Two tyre sponsors for Malaysian endurance race
The Malaysia Merdeka Endurance Race (MMER) is, according to the Straits Times newspaper, the biggest endurance race in Asia and the 13th MMER will take place between Aug 29-Sept 2.
Asia
The Malaysia Merdeka Endurance Race (MMER) is, according to the Straits Times newspaper, the biggest endurance race in Asia and the 13th MMER will take place between Aug 29-Sept 2.
Operating income and net income at Bridgestone Corporation increased 43 per cent and 39 per cent respectively in the first half of the 2012 fiscal year, the Japanese tyre maker reports. An operating income of 133.7 billion yen (£1.1 billion) and net income of 75.2 billion yen (£614.8 million) were achieved even though net sales only rose two per cent year-on-year to 1,488.9 billion yen (£12.2 billion) during the first half.
Along with reporting its latest financial results on 1 August, Indonesian tyre maker PT Gajah Tunggal Tbk shared that in the second quarter of 2012 it completed the acquisition of some 100 hectares of land for around US$108 million. This purchase was financed with internal resources and Gajah Tunggal says acquiring this land, located in a new industrial estate in Karawang, Indonesia, serves two main purposes. Part of the land area will be used to build a tyre proving ground; groundbreaking will start in the coming months and is expected to be completed in two to three years’ time.
Although overall sales, volumes and operating income all decreased year-on-year, Goodyear Tire & Rubber nevertheless managed to increase its revenue per tyre in the second quarter of 2012. The US tyre maker reports sales of $5.2 billion during the three months to 30 June, eight per cent lower than in the second quarter of 2011 and reflecting weaker economic conditions and unfavourable foreign currency translation. Operating income decreased $46 million year-on-year to $336 million. Tyre unit volumes totalled 39.2 million in the quarter, down nine per cent from 2011 and reflecting weaker replacement sector volumes, most notably in Europe. Revenue per tyre increased eight per cent, while net income amounted to $85 million (33 cents per share), up from $40 million (16 cents per share) in the 2011 quarter.
In addition to reporting its financial results for the quarter ending June 30, at JK Tyre & Industries’ annual general meeting the company shared its plans to acquire natural rubber plantations in Southeast Asia. Vice-chairman and managing director Raghupati Singhania told the broadsheet DNA at the 30 July meeting that the tyre maker has identified plantations of interest in Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam and is “now zeroing in on them.” The company intends to source 10 to 15 per cent of its natural rubber from these plantations.
To accommodate the company’s growth in Asia, Continental has opened a new research and development centre in Singapore. The facility, which covers a floorspace of some 10,170 square metres, houses around 650 employees from the company’s Tire and ContiTech divisions and the Automotive Group’s interior division. Continental invested S$36 million (£18.4 million) in setting up the new seven-storey centre.
Schrader shares that it has reached the milestone of producing its 200 millionth TPMS sensor. The sensor was produced at Schrader’s Antrim plant in Northern Ireland, and the company says it marked an “important date” in Schrader’s history.
Amongst a raft of personnel changes announced by Bridgestone on 20 July is one affecting former Bridgestone Europe CEO and president Makio Ohasi. The ex-Bridgestone Europe boss has held the post of vice-president and officer of the company’s Asia Pacific, China, Middle East, Africa and Russia Tire Business Operations division since the start of the year, and concurrently served as a director within the division. Effective 1 September, Ohasi will relinquish these roles and take on the position of vice-president, officer and chief quality officer Specialty Tire Business.
Trelleborg president and CEO Peter Nilsson has reported a “strong quarter” for the Swedish company. During the second quarter of 2012 the firm’s sales rose slightly to SEK 5.66 billion (£520 million) while operating profit increased 34 per cent to SEK 875 million (£80 million). Net profit amounted to SEK 712 million (£65 million).
Japan’s Jiji Press writes that the country’s tyre makers are increasingly moving production offshore to escape diminishing sales at home. According to the news service, a shrinking domestic market and an aging population are teaming up with the high yen to decrease demand for Japanese-produced tyres. As a result of this, a number of Japanese tyre manufacturers have shifted production overseas to locations where demand is higher.
Michelin isn’t the only company developing an electric in-wheel drive system. US-headquartered company Protean Electric boasts its own competitor to the tyre major’s ‘Active Wheel’ system, and has announced it has received US$84 million in new funding from its key investors GSR Ventures, New Times Group, Oak Investment Partners, and the city of Liyang, in China’s Jiangsu Province, China. This capital will be used to bring Protean's electric drive technology to production through the erection of manufacturing facilities in Liyang.
Maxxis has shared details of the latest meeting of its Asian and African subsidiary companies’ representatives and distributors, who assembled in Pattaya, Thailand between 25 and 27 June. The meeting was the inaugural Maxxis Asian & African Distributor Conference, and Maxxis says it aimed to generate and share ideas to drive the tyre manufacturer’s business forward. Maxxis titled the conference, “Rev It Up – Beyond All Limits” to highlight the need for its partners to play a vital role in “creating momentum, overcoming current limits and achieving greater goals”.
Stamford Tyres Corporation Limited recently announced its financials for the year ended 30 April 2012. They reveal that the company experienced a 6.7 per cent increase in sales to S$364.1 million growth across all key markets.
A strong recent focus at Bridgestone, as at several other tyre makers, has been on researching alternatives to natural rubber sourced from the Hevea brasiliensis tree. At the same time, the tyre maker has also investigated the optimisation of Hevea brasiliensis productivity, and as part of this basic research into molecular breeding – breeding using genetic information – Bridgestone has successfully decoded the main genome sequence for Hevea brasiliensis.
Kumho Tires has gained “official recognition” for reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 13,339 tons over the past five years. In a press statement, the Korean company’s Australian subsidiary reported that Kumho Tires achieved this reduction through upgrading production facilities and adopting renewable energy strategies while at the same time working to develop and manufacture more efficient fuel saving tyres. Kumho’s CO2 reduction plan was launched in 2005 by Kemco (Korea Energy Management Corporation) and was devised in response to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
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