Roughly two years ago, Tyres & Accessories visited Alba Tyre Management Ltd for the first time and found a professional retreading operation taking on an increasingly influential position in the Scottish retreading business by following a premium retread strategy. 24 months later, the company has grown by something like 30 per cent. We spoke to director David Wilson as well as company found Alex Wilson in order to find out how Alba has grown at such an impressive rate.
Such is the scale of Alba Tyre Management’s growth, arriving at the same door as two years ago means arriving at the wrong door. In the interim, what was the office has been turned into a distribution warehouse and the newly fitted office (where we began our meeting) is now in a separate building, which the company acquired during the last 18 months. Since then, Alba has further expanded and optimised its retread operation.
The new commercial space came up for auction around a year ago. And Alba Tyre Management has been in the additional area since last summer, moving its operations across as part of a staggered transition. As well as overall business growth, the rationale behind the extension comes down to the broader range of services Alba now offers. The fact that the company is the only retreader for miles around means Alba can offer logistics services, major repairs and new tyre distribution as well as its core retreading operations as part of a regionalised one-stop shop. For example, many customers don’t have dedicated space to keep tyres, so Alba now offers them new tyre logistics.
On this point, the company is able to offer at least weekly deliveries. But in many cases tyres are sent out much more frequently, often four-to-five times a week in the well-populated Scottish central belt, for example.
When it comes to brands, the company doesn’t offer single brand exclusively, rather choosing to offer customers a range that – in line with the rest of the company’s ongoing strategy somewhat prefers premium products.
When it comes to sustainability – both in business and ecological terms – premium retreading has distinct advantages. The premium focus on sustainability brings with it less reliance on casing dealers, making businesses that focus on such a strategy close to self-sufficient.
Alba Tyre Management also has a good track record of doing business with council fleets, a field the company has been successful in for two decades. Indeed, 2024 marks the 20th anniversary of council fleet business, business the company does in partnership with all the major tyre services across Scotland and the North of England, offering tyres for every wheel position.
Alba’s council fleet business has grown significantly over the years for a number of reasons. Firstly, because of the high quality products and service experience that the customer councils receive. Ecological consciousness and more recently the wider topic of sustainability has also pla
Vice President of Warehouse and Distribution
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