLACK STAR. First of all, it is the collaboration with MOBIVIA, which is an auto center brand with brands like Norauto, Midas or Carter Cash, and the association with BLACK STAR. There is a project behind it which was the takeover of this old Bridgestone factory in Béthune to transform this factory which made new tyres into a factory which makes reconditioned tyres. And the LEONARD brand is the latest addition to this collaboration.
The ambition, ultimately, is to produce up to 1 million tyres per year. And the initial ambition was, thanks to this factory, to produce a reconditioned product with a level of quality never before seen on the market. And this step has already been taken. Now, to get to the million tyres, it will take time. Because a factory must be gradually ramped up.
This is an example of a circular economy: first of all, there is the production site, since this factory was forced to close. And we took over the factory. It could potentially have become an industrial wasteland. And the second thing is the product, the LEONARD product, which is made up of two types of materials including a carcass which comes from the reuse of an old tyre.
Leonard – success in the production of renovated tires for tires – AUTOMOTIVE REVISTA, Eduardo Gaspar (PT)
https://automotiverevista.pt/index.php/2024/08/28/leonard-sucesso-na-producao-de-pneus-renovados-para-ligeiros/
Automotive Revista visited the Léonard tire factory located in Béthune (north of France), and interviewed Laurent Cabassu, Managing Director of Black Star, who tells how – for the first time in history – a factory which produced new tyres was completely transformed and used to produce reconditioned tyres for light vehicles.
“Our project was unique because until today, all retreaded tyres for passenger cars were sold at a lower price than the cheapest new tyres on the market (typically Chinese tyres).
The second objective was to have a positive environmental and social impact. Social, because this Béthune factory had great social importance for the region: in the best years, it employed 1,600 workers, and when it closed, around 800 people were still working. The impact on the environment is clearly positive: we extend the useful life of the tyres, keeping them on European soil and where we can save 63% of carbon emissions (compared to the production of a new tire ) and reuses materials that would otherwise be waste.
The third objective is to generate an economically viable model for the factory and customers, whether tyre distributors or workshops, guaranteeing them a fair margin. »
“We were pioneers, we proved that we were capable of it and that it was a business that worked. It gives margin to workshops and provides customers with a renewed product in complete safety. Now all the big manufacturers want to have something similar. Recently, we received visits from several leaders of major brands, and even journalists from as far away as you, coming from Portugal. Everyone who visits us says the same thing: our quality is above all expectations. Fortunately, we have reached the point where we have more orders than production capacity. And expectations for the future are very promising, especially in the area of fleets, where growth forecasts are frankly positive and much higher than we expected. We are now working to increase production capacity, but this will be gradual because we want to maintain consistency in quality and reputation, the two pillars that support the Leonard brand,” concludes Laurent Cabassu, in this interview conducted by Revista Automobile .
The First Stop and Côté Route brands announce the marketing of the Léonard brand in their 370 centers. In total, 81 references of reconditioned tires will be offered to motorists.
First Stop and Côté Route, brands of the Bridgestone group, are integrating the Léonard tire from Black Star, manufactured in Béthune (62), into their portfolio. Presented at the Drive to Zéro show more than a year ago, this retreaded tire is sold in the 370 points of sale of the two brands.
For summer envelopes, Black Star offers 42 different sizes of the Léonard tire, ranging from 14 to 17 inches and covering 70% of the vehicle fleet. The all-season version is available in 25 sizes from 14 to 18 inches. Finally, Léonard is also available for utility vehicles, with 14 all-season dimensions of 15 and 16 inches.
The reconditioned tyre allows for 80% material savings. An innovation for an envelope produced on a large scale. Its performance is comparable to that of new tires. It is as efficient in terms of avoidance and braking as it is in terms of handling in winter. Each reconditioned tyre is carefully inspected before marketing to ensure uniformity.
The reconditioned tyre has a level of safety comparable to a new tyre thanks to similar regulations:
👉 Identical regulatory integrity tests called “load-speed” tests.
👉 Similar measurement methods and regulatory geometric tolerances.
👉 Identical snow grip tests (to obtain the 3PMSF marking, synonymous with compliance with mountain law).
👉 Identical snow grip tests (to obtain the 3PMSF marking, synonymous with compliance with mountain law).
However, to avoid confusion with a new tire:
👉 The reconditioned tyre is marked “RETREAD” on the sidewall
👉 Reconditioned tyres are not affected by the tire labeling, just like certain new tyres (POR, racing tyres, studded tyres, so-called “galette” tyres, etc.)
In terms of production:
👉 Reconditioned tyres are made from selected used tyres, which allows savings in CO2 emissions and greatly reduces the collection of raw materials.
👉 The production process differs, however LEONARD benefits from industrial tools and machines equivalent to those in the new tyre industry.
👉 The critical stage of the manufacturing process (vulcanization) is the same, only the conditions change. This involves the chemical transformation of the rubber in the new tread to make it more durable and mechanically efficient.
