Michelin and Rodi to Form Alliance in Spain
Michelin Spain has announced that it has initiated talks with Rodi, a leading tyre dealer in the Catalonia-Aragon region, on the subject of forming an alliance in the region. According to the company, the partnership would involve shareholdings and marketing ties, in particular through a cooperation agreement between Rodi and Euromaster. Under the agreement, Rodi would continue to operate in Catalonia-Aragon under its current tradename, with the addition of the label, “Member of the Euromaster Network.” Michelin expects the talks to be concluded and an agreement reach by the end of the year.
Continue ReadingPirelli to Invest US$100 million in Argentina Plant
Pirelli has announced plans to consolidate its already strong position in South America by expanding production at its Merlo, Buenos Aires, Argentina factory to 6 million units a year by 2013 with investment of US$100 million. The announcement prompted news agency Reuters to add Pirelli to its list of Italian “stocks to watch” on 21 October, owing to the fact that Argentina is “South America's number two economy.” By the end of 2010, Pirelli’s Argentinean sales are expected to grow by 55 per cent to $365 million and the target for 2013 is $500 million. This compares with 235 million dollars in 2009. Some news reports suggested the move means the firm "will move part of its production to Argentina, from Brazil and Europe." Company representatives did not comment on what, if any, affect the expansion plans would have on its existing European production capacity.
Continue ReadingToyo to Acquire Malaysian Tyre Manufacturer
Toyo Tire & Rubber has announced its decision to acquire all shares in Malaysia-based tyre manufacturer Silverstone Berhad. The company’s board of directors says it has a stock purchase agreement with Silverstone’s sole shareholder, Silverstone Corporation Berhad. According to the company’s statement, Toyo’s acquisition of Silverstone puts it in position “to make a full-scale entry into the fast-growing Southeast Asia market.” The stock transfer to Toyo from Silverstone Corporation Berhad is scheduled to take place in late January 2010 and will cost Toyo approximately 12,538 million yen (£98 million).
Continue ReadingJAXQuickfit Launches New Website
Australian independent tyre retailer JAXQuickfit Tyres has launched a new website showcasing its range of products and services at www.jaxquickfit.com.au. “JAXQuickfit Tyres is entering its next phase of business development and growth, so we have taken the opportunity to capitalise on what we have achieved over the past few years with a fresh, cleaner look going into the next strategic phase,” JAXQuickfit Tyres CEO Jeff Board said.
Continue ReadingGeneral Tire Picks Up Jeepspeed Title Sponsorship
In the US, General Tire has announced its title sponsorship of the 2011 General Tire Jeepspeed Challenge, a desert race series designed to give Jeep enthusiasts the opportunity to race their daily vehicle alongside other die-hard Jeep fans. The title sponsorship runs for a three-year period and the deal also involves the adoption of products from the Continental Tire the Americas brand as spec tyres. The 2011 Jeepspeed season begins in February 2011 and runs until December, during which time five challenge/cup events and two bonus events will be run.
Continue ReadingBest Choice Introduces New “Mazzini” Own Brand
At this year’s CITExpo, Best Choice International Trade didn’t just present a large portion of its existing range – visitors were also shown a new brand. By the end of the year this new line-up, produced under the “Mazzini Tyres” name, should be available in 13 sizes between 15 and 18-inches. As export manager Stephen Wu explained, the Mazzini brand will be separately positioned in the market to the company’s existing “Sunew” own brand. “We wanted a new brand for new customers,” elucidated Wu, stressing that the necessity to supply various distribution channels with a variety of brands. In light of this the company is looking around the world, particularly in Western Europe, North America, Australia and Japan, for new distributors.
Continue ReadingDeruibotire Targets 24 Million Tyres Produced in 2011
Deruibotire (or Shandong Deribao Tire Co, Ltd), a tyre-maker in Guangrao County, a region of China’s Shandong Province has big new production plans in the offing in 2011. Visiting Brityrex 2010 in Manchester with a Chinese delegation, the company’s president Yuan Tingshu told Tyres & Accessories that, while the company is currently producing 3 million radial tyres per year, it is developing a production line to produce 24 million units in 2011.
Continue ReadingGuangrao County Delegation Visits Brityrex
Brityrex 2010 attracted a group of visitors from Shandong Province’s Guangrao County, which met with Tyres & Accessories on the Tuesday evening in Manchester’s Renaissance Hotel off Deansgate. The delegation included the president of Deruibotire (also known as Shandong Deribao Tire Co Ltd) Yuan Tingshu; Guangrao Shandong vice county magistrate Li Jianjun; and Bureau of Commerce of Guangrao County director and party secretary Zhu Hanqing. The delegation gave a presentation on the strengths of Guangrao County – a location described by Li as “an economic powerhouse within Shandong Province” and one of China’s major tyre and automotive accessory producing regions, as well as the host of China (Guangrao) International Rubber Tire & Auto Accessory Exhibition (ChinaGRTAE), which is due to be staged for the second time in 2011. Along with Tyres & Accessories and other representatives of the UK tyre trade, the delegation met with the NTDA’s Richard Edy and Peter Gaster, also of UK wholesaler Kings Road Tyres.
