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Bridgestone Opens Thai Retread Materials Plant

Bridgestone Corporation's subsidiary Bridgestone Bandag Manufacturing (Thailand) Co Ltd has held its opening ceremony, marking the completion of Bridgestone's newest manufacturing plant located in the Chonburi Province of Thailand. The plant will produce precure tread, which will be supplied to the growing retread markets in Japan, Asia and China. The new facility is expected to have a production capacity of 30 tons per day by the end of 2013. It is the first precure tread facility the Bridgestone Group has built since acquiring the US-based retread operating company, Bandag Inc, in 2007.

9th November 2010/by Tyrepress Editors

RockTron Seals Energy Deal in Malaysia

Fly-ash recycling technology innovator, RockTron International has announced that it has signed an MOU with Malaysia energy provider TNB, following the launch of RockTron Asia in Kuala Lumpur this October. The company is also in discussions with major companies from across Asia regarding the company’s new licensing proposition. Tyre industry interest in RockTron stems from its technology’s ability to manufacture “eco-minerals” from stockpiled coal-fired power station waste (otherwise known as fly ash), which can be used to manufacture tyre rubber filler, or indeed as fillers and extenders in any polymer, rubber and coatings manufacturing and as cementitious substitutes, dramatically cutting costs and CO2 emissions.

8th November 2010/by Tyrepress Editors

Conti Predicts 25 billion euro Sales; 9% EBIT in FY10

The Continental Corporation is predicting it will achieve sales of more than 25 billion euros and an adjusted pre-tax profit margin (EBIT) of 9 per cent when it publishes full year financial results for 2010. The margin target had previously been 8 – 8.5 per cent. Continental released the projections in parallel with its third quarter results which show that the automotive supplier posted sales of 19.1 billion euros and an adjusted EBIT of 1.79 billion euros after three quarters, exceeding the pre-crisis level of the first three quarters of 2008. At 9.4 per cent, the nine-month adjusted EBIT margin also exceeded the comparable 2008 level.

3rd November 2010/by Tyrepress Editors

Dealers Visit Taiwan with Federal Incentive Programme

Federal Tyres is rewarding its top-performing dealers with a tour package to Taiwan throughout the second quarter of this year. The tours give winners time to experience local customs and see the country’s best-loved tourist spots. The fully escorted tour features southern Taiwan’s fabulous ocean and mountain views and the picturesque landscapes of Kenting National Park and Kaohsiung City.

2nd November 2010/by Tyrepress Editors

Cooper Expecting Continued RM Rise in 2011

Having raised the prices of its US passenger and light truck tyres by 6.5 per cent, Cooper Tire has told analysts in a conference call that the manufacturer expects raw materials costs to rise into 2011, as suggested by reports in the Financial Times and on tyrepress.com yesterday. Increased demand from automotive suppliers, especially in China and India, alongside unhelpful weather conditions in the rubber tapping season in south-east Asia have driven natural rubber prices continually upward in 2010.

2nd November 2010/by Tyrepress Editors

Indonesia/Malaysia Home to Thriving Tyre Retail Markets

International News

As the Asian region’s car parc continues to swell in the wake of economic recovery, the demand for aftermarket products and services is also said to be increasing. GfK Asia, which conducts retail audits in the automotive aftermarket in major Asian cities like Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Manila and Seoul, recently looked into the relationship between car “populations” in these cities relative to the number tyre servicing garages and compared the saturation levels in differing economies. While each tyre servicing garage in developing cities such as Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Jakarta and Manila serviced an average of 2250 vehicles, this figure is almost halved, at 1172:1 in a “developed” city such as Seoul. The Malaysian figure is almost four times the 674:1 average ratio GfK published in April 2009.

2nd November 2010/by Tyrepress Editors

Synthetic Rubber Demand to Reach 13.4m M/T by 2015: Analysts

A new report by Global Industry Analysts suggests that the synthetic rubber market will climb to 13.4 metric tons by 2015, “particularly” on increased usage in the tyre and automotive industry. The consumption and production of synthetic rubber was significantly affected by the global economic recession, says a statement by GIA announcing its new publication: ‘Synthetic Rubber: A Global Strategic Business Report’.

29th October 2010/by Tyrepress Editors

Goodyear EMEA Sales Remain High, Q3 Operating Income Down on 2009

Goodyear’s Europe, Middle East and Africa third quarter sales increased 7 per cent from last year on top of a “strong price/mix performance” to $1.7 billion despite being hit by $0.1 billion in unfavourable forex translation, making them the highest since the third quarter of 2008. The company continues to post improved figures for the year to date, with sales up to $4.68 billion in the first nine months (from $4.24 billion in 2009), yielding an operating income of $259 million – way up on last year’s $41 million.

