Part of Comercial Rodrigues' extensive range

Comercial Rodrigues Tyres & Tracks is in the process of opening two new locations in Brazil, with two additional sites planned for the end of the year.

According to CEO Jorge Rodrigues, the company's new locations in Rio de Janeiro and Curitiba will open by the start of the second half of 2015. He says both locations will offer Comercial Rodrigues' full range of tyres; however, the 7,500 sqft. (697 sqm) Rio de Janeiro location will be more focused on logistics and port tyres, while the 5,400 sqft. (510 sqm) Curitiba facility will fill customer needs for logistics and agriculture and forest tyres.

The company then plans to open two additional locations in Porto Alegre and Vitoria by the end of 2015. Rodrigues says these two locations will complete coverage of the Southern and Southeastern Brazilian regions.

According to Rodrigues, this expansion will allow Comercial Rodrigues to better meet industrial tyre market customer demands in an expanded territory, including faster product deliveries and fitting assistance.

First opened in 1989, Comercial Rodrigues is celebrating 26 years in the industry. For the past 15 years, the company has been an exclusive dealer for Solideal industrial tyres for use on forklifts, tractors, telehandlers and other industrial vehicles.

Over the years, Rodrigues says its Brazilian customers have been moving from pneumatic tyres to resilient industrial tyres. He explains this is due to warehouses investing in improving their floor quality over the last few years, making resilient tyres an acceptable option due to their longer life and puncture resistance.

As for the future of the forklift tyre market, Rodrigues foresees radial tyres taking more marketshare, as he envisages improved run-flat protection.

He explains that although radial industrial tyres are more expensive than nylon pneumatic tyres, their stronger structure and larger rubber depth increases their lifespan. Rodrigues says that makes radial industrial tyres a better option for customers looking for a "best cost benefit".

And when it comes to anti-deflation solutions for pneumatic tyres, Rodrigues says this is a benefit for materials handling equipment that cannot use resilient tyres. He explains his company provides a tyre filled with a liquid polymer that turns solid inside the tyre after 24 hours, resulting in a tyre with the same features and flexibility as a pneumatic tyre.