Linglong doing aircraft tyre R&D
Linglong Tire is working on a research project to develop radial tyres for large aircraft used in China’s civil aviation industry.
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Aussie recycler turns aircraft tyres into bio fuel
One Australian recycler’s technology is turning old aircraft tyres into bio jet fuel – Green Distillation Technologies (GDT), an Australian company was awarded a bronze medal two years ago in the Edison Awards, rated as the world’s top prize for innovation.
The GDT technology is called destructive distillation and can recycle old aircraft tyres into oil, carbon and the steel wire cord, although usually their process is applied to recycling old car tyres into oil, carbon and steel with a typical 10 kg car tyre yielding 4 litres of oil, 4kg of carbon, 2kg of steel, a 70kg truck tyre providing 27 litres of oil, 28 kg of carbon, 15 kg of steel and 4 tonne oversize mining dump truck tyre yielding 1.6 tonnes of carbon, 0.8 tonne of steel and 1500 litres of oil.
Goodyear gets first Boeing 777X tyre certification
The Boeing Company has certified The Goodyear aviation tyres for its 777X airplane. With this designation, the Goodyear Flight Radial becomes the first product to receive Boeing system part certification for the 777X.
China’s civil aviation authority approves Sentury aircraft tyres
Qingdao Sentury Tire reports that its aviation tyres have gained MDA (Modification Design Approval) certification by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) following take-off and landing tests conducted using a Boeing 737 at Yantai Laishan Airport in Shandong Province late last year. This MDA certification, the first given to a privately-owned tyre manufacturer in China, approves Sentury aviation tyres for sale and use within the country.
PresSense – Michelin and Safran unveil first connected aircraft tyre
At the 2017 Paris – Le Bourget Air Show, Michelin and Safran have presented the world’s first connected tyres for the aeronautical industry. The innovation, called ‘PresSense’ comprises an electronic pressure sensor installed within the tyre to greatly improve and simplify ground maintenance operations. Michelin reports that the PresSense project is scheduled to be deployed in 2019.
Dunlop Aircraft Tyres sold to Liberty Hall Capital Partners for US$135 million
Liberty Hall Capital Partners, a private equity firm focused exclusively on investments in businesses serving the global aerospace and defence industry, has acquired Dunlop Aircraft Tyres Ltd. in a transaction valued at US$135 million. Dunlop Aircraft Tyres represents Liberty Hall’s first portfolio company focused on providing aftermarket products and services to the global aerospace and defence industry. A number of tyre makers had previously been linked with the sale of Dunlop Aircraft Tyres.
Goodyear highlighting latest aviation radial technology and investments at Paris Air Show
The message that the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company is taking to the Paris Air Show is that ‘Every Landing Counts’. Under this slogan, the tyre maker will present a full line-up of its radial aviation products.
Bridgestone adds aircraft tire retreading warehouse
Bridgestone Aircraft Tire USA, which operates a 160,000-square-foot aircraft tyre retreading facility in Rockingham County, North Carolina, is expanding with a new warehouse in nearby Madison.
Yanchang/Duraturn set their sights on European assets
First ChemChina sent shockwaves through the tyre market by successfully purchasing Pirelli in 2015. This year another Chinese firm – this time tyremaker Qingdao Doublestar – made waves by offering an US$830 million bid for 42 per cent Kumho Tire in mid-March. The obvious question is what is the next tyre-related investment to come out of China?
Bridgestone to manufacture aircraft tyres in Thailand
At present, Bridgestone Corporation produces new aircraft tyres at two facilities in Japan, and the company has announced plans to build a third plant for manufacturing these products. This plant is one of two that Bridgestone will set up in Thailand; the second will be dedicated to the retreading of aircraft tyres. A total of 15.0 billion yen (£103.8 million) will be invested in the two facilities, and both are scheduled to commence production in December 2019.
Michelin COO Florent Menegaux explains the thinking behind this year’s investments
During the course of the 2016 Paris Motor Show, Tyres & Accessories took time out with Florent Menegaux (Michelin chief operating officer in charge of product and core business).
Our conversation covered four key areas: Mobility – that is, Michelin’s increasingly evident philosophical evolution away from simply being a tyre maker towards being a mobility provider; Products and services – in other words the traditional well-established product centres the company is best known for (as well as the innovations connection to and rising from these areas); Experiences – what has traditionally been known as the maps and guides part of Michelin’s operations, but which is increasingly seeking to connect the firm’s excellent brand and content with technology and monetisation options; and finally distribution – the actual means of getting products (and services) from the manufacturer to the end-user via the professional supply chain.
Update: Bridgestone to boost radial aircraft tyre capacity
Bridgestone recently announced its intention to increase capacity for radial aircraft tyre production at its Kurume plant in Japan. The company has now amended the statement it released on 17 October, changing the investment amount; rather than investing US$2.1 billion in the project as previously reported, Bridgestone states that the actual investment figure is 2.1 billion yen (£16.5 million).
Bridgestone to boost radial aircraft tyre capacity
Capacity for radial aircraft tyre production at Bridgestone’s Kurume plant in Japan is set to increase in response to an anticipated rise in demand for these products over the medium to long-term. Bridgestone Corporation will invest a total of US$2.1 billion in the project; while the company hasn’t reported the size of its planned capacity increase, it states that the project should be complete by the end of 2018.
Dunlop Aircraft Tyres confirms sale talks
Birmingham-based Dunlop Aircraft Tyres Ltd (DATL) has confirmed that the company is looking for new investors. And this means that “initial discussions” with “a number of interested parties” are already underway.
According to the company’s executive chairman Ian Edmondson, the goal is to find a suitable partner to help the company continue to move forward at its current rate of positive growth: “Our shareholders are now seeking to find a new investor who is in a position to help the business maintain the outstanding growth record that it has delivered in recent years.”
Ready for take-off: is Dunlop Aircraft Tyre Ltd (DATL) up for sale?
While the vast majority of the UK’s tyre production and retreading capacity refers to trucks and a relatively small amount of car tyre retreading still takes place as well as some specialist earthmover retreading, one of the nation’s largest retreaders makes aircraft tyres. Dunlop Aircraft Tyre Ltd or DATL as it is known has demonstrated strong growth in recent years and is majority-owned by private equity. Put the two together and it begs the question – is Dunlop Aircraft Tyre Ltd (DATL) up for sale?
