Bridgestone establishes sales company in Morocco
Exports of minerals and agricultural products are significantly growing in Morocco due to free trade agreements the North African country operates with the European Union and United States. On top of this, Morocco is actively establishing additional infrastructure along the Mediterranean Sea coast in the hope of becoming a major hub for the distribution of goods in and out of North Africa. For this reason, Bridgestone Middle East & Africa FZE (BSMEA) sees Morocco as a key region in which rapid economic expansion can be anticipated and has established a new tyre sales company based in Casablanca. The name of the new company is Bridgestone Tire Sales Morocco SARLAU (BTSM). Through the company, which began operation on April 1, BSMEA intends to further strengthen its business in Morocco's “highly promising” market by “increasing its ability to offer high quality products and services to the region.”
Continue ReadingSurvey: Thailand home to 3,200 tyre shops
New research suggests that Thailand is home to some 3,200 tyre shops. And what’s more roughly 50 per cent of fast fits are based in the Thai capital of Bangkok. According to research, which was conducted by well known market data analysts GfK, the automotive industry is on a roll, particularly in Thailand, which recorded a 47-month high of domestic automobile sales last November. In response GfK recently launched its automotive business in Thailand, tracking sales of replacement passenger car tyres and batteries. According to GfK’s latest findings, while tyre specialists are “uniformly spread out across the country,” fast fit outlets make up a third of all shops and are more commonly found in Bangkok area where demand tends to be higher compared to the other regions.
Continue ReadingHangzhou Zhongce confirms Thai factory reports
Leading Chinese tyre manufacturer Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber has confirmed that it is planning to build a tyre factory in the vicinity of Bangkok, Thailand. Speaking to Tyres & Accessories, the executive responsible for the companys Westlake brand Mr Ge, confirmed that the company had signed a contract with the Thai government to purchase land in the Bangkok development zone.
Continue ReadingKumho cooperating with Chinese government on Tianjin production, recall announced
Kumho Tires has announced a voluntary recall of certain tyres in China after the company’s head of research and quality control visited the Tianjin passenger car tyre factory to investigate production processes. The tyre maker reports the visiting team carried out a thorough investigation and “partly confirmed that internal production standards were not strictly observed at the site.” In addition to the abovementioned product recall, Kumho has taken disciplinary action against the head of the Tianjin factory and those employees found to be involved in negligent quality control. All product-related claims will be dealt with “solely from the customers’ point of view,” the company adds.
Continue ReadingKumho denies Chinese broadcaster’s recycled rubber claims
Chinese website gasgoo.com and other sources report Kumho Tires’ denial that tyres manufactured in one of its factories in China are unsafe. The tyre maker’s comments on the quality of its tyres follows an article aired by Chinese state television broadcaster CCTV on March 15. The CCTV report alleged that Kumho Tires used excess recycled rubber in the tyres manufactured at its Tianjin factory, a practice described as one that could lead to tyre safety and performance issues.
Continue ReadingWTO rules against parallel US duties on Chinese OTR tyres
The United Steelworkers has described a decision made by the Appeals body of the World Trade Organization as “a slap in the face to US workers and industries that are harmed by China's predatory trade practices.” The decision reverses the findings of a WTO panel report from last year on anti-dumping and countervailing duty proceedings for off-road tyres and a number of other products from China; specifically, the WTO states the US Department of Commerce acted erroneously by simultaneous levying both anti-dumping and countervailing duties on these products.
Continue ReadingToyo issues post-earthquake statement
Expressing it’s the company’s deepest condolences to the victims of the 11 March 2011 earthquake and tsunami, Toyo Tires group has released further details about the how the tragedy has affected its business and what it is doing to ensure the safety of workers. Despite the fact that Toyo runs a plant in Sendai near the epicentre of the magnitude 8.9 earthquake, the company reports that neither this nor its other manufacturing plants in Japan have been affected by the tsunami, and there has not been any significant earthquake damage to plant building or facilities.
