Translogik Signs Exclusive Tyre RFID Deal With Qingdao Mesnac
Transense has announced that its sensor sales division, Translogik RFID Limited, has signed an exclusive global distribution agreement (excluding China) with Qingdao Mesnac Co. Ltd. for its range of RFID products. The tag has been developed to be embedded within the tyre during the manufacturing process, where it will last the lifetime of the tyre, or alternatively in a patch which attaches to the tyre wall, as an aftermarket solution.
Continue ReadingAl Saeedi Adds New Gallant Truck Tyre Size
Al Saeedi Automotive TRD Co (LLC), the exclusive distributor of Gallant brand truck tyres in the Middle East and Africa, has added 1200R24 20PR GL 885 to the range of sizes it offers. The new tyre is described as an all-position radial optimised for highway and on/off road applications. According to the distributor, the special features of this tyre include ultra-high tyre bead structure and a lateral block shoulder. “These features help enable lower heating, wear resistance, extended mileage and high speed durability,” company representatives explained. Further new sizes are expected to be added to the range with Al Saeedi reporting that Gallant is “currently in the process of manufacturing a complete range of truck and bus radials.”
Continue ReadingVredestein and Carlsson Announce Cooperation
Details of a cooperative partnership between Vredestein and vehicle manufacturer Carlsson were announced on January 11. Upon announcing the commencement of the collaboration, Vredestein Germany managing director Michael Lutz stated “in Carlsson we now have a strong partner in the field of premium styling. Carlsson is one of the best car tuning manufacturers anywhere in the world. Above all, the Carlsson name stands for elegant and exceptional design, high-torque engines and innovative German quality engineering for Mercedes cars.”
Continue ReadingEgypt to Support Tyre Exports With New Plant
Egypt is planning to establish a new passenger car tyre factory at a cost of 600 million Egyptian pounds. The state news agency MENA reports the plant will be built in El-Amerya, west of Alexandria, and will be ready to start production in two years. According to MENA, the factory’s annual capacity will be one and a half million units.
Continue ReadingChinese Market to be 30% of Cooper Sales
Reports indicate Cooper Tire & Rubber wishes to increase the share of its global sales generated in China from 25 to 30 per cent in the next three years. "That's our minimum target,” said Allen Tsaur, general manager for Cooper Tire's Asia operations during an interview with Reuters. “The Chinese domestic market is explosive and the pie is expanding. We have to grow fast to keep up the pace.”
Continue ReadingZeetex Brand Out in Force at Reifen China
The Zeetex tyre brand, which is produced exclusively for Dutch wholesaler S&H Tyres and Dubai based Zafco, was out in force at November’s Reifen China show. In addition to the company’s large and unmissably coloured orange and black stand, S&H Tyres chose a prime location near Reifen China’s main entrance and opposite the thoroughfare between this and the popular China RubberTech exhibition. With arguably the biggest stand held by a European company at the show, Tyres & Accessories asked one of the company founders Siem Klapwijk the obvious question – why? The reason S&H’s management is happy to invest so much in exhibiting in China is because the company, which already sells significant amounts of tyres in the western European countries, is growing fast and becoming increasingly international. Currently the UK and Germany are seen as key markets, however, while this is likely to continue, the company’s 2010 forecasts would seem to suggest that new markets will be needed in addition to sales growth from existing customers. During the course of 2010, S&H expects to sell 2 million passenger car tyres and between 500,000 and 600,000 truck and bus tyres around the world.
Continue ReadingApollo’s Passenger Tyre ‘Grand Masters’ Meet in Beijing
Some 186 Apollo Tyres dealers assembled in Beijing on the first weekend of December for the tyre maker’s “Grand Master Business Partners” meeting. A total of 170 India based partners and 16 international dealers, all of whom exceeded their projected passenger car tyre sales targets over the last twelve months, attended a three-day meeting with company officials in the Chinese capital. Apollo’s strategy for the coming year was shared with the partners, including specific plans and products relating to the passenger tyre segment. The ‘Grand Masters’ were also invited to give their own specific feedback.
