Yokohama ’s Russian tyre manufacturing and sales subsidiary, Yokohama RPZ has hosted the companys latest tree-planting ceremony at its plant grounds in the Special Economic Zone in Lipetsk. The ceremony is part of the company’s worldwide Yokohama Forever Forest Project.
Reuters is reporting union leaders at a closed Goodyear plant in northern France have agreed to talks with Morry Taylor, Titan International chairman and CEO. Taylor infamously said earlier in 2013 that the plant wasn’t worth saving, but reports suggest he is reconsidering his abandoned takeover bid for the plant. The French union wants give their demands directly to Taylor in his US office, Tire Review reports.
This year’s SEMA Show is on track to be the largest in the event’s 47-year history, Tire Review reports. Already more than 2,500 exhibitors are set to cover more than one million square-feet of floor space at the show in Las Vegas, on 5-8 November. Additionally, more than 130,000 professionals from 130 countries are expected to attend.
We’ve found a forwarding address for Mr. and Mrs. Fussy: According to the results of the J.D. Power Asia Pacific 2013 Japan Original Equipment Tire Customer Satisfaction Index (OE-TSI), vehicle owners in Japan expect the tyres that come with their new vehicle to be “perfect”. J.D. Power shares that “even a single problem with their factory-equipped tyres has a significant impact on their satisfaction.”
It’s as old as the pneumatic tyre itself – this year, Continental Tire the Americas’ Aldora Mills tyre cord plant in Barnesville, Georgia celebrates 125 years in operation. The facility began life as a cotton mill in 1888 and began producing tyre cord around 1920. Today the 82,500 square metre plant produces around 16 thousand tonnes of tyre cord fabric a year for use in the manufacture of passenger car and light commercial vehicle tyres.
Despite rising power costs, Michelin investing in German factory
It invested 20 million euros there in 2012, and Michelin will continue investing in its Bad Kreuznach plant in Germany to improve its responsiveness to market demands. Plant manager Cyrille Beau told local newspaper the Rhein-Zeitung that the continued investment would cover several projects, including the conversion of a production line to 18-inch tyres. As of next year it will solely produce tyres in this rim diameter.
Cheng Shin the latest to announce Indonesia factory plan
In order to increase its ASEAN region presence, Taiwan’s Cheng Shin Rubber will invest NT$2.36 billion (£49.7 million) to build a plant in Indonesia. A filing to the Taiwan Stock Exchange states that the company’s board approved plans for the factory on 15 October.
The holding company for Yokohama Rubber’s Chinese operations, Yokohama Rubber (China) Co., Ltd., reports receiving a ‘Most Excellent Company Image Award’ at the ‘2013 Beautiful China’ awards ceremony held in Beijing late last month.
Natural rubber production in the region represented by the Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries - Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam – is expected to rise 3.0 per cent this year to 10.645 million tonnes.
During the Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries (ANRPC) Annual Rubber Conference, held in Colombo on 8 October, the secretary to Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Plantation Industries stated that the country intends to significantly expand its rubber sector over the coming decade.
German retail cooperative Top Service Team is set to lose around a third of its outlets at the end of this year. An industry contact shared with our sister publication Neue Reifenzeitung that two of Top Service Team’s current 17 members, tyre retail and service chains RTC Reifen und Auto-Service and Reifen Helm, are leaving due to reasons linked to “conflicting strategic orientation” and “cost-benefit ratio”.
The ONCall emergency road service offered by Michelin Americas Truck Tires has is to be expanded with the January 2014 launch of ONCall 2.0. This extended service will feature mechanical and towing in addition to tyre services. ONCall 2.0 will also include ‘Livetrack’ real-time breakdown monitoring and ‘Fixpix’ tyre event pictures.
Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations has announced a promotional alliance with film production company DreamWorks Animation, supporting its latest 3D comedy, ‘Turbo’. The promotions will give Firestone customers an early opportunity to engage with the film, which features an ordinary garden snail who dreams of competing in the Indy 500. In Europe, where the movie has been screened in cinemas as of this month, Firestone has linked events with trade sell-in promotions and consumer sell-out incentives in several countries, including Spain, Denmark and eastern European markets.
Bridgestone Americas has increased daily production at its WarrenCounty truck tyre factory in Tennessee by 900 tyres. Thanks to a US$36.6 million expansion programme, the plant now produces 9,000 medium truck radials per day. Some 45 new jobs were created with the expansion.
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