Continue ReadingCKT sale to have “no impact” on Kenda product supply
Kenda USA officials say that despite Kenda Rubber’s decision to sell its ownership stake in Cooper Kenda Tire, the move is a positive for the company. At the start of March, Cooper Tire & Rubber bought out Kenda Rubber’s 50 per cent share in their joint venture passenger tyre production facility in China. According to Kenda, the plant only produced Cooper branded and Cooper associate brand passenger, 4x4 and light commercial tyres, and thus the sale “has no impact to the current supply of Kenda products.”
Continue ReadingMalaysia: Car tyre sales worth US$78 Million in Q4 2010
The latest market data released by GfK suggests Malaysia's passenger car tyre business recorded sales of over US$78 million during the fourth quarter of 2010. The analysts also reported increased popularity of American and European tyres in the market. "It is not unusual for quarter four to register stronger demands as major festivities like Hari Raya, Christmas and school holidays all take place during the last few months of the year," commented Jennifer Chan, general manager of GfK Malaysia. "In preparation for heavier usage of their cars for visitations and long drives, car owners tend to send their vehicles for their due servicing which includes replacing their worn out tyres, around this period of time."
Continue ReadingMaxxis rewards leading retailers with Shanghai trip
Maxxis International thanked its top 18 performing retailers of 2010 – the winners of the top prize in the Maxxis Rewards programme – by taking them on a seven-day, all expenses paid trip to China. A mix of culture and business, the visit combined sightseeing visits to major attractions in Shanghai, Hangzhou and Shuzhou with a tour of the Maxxis factory in Kunshan.
Continue ReadingEurotire opens Kazakhstan location
Eurotire has opened up a new location in Karaganda, Kazakhstan. Karaganda is located in Kazakhstan’s northeast mining region, an area rich in both coal and hard rock mining. Seeing as Eurotire’s focus is on providing the world’s emerging mining markets with OTR bias and radial tyres/OTR tyre services, the company obviously saw the value of the latest move.
Continue ReadingHyundai, Ulsan – The largest car factory in the world
With more than a quarter (11 million) of South Korea's population of around 40 million living in the capital Seoul and a further 1.1 million living in the country's capital of heavy industry Ulsan, it is clear the country's population s centred on its bustling metropolises. But while space can be found at a premium in the largest cities, the businesses that operate in each of these cities take advantage of the synergies available due to the close proximity of the workforce and other related companies.
Continue ReadingNexen aiming for US$2.5 billion sales by 2015
While most of the western world celebrated New Year at the end of December, both China and South Korea were making plans for their celebrations at the start of February, based on the lunar calendar. Back in 2010 Nexen Tire Corporation announced plans for a 1 trillion won (US$1.2 billion) investment in its largest factory yet in Changneyeong in the same region as its first plant (Yangsan), which along with the company's second plant in Qingdao, China, continues to expand. Just before the oriental entrance into the new decade, Tyres & Accessories had the opportunity to visit Nexen on its home South Korean and adopted Chinese territory and saw how the company is implementing its plans to become a US$2.5 billion company in the next five years.
Continue ReadingCooper JV Plant Earns 9001:2008 Quality Certification
The Mexico based Corporacion de Occidente joint venture, 58 per cent owned by Cooper Tire & Rubber, has earned the ISO 9001:2008 quality certification, joining six other Cooper Tire facilities – the company’s manufacturing facilities in Melksham plus its Findlay, Texarkana and Tupelo plants in the US plus its Cooper Kenda Tire joint venture in China and the Tall Timbers Mold Operations facility in Findlay – that hold this designation.
Continue ReadingChinese Machinery Makers Look to Export Markets
While much attention has been focused on the amount of tyres being produced in China in general and the rapid growth of the most professional Chinese tyre manufacturers, the machinery companies that supply them have kept their similarly meteoric rise somewhat beneath the radar. But while the tyre mould and machinery making companies have managed to avoid the limelight so far, some market observers argue that their growing influence should not be ignored.
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