Asia Archives - Page 26 of 100 - Tyrepress

Asia

Posts

Universal Tyres & Spares attend Radar charity event in UK

Following up the May launch of the Singapore tyre brand Radar’s “Mobilizing Hope” breast cancer campaign, its UK distributor joined dealers, president of the Breast Cancer Research Foundation Myra Biblowit and top breast cancer research doctors at an exclusive gallery showing of Evelyn Lauder’s photographs. Universal Tyres and Spares director Michael Jackson said: “The event was very enjoyable and it was great for us and the dealers to see how the money raised is being used in research and development, the doctors explained the progress they are making and improving communication and preventing Breast Cancer before it’s too late.“ The event was hosted by Elizabeth Hurley and Larry Gagosian, the gallery owner. Following the activities at the gallery the distributor, dealers and guests attended a dinner at Massimo restaurant where the chef patron Massimo Riccioli had created a fantastic “anti-cancer” menu.

19th October 2011/by Tyrepress Editors

Hankook reports record sales in third quarter

Hankook Tire reported third quarter 2011 global sales of 1.69 trillion won a 23 per cent increase from the same period last year. The tyremaker’s third quarter operating profit came in a 129.9 billion won.

18th October 2011/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone Europe names first COO

As reported yesterday, a new CEO and president is set to replace Makio (Mac) Ohashi at the helm of Bridgestone Europe (BSEU) at the start of January 2012. This change of top management will be accompanied by the creation of a new position within the company, that of chief operating officer. Bridgestone Europe has named Mitsuhira (Mike) Shimazaki as the first incumbent in this newly-created position. As COO, the current senior vice-president of Sales and Marketing at Bridgestone Europe will continue to manage the company’s Sales and Marketing organisations and additionally assume responsibility for Manufacturing and Supply Chain Management.

18th October 2011/by Tyrepress Editors

Yokohama adds service training centre to Thailand test facility

Yokohama Rubber has opened a new facility at its Thailand-based Tire Test Center of Asia. The new ‘Tire Service Training Center’, which was officially inaugurated on October 14, will initially be used as a base for training sales representatives and technical services staff from Yokohama tyre sales companies in the Asia region; Yokohama Rubber says it plans to utilise the centre to train technical services and other staff from other parts of the world “in due course.”

17th October 2011/by Tyrepress Editors

Toyo signs deal to develop Nitto brand in China

The five-year plan for Toyo Tire & Rubber’s Nitto brand leading up to 2015 is to increase sales volume some 250 per cent from its current level of 6.75 million tyres per annum, an increase that will see the Nitto brand’s proportion of total Toyo sales grow from nine to 15 per cent. To achieve this, the tyre maker intends to boost sales in its established North American market plus introduce the brand into other regions, including Asia, South America and Oceania.

17th October 2011/by Tyrepress Editors

Annunziato to replace Ohashi as Bridgestone Europe chief

As of 1 January, 2012, Makio “Mac” Ohashi will end his tenure as CEO and president of Bridgestone Europe NV/SA. He will be succeeded in this role by Franco Annunziato, who is now chief quality officer and senior vice-president – technology at Bridgestone Europe as well as managing director of Bridgestone Technical Center Europe S.p.A. After taking on Ohashi’s current duties, Annunziato will remain chief quality officer of Bridgestone Europe and managing director at the Technical Center Europe. Annunziato also serves as a vice-president and officer of Bridgestone Corporation.

17th October 2011/by Tyrepress Editors

Continental to focus investment on Asian markets

Continental AG plans to focus its near-term investments on the Asian markets, according to board member Heinz-Gerhard Wente. In a Bloomberg report, Wente noted that sales in Asia will likely represent a third of the corporation’s total revenues.

“While Europe will remain the biggest market for Continental, next year might ‘bring some problems’ because of a possible economic slowdown triggered by the sovereign-debt crisis,” the Bloomberg story said. It would not be “a dramatic downturn,” though.

11th October 2011/by Tyrepress Editors

MRF considering international, including European, acquisition options

MRF Ltd is reportedly considering a number of overseas acquisitions options. According to various Indian news reports, top of the list are tyre plants and rubber plantations in moves that will form part of the company’s global expansion plans.

