A high profile exhibitor and participant at this week’s Tire Technology Expo has been Lanxess. Senior personnel from the German specialty chemicals company were present at the Cologne-based show to share the role Lanxess products play in the manufacture of environmentally-friendly, label-friendly tyres.
Quinton Hazell Automotive Limited's administrators and its parent company Klarius Group have announced 117 redundancies at the QH Glasson Dock site in Lancaster and 79 redundancies at the QH Colwyn Bay site in North Wales. Both sites have ceased to operate. The news follows the announcement of the sale of the firm's Cheadle operation earlier today (which secured jobs there) and the closure of the QH distribution business in Hinckley, Leicestershire.
Klarius Group Limited put its Quinton Hazell Automotive Limited (QH) into administration on 6 February 2013. Following their appointment, the administrators reached an agreement to sell the Klarius emissions business based at Cheadle, Staffordshire to Klarius Products Limited, preserving 234 jobs. The deal will formally complete during the course of 7 February (today). In addition, the intellectual property rights relating to the QH business were sold separately to Tetrosyl I-Tec Limited, part of Tetrosyl Limited.
Independent UK wholesaler Grouptyre offers an extensive choice of van tyres from its exclusive brands Evergreen, Federal and Goodride. Covering a wide range of sizes for all light commercial vehicle operations, Grouptyre says it has a van tyre for every use. The company adds that its delivery service is unrivalled, and therefore it can ensure it can get the right tyre to its customers whenever they’re needed.
At the 13th annual Tire Technology Expo awards, held last night in Cologne, Apollo Tyres was honoured as Tire Manufacturer of the Year. Shortlisted alongside Bridgestone, Continental and Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Apollo was selected for the award in recognition of the brand’s continued expansion in the European market, growth underpinned by the launch of key products such as its first high performance summer tyre for Europe, the Aspire 4G, and the inauguration of a new technical centre in Enschede, The Netherlands, a site that has taken on global responsibility for passenger car tyre research and development. Announcing Apollo’s selection as Tire Manufacturer of the year, Tire Technology International noted the company’s “impressive” financial growth; in 2011-12, Apollo’s revenue exceeded US$2.5 billion for the first time.
At this week’s Tire Technology Expo in Germany, Silica supplier Solvay shared that it is considering further capacity increases on top of those implemented in 2011-12, which increased the firm’s global silica capacity by more than 10 per cent. Solvay said the increases were implemented to keep pace with demand for low rolling resistance tyres. The company didn’t share any specific details on upcoming silica product developments, however it confirmed that new innovations can be expected; announcements will be made once customers have been given samples for use in production trials.
A report recently released by the United States International Trade Commission gives an overview of the country’s retreading industry, a sector within the tyre business that appears to be benefitting from an improving US economy and a supply-demand imbalance within the new tyre sector.
In the three months to 31 December 2012, Apollo Tyres Ltd’s net sales grew 9.4 per cent to Rs 97.57 billion (£1.17 billion), while net profit jumped 86.1 per cent to 1.8 billion (£21.63 million). Operating profit for the third quarter of Apollo’s 2012-13 financial year amounted to Rs 4.1 billion (£49.27 million), up from Rs 3.3 billion a year earlier.
A formal opening ceremony has been held for Bridgestone’s new factory in India. The Pune plant, located 100 miles southwest of Mumbai and operated by subsidiary Bridgestone India Private Ltd., is the tyre maker’s second in India. Production of passenger car radials began in January and capacity is expected to reach 10,000 units per day by the end of 2014. Truck and bus radial production will begin in Pune in October and daily capacity will reach 3,000 units by the second half of 2017. Bridgestone says approximately 50 billion yen (£341 million) has been invested in the 760,000 square metre plant, which as of January employed 500 workers.
Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa has posted the quickest time on the opening day of the first group test of the 2013 MotoGP season at Malaysia’s Sepang International Circuit. Pedrosa set his benchmark time of 2:01.157 on his penultimate lap today to finish just eight-thousandths of a second ahead of Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jorge Lorenzo, while on the other Repsol Honda RC213V, Marc Márquez was third on the timesheets with a best lap time of 2:01.201. Bridgestone said the CRT-specific softer rear slick had offered riders increased grip.
Continental has launched its new ContiTrailAttack 2 on/off-road bike tyre for bigger capacity dual-purpose machines. The manufacturer says it has “dramatically improved” wet grip and mileage through compound development, while the tyre also features Conti’s “Traction Skin” rider safety aid.
As the successor to a multi-test winning winter product, Nokian believes its new Hakkapeliitta R2 non-studded winter tyre exemplifies the company’s latest winter tyre innovations. Chief among these is the Nokian Cryo Crystal Concept compound, which has cystal-esque particles designed to “grab the icy driving surface” in order to improve grip. The cryo-silane based winter silica compound works across a wide temperature range, achieving better winter surface grip and improved wear resistance. It is also optimised for reduced rolling resistance.
In its 2012 annual report, Indian manufacturer MRF Ltd predicts that the country’s domestic tyre industry will grow by eight to ten per cent in the current financial year (to 30 September 2013). This growth will most likely be accompanied by continued pressure on margins should cost issued not be addressed, it adds.
US-based speciality chemicals company Cabot Corporation has announced reaching “another key milestone” in its technology licensing agreement with Manufacture Francaise des Pneumatiques Michelin for use of Cabot’s patented elastomer composite technology in tyre applications. Regular royalty payments to Cabot have now begun and will extend through fiscal 2022.
Italian elastomer firm Versalis and guayule biomass specialist Yulex Corporation have announced the formation of a strategic partnership to manufacture guayule-based biorubber materials. Within the partnership, the companies will launch an industrial-scale production complex in Southern Europe.
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