In its traditional annual meeting with the media, held in Madrid on 4th December, SIGNUS announced its 2020 rates, which maintain the decrease of 4.73% already implemented last July and have been adapted to the planned reform of RD 1619/2005, starting next March 1.
SIGNUS Launches New Commercial Brands
During the press conference, SIGNUS outlined the implications of the new regulatory text released recently including the incorporation of replacement tyres with a diameter greater than 1,400 mm, the linking of the definition of “tyre producer” to the “first placement in the national replacement market, regardless of the sales channel used”. The new text also requires the management of waste generated “as many times as necessary”, so the new responsibilities cover more than the mere placement of tyres on the market for the first time.
Also, and with respect to the obligation of the amount to be collected in territories such as autonomous communities and islands, the text indicates that the Ministry for Ecological Transition may “define common criteria based on objective parameters”.
According to SIGNUS, the new regulatory text establishes the categories under which producers must report to the Tire Producers Registry, taking into account the weight and type of each tyre they put on the market. In anticipation of the approval of this standard, SIGNUS has decided to adapt the categories in its tariffs from March 1 to this new structure, as indicated in the chart.
An Official Registry of Tyre Producers has also been established, in addition to which an obligation has been specified that an assigned number “appears on the invoices and in the documentation that accompanies the commercial transactions carried out by the producer and its distribution network”.
The new text also regulates the placing on the market of second-hand tyres, requiring the marketers of these tyres to provide consumers with a document proving that inspection and verification has been carried out in accordance with the UNE 69051 standard.
During the press conference, SIGNUS also presented some new commercial brands to boost the sales of recycled rubber that will be accompanied by technical specifications that guarantee both their quality and origin. This has been carried out against the backdrop of a year in which the demand in the market for dust and rubber granules from tyres has increased. By the end of October, with a total of more than 60,000 tons of recycled rubber had been registered destined mainly for three different applications: football fields made of artificial turf, safety pavements and playgrounds and the modification of bituminous mixtures for the manufacture of asphalt. Despite this, SIGNUS continues to work to promote new tyre applications and consolidate existing ones.
During the meeting, the Director of Development and Innovation presented several new trademarks with which SIGNUS will name different products obtained from the treatment of tyres at the end of their useful life. The objectives of this action are to guarantee the quality of the products, give confidence to the client and recognise the work of those managers who care about the quality of the products they manufacture. Any company who performs the treatment of tyres collected by SIGNUS may request the use of these brands by providing specific documentation and passing the corresponding audit once the compliance of the technical specifications of the product has been verified through analysis in an external laboratory. This has been a demand by many companies operating in the international market in order to have a brand that allows them to differentiate themselves from other producers.
Meanwhile, for the road sector, in which the “Elastire” brand is used, SIGNUS has developed, together with the Center for Studies and Experimentation of Public Works (CEDEX), a procedure to certify the amount of rubber dust used in the manufacture of rubber bitumen or bituminous mixtures with rubber. This responds to a demand by technicians of the administrations to know the amount of rubber dust introduced in their works and is a way to encourage the use of recycled materials following the criteria of Ecological Public Procurement.
Last, but not least, during the meeting SIGNUS reported a change of presidency, which will be held by Goodyear Tires Spain for the next two year. The vice presidency will be held by Continental Tires Spain.
