![Vipal Rubber signs retread manufacturing joint venture with Mezcla Caucho](https://www.tyrepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/vipal-joint-venture-e1469720986443.jpg)
Vipal Rubber signs retread manufacturing joint venture with Mezcla Caucho
Vipal brand hot retreading products will be manufactured in Spain thanks to a new joint venture started by the South American market leader and Mezclas Caucho. Not only is this a first in Europe; the JV’s production line will be the first anywhere in the world for Vipal outside its domestic Brazilian market. The agreement was officially signed during Reifen 2016, the world’s largest tyre trade show, which was held in May in Essen, Germany. It adds to Vipals increased activities in Europe, marked by sustained expansion over recent years.
Continue Reading![Protyre dips toe in Scottish water with Denton Tyre acquisition](https://www.tyrepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/denton.jpg)
Protyre dips toe in Scottish water with Denton Tyre acquisition
Micheldever Tyre Services reports its acquisition of a “much respected family business.” Denton Tyre Centre, which operates two outlets in Carlisle and one in Dumfries and fits 100,000 tyres a year, has joined the company’s Protyre retail division. The Dumfries outlet becomes Protyre’s first in Scotland.
Continue Reading![What cabinet reshuffles and a UK-China free-trade deal might mean for the tyre industry](https://www.tyrepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/13883155645_d4b3a0f97b_b.jpg)
What cabinet reshuffles and a UK-China free-trade deal might mean for the tyre industry
It seems reports of the demise of the Department for Transport (DfT) were over stated. On 16 July – coincidently the day of the annual TyreSafe briefing – the new post-Brexit UK Prime Minister, Theresa May, embarked on a cabinet reshuffle. As it turned out this was no simple parlour shuffle, but a full-on single-hand pharaoh shuffle. As heads rolled and others moved in, while still others moved around, unnamed sources told The Telegraph that the Department for Transport (DfT) was being shut down. At the time, it looked like the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills and the Department for Energy and Climate Change were also being axed to make way for more streamlined departments for Industry and Infrastructure.
Continue ReadingGoodyear – net income up 5% in Q2 2016
While unit volumes of tyres produced by Goodyear Tire & Rubber grew two per cent year-on-year in the second quarter of 2016, net sales for the three-month period were, at US$3.8 billion, down 7.0 per cent on a year earlier. The company nevertheless reported a 5.2 per cent rise in net income to $208 million, thanks largely to a decrease in income tax expense.
Continue Reading![Double Coin manufacturer to set up Thailand tyre plant](https://www.tyrepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/thailand1.jpg)
Double Coin manufacturer to set up Thailand tyre plant
Under China’s ‘Belt and Road’ development strategy (Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-century Maritime Silk Road, to give its full name), excess production capacity within the country is being exported to locations within Eurasia, Asia and parts of Africa. An advantage of this policy for tyre makers is that setting up production facilities outside of China offers a means of avoiding the tariffs applied to Chinese-made tyres in numerous markets. Shanghai Huayi (Group) Company, majority owner of Shanghai Huayi Group Corporation Limited (the entity known until recently as Double Coin Holdings), signed a deal in May that will see it supply the North American and Southeast Asian markets with tyres produced at a brand new factory in Thailand.
Continue ReadingName change for Double Coin Holdings
Following the China Securities Regulatory Commission’s approval of Double Coin Holding Ltd.’s asset restructuring, the company reports that it has changed its name to Shanghai Huayi Group Corporation Limited. The company reported in June that it has already acquired a new business license that reflects the name change.
Continue Reading![RAC’s Nebula Systems to launch MECH5 diagnostics platform in September](https://www.tyrepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/nebula-rac.jpg)
RAC’s Nebula Systems to launch MECH5 diagnostics platform in September
Following its acquisition by the RAC, Nebula Systems is preparing to launch commercially its MECH5 diagnostics platform for independent garages. The platform will initially offer the functionality of Superscan 3 on a pay-as-you-go basis. With the help of the RAC investment, Nebula says it will use the flexibility of scalable cloud-based IT infrastructure to develop MECH5 rapidly.
Continue ReadingMichelin delivers “strong business performance” in H1 2016
Although its net sales declined 2.0 per cent in the first half of 2016, Michelin increased its profitability in the six months to 30 June. Net sales defied a 2.5 per cent rise in volumes and were lower at €10.29 billion, while operating income increased 11.3 per cent to €1.41 billion and the operating margin grew from 12.0 to 13.7 per cent. Net income was up 8.8 per cent year-on-year to €769 million.
