Asia
Brazilian retreading products manufacturer Vipal has launched its VT160 tyre tread, designed specially to improve the traction of heavy vehicles in snow. The tread was first presented at Autopromotec in Bologna, when Vipal said the tread was suited best to heavy vehicles travelling on a variety of surfaces.
Deutsche Bank’s decision to downgrade its advice rating for Bridgestone shares from “buy” to “hold” on 12 September resulted in a 1.4 per cent fall in the Japanese tyre manufacturer’s share price to 3,430 yen in response to the report.
While many motorsport series take a summer break in August, Yokohama says there was still plenty to keep its tyre engineers busy across Europe and the world last month. The Japanese brand supports more than 35 race series in the UK and Europe with more around the world, including the USA and Asia, including the FIA World Touring Car Championship, the FIA European Rally Championship and the UK BRDC Formula 4 series.
The Al Dobowi Group, UK importer of Linglong TBR tyres, has announced a new distribution partnership with Essex’s G&S Tyre Services. Al Dobowi says G&S has developed a reputation for providing an exemplary level of service to the UK fleet market and demanding vehicle operators, while G&S identified Linglong as a brand with UK market potential.
For the second year running, Cheng Shin Rubber Ind. Co. Ltd, trading as Maxxis International, has been named one of Asia's Fab 50 companies by Forbes magazine.
In explaining Maxxis' inclusion on the list, Forbes cited the company's record revenue in 2012, boosted by demand in emerging markets including Indonesia, China and India. Forbes also noted that Maxxis' net profit grew by 86 per cent last year to $530 million.
Myanmar’s automotive market is likely to grow to 95,300 units by 2010, a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.8 per cent (2013-2019). That’s the view of researchers at Frost & Sullivan who suggest that this will be driven by a growing economy, infrastructure development and increasing income as well as better integration with ASEAN nations. Their view is that real growth however is likely to start only after 2014.
The DC, located in Los Angeles Vipal is opening a new distribution center (DC) in the city of Los Angeles, California in the USA. The company reports that it will serve the Western regions of the United States and Canada. Vipal already has two other DCs in the US – one in Florida and another in Virginia. With the addition of this new investment, Vipal will have a structure with a capacity of 1,500 positions for pallets. The Los Angeles DC is being run by local partner JAS Forwarding (which also operates the Florida DC).Vipal describes the move as a way of boosting its presence in the country, which will enable further growth in the world's largest market for retreaded tyres, the US.
Triangle Tire representatives have denied online reports that the company is planning to invest in a Russian tyre production facility any time soon. Following online reports which surfaced in August, Tyres & Accessories contacted the company and its UK importer TYM International. According to TYM managing director Steve Eke, there were talks with Russian government officials along these lines last year, but at the start of 2013 the decision was taken not to follow these through any further.
Taiwan’s Federal Tyre has become the latest tyre manufacturer to sign a sponsorship agreement with Manchester United FC. The three-year agreement, making Federal United’s Official Tyre Partner in Russia and Taiwan was launched at the Interauto Show in Moscow, led by Federal CEO, Jamie Ma.
Giti Tire has created the new role of business system manager based in Manchester and augmenting its European growth strategy. Sujata Achuthan has been appointed to the position, and has been tasked with the introduction of the Oracle Enterprise Business Suite (EBS) to provide the platform for increased finance and distribution requirements, as well as further improve the company’s hardware and software. She has 15 years of global IT experience.
Work on the Indonesian joint venture motorcycle factory part owned by Pirelli is underway following the recent groundbreaking ceremony in Subang, West Java. The Italian tyre maker is 60 per cent shareholder in the PT Evoluzione Tyres (Evoty) joint venture, with Indonesia’s PT Astra Otoparts Tbk holding the remaining 40 per cent.
On 28 May, JK Tyre & Industries poured water on news published by Indian financial daily The Financial Express, stating it had “no firm proposal” to acquire a tyre manufacturer in Southeast Asia for Rs 1.5 billion (£15.7 million) and that it had “not made any commitment whatsoever” to this effect. Yet at the time the company was still committed to investing in the region, specifically in rubber plantations. Now it appears this project has been shelved, or even dropped entirely.
Operations at Bridgestone Asia Pacific’s new technical centre are now underway following its official opening on 13 August. During the opening ceremony, Bridgestone’s senior vice-president Yoshiyuki Morimoto stated that the new Bridgestone Asia Pacific Technical Center – the Japanese company’s first in the region, excluding Japan and China – will provide technical support across the region and will enable Bridgestone to more quickly respond to customer needs.
Tyre equipment manufacturer and software provider Mesnac has purchased a majority interest in US firm Test Measurement Systems, Inc. (TSMI) for an undisclosed amount. The TSMI brand and identity will be retained following the deal, states Mesnac. Dr. Jerry Potts, CEO of the Akron-based firm, and other senior TSMI management staff will remain with the business and work with Mesnac to identify opportunities for growth, product innovation and diversification.
While the European financial fug continues, brake suppliers are being required to show greater flexibility in their operations. The reactions of brands operating in the sector are shown in this feature to include a drive towards internationalisation – particularly with performance products generating improved revenues in the Americas and Asia Pacific – and a more varied product line-up to suit both OEM and end-user requirements. A new report published by Markets and Markets suggests that the global brake market will “grow to $28,532 million by 2018, as compared to $20,210 million in 2013, with a CAGR of 7.14% from 2013 to 2018. During this period of flux, the report suggests drum brakes will occupy the major share when compared to disc brakes systems, but that demand for discs will increase at a faster rate and slowly surpass the drum brakes market.
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