Continue ReadingMichelin Aims to Double Malaysian Market Share
Amongst Michelin’s plans in Asia is a doubling of market share in Malaysia. Yves Pouliquen, managing director of Michelin Malaysia Sdn Bhd, reports the more than 1,000 outlets selling Michelin tyres throughout the country hold a ten per cent share of the market, and the tyre maker’s goal is to “grow that to 20 per cent.” One means the company has of increasing its presence in Malaysia is via the expansion of its Tyreplus network of independent tyre retailers. A year after its initial Malaysian market debut, the national Tyreplus network contains eight outlets, and Michelin plans to increase this to 50 centres by 2013 through a project Pouliquen says will cost some RM10 million (£2 million).
Continue ReadingCooper Tire Continues ‘Happy Soccer Class’ at Yellow Mountain
In China, Cooper Tire has been continuing a series of measures designed to integrate the company into the communities in which it operates. One such programme is Cooper’s ‘Happy Soccer Class’ which recently saw Alex Koi, general manager of Cooper Tire China operations, lead his team of employees to Tanjiaqiao Central Primary School in Huangshan, also known as the Yellow Mountain, Anhui province. Since January 2010, Cooper Tire working closely with famous soccer commentator Huang Jianxiang, officially launched the Cooper Tires charity soccer with the theme of ‘The wheel of Joy - happy soccer class’. This campaign aims to teach soccer skills to the children.
Continue ReadingHauling Out of the Recessionary Market
As in almost all industries, the calamity of the credit crunch has had a huge impact on the truck tyre market, reducing demand for products, and forcing manufacturers and traders to regroup. As a result of the economic crisis commercial vehicle businesses were forced to become savvier, demanding more from their tyres. Others simply went under. So with the remaining customers demanding improved performance, mileage and fuel consumption from their tyres while simultaneously being under economic pressure themselves, what affect has this scenario had on the size and development of the market? And what does this mean for truck tyre pricing both in the UK and across Europe?
Continue ReadingPirelli Reports ‘Surge’ in Post-Recession Truck Tyre Demand
With the economic recovery now seemingly underway and truck tyre sales in the UK growing again, demand for Pirelli truck products has reportedly outstripped this increase three-fold. According to the company, Pirelli’s success can be attributed to its focus on the premium market, the launch of two “extremely successful products” during the year and a number of new commercial fleet contracts. But how have these three elements linked together to put Pirelli’s sales so ahead of the market trend?
Continue ReadingB-Quik Expands Despite Unrest in Thailand
B-Quik, Thailands biggest independent automotive repair organization, saw revenue grow over 30 per cent in the first 6 months of 2010, this despite the unrest in the Thai capital in the month of May. The company has opened two new stores so far this year (one on the island of Phuket and one in Bangkok) and now operates through 64 outlets. For the second half of the year another seven new stores are confirmed and three more are pending. B-Quik adjusted its revenue expectation for 2010 to exceed 2.5 billion Thai baht (£50 million, 61 million Euros). Growth is almost equally split, 15 per cent from like for like same store increase and the other 15 per cent from new stores build last year and this year. The sales growth is divided evenly over the various product groups but aircon repairs and servicing and oil/filter changes lead the growth.
Continue ReadingBelshina to Establish Brazil Presence
Belarus based tyre maker Belshina intends to establish an office for distributing its products in Brazil this year. Parent company Belneftekhim reports the office will be located in Sao Paulo and is scheduled to open this autumn. The Brazil office will distribute a wide range of Belshina products on the Brazilian market, including truck and agricultural tyres – products the company notes are most in demand there.
Continue ReadingVeyron Tyres Last Just 37 Miles at Top Whack
While everyone else was drooling over the Bugatti Veyron Super Sports’s jaw dropping 267 mph (431 km/h) performance on the BBC’s Top Gear programme last night, Tyres & Accessories was observing the tyre geek angle – at those kinds of speeds even the best tyres simply don’t last very long. During his report, May pointed out that Bugatti engineers had told him the car’s tyres lasted for around 37 miles a speeds of up to 258 mph (414 km/h). At speeds beyond this, however, the tyres’ life expectancy is somewhat more opaque: “Ask an admiral how deep his submarine goes,” Top Gear’s May was told.
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