‘Tis almost harvest time, and CGS Tyres UK has a few words of wisdom for the nation’s farmers. The distributor of the Continental and Mitas ranges points out that spending just a few minutes carefully checking the tyres on agricultural equipment before harvest could save farmers significant time, stress and expense at this critical time of the year.
Zafco announced the launch of its India operations at Tyrexpo India 2011, in Chennai, which opened on 5 July. At the trade show Zafco will exhibit the Double Coin as well as Zeetex brands it carries. The set up in India will see the establishment of 84 trucking centres across Northern and Western India that will meet the demands of the industrial and commercial sector. This will also provide a foundation for ZAFCO to eventually launch into the premium segment of the tyre market.
Just days after announcing plans to erect a greenfield tyre plant in Kaluga, Russia, Continental has revealed plans to expand production facilities at its automotive electronics plant there. The signing of an investment agreement between Continental and the governor of the Kaluga on July 5 coincided with the renaming of its local operation from AVTEL to Continental Automotive Systems Rus. Conti’s existing operation in Kaluga will be upgraded at a cost of more than 6 million euros. This investment will crate more than 120 new jobs cover the cost of a new production line; in addition to engine control units, which will account for the majority of production, the Kaluga site will also manufacture components for use in fuel supply and injection systems.
Ling Long Tyres has funded automotive industry charity BEN’s Henley Regatta celebration at the Lynwood Care Home, near Ascot. The event was attended by residents of the Home, the staff, and their families and friends, who, as Ray Diggins (BEN’s Head of Marketing) said: “always like to get involved”. Harjeev Kandhari, chief executive of the Al Dobowi Group and Jorge Crespo, European general manager of Eskay Tyres also attended the event.
A primary supplier in major car and truck manufacturer dealership equipment programs, Hunter was pleasantly surprised by visitor numbers at the Italian trade show. “Autopromotec was very well organised and attendance was much better than we had anticipated,” said Robert Bruce the company's advertising manager.
Itochu has just announced that it has officially completed the acquisition of the Kwik Fit Group for £637 million. While details of the purchase have been in the press and a popular part of market discussion for some time, up till now the deal had been subject to regulatory approval. However, with the issue of today’s statement Itochu can now say it has officially purchased the UK’s market leading automotive repair company from PAI Partners, which had owned the group since August 2005. The business received EC approval for the purchase back in May.
Senior figures from across the automotive industry are meeting for the annual SMMT International Automotive Summit in Westminster today, which is being broadcast live across the Internet. The industry has had a major boost in recent weeks with huge investments announced by BMW and Nissan, but is the wider industry able to secure similar funding? For our part, Tyres & Accessories has lodged a question about the effect of the Longbridge revival and the UK’s relationship with China on the tyre trade, which we will report on as and when this is answered.
Voith Industrial Services has appointed Jack Callaghan in a bid to further expand the company’s business in wheel and tyre assembly operations throughout the UK and mainland Europe. Callaghan, who has more than 20 years’ experience in wheel and tyre operations in the automotive sector, has been appointed business development manager based at Voith Industrial Services’ UK headquarters in Warwick.
In addition to producing agricultural tyres in China, Swedish manufacturer Trelleborg is engaged in a number of automotive and other sectors. The company counts China as one of its most important individual geographic markets, with net sales there amounting to nearly SEK 1 billion (£97 million) in 2010. Trelleborg operates six wholly-owned production plants in China; the company has now expanded its presence there through the opening of a research and development centre in Shanghai that specialises in offering state-of-the-art technology primarily for noise and vibration-damping brake solutions for passenger vehicles.
The Carlyle Group (an asset management firm) has confirmed that it has reached an agreement to acquire RAC Limited from Aviva plc for £1 billion. The deal is subject to regulatory approval, but is expected to complete by the end of the third quarter of 2011. Moving forward Carlyle’s strategic involvement appears to centre on the access to “additional capital for future investment” it can provide for expansion into other areas of motor service amongst other things. And the intention appears to be to expand “in the area of the motor services market.” Aviva bought RAC for £1.1 billion in 2005.
On June 16 Kumho Tires announced it has entered into a strategic customer services partnership with Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance, and will soon launch a full-fledged joint marketing programme. In unveiling the details of this arrangement, the Korean tyre maker commented that these days many businesses “are creating synergies through partnerships with other sectors.”
The organiser of next March’s INAPA 2012 automotive parts and equipment show in Indonesia reports that a dedicated tyre industry exhibition, Tyre & Rubber Indonesia”, will be held alongside the annual event. In announcing this addition to INAPA and its associated sub-events, organiser PT. Global Expo Management says that a visitor survey of the 37,100 trade attendees at this year’s exhibition revealed a high level of interest in tyre products. Around 300 exhibitors are expected at this year’s Tyre & Rubber Indonesia, which will be hosted in its own 6,000 square metre hall within the INAPA show.
The buy-up of automotive component company’s by India’s Ruia Group is said to be continuing. The Economic Times reports the company is in discussions regarding the purchase of Autoline Industries, a Pune based vehicle body product manufacturer. Autoline Industries achieved revenues of Rs 6.6 billion (£88.8 million) in the last financial year, with some 85 per cent of its income coming from Tata Motors. The Ruia Group, who owns the Dunlop, Falcon and Monotona tyre brands in India, has already purchased six automotive component companies since 2008.
This week is National Tire Safety Week in the US, and the Rubber Manufacturers Association has used the occasion to highlight low levels of tyre inflation proficiency amongst American motorists. Using figures gained from a survey conducted as part of the RMA-sponsored safety week, the trade association states that only 15 per cent of US motorists know how to correctly check tyre pressure. This is serious business as, the RMA notes, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports under-inflated tyres contribute to more than 600 highway fatalities and 33,000 injuries each year. Furthermore, under-inflated tyres cause US drivers to waste almost five billion litres of fuel each year.
Automotive industry charity BEN has appointed Peter Cottle as head of business development. Cottle spent ten years in retail banking prior to over 30 in the automotive industry, where he specialised in retail and wholesale finance. He has championed the work of BEN throughout his career.
If you would like the latest news from the Chinese tyre industry in Chinese, visit our partner site TyrepressChina.com. Or click below to continue on Tyrepress.
