Departures & arrivals – changes to Borbet’s management team
Three managing directors are parting ways with wheel manufacturer Borbet, and not all are going voluntarily. One is Oliver J. Schneider, who as managing director of Borbet Vertriebs GmbH is in charge of aftermarket business. He is leaving at his own request, and Borbet has yet to name his successor. Two other members of the Borbet GmbH management team also ended their tenures with the company in the past week.
Continue Reading
Biomass butadiene plant inaugurated at Michelin site
Together with partners IFPEN and Axens, Michelin has brought an industrial scale bio-based butadiene demonstrator plant into operation in France. The facility is located at Michelin’s Bassens site near Bordeaux. The aim is to develop and commercialise butadiene from plant biomass-derived ethanol as a replacement for petrochemical-based butadiene.
Continue Reading
Yokohama OE on 2025 Subaru Forester
The Yokohama Rubber Co. Ltd. is supplying Geolandar G91 tyres as original equipment (OE) for the 2025 US model Forester, which was unveiled in November 2023. The SUV is being fitted with 225/60R17 99H tyres.
Continue Reading
ZC Rubber increasing Yonggu rubber track capacity
ZC Rubber subsidiary Yonggu is expanding its capacity to produce rubber tracks and other rubber products. On the site of the former Hangzhou Taihong Rubber Track plant in Jiande, in China’s Zhejiang Province, Zhongce Yonggu Rubber (Jiande) Co. will establish a facility that will ultimately have a capacity to make 1 million tracks a year.
Continue Reading
S8 Capital aiming for 2.4 million tyres a year at ex-Bridgestone plant in Russia
The new owner of the former Bridgestone factory in Ulyanovsk, Russia intends to resume tyre manufacturing at the site this year and wants to “reach significant production volumes” in 2025. According to the Ulyanovsk Region Development Corporation, S8 Capital has a first-stage goal of 2 million tyres per annum, which it will subsequently increase to 2.4 million tyres, the plant’s pre-acquisition output. The Ulyanovsk plant has a design capacity of 4.2 million tyres a year.
Continue Reading
Further carbon black capacities in Asia – 2 new Birla Carbon plants
Birla Carbon has announced new greenfield projects in India and Thailand. The facilities will be respectively located in Niadupet, Andhra Pradesh and Rayong and each will have an initial capacity of 120 kMT when they become operational in 2025. Birla Carbon will develop the sites with an eye to expanding both to 240 kMT in the future.
Continue Reading
Vredestein become FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 2025 main sponsor
Vredestein has become the Official Main Sponsor of the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 2025, which will be held in Saalbach, Austria from 4 to 16 February next year. Building on a successful partnership with the flagship event in 2023 in Courchevel and Méribel, France, the new sponsorship deal will enhance brand recognition and drive further awareness of award-winning Vredestein winter and all-season tyres.
Continue Reading
Yokohama Rubber, RAOT hold 6th joint seminar event for natural rubber farmers in Thailand
Yokohama held a seminar alongside the Surat Thani branch of the Rubber Authority of Thailand (RAOT) in December 2023 to help Thai natural rubber farmers improve the quality and productivity of their natural rubber. 70 farm households in the Surat Thani area participated in the event. Each participating household received a complimentary 250kg of fertiliser developed with RAOT’s specialist knowledge. The seminar is the sixth held by Yokohama Rubber and RAOT since 2020.
Continue Reading
Yokohama to expand car tyre production capacity in Philippines
Yokohama will expand the production capacity of Yokohama Tire Philippines, Inc. (YTPI), by 1,800 tyres per day with an investment of 8.4 billion yen (around £45 million). As a result, the annual production capacity for the plant will reach nearly 12 million – YTPI states the daily capacity will be 32,500. The capacity increases will also be joined by an expanded size lineup at the top end of its size range. 21 and 22-inch tyres, sizes associated with performance cars and SUVs, will be added to the 13-20 inch range already produced at YTPI. Established in April 1996, YTPI manufactures Yokohama tyres primarily for export to the global market.
Continue Reading
Isenhouer Brothers Racing joins Team Yokohama roster on Geolandar tyres at King of the Hammers
Yokohama Tire has added Isenhouer Brothers Racing to its line-up for the annual King of the Hammers race. They will join veteran Team Yokohama members, including Wayne and Kristen Matlock, Levi Shirley, Apdaly Lopez, and Jonathan and Jordan Brenthel, competing on Yokohama Geolandar off-road tyres. The Isenhouer Brothers will compete in the Spec TT class, while Shirley heads up the 4400 class. Both will be on purpose-built Geolandar MT-R 40X13.50R18 tyres. “We are pumped to put these new 40-inch Geolandars to the test, not only on the racetrack but also get out there in the rocks and to do some 4x4 adventuring this year,” Isenhouer said.
Continue Reading
Point S expands French dealer network with 49-branch Etape Auto acquisition
Point S has expanded its national reach in France to nearly 1,000 branches. The tyre dealer and car maintenance network has added the 49 sites belonging to the Etape Auto network, reports the French trade magazine Le Journal de Pneumatique.
Continue Reading
Point S signs international service agreement with TotalEnergies Lubrifiants
Tyre dealer and car maintenance network Point S has signed an international service agreement with TotalEnergies Lubrifiants. a leading global manufacturer of lubricants. The company will supply its portfolio of high-performance automotive products, including its range of Quartz engine oils, to the Point S global network of independent dealers and repair centres. The agreement is designed to enhance the international growth of both companies. The Point S network consists of 6,185 points of sale across 51 countries on five continents, while TotalEnergies Lubrifiants is present in 160 countries, including 42 production sites.
Continue Reading
Colmec acquires Finnish Bandag retreader Pentep Oy
Colmec Group has acquired Bandag retreader Pentep Oy, one of Finland’s biggest independent retreaders. The company has built a strong customer base of tyre service operations and end-users since it was established in 1992. ”To be a part of Colmec will strengthen Pentep and secure that we can grow and take the next step in the Finnish market, this will positively gain both new and existing customers, but also our employees,” says Teppo Vekka CEO at Pentep.
Continue Reading
Tyres & Accessories January 2024 issue available to read online now
The January issue of Tyres & Accessories Magazine is now available as an e-paper for subscribers to Tyrepress, following the distribution of the print edition. The latest issue includes special features on agricultural tyres and TPMS and sensor technology. It also includes the usual mix of in-depth articles and analysis tackling current events and trends in the global tyre industry. Non-subscribers can gain access to Tyrepress with a print or online subscription, or tyre professionals can take advantage of the current Tyrepress Membership offer, helping to drive business online and stay informed with the industry’s leading magazine and websites.
Continue Reading
Chinese tyre industry projects new in 2023
In 2023, Chinese tyre companies invested in a number of new projects. Tyrepress Chinas analysis found that the once popular all-steel radial tyres (generally truck tyre products) have gradually experienced overcapacity, and the new projects increasingly focus on the production capacity of semi-steel radial tyres (car and light truck products). At the same time, Chinese tyre companies pay more attention to overseas projects. In addition, consistent with the trend in 2022, OTR tyres have become an essential focus of the Chinese tyre industry.
Continue Reading
