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Indian Tyremakers Thinking Globally

With India’s vehicle industry experiencing a slowdown of late, the country’s tyremakers have needed to consider how to best maintain their profits. According to a report published in India’s Business Standard newspaper, a number of manufacturers including Apollo, Ceat, JK Tyre and MRF are increasingly thinking internationally in the face of this new challenge. Not only are Indian tyremakers looking at establishing overseas manufacturing plants – at least one is also casting its gaze at established manufacturers in other countries with a view to acquiring one of these firms.

The nation’s second largest tyre manufacturer, Delhi based Apollo Tyres is reportedly actively pursuing the acquisition of an overseas tyremaker. It seems most likely that Apollo will seek the purchase of a company based in Europe, although an acquisition in the Americas is by no means out of the question. “Margins are better in Europe with good product acceptability and confidence in technology,” commented Neeraj Kanwar, joint managing director and COO, Apollo Tyres. The company has seen European market demand for radials increase substantially in recent times, and on the back of this Apollo aims to become a major player in Europe in the next half decade or so.

13th August 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Kumho Consolidating in China

International News, Product News

(Rubber Asia/sg) The aggressive forays of Korean tyre major Kumho into China, carried out with a view to establishing the country as its major overseas production base, will go a long way towards realising the company’s vision to emerge as the world’s 5th largest tyre maker by 2015. The booming Chinese tyre market is to become the most important overseas production base for the Kumho Tire Company, if its ongoing activities, the latest being the recent launch of its US$220 million wholly-owned radial truck/bus project in the Nanjing Economic and Technical Development Zone, are any indication. This is the Korean’s fourth major Chinese project, and the company hopes to ultimately produce 1.4 million tyres there annually. The groundbreaking ceremony for the proposed plant was held in May, and the first phase of the project, with an installed capacity of 300,000 tyres per year, is expected to go on stream by June 2008.

10th August 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Vigorous International Trading Forecast for Tyrexpo Asia Exhibition

Organisers of next month’s Tyrexpo Asia exhibition are predicting “exceptional” levels of international trading as thousands of tyre industry buyers head for the Singapore Expo Centre searching for new products, ideas and technology that will add value to their businesses. Awaiting them will be a record number of exhibitors for the sixth Tyrexpo Asia show. More than 140 companies representing four continents and 23 individual countries will be there to meet the expected demand.

“There is a great sense of anticipation and an eagerness to be involved in this show; a real buzz that exceeds anything experienced in the 10 years we’ve staged the exhibition in Singapore,” confirmed Rowena Suthers, sales director for show organiser ECI International.

7th August 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

German Reifen Exhibition Expands Into China

The Chinese tyre market is becoming ever more interesting, and not only for tyre manufacturers and wholesalers. The organisers of tyre-related exhibitions are also taking a much closer look at this – as it seems – market of boundless opportunities. This November the organisers of the “Reifen” show in Essen, Germany, are organising for the very first time an equivalent in China, the so-called “Reifen China”. The organisers from Messe Essen GmbH and the China United Rubber (Group) Corp. are hoping to host a successful premiere show in Shanghai. The annual Reifen China show will take place concurrently with the “Rubber Tech China” show, both held under the same roof. Klaus Reich, director trade fairs and exhibitions with Messe Essen GmbH, and in this function also responsible for Reifen China, explains in an interview with Tyres & Accessories why his company is taking the Reifen show to China, what the expectations for this November’s show are and what exhibitors and visitors will get in Shanghai when they come to Reifen China.

7th August 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Cooper Sales, Profits Up for Quarter

(Akron/Tire Review/T&A) Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. posted record second quarter sales and quarterly and first half profits. Cooper’s quarterly sales hit US$751 million, up 20 per cent from the same period last year, and first half sales finished at $1.4 billion. Net income from second quarter sales were $17.6 million, up from a loss of $21 for the second quarter of 2006. For the first half, Cooper posted net income of $38 million, up from a loss of $26 million through the first six months of 2006.

Cooper said its North American tyre operations reported sales of $554 million in the quarter, up 20 per cent versus $463 million in the second quarter of 2006. The tyremaker said the increase was driven by improved pricing, increased unit sales across all market segments, and strong sales of private brand tyres. Operating profit for the unit was $23 million, compared to a net loss of $30 million in the second quarter last year. For the first six months of 2007, North American operations generated $51 million of operating profit on $1.09 billion of sales, up $36 million in profit year over year.