Continue ReadingGajah Tunggal Looking to Fill US Market Void Left by Tariffs
Indonesian tyre maker PT Gajah Tunngal is hoping to take advantage of US tariffs against Chinese made consumer tyres. The Jakarta Globe reports company director Catherine Widjaja as saying “we are looking to see if we can fill the void left after the US hiked import tariffs on Chinese tyres.”
Continue ReadingFirst Stage of Shougang Tyre Cord Plant Ready
Shougang Concord Century Holdings has celebrated the completion of the first construction phase for its new steel cord facility in China’s Shandong Province. This milestone in the Tengzhou Eastern Steel Cord (TESC) plant’s development was marked by a ceremony on November 11, which was attended by dignitaries including Shougang Corporation chairman Zhu Jimin, senior company management, government officials and industry professionals.
Continue ReadingUS Tariffs an Opportunity for Asian Manufacturers
Although the US decision to charge tariffs on consumer tyres produced in China has presented the country’s manufacturers and importers of the product with a sizeable hurdle to their business, the Kasikorn Research Center, a subsidiary of Thailand’s Kasikornbank, believes the decision presents Thai exporters with a major opportunity to increase their market share.
Continue ReadingSmuggling, Under-Invoicing Hurting Pakistan’s Tyre Makers
More than six million tyres are purchased in Pakistan each year, but even though local manufacturers are only capable of producing 2.5 million units annually, they are operating at under capacity. The reason for this, believes the head of one domestic producer, is the prevalence of smuggled and under-invoiced foreign brands.
Continue ReadingJK Tyre to Increase Exports to Central, South America
JK Tyre and Industries is aiming to substantially increase exports from Tornel, the Mexican company it acquired last year. According to the Press Trust of India the company aims to do this within a year through further expand within the Central and South American markets.
Continue ReadingCredit Crunch Takes a Bite Out of the Russian Bear
Pierre Cohade, president of Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.’s Asia-Pacific business, recently asked if we should move away from talking about BRIC countries (the emerging markets of Brazil, Russia, India and China) and instead focus on BIIC. Posting this poser on the popular Twitter social network (follow twitter.com/tyrepress for regular tyre industry updates) from his base in Shanghai, Cohade questioned whether Russia’s position as leading light in the global economy should be replaced with Indonesia which, in his words “continues its spectacular improvements.” He’s got a point.
Continue ReadingEU-Korea Free Trade Agreement Will Aid Tyre Sales
On 15 October EU Trade Commissioner Catherine Ashton and Korean Trade Minister Kim Jong-hoon initialled a free trade agreement (FTA), which the EU calls “the most important ever negotiated between the European Union and a third country.” Estimated to be worth a total of 19 billion euros in new trade for EU exporters, the agreement is designed to remove virtually all tariffs between the two economies. However, it is a bilateral deal. And European carmakers, apparently fearful of being swamped by imports of more economically priced Korean cars in an already depressed market, were the first to call for a rethink through industry body ACEA. However this appears to have been too little too late and according to the commission, the initialling signals the end of negotiations. The current “stable legal text” will be formally presented to EU Member States in early 2010. So what does this mean for the European tyre (and associated product) markets?
Continue ReadingTire Rack Tests Yokohama’s Orange Oil Tyre in 'Real World Ride'
Yokohama Tire Corporation's (YTC) eco-friendly dB Super E-specT tyre, which is made of 80 per cent non-petrol products, scored well in a recent low rolling resistance test conducted by US retailer Tire Rack. "The Tire Rack test shows that the dB Super E-spec, which introduces new technology in tyre materials and design, is noticeably better on all-around performance," said Mark Chung, YTC director, corporate strategy and planning. "Compared to standard tyres on a Prius, both the fuel efficiency and handling are improved, and compared with other conventional tyres that offer enhanced fuel efficiency, the dB Super E-Spec excels in driving performance.”
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