JK Tyre completes Banmore plant phase 1 expansion
The first phase capacity expansion of JK Tyre & Industries’ Banmore plant in Madhya Pradesh, India is now complete. An investment of Rs 3.12 billion (£30.1 million) has lifted capacity for passenger car radials by 31 per cent, to 5.1 million tyres per annum. An additional investment of Rs 6.17 billion (£59.5 million) will increase capacity by an additional 31 per cent by April 2024.
Continue ReadingGermany: Union will fight Goodyear job cuts “with everything we have”
Opposition is building against planned job cuts at the Goodyear plant in Fulda, Germany. The tyre maker announced at the start of June that it would cut about half of the current 1,150 jobs at the Fulda site, and the local Goodyear works council has now invited the workforce in Fulda and other Goodyear sites in Germany to demonstrate against the job cuts in front of the factory gate next Monday afternoon. A non-public works meeting is also scheduled to take place within the plant that day, as employee union IGBCE writes in a recent press release in which it threatens Goodyear with a “fight”.
Continue ReadingMichelin Shenyang plant increases production of silent tyres
Michelin’s Shenyang factory recently stated that it would change the post-processing project. Tyrepress China found that after adjusting the product structure, the tyre manufacturing base significantly increased the production of silent tyres and reduced the production of self-sealing tyres.
Continue ReadingDouble Coin expands Jiangsu OTR tyre plant
The Double Coin Jiangsu factory recently applied to the local environmental protection department to expand its OTR tyre production capacity. The Jiangsu factory is a joint venture established in January 2024. The company can produce 2.9 million all-steel radial (truck) tyres and 74,000 OTR tyres annually.
Continue ReadingLinglong and Geely establish joint R&D centre
Linglong Tire is partnering with Geely Automobile Research Institute in the establishment of a joint R&D centre called the Geely Engineering Center & Linglong Technology Center TIH Laboratory.
Continue ReadingATU hit by cyber attack
On 18 May, well-known German garage chain A.T.U Auto-Teile-Unger Handels GmbH & Co. KG (ATU) suffered a cyber attack that put some of its systems and servers out of action. That led the company to warn customers they would experience “various restrictions” and should expect longer waiting times.
Continue ReadingEuropean locations feature in GCEI’s ELT pyrolysis plans
US-based waste-to-energy firm Global Clean Energy, Inc. (GCEI) reports that its Pyrolysis division has selected three European and ten domestic locations where pyrolysis facilities for processing end-of-life tyres into oil, recovered carbon black and steel can be built on a profitable basis. News of these proposed facilities follows the company’s decision not to initiate operations at another pyrolysis plant.
Continue ReadingPolymer research may reduce tyre-related microplastics
Tyres may be a key beneficiary of research conducted by a team of chemists from MIT and Duke University in the USA who claim to have discovered a “counterintuitive way to make polymers stronger.” The talk is not only of increasing tyre lifespan, but also of reducing microplastic emissions.
Continue ReadingTyrexpo Americas set for December debut in Mexico
The inaugural Tyrexpo Americas Show will be held 5-7 December 2023 at the Citibanamex Convention and Exhibition Center in Mexico City. Organisers Tarsus Group have announced that the show will stage a series of specific Tyre Trade Conferences including a Fleet Management Conference, amongst others.
Continue ReadingTwo big names absent from Agritechnica exhibitor list
Following Covid-related cancellations in 2021 and 2022, the Agritechnica show returns later this year. The Hannover, Germany-based exhibition bills itself as the “world’s leading trade fair for agricultural machinery,” and in 2023 expects to welcome more than 2,600 exhibitors, including many from the tyre industry. But two well-known manufacturers of agricultural tyres will be absent.
Continue ReadingHeuver Tyres an Alliance OEM distributor for Benelux
Heuver Tyres is now distributing Alliance tyres to Benelux-based OEMs. For the Dutch wholesaler, this arrangement represents an even closer partnership with Yokohama Off-Highway Tires within the region.
Continue ReadingTitan’s Paul Reitz an EY Entrepreneur Of The Year
Ernst & Young LLP (EY US) has named Titan International’s Paul Reitz a winner of its Entrepreneur Of The Year 2023 Midwest Award. The chief executive officer considers this not only an honour on a personal level, but also “testament to the fact” that the tyre maker has “an exceptional team in place.”
Continue ReadingPirelli supports USTMA National Tire Safety Week
Pirelli will support the US Tire Manufacturers Association’s (USTMA) annual National Tire Safety Week campaign from 26 June to 3 July. The initiative seeks to educate drivers on the importance and simplicity of everyday tyre maintenance as a part of general road safety. The association argues that tyre safety is “on par with wearing a seatbelt and following speed limits” in terms of driving safety, since tyres “are the only part of a vehicle that truly touches the road.”
Continue ReadingApollo Tyres inaugurates India’s first Vredestein outlet
It is now almost two years since Apollo Tyres introduced Vredestein tyres into India, with the company using its vast network of business partners to sell the brand. On 23 June it inaugurated the country’s first Vredestein outlet and intends to follow the opening of this branded centre in Bengaluru with further Vredestein outlets in “all the key metropolitan cities in the country with a significant vehicle park of high-end cars and superbikes.”
Continue ReadingMichelin top, Sailun the fastest riser: All change in the second half of the global tyremaker top 20
There are many changes in our latest leading tyre manufacturers ranking. The 2023 table, which lists the world’s leading tyre companies according to their full-year 2022 financial results, particularly highlights the shifts that have taken place this year in the second half of the top 20. Meanwhile, the top nine tyremakers appear to be an increasingly stable group. Between places nine and 10, there is still a gap of some 1 billion euros, something that is clearly hard to overcome for newcomers. However, as insurmountable as it appears, the gap is obviously narrowing.
Continue Reading