7th August 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Rubber King Tyres India: King Of The Road

Rubber King manufactures and markets a range of inner tubes, curing air bags and rubber flaps under the brand name “Rubber King”. The company has two factories and manufacturing capacities of 150,000 tubes per month and 75,000 flaps per month.
Rubber King inner tubes are made from high quality butyl rubber for better air retention and resistance to degradation from ozone. The size range is very comprehensive, with tubes available for truck and bus, light truck, agricultural, OTR and passenger vehicles for both bias ply and radial tyres and also for industrial vehicles and implements. Butyl curing bags and flaps are produced in a large number of sizes.
As well as these products, Rubber King offers the “Tire King” brand of tyres for vehicles from motorcycles through agricultural, industrial and OTR tyres.

The company exports products all over the world to more than 33 countries; not only in Asia, but to Europe, the USA, Africa and the Middle East. The quality of Rubber King inner tubes is demonstrated by the fact that many of the company’s customers are OEM tyre companies and the tubes carry a two-year warranty.

6th August 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Balkrishna Tyres: World’s Widest Off-Highway Range

Founded in 1995, Balkrishna Tyres (BKT) claims to have the world’s widest product range of off-highway tyres, with more than 1,700 stock units of designs, patterns and sizes. This extensive range has seen BKT’s global market share expand rapidly in a short time and BKT tyres are available for agricultural, construction, industrial, earthmover, ATV and turf care applications.
BKT has three tyre factories and one mould-manufacturing plant and the company has the capability to develop 150 new sizes a year, with an extremely fast product development time of eight to 10 weeks. India is renowned for having a qualified and technically expert workforce at a low cost and BKT has the capacity to change 25 moulds a day, which the company says is five times that of its competitors, allowing it to make 150 different types of tyre. Precise and complex planning is the key here. BKT spends between five and six per cent of its revenue on research and development and developed its own radial tyre technology in-house.

Around 65 per cent of BKT’s products are sold in Europe, with other major markets being the USA, Middle and South East Asia and the Pacific Islands.
Agricultural tyres constitute the largest chunk of production at BKT and the company has recently entered the tractor radial segment, with its new ‘Agrimax’ range, available in 85, 70 and 65 series aspect ratios and 95 series row crop tyres.

6th August 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Full House at CITExpo

The organisers of this year’s CITExpo in Shanghai, Reliable International Exhibition Services, have announced a full house. Although six weeks still remain before the doors open on September 12, every last piece of exhibition space has been booked and allocated. This means that visitors will have the widest possible range of companies and products to become acquainted with during their time at Asia’s largest tyre show.

Upon announcing the final show booking Reliable International Exhibition Services thanked every exhibitor, supporter and pre-registered visitor for their support, and reminded visitors that time still remained to pre-register at www.citexpo.com.cn

2nd August 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Tianyee Tire Company develops leak-proof tyre

(Rubber Asia) Shanghai Tianyee Tire has effected a revolution in leak-proof tyre technology by developing the Tianyee Tyre, a Chinese version of safety tyre which can replace run-flats.

The technology involved is characterised by a 2-3 mm thick layer of synthetic rubber, known as memory polymer, coated on the inside wall of an ordinary tyre. Once a foreign object pierces the tyre, the memory polymer coating will envelop it entirely so that the tyre will not leak. When the foreign object is removed from the tyre, the memory polymer coating will automatically block the hole. As a semi-solid layer, the memory polymer coating helps the punctured tyre remain leak-proof at 20- 100 ° C. Shanghai Tianyee Tire recently showed off the unique properties of the tyre at the 4th China International Automobile & Modified Car Show.

31st July 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

View from the Chairman’s Seat

(Rubber Asia) The China Rubber Industry Association (CRIA) acts as an advocate for more than 800 companies operating in the fast growing Chinese market. Recently the organisation’s chairman, Ju Hongzhen, spoke about the current state of China’s rubber industry and what contribution the CRIA hopes to make towards guaranteeing its long-term future.

What is your assessment of the rubber industry’s performance during 2006?

The rubber industry registered healthy and orderly growth in 2006. Rubber production received a boost and large companies as well as large groups emerged as unmistakable winners out of the stiff market competition.
In recent years rubber consumption in China has been on the rise annually. In 2006, it touched 4.5 million tonnes. Natural rubber consumption was 2.1 million tonnes and synthetic rubber 2.4 million tonnes. As for the rubber industry in terms of tyres, in 2006 Chinese radial tyre output grew by 60 per cent, registering a 5 per cent increase over the previous year. Passenger radials and light truck radials produced by foreign manufacturers continued to lead the market, with their market share reaching 70 per cent. Chinese tyre manufacturers are also gradually expanding their market share through the launching new products.