Continue Reading![Continental supplies prototype tyres to Volvo Concept Truck](https://www.tyrepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Continental_Volvo_Concept_Truck-sml.jpg)
Continental supplies prototype tyres to Volvo Concept Truck
With support from the Swedish Energy Agency, Volvo Trucks has developed a new vehicle for evaluation purposes, the Volvo Concept Truck. It is the result of a five-year research project aimed at creating more energy-efficient vehicles. Volvo Trucks claims the concept vehicle cuts fuel consumption by more than 30 per cent through a 40 per cent improvement in aerodynamic efficiency and the use of low rolling resistance tyres. These tyres – prototype tyres, of course – have been provided by official project tyre supplier Continental. Size 315/70 R22.5 tyres were selected for both the steer and drive axles, while the concept truck’s trailer is equipped with 385/55 R22.5 tyres.
Continue ReadingContinental opens 5th European training centre
At the end of June, Continental opened a new training centre in Vienna, the company’s fifth in Europe. The centre features a modern workshop and training classroom where garage and fast fit employees will be able to acquire extra skills for working with tyre pressure monitoring systems, electronic systems and brake systems. The facility in Austria will offer its first training programme and September and joins existing centres in France, Germany, Italy and Spain. Upon announcing the new centre’s opening, Continental stated that it will it will further extend its training activities in future.
Continue ReadingAcquisition sees change of direction for GIIB
The financial year ending 31 December 2015 saw Malaysia’s Goodway Integrated Industries Berhad (GIIB), parent company of Goodway Rubber Industries and several other rubber compounding and retreading businesses, record its second consecutive net loss despite a positive contribution from the firm’s new venture into property development. To reverse this trend, GIIB is decreasing its reliance upon the company’s traditional rubber and tyre-related core business, and it has now taken a significant further step in this direction through the acquisition of S5 Systems Sdn Bhd. GIIB says this transaction will result in a “significant change in business direction.”
Continue ReadingChelsea FC US tour ‘boosts’ Yokohama brand
As the countdown begins to the 2016/17 Premier League football season, Yokohama is aiming to achieve a “global brand boost” thanks to Chelsea FC’s pre-season preparations in the United States, which includes participation in the International Champions Cup.
Continue Reading![German tyre retailer A.T.U. up for sale – again](https://www.tyrepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/atu-sml.jpg)
German tyre retailer A.T.U. up for sale – again
A.T.U., one of Germany’s largest tyre and car parts retailers, is once again for sale. According to information from market observers, the company is battling serious financial difficulties. US-based private investment firm Centerbridge Partners, which acquired a controlling share in A.T.U Auto-Teile-Unger GmbH & Co. KG from Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) at the end of 2013, has now contracted German restructuring expert Hans-Joachim Ziems. The presence of Ziems doesn’t bode well for A.T.U., which sells around 3.5 million tyres in Germany each year.
Continue Reading![Linglong market value exceeds RMB 50 billion](https://www.tyrepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/linglong-SSE.png)
Linglong market value exceeds RMB 50 billion
When the Shandong Linglong Tire Co., Ltd. IPO went live on 6 July and the tyre maker’s shares became available on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, their value increased by 44 per cent on the first day. The company reports that by 19 July the total market capitalisation in Linglong Tire had reached RMB 50.508 billion (£5.7 billion), giving the company the top ranking from 33 ‘A’ share (mainland China-based) listed companies in Yantai, the number three spot amongst ‘A’ listed companies in Shandong and 128th position in China as a whole.
Continue Reading![Update: Brazil project introducing ‘Sun’ production technology to truck tyres](https://www.tyrepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/sri-brazil.jpg)
Update: Brazil project introducing ‘Sun’ production technology to truck tyres
As reported yesterday, Japan’s Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd. is investing 312 million real (£73.0 million) to add a truck and bus tyre manufacturing capability to its site in Fazenda Rio Grande, Paraná state, in order to furnish the Brazilian market with a steady supply of locally-made products. The investment will cover the cost of erecting a new 13,400 square metre premises adjacent to the existing passenger car and truck tyre manufacturing facility, which entered operation in October 2013, as well as the purchase and installation of new production equipment at a cost of 208 million real.
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