Hangzhou 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.
Continue ReadingBridgestone continues South American football sponsorship
Bridgestone has renewed its sponsorship of Copa Sudamericana, the South American football cup. On 2 July the tyre maker confirmed it has signed on for a second year with the championship that is contested by 47 clubs from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Columbia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela. Bridgestone’s title sponsorship is again reflected in the event’s name – Copa Bridgestone Sudamericana.
Continue ReadingTyre prices stable, local product demand rising in SE Asia – GfK survey
Market research firm GfK Asia has released a report on the performance of four emerging Southeast Asian tyre markets in the first quarter of 2012; the company found that demand for replacement tyres in the countries investigated – Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand – increased 14 per cent between January and March in comparison with the October to December 2011 quarter. According to GfK’s retail tracking of replacement passenger car tyres across a number of cities within the four countries, some 2,557,600 tyres were replaced in the first three months of the year.
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Tyre-based protest goes awkwardly wrong
Nothing makes a statement like sliding through a tyre. This was perhaps the logic employed by two men protesting against garbage problems in the Indian city of Thiruvananthapuram. The Hindu newspaper reports that the two-middle aged men ended up spending an “agonising hour” trapped inside a tyre after their “ill-conceived” acrobatic street demonstration went awry. What the pair attempted, it must be said, should not be tried at home.
Continue ReadingColoured tyres centre stage for Kama at Reifen
Russian tyre maker Nizhnekamskshina says that if demand for the coloured tyres it presented at Reifen 2012 is sufficient, it will begin commercial manufacture of the products. The producer of the Kama brand presented its Viatti Strada Asimmetrico tyres in white, red, green and blue. At present the coloured tyres are strictly a limited edition item.
Continue ReadingChinese tyremakers headed for consolidation?
While falling demand for truck and bus radials is putting pressure on sales of premium and import brands alike, the number of factories and the amounts of tyres each are producing continue to proliferate. Tyres & Accessories recently met with several companies in the same boat at the recent Reifen Show in Essen Germany in June. While the consensus agreed in general terms about the decline in truck tyre demand across Europe as a whole, clearly not everyone’s experience is the same and there could be key strategic reasons why production output seems to carry on regardless.
Continue ReadingNexen Tire aims for top ten
Korea’s longest-established tyre maker, Nexen Tire, recently opened its latest factory, a highly automated plant that will help the tyre maker reach its goal of almost tripling output by the end of the decade. The Changnyeong plant entered production in April and this year it will turn out some three million passenger car, 4x4 and light commercial vehicle tyres. This figure will then rise significantly over the next few years, reaching 21 million – 60,000 tyres a day – by 2018. By that date, Nexen says it will have invested a total of 1,200 billion won (£650 million) in the plant.
Continue ReadingPirelli buys Swedish tyre retail chain Däckia for 70 million euros
Pirelli has acquired 100 per cent of Däckia Holding AB, one of the main multi-brand tyre distribution chains in Sweden from private equity group Procuritas Capital Investors IV LP (and minority shareholders) for 625 million kronor (approximately 70 million euros). Reporting the news, Pirelli explained that the move is in line with its strategy of reinforcement on markets with strong growth in high-end, high margin segments. In this case this is likely to mean the sale of winter tyres.
Continue ReadingYokohama opens Russian factory
On 30 May, Yokohama held an opening ceremony for its new passenger car tyre plant in Russia. The facility, located in the Lipetsk Special Economic Zone and operated by Yokohama R.P.Z., was built with an investment of 4.8 billion roubles (£94.8 million) and is scheduled to reach full operation in the summer of 2013. Further additions will be made to the plant’s production capacity in stages, Yokohama reports. Products made in the new plant include the "C.drive2" and the studded "ice Guard iG35" winter tyre, both of which are core Yokohama products in the Russian market. These tyres will be manufactured in 13 to 18-inch rim diameter sizes and mainly sold in Russia, with some exports going to Europe.
Continue ReadingFrom Birmingham to Beijing, on Goodyear tyres
Land Rover recently produced its one millionth Discovery vehicle and, to celebrate this milestone and demonstrate the Discovery's versatility and all-round capability, the company decide to send the vehicle on a trip – from Birmingham to Beijing. For this epic, 50-day, 8,000-mile adventure, Land Rover chose Wrangler DuraTrac tyres for the three vehicles that undertook the daunting journey across more than a dozen countries. The conditions on the way were challenging and varied, including crossing mountains and driving on all sorts of surfaces.
Continue ReadingTGI to distribute Kenda in Puerto Rico
Tire Group International and Kenda are pleased to announce that they have entered into a distribution agreement for TGI to distribute Kenda branded tyres in Puerto Rico. TGI will offer Kenda’s specialty tyre segment which consists of trailer, turf, ATV and industrial tyres as well as its passenger, SUV and light truck tyres. TGI will offer both direct factory shipments as well as fill-ins from its Miami facility.
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