31st July 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

ArvinMeritor and Chery Form China Joint Venture

(Akron/Tire Review) ArvinMeritor and Chinese carmaker Chery have entered into a joint venture partnership to design and manufacture chassis systems and components. The new joint venture, ArvinMeritor Chassis Systems Wuhu Co., will become a $150-million full-systems chassis supplier by 2010. Production of shocks and struts will begin as early as 2008.

According to Rakesh Sachdev, president of ArvinMeritor’s Asia Pacific operation, the new chassis systems joint venture plant in Wuhu will be one of several China-based facilities ArvinMeritor will add to its network over the next 18 months in support of new business with customers in the region.

“ArvinMeritor’s alliance with Chery is a great example of the company attaining strategic growth from three key focus areas; increasing business with Asian customers, expanding in emerging markets and growing our light vehicle chassis business,” said Phil Martens, president of ArvinMeritor’s Light Vehicle Systems business group. “This new business, which is quickly ramping up, comes on the heels of several other new Chery contracts with ArvinMeritor for its door systems technologies.”

27th July 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Half Year Michelin Results Show Growing Operating Margin

Michelin has announced generally positive results for the half year ending June 30, 2007, which the tyremaker believes were aided by supportive markets, especially the truck tyre sector in Europe, Asia and particularly South America.

Total sales were recorded as 8.4 billion euros, a 4.7 per cent increase on the first half of 2006. From this operating income was 797.7 million euros, up 64.4 per cent on last year and net income as of June 30 was 436.4 million euros, a very respectable 57.6 per cent increase from 2006. The company’s price/mix effect was maintained at +4.4 per cent, in part the result of a “favourable impact” of price increases implemented during the second half of last year. Combined with reduced selling, general and administrative expenses and good sales performance, this equalled for Michelin a strong operating margin growth (before non-recurring items) to 10.2 per cent and the aforementioned 436.4 million euro net income.

27th July 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Pneu-Logic Partners with Goodyear Dunlop in EFM Deal

Derbyshire based Pneu-Logic Ltd., now a subsidiary of Advanced ID Corporation, has entered into a strategic partnership with Goodyear Dunlop Tyres UK to provide Pneu-Logic Fleet Management System (EFM) products in the United Kingdom under the Goodyear Dunlop brand name. This latest agreement reflects Advanced ID’s current global activities, which has seen the company present Goodyear Dunlop EFM in Europe, the US and Australia. Advanced ID also report that they have received strong signs of interest from Asia and the Middle East.

According to a Goodyear Dunlop press release from the recent CV show in Birmingham, “Goodyear Dunlop EFM is a result of the strategic partnership with Pneu-Logic, manufacturers of hardware and software solutions for transport operators. Goodyear Dunlop UK began using Pneu-Logic equipment in 2006, and following the success of the initial trial, the tyre giant has chosen to launch a version of the system under its own brand name, tailored for the specific needs of Goodyear Dunlop customers.” The tyremaker intends to use these units in the UK and across Europe to collect tyre tread and pressure data from vehicles on their key fleets.

27th July 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

New Tyre Applications Director for Cooper in China

Cooper Tire & Rubber has announced the appointment of a new senior employee at their operations in China. P. Glenn Arbaugh is taking up the post of director, Tire Applications Development, at Cooper’s Asia Technical Center. This facility is temporarily located in Rongchen, Shandong Province. Reporting to Ray Mares, general manager of the Asia Technical Center, Arbaugh will oversee development of new tyre products for Asian markets.

Arbaugh joined Cooper in 1990 as a mould design drafter and has held positions of increasing responsibility until most recently serving as manager of product design. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in industrial technology from Ohio Northern University and is currently undertaking a master’s degree in manufacturing operations from Kettering University, Flint, Michigan. He and his family will be moving to China.

26th July 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Two New Appointments at Cooper

Cooper Tire & Rubber have announced two new appointments to their operations – one at head office and one in an overseas growth market.

Mark W. Krivoruchka will step into the position of senior vice president, Global Human Resources, as of August 6, and has also been named to the company’s executive committee. Krivoruchka joins Cooper after serving in a number of US and global consumer package goods and high-tech manufacturing companies including GE, Pillsbury, Maytag and Whirlpool. His most recent position was senior vice president of Human Resources Integration at Whirlpool. He also served as Maytag’s senior vice president, Human Resources until that company was acquired by Whirlpool.

In announcing Krivoruchka’s appointment, Cooper’s president and CEO Roy Armes said, “With Mark’s extensive HR knowledge, skills, leadership and business experience, I’m confident he will make an immediate contribution to our global growth strategy.” His office will be located at Cooper’s global headquarters in Findlay, Ohio.

26th July 2007/by Tyrepress Editors