Land set aside for Ceylon Steel tyre factory
Sri Lanka’s Ceylon Steel Corporation Limited is to receive 100 acres for the tyre factory it is setting up with technical assistance from Marangoni. The land is being acquired by the Urban Development Authority of Sri Lanka, which will lease it to Ceylon Steel for a 99-year period.
Continue ReadingMichelin issued inconsequential noncompliance by NHTSA
The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has issued an inconsequential noncompliance to Michelin North America’s petition for its 186 Uniroyal Tiger Paw AWP II passenger tyres.
Continue ReadingHope for Europe’s retreaders – EC proposes anti-dumping legislation changes
Imports of truck tyres into Europe have significantly increased over the past five years and have devoured market share formerly held by local players, particularly European retreaders. Detailed analyses on this phenomenon can be found here and here.
Continue ReadingBirla Carbon wins Pirelli sustainability award
Birla Carbon was recognized as a leading supplier to Pirelli at an awards ceremony held by the tyre maker in September. The company was only carbon black supplier to receive the award from Pirelli.
Continue ReadingEurope’s retreading market – is a structural change in full swing?
Europe’s retreading industry is in poor shape. Sales volumes have – with the exception of a peak in 2010 and 2011 – decreased by a quarter since 2007. What’s more, the million or more retreads that weren’t (or couldn’t be) sold during this time were offset by an almost one million unit rise in new truck tyre imports. It is no great secret that up to 90 per cent of these imports originate in China and are offered in Europe at prices that make those typically charged by retreaders seem exorbitant, and it can even be posited that these products call an entire industry’s competitiveness into question. Pre-cure retreading, a process more often than not performed by small and medium-sized operations, has come under particular pressure of late. Looking at this phenomenon, it is easy to wonder if we are witnessing the start of a long-term structural change within the industry.
Continue ReadingApollo Tyres named as potential Kumho buyer
According to The Economic Times, Apollo Tyres has shown interest in acquiring Kumho Tire. The Indian financial daily says Apollo is competing with Chinese firms Shandong Linglong Tire and ChemChina to acquire the South Korean tyre maker, a transaction said to be valued at US$900 million.
Continue ReadingMyers Tire Supply adds three TPMS packages
Myers Tire Supply has added three new exclusive TPMS kits to its product offering. The kits include: the ATEQ VT56 industry-leading TPMS diagnostic tool with OBDII and two years of software updates; the Myers 360 TPMS activation and programming tool; and 12 of the customers’ choice of sensors from Schrader, Alligator or HUF.
Continue ReadingVMI breaks ground on Poland plant
VMI Group broke ground on its new manufacturing plant in Leszno, Poland on 2 November 2016. In the first phase, the company is building a 13,500 m2 facility on its 8 hectare plot of land with goal of extending the current manufacturing capabilities of the company. VMI Group now has entities in 8 countries on 5 continents.
Continue ReadingHamaton appoints Osmani as North American general manager
Following the establishment of Hamaton Inc. in the US, Hamaton has appointed Enri Osmani, as general manager of the North America business. According to the company, he brings with him “significant depth of experience gained from senior roles which have taken him into both the Automotive aftermarket and OE sectors.” Based at the new headquarters in Wixom, Michigan, and working closely with the management team of Hamaton Ltd in the UK, he will coordinate the development of Hamaton Inc. which will ensure that Hamaton’s North American customer base will receive valuable field sales, technical, training and product support.
Continue ReadingChemChina denies bidding for Kumho
Reuters reports that ChemChina did not bid for Kumho Tire, citing a ChemChina executive. told Reuters, denying South Korean media. Roughly 10 parties are said to have expressed an interest in buying a controlling stake in Kumho, which is the worlds 12th-biggest tyre manufacturer. Analysts suggest the deal could be worth around 1 trillion won ($870.02 million).
Continue ReadingAre OEMs “manipulating” TPMS tests?
Campaigning body Transport & Environment (T&E) has published research suggesting original equipment vehicle manufacturers are “again manipulating official tests – this time on safety by adjusting indirect tyre pressure monitoring systems (TPMS) to pass the lab test but failing to perform on the road”.
Continue ReadingConsolidation of Chinese tyre manufacturers gaining speed
Following the implementation of US import tariffs in the last year (car tyres 2015; truck tyres 2016) and the widespread recognition of vast oversupply in the Chinese manufacturing base, there has been talk of consolidation of tyre industry in the People’s Republic for some time. In the last few weeks however, it has become apparent that several Dongying, Shandong-based tyre manufacturers (especially those found in the Gungrao district) have experienced serious difficulties resulting in bankruptcies, buyouts and mergers. Now the consolidation trend appears to be gathering speed. Deruibao Tire was the first to go pop more than a year ago, taking the private brand orders of some well-known wholesalers and importers with it, before its assets were taken on by fast-growing Qingdao Doublestar in what some characterised as a shotgun wedding, but was also a sign of things to come. Several local Chinese news sources named Dongying-based Hengyu Tire as the next to go (with the latter apparently declaring bankruptcy on 14 February), followed by the smaller and younger O’Green and Watson Tyre factories. At the same time, various Chinese tyre distributors report that Yongtai Chemical’s tyre operations have shut down. Company representatives were not available for comment. However, we do know that Yongtai-owned Covpress (a Coventry-based panel metal supplier to well-known OEMs including Jaguar Land Rover) has entered administration. And furthermore, DMack – which had made itself popular selling World Rally Championship tyres made at Yongtai Chemical – switched production of its tarmac competition tyres to Cooper Tire Europe’s Avon Motorsport division in Melksham in mid-August (see “Yongtai Chemical-owned Covpress in administration” for further details).
Continue ReadingYokohama Rubber aeroacoustic simulation technology wins research project award
Yokohama’s research on ‘Highly accurate fluid analysis and data mining for next-generation silent tyre development’ has received an Excellent achievement research project award for general-use research themes undertaken using the High Performance Computing Infrastructure (HPCI). Yokohama’s research was conducted in cooperation with the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS), a research arm of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), HPCI is promoted by Japan’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT). The award was announced at the third project report meeting of the HPCI System Including K computer, held at the Kokuyo Hall in Tokyo’s Minato Ward on 21 October.
Continue ReadingCimcorp supplying automated handling system to Petlas
Cimcorp is supplying a fully automated handling system to Petlas Tire Corporation at its factory in Kirsehir, Turkey, about 100 miles southeast of Ankara. Based on Cimcorps Dream Factory solution, the automation will handle finished passenger car radial tyre-finishing and palletizing areas. Work on the order – Cimcorp’s first project for Petlas – is already underway and the turnkey material handling system will become operational in the autumn of 2017.
Continue ReadingAl Saeedi Group hosts Camso customer meeting
Al Saeedi Group has held a meeting with its Camso, formerly Camoplast Solideal, tyre customers. The event was chaired by Ferreol Tournebize, Camso zone director for Middle East Africa; Majid Tamoutounour, business development manager Middle East Africa; and Anish Malattiri, director, Al Saeedi Group.
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