29th October 2010/by Tyrepress Editors

Goodyear Posts Loss on RMs despite Highest Sales in 2 Years

The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company today posted its highest third quarter 2010 sales and tyre unit volumes since the third quarter of 2008. Yet under pressure from spiralling raw materials cuts, alongside charges for refinancing debt, the manufacturer ended up with a $20 million loss largely due to consistently high costs throughout the quarter, especially in raw materials. The company made a net profit of $72 million in the same period in 2009.

28th October 2010/by Tyrepress Editors

Hankook Continues to Grow Sales in Q3, Operating Profit Down

Record quarterly sales in the emerging markets of Korea, China and Hungary helped Hankook achieve growth in sales following the slight downturn in 2010’s second quarter, though year-on-year operating profit remained 40.6 per cent down on the Korean manufacturer’s 2009 results. Sales topped 1.5 trillion South Korean won (£840 million), recording 7.1 per cent year-on-year increase. The company’s third quarter operating profit was KRW163.4 billion (£91.5 million), 8 per cent down on the second quarter, where rising raw materials costs have continued to be a factor. Hankook stated it aims to achieve a sales target that exceeds KRW5 trillion (£2.8 billion) this year.

27th October 2010/by Tyrepress Editors

Zafco Achieves ISO Certification

United Arab Emirates-based Zafco, which supplies tyres domestically, as well as to the US, Europe, Africa, Asia Pacific and Australia, reports achieved ISO 9001:2008 certification after a positive review of its quality management systems. According to the company, this latest certification represents the enhanced commitment to quality and reliability that its customers expect.

27th October 2010/by Tyrepress Editors

Michelin 9-month Sales up 20%

Michelin has reported that its net sales for the first three quarters of 2010 shot up 19.4 per cent to 13 billion euros. According to the company, the growing figures reflect increased unit sales growth across all sectors and follow a particularly sustained recovery in unit sales of passenger car and light truck tyres. As a result of the good third quarter figures, Michelin reaffirmed is predictions that the company would achieve around 12 per cent growth in unit sales by the end of 2010, “close to 9 per cent operating margin before non-recurring items” and positive free cash flow for the year.

Referring to the company’s third quarter sales of 4.65 billion (which were up 24 per cent year-on-year), financial analysts praised the fact that the results were 6 per cent ahead of consensus estimates. However, writing in an investor’s note published 27 October, Morgan Stanley analysts wrote that this figure was largely down to better-than-expected foreign exchange rates. Sales growth is said to have equated to +15 per cent excluding foreign exchange effects during the quarter.

27th October 2010/by Tyrepress Editors

Goodyear Dunlop Seizes Advantage of ‘One Stop Shop’ Approach

One outcome of the recession has been increased awareness of the need to maximise tyre value through related services. Several manufacturers of budget-segment brands have shared with Tyres & Accessories their view that simply producing affordable tyres holds little future; service, they realise, will increasingly be a dividing point between brands that do well and those that don’t. Established tyre majors, such as Goodyear Dunlop, enjoy a significant head start in this area, and this is helping them gain a better foothold in a market increasingly focused on whole-life savings.

26th October 2010/by Tyrepress Editors

Pirelli and FIA Announce 2011 Star Drivers for WRC

While Pirelli is exiting its World Rally Championship tyre supply deal at the end of this year to plough its motorsport resources into some sort of single-seater track series, its involvement in the 2011 WRC will live on in the six young competitors from around the world that triumphed in the Pirelli Star Driver Global Shoot-Out, which finished Sunday in Salou, Spain. The winning six – cut down from 16 – will become part of the FIA’s young driver programme which will be integrated into the newly-created WRC Academy next year. The six drivers will contest six rounds of the 2011 FIA World Rally Championship in Ford Fiesta R2s.

25th October 2010/by Tyrepress Editors

Organisers Promote SIAPE 2010 Exhibition

Jointly organised by CEMS USA, CEMS INDIA, a leading multinational exhibition organizer of South & South-East Asia and CCPIT-Auto (China Council for Promotion of International Trade – Automotive Sub-Council), the Singapore International Auto Parts Expo 2010’ [SIAPE 2010] reports that it is set to be Asia’s latest platform, which is seeing a “revolution in the sales of Automobiles, for global players to assemble in the remarkable Asian business hub – Singapore.”

21st October 2010/by Tyrepress Editors