11th October 2011/by Tyrepress Editors

Conti turns 140

Tomorrow one of the world’s largest tyre and automotive component manufacturer will celebrate 140 years in the business. On October 8, 1871 nine bankers and industrialists from the German city of Hannover founded Continental-Caoutchouc & Gutta-Percha Compagnie as a joint stock company. The firm began life with joint stock valued at some 300,000 thalers, an amount equating to a present-day purchasing power of approximately 6.3 million euros, and at its first plant in Hannover a workforce of around 200 produced a range of rubber products including hot water bottles, toy dolls and solid tyres for carriages and bicycles.

7th October 2011/by Tyrepress Editors

CITExpo reports a positive show

The organiser of the China International Tire Expo, CITExpo for short, views this year’s tyre show in Shanghai positively. Reliable International Exhibition Services reports 7,190 visitors attended the ninth CITExpo, which was held at the Everbright Convention and Exhibition Center. Last year’s show attracted 7,400 visitors. Once again, around 60 per cent of visitors (4,160) came from China, and during the three show days in early September 3,030 international visitors from 103 countries registered. A total of 298 companies used CITExpo to present their products and services to the public, up from 290 the year before. Well-known exhibitors at this year’s show included Cooper Chengshan, Jinyu Tire Group/Evergreen, Guizhou Tyre, Techking Tires, Aufine Group, SD International, Van den Ban and the wheel producer Zhejiang Jingu; these companies occupied 22,000 square metres of floorspace in three almost completely booked out exhibition halls.

4th October 2011/by Tyrepress Editors

Is the sun setting in the East?

International News, News

Much has happened in the European tyre market in recent times. Last year’s introduction of the REACH regulations has been of particular interest, as is the run-up to November 2012’s tyre labeling. The second of these has been interpreted by many Chinese tyre makers and distributors as being, in practical terms, a trade barrier intended to make entry into Europe more complicated and expensive. Yet the Chinese appear to be responding pragmatically to the ‘problem’ of Europe. During the CITExpo show in Shanghai the opinion was often voiced that no real problem as such exists, rather a challenge to overcome. And as hardly anyone in China doubts success in this area, in future established western manufacturers in our part of the world can expect the presence of even more competitive, driven Chinese companies.

4th October 2011/by Tyrepress Editors

Exide ready for current and future battery market

Manufacturers wishing to succeed in any automotive industry sector need the right product for the target market. This may appear a tall order when the target market is the entire motor vehicle parc, yet Exide Technologies has developed a range of batteries that caters to vehicles with many differing and specialised requirements. Earlier in the year this attention to market coverage was acknowledged by the Institute of Transport Management (ITM), who awarded Exide Technologies the title of “Best Automotive Battery Range 2011.”

27th September 2011/by Tyrepress Editors

Thai JV project “running according to plan”, says Hangzhou Zhongce

Senior management at Hangzhou Zhongce have responded to a Bangkok Post article that suggests its joint venture plans with Thailand’s Thai Hua Rubber have been placed on hold. Tyres & Accessories was told that management has “no idea” why its Thai partner claims Hangzhou Zhongce is postponing its joint venture tyre factory plan due to “concerns about the uncertain outlook in Europe.”

27th September 2011/by Tyrepress Editors

Schaeffler to become public company

As a step towards achieving capital market viability, major Continental shareholder Schaeffler is to be transformed into a public company. The decision for the privately-owned Schaeffler GmbH to become Schaeffler AG (Aktiengesellschaft) – an entity similar to a British public limited company – was announced by Supervisory Board chairman F.W. Schaeffler on September 26. The stock corporation is expected to be entered into the commercial register in October and Schaeffler Group operations will henceforth be managed by an Executive Board.

27th September 2011/by Tyrepress Editors

Hangzhou Zhongce ‘looking at Europe’ before proceeding with JV

According to unconfirmed news published by the Bangkok Post, concerns about an “uncertain outlook” in Europe may have prompted a postponement of the planned joint venture between China’s Hangzhou Zhongce and Thailand’s Thai Hua Rubber. In its September 26 article, ‘Chinese-Thai venture on hold’, the newspaper reports Thai Hua CEO Luckchai Kittipol as saying investment in the joint venture has been suspended as Hangzhou Zhongce wishes to monitor European economic conditions.

26th September 2011/by Tyrepress Editors