Qingdao Doublestar doubling capacity
Things are tough in China, but not every company is going under. While some are struggling others are expanding quickly. During the course of the recent Reifen China exhibition in Shanghai, Tyres & Accessories spoke with Qingdao Doublestar representatives and found our more about the company’s ambitious plans for rapid change despite the turbulent market conditions.
Continue ReadingShenzhou Tire breaks ground on phase two of £1 billion tyre factory project
Ningxia Shenzhou Tire Co. Ltd. has broken ground on a new tyre plant in the city of Shizuishan in Ningxia Province, China. Company representatives have been quoted as saying that the production capacity forms the second phase of £1 billion project, the output of which is destined for high-end markets in the Europe and the USA.
Continue ReadingSEC charges another Cooper/Apollo insider trader
In April 2015 the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged two men, long-time friends Amit Kanodia and Iftikar Ahmed, after the pair illegally profited from inside information related to Apollo Tyres’ plan to acquire Cooper Tire & Rubber in 2013. Kanodia, whose wife held the post of general counsel at Apollo Tyres prior to the deal’s announcement and was privy to highly confidential information, also shared details with others. A further ‘close friend’, Steven C. Watson, is now the subject of a further case being pursued by the SEC. The US federal agency submitted its case against Watson to the United States District Court in the District of Massachusetts on 17 November.
Continue ReadingJSR, MOL to build joint venture S-SBR plant in Hungary
Groundwork begins this month on a new 60,000 ton per annum S-SBR plant destined to supply synthetic rubber to tyre industry customers. Construction of the new plant begins in the first quarter of next year at the MOL Petrochemicals site in Tiszaújváros, Hungary and the facility is a 51/49 per cent joint venture between Japan’s JSR Corporation and Hungary’s MOL Group. It is expected that the plant’s mechanical completion will take place within 2017.
Continue ReadingKenda Rubber investing £200M to build car tyre factory in Vietnam
Taiwan’s Kenda Rubber intends to significantly increase investment in Vietnam and establish a large passenger car tyre plant there. In an interview with Channel NewsAsia correspondent Victoria Chen, company chairman Yang Ying-ming said NT$10 billion (£200.5 million) would ultimately be invested to erect this facility, which will most likely be Kenda’s largest tyre factory and boast production capacity rivalling that of Kenda’s operation in China.
Continue ReadingGoodyear now selling tyres online throughout the USA
In April, Goodyear Tire & Rubber chairman and chief executive Richard Kramer shared plans to introduce a company-owned online tyre retail platform in the USA. After opening for business in September, the tyre maker reports that the goodyear.com tyre sales site is now serving customers across the entire country. More than 4,000 outlets, including 600 Goodyear tyre and service centres, have joined the programme and will act as fitters for tyres purchased through the site.
Continue Reading2016 North American Tire & Retread Expo to feature special recycling exhibit
The North American Tire & Retread Expo will include its first annual Tire Recycling World exhibit in its 2016 show. Taking place 19-21 April at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, Louisiana, the three-day expo brings together a wide variety of tyre and retread industry professionals for networking, buying, and selling opportunities.
Continue ReadingHelmut Ehmann in memoriam
Kraiburg has announced the sudden passing of “friend and former colleague” Helmut Ehmann. Ehmann died suddenly and unexpectedly on Wednesday 28 October 2015 at the age of 74 due to “the debilitating effects following a critical illness”.
Continue ReadingChemChina proudly showing Pirelli connection
Now ChemChina has completed the purchase of Pirelli and the de-listing of the well-known Italian tyre firm’s shares, the first signs of how Pirelli will be integrated into the ChemChina tyre group are emerging. Walking onto the ChemChina stand, the first thing you notice is that the Pirelli logo now features at the head of a list of group-owned tyre business in at least two prominent positions on the large stand. While for many in Europe the sight of Pirelli alongside Aeolus, Double Happiness, Yellow Sea and Torch may feel a little strange, the obvious implication of ChemChinas decision to present it this way is that we all need to start getting used to the new reality. Secondly, you can’t ignore that this move communicates the underlying intention to integrate Pirelli into the ChemChina group rather
Continue ReadingBridgestone’s Garfield to head RMA board
The Rubber Manufacturers Association (RMA) has elected Bridgestone Americas’ chief executive officer and president Gary Garfield the chairman of its Board of Directors. Garfield will serve for a two-year term and succeeds Pete Selleck, chairman and president of Michelin North America, who held the position of RMA board chairman since 2013.
Continue ReadingKumho shifts US headquarters
The new corporate headquarters for Kumho Tire USA is now officially open. Formerly situated in Rancho Cucamonga, California, the head office is now located in Atlanta, Georgia. The new site offers closer proximity to Kumho’s new factory in Macon, which occupies a 21 acre site close to Atlanta Airport, and its distribution centre in McDonough, Georgia; Kumho Tire USA says the positioning of its relocated headquarters will “help streamline communication and cooperation within our company.”
Continue ReadingNokian reshuffles management team
At the end of October Nokian Tyres changed its operational structure to “strengthen the companys product and innovation leadership, end-to-end supply operations and sales and distribution management”. The move also follows the departure of one of the firm’s senior executives. According to Nokian, the former head of Passenger car tyre operations, Rami Helminen, has decided to leave the company and “continue his career elsewhere”. Rami Helminen was appointed as Nokian vice president, Car and Van Tyres nine years ago, a role he took on on 1 March 2006.
Continue ReadingChinese production of Rhein Chemie tyre curing bladders begins
Rhein Chemie Additives has opened a production line for Rhenoshape tyre curing bladders at its Chinese production site in Qingdao. The Lanxess business unit set up the facility with a “low single-digit million euro” investment and initially the new production line will expand Rhein Chemie Additives’ global production capacity by around ten per cent. The operation in Qingdao is the company’s fourth bladder plant.
Continue ReadingZafco launches new tyres at SEMA 2015
Zafco has unveiled two new tyres at Las Vegas’ SEMA show. The all-season Zeetex ZT3000, an eco-friendly alternative in the PCR category that offers exceptional wet grip and balanced driving behavior, and the slick Accelera Delta Sport, the brand’s first racing tyre engineered with the “R-Compound” are the new models on stand, which also featured Zeetex’s Café Zee concept.
Continue ReadingReifen China 2015 underway
Reifen China 2015, held at the Shanghai New International Exhibition Centre, opened its doors for a ninth consecutive time on 11 November. In his welcoming address Wei Yun, chairman of China United Rubber Corporation (CURC) who jointly organise the show with Messe Essen GmbH, pointed out that “This year RubberTech continues to run in association with the 9th Asian Essen Tire Show. We aim to set up a platform for exhibitors to present the latest technology and products in both the upstream and downstream rubber industry. During the three-day exhibition and conference, more than 600 exhibitors both from home and abroad from over 20 different countries...”
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