Investment News Boosts Hankook Shares
In South Korea, shares in Hankook Tire gained 1.84 per cent after the tyre manufacturer announced that it would invest 230 million euros ($334.9 million) by 2011 to expand its factory in Hungary.
In South Korea, shares in Hankook Tire gained 1.84 per cent after the tyre manufacturer announced that it would invest 230 million euros ($334.9 million) by 2011 to expand its factory in Hungary.
Hauliers, fleet operators and private motorists are being reminded that not only can they stay safe on the road but they can also reduce the impact of the recent fuel duty rise by keeping their tyres correctly inflated. According to research carried out by a major tyre manufacturer and member of TyreSafe, driving on tyres which are just ten psi under the vehicle manufacturer's recommended pressure can increase fuel consumption by 2.5 per cent. By keeping tyres at their correct pressures, motorists can travel further on each tank of fuel, reduce their CO2 emissions and stay safer.
In the USA, Team Toyo Off-Road drivers had a huge weekend during the 40th Anniversary BorgWarner World Championship Off-Road Races at Crandon International Off-Road Raceway recently. More than 40,000 fans at the Raceway, and thousands more watching the live broadcast by ABC television, saw Toyo-sponsored drivers set new track records in Pro 2WD and Pro 4X4, as well as winning the headline events including the BorgWarner World Championship for Pro 2WD and the BorgWarner Cup, which carried a prize of $40,000. In fact, Toyo-sponsored drivers scored a 1,2,3 in the prestigious Pro 4×4 race.
In order to celebrate the 5,000th sale of its Solus Pro hand-held diagnostic tool, Snap-on Tools, the supplier of tools, tool storage and workshop equipment for the UK automotive aftermarket, has announced the introduction of celebratory carbon fibre-look edition. Launched in May 2008, the Solus Pro is the second generation of the mid-range model of Snap-on's 'family' of hand-held diagnostic tools and it was specifically designed to provide the technician with an even faster performance and more diagnostic data.
Having made headway in the UK passenger car and light truck segments, Maxxis reports that it is now on the lookout for heavy truck tyre distribution partners. The company’s main selling point (both to customers and potential distribution partners is the long term mileage performance of its products. According to the company, tests with leading UK fleets show the all-important PPM (pence per mile) figures achieved by the Maxxis 22.5 inch heavy truck range are on a par with those reported by the top brands. While the figures are not yet complete (due to the ongoing nature of the tests) company representatives told Tyres & Accessories the figures are still helping to “boost the brand’s credentials for quality, reliability and value in this sector.”
Infinity is now openly promoting both its light and heavy ranges as retreadable products after Bandag issued the following official certification: “In conjunction with Bandag and its distributors, Infinity truck tyres have received some very good reports for the quality of the casings which have recently been retreaded.” According to retreading systems and material supplier and franchiser, Infinity casings have “reasonable integrity” and “the quality of the casing is good”. As a result the Bandag certification says: “Infinity casings are fully suitable for retreading through Bandag dealers.” All Infinity truck tyres are manufactured to international standards under strong operational quality control systems and all Infinity Truck radial tyres bear “E” and “s” markings,” the statement explained.
Since the beginning of 2009, West Midlands based NDI UK has been evolving from a small regional tyre wholesaler/distributor into a nationwide tyre wholesaling option. According to the company, this progression can be directly attributed to the fact that it is part of one of Europe’s most competitive tyre distribution groups – Nordisk Daek Import A-S in Denmark. Ian Smith, managing director of NDI UK commented: “Up to the end of 2008, the company had been well known throughout the West Midlands but now we intend to work more closely with NDI Denmark in order to gradually become a respected wholesaler specialising in all market sectors from a small implement tyre right through to large earthmover patterns serving the entire UK market. Like NDI Denmark we intend to develop into a fully active multi-brand specialist offering a competitive combination of major ‘A’ brands plus numerous mid-range brands to suit all applications.”
Earlier this year Cumbrian operator John Miller Limited selected Uniroyal tyres for use in its general haulage fleet. The reason? The tyres stood up to real-life tests consisting of frequent journeys of up to 20 miles on unpaved forest tracks as part of the company’s timber fleet. Now they’re fitting them to steer axles on Mercedes-Benz Actros tractors on general haulage work and looking to achieve up to 180,000 kilometres of life before they go for regrooving.
As part of GITI Tire’s ongoing programme of product developments (see June Tyres & Accessories for further details), the company has added four patterns to its Primewell and GTRadial branded truck ranges. Three of the four new patterns (PTL711, PDM331 and PAM532) are being added to the Primewell range.
Double Coin distributor, Kirkby Tyres Ltd, has announced that the Chinese tyre manufacturer is expanding its truck tyre range. According to Kirkby Tyres, the size expansion means the sole distributor (UK and Ireland) can now offer an “all-encompassing
truck tyre line to meet the needs of the most demanding tyre retailer or end user.”
The Sumo Firenza truck tyre range adding a number of new sizes to its range in October. At present the company offers its SSR05A pattern in 25 sizes from 10.00R20 16PR through to 295/60R22.5 16PR but another two (245/70R19.5 14PR and 215/75R17.5 16PR) will be introduced in October. Pat Berriman, senior vice president for sales and marketing said: “The UK continues to be an important growing market for our truck tyre range and we intend to further enhance our position in the market.”
Reuters reports have suggested that Continental will issue 1.5 billion euros’ worth of new shares before the end of the year in an attempt to “increase capital,” according to one unnamed source. Schaeffler had initially opposed the plan, since it will reduce the proportion of its shareholding in the company from approximately 90 per cent to 66 per cent. However, in light of a 10 billion euro debt incurred when Conti purchased VDO from Siemens, in addition to its own dedt-pile, Schaeffler now says that the company must “repair its balance sheet” before a merger takes place. The next supervisory board meeting, postponed by Continental until mid-October according to Reuters, could be interesting (see also ‘Schaeffler to Propose Prof Dr Ing Reitzle as Supervisory Chair’).
Continental AG announced today that the major shareholder, Schaeffler KG, will propose Professor Dr Ing Wolfgang Reitzle as the new chairman of the supervisory board, if he is appointed to the board of Continental AG. Maria-Elisabeth Schaeffler, owner of Schaeffler KG, endorsed the move: “We are very pleased that we have been able to persuade Professor Reitzle to take on this challenging mandate. He is the ideal person to tackle the tasks ahead at Continental AG. His profound knowledge of the industry and his international entrepreneurial experience are excellent prerequisites for this post. We have complete trust in him.”
A report published by Indian newspaper, The Hindu states that while the country remains an important hub for passenger car exports, its tyre makers appear not to be keeping up. Citing a report by the Automotive Tyre Manufacturers Association, the paper reports in its Business Line section that “automotive tyre exports fell 22 per cent in July to 446,418 units against 571,479” in 2008, while quarterly exports fell “22 per cent to 1,558,393 units (2,042,428 units).”
This morning the 7th China International Tire Expo (CITEXPO) opened in Shanghai. This year’s event has played host to more than 300 companies in the domestic and international tyre trade. The organisers, Reliable International Exhibition Services, don’t anticipate this year’s event will set a new attendance record, with visitors from the US particularly lacking as a result of the threat of punitive tariffs market for importing Chinese products into the American market. Nevertheless, they are confident the show, running through till Friday, will be a success. Tyres & Accessories/tyrepress.com (along with sister publication Neue Reifenzeitung) is represented with a stand at the exhibition. A detailed report on this leading Chinese tyre trade fair and its exhibitors will follow shortly.
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