👉 Both types of tyres share 3 quality control stages, but the LEONARD tyre benefits from an additional stage called shearography control: it is a non-destructive method of searching for defects and deformations inside the tyre
In the end we obtain reliable, economical and ecological reconditioned tyres, with performance comparable to that of new tyres.
We organized with GGP Automobiles Groupe Renault a day of testing LEONARD tyres, under the supervision of the UTAC.
Et les résultats sont là !
“A lot of assumptions when arriving, an opinion that changes after the tests”
“Very pleasant, very quiet driving, excellent feedback”
“Very pleasantly surprised” “All the comfort, all the thoughtfulness, which really catches the eye! » “It’s a very, very high level of security.
“A feeling of good hold and security” “[the LEONARD tyre] performed really admirably”
We are proud to have changed your mind about retreading, thanks to the unprecedented quality of LEONARD reconditioned tyres!
A big thank you to GGP Automobiles Renault Group for your trust and to all the participants for their spontaneous interventions in front of the cameras.
🎥 Video MEDIALITY.
On April 4, 2024, BLACK STAR and MOBIVIA won one of the 4 Collab Victories (2024 Planet Prize 🌍) in the AFM business ecosystem.
The Collaboration Victories is the event that rewards collaborative projects that move the AFM, the largest European retail ecosystem.
LEONARD was born from the collaboration of two French companies: the SME BLACK STAR, a French specialist in retreaded tires for over 40 years, and the MOBIVIA group, leader in automobile maintenance.
The two companies are coming together because they share the same ambition: to extend the life of tires.
In 2021, with the announcement of the closure of the Bridgestone factory in Béthune in Nord Pas de Calais, MOBIVIA and Black Star are betting on reuse by taking over part of the site in order to lay the foundations of an integrated ecosystem around the second life of the tyre.
By working together, the two companies are completely rethinking the way tires are produced, marketed and used.
MOBIVIA group's auto centers (Norauto, Midas, Carter Cash, etc.) collect used tyres and entrust them to BLACK STAR, which recycles the waste by allowing the remanufacturing of a selection of carcasses. In turn, auto centers market and promote these reconditioned tyres to their customers.
This is how the LEONARD tyre was born in 2023. A reconditioned, French, eco-responsible tire with performance comparable to that of a new tire. Available for purchase throughout the Mobivia network and major distributors.
We are very proud of our appearance on the Belgian television news RTL Info (03/20/2024).
A big thank you to the journalists for highlighting tire reconditioning to the Belgian public.
Un grand merci aux journalistes pour cette mise en lumière du reconditionnement du pneu auprès du public belge.
« 30,000km on the clock for these tires. Rubber too smooth and cracks visible, it is high time to replace them. Every second in Europe, six tires reach the end of their life, for a total of 200 million in one year. If many are burned or sent for recycling, some can claim circular treatment: reconditioning.»
“The qualities of this [reconditioned] tire compared to a new tire are that in terms of grip and braking distance, it is more or less identical. There is a little reluctance from customers at the beginning, but once we explain the process and the quality controls that go with it, they are sometimes rather enthusiastic,” confides Alexandre Hocquet, Auto5 Drogenbos assistant manager.
In this third episode of Hauts-de-France has everything to succeed, Noémie Morgant takes us to meet the Black Star company, the last company in France to produce reconditioned tires for light vehicles.
"Hauts-de-France has everything to succeed" is presented to you by the Hauts-de-France Region.
Find this show in replay on the site in the Territories section and the BFM Grand Lille application.
A look back at the 2023 Recircle Awards Ceremony which was held in Bologna on November 16.
The third edition of the Recircle Awards, hosted by Valebridge Media Services, celebrates outstanding achievements in the global tire #retreading and #recycling sectors.
It awarded BLACK STAR with the BUSINESS BREAKTHROUGH AWARD, in recognition of its significant impact in 2023 in terms of entering a new market or growing in the tyre retreading or recycling sector.
2023 was indeed a great year for BLACK STAR, the only French manufacturer specializing in the manufacture of reconditioned tyres for light vehicles on a large scale.
Last April we launched LEONARD reconditioned tyres manufactured in our new industrial site in Béthune and a few months later we began marketing our new range in France and Europe in the main auto centers and tyre retailers. It is the realization of an ambitious and disruptive project which aims to build an integrated tyre recycling ecosystem.
Jean Baptiste Pieret, BLACK STAR President, confirms: "We are certain that we have a valid and concrete solution to the environmental issues of the tyre industry: the circular economy is the right move, and today’s timing is also right.
We must now demonstrate that the business model holds up. At full capacity, our ambition is to produce 1 million remanufactured French tyres in Béthune, to recruit up to 200 people, and to save 18,000 t of CO₂ each year (manufacturing only).
We advocate the merger of the two worlds, where premium manufacturer and RE-premium manufacturer (=Black Star) will work together for the emergence and democratization of a multi-life tyre.
You can see the RECIRCLE AWARDS ceremony here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAICrm-r-Ik&t=1100s&t=18m20s