Goodyear Laying off 55 Danville workers
Some 55 hourly employees at Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.’s plant in Danville, Va., are being laid off, according to local reports. In an article on DoDanRiver.com, Goodyear currently has about 2,300 employees. The layoff is happening across all departments, rather than affecting a single product line.
Continue ReadingBest Choice launches Mazzini TBR tyre range
Beijing based Best Choice International Trade Co., Ltd. launched the Mazzini radial truck tyre brand in August. Labelling tests have already taken place and the 315/80 R22.5 MZ266 product is said to be rated C in fuel efficiency and D in wet grip.
Continue ReadingTriangle talks investment during visit to Russia
Triangle Tyre reports that between 24 July and 1 August an eleven-person company delegation, led by Triangle president and chairman Ding Yuhua, visited several regions of Russia on a fact-finding mission. Topics of focus during the visit were issues regarding investment and related policy, Russia’s tyre market and vehicle manufacturers. Triangle says the group was warmly welcomed by government departments and officials.
Continue ReadingLabelling and truck tyres – ‘Trickery’ won’t be forgiven
No, Continental’s Herbert Mensching and Dr. Frank Walloch cannot conceive that a tyre maker could solely focus its development on label-related areas just to achieve sales through high ratings. The two men, respectively managing director sales and marketing at Continental’s Commercial Vehicle Tires unit and director of product development for commercial vehicle tyres in the EMEA region, believe a one-sided preference for specific development priorities will evaporate after around nine months at the very latest, as professional truck tyre users are competent at evaluating these products. Instead of placing a focus on criteria such as wet braking or rolling resistance, what is of key importance for commercial vehicle tyres, most likely more than in the passenger car tyre segment, is balanced product development in which other criteria – such as mileage and retreadability – will rank high on the list of priorities.
Continue ReadingBrazil studying proposals for new tyre regulation
Brazil’s government has carried out a public consultation to determine regulations for tyres sold in the country in preparation for legislations towards greener tyres. Chemicals manufacturer Lanxess reports that the consultation was performed last month and the government is now analysing the suggestions it received; these will be published before the end of the year.
Continue Reading‘Tyre man’ toppled
Generations of Australians growing up in Sydney’s north have fond memories of the “tyre man” who sat perched on the hill above the beachside suburb of Manly. The tyre man, a dummy atop a pole ringed by close to 100 tyres, maintained his vigil over Manly for more than 80 years; local newspaper the Manly Daily reports that the tyre man is, alas, no more.
Continue ReadingDes Collins to lead Conti’s new public liaison office
Continental has appointed ex-Bridgestone Europe communications vice-president Des Collins head of its new Liaison Office for Public Affairs in Brussels, Belgium. This new office in the European Union’s political capital opened on 1 August, and Collins takes responsibility for representing the legislative and regulatory interests of both Continental’s Rubber and Automotive Groups.
Continue ReadingFiege to operate Toyo B2B e-commerce platform
Supported by German logistics provider Fiege, Toyo Tires Europe is now distributing tyres to its business clientele via an internet-based B2B platform. The platform has already been rolled out in Germany, Italy, the Benelux countries and, most recently, the UK.
Continue ReadingNew investors expected to restart GTEA production
Production at Tanzanian tyre maker General Tyre East Africa will reportedly resume within a year. Last year management of the company – which hasn’t produced a tyre since 2007 – was placed in the hands of Tanzania’s National Development Corporation, and the corporation’s corporate affairs manager now says that investors from China, Malaysia and South Africa have shown interest in the getting the company up and running again.
Continue ReadingApollo enters Nigerian market
Apollo Tyres has rolled out its product range in the Nigerian market and the tyre maker has appointed the Stallion Group, a conglomerate that already boasts partnerships with several global vehicle manufacturers, as its representative within the country.
Continue ReadingHangzhou Zhongce joins ITMA
China’s largest tyre maker, Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber, has become the country’s latest manufacturer to sign up with the Imported Tyre Manufacturers’ Association (ITMA). Its membership gives Hangzhong Zhongce access to the very latest technical and legislative regulations affecting the sale of tyres within Europe.
Continue ReadingTGI takes on Central America, Caribbean Mastercraft distribution
Cooper Tire & Rubber has entered into a two-year exclusive agreement with US wholesaler Tire Group International (TGI) to distribute Mastercraft brand tyres throughout Central America and the Caribbean. As part of the agreement, which runs until December 2014, TGI will also provide marketing and sales support for Mastercraft in the form of product promotions and dealer training.
Continue ReadingSailun confirms Jinyu and Shenyang double acquisition
Following earlier reports suggesting Sailun Company Ltd had bought two other Chinese tyre firms, Sailun representatives have confirmed that the Chinese tyre manufacturer has entered into a “framework agreement” to acquire equity in both Shandong Jinyu Industrial Co. Ltd and Shenyang Peace Radial Tyre Manufacturing Co. Ltd. The framework was agreed on 10 July 2012.
Continue ReadingSailun to grow through acquisitions
On 10 July Sailun Co Ltd. announced its entry into an agreement to acquire another Chinese tyre maker and also purchase a large share in a third company. In separate statements, Sailun said it will buy Shenyang Peace Radial Tyre Manufacturing Co. Ltd. for about RMB 120 million (£12.2 million) and acquire 49 per cent equity in Shandong Jinyu Industrial Co. Ltd. for around RMB 200 million (£20.3 million). Shenyang Peace has annual capacity of 1.2 million all-steel radial truck tyres, while Shandong Jinyu has capacity to produce three million all-steel radials and 10 million semi-steel radials per year.
Continue ReadingNexen opens Columbia branch
Nexen Tire has opened a sales branch in Bogota, Colombia. It is the second branch in South & Central America after the first one in Brazil. According to Nexen, Columbia is the third biggest market in South America after Brazil and Argentina. It has a reported demand of around 4 million units a year. With its booming economy, the tyre market in the country is also expected to grow.
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