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Titan Reports ‘All-Time Record’ Q3 Sales

Titan International reports that its third quarter sales reached an all-time record figure of US$195.5 million, an increase of 25.2 per cent over the previous year’s third quarter result. This strong result has contributed towards record year to date sales of $632.1 million, a 23 per cent increase on the nine-month figures for 2006. Gross profit was $18.3 million for the third quarter, a 7 per cent increase over the $17.1 million obtained in the third quarter of 2006.

“The agricultural market for wheels and tyres is finally starting to show the growth we’ve been waiting for since 2006,” said Titan chairman and CEO Maurice M. Taylor Jr. “The orders for wheels and tyres are as strong as we’ve seen since 2004, and we believe it could continue to grow not only through 2008, but also into 2009 and beyond.

“The OTR mining tyre business remains strong. Since Titan announced the decision to build super giant 57- and 63-inch tyres, almost every mining company in the top 30 has made plant visits to Titan and found that we will be able to supply them with both wheels and tyres for all equipment they use in open-pit or underground mining. This should add tremendous volume going forward for Titan.

30th October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Hankook Tire – Double Digit Growth in 2008

Hankook Tire plans to sustain its double-digit growth during 2008 and continue to develop as a producer of quality high performance tyres. And the Korean manufacturer’s status in this segment will be further bolstered by the company’s recently announced KRW 10 billion (£5.4 million) wet proving ground for the integrated development, production and testing of UHP tyres. This facility is the first of its type in Korea.

In 2008, Hankook Tire will renew its strategic focus on driving retail sales through more intensive marketing activities across all of its major markets, leveraging its growing reputation for producing quality high-performance tyres. The Hankook Tire Masters Program for distributors in Europe will be expanded, and a new distributor education plan for high performance tyres, featuring an emphasis on Hankook Tire’s technological innovation and its benefits for customers, is in development.

29th October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Conti Rolls Out New Look Websites

Following a three-month trial phase Continental AG has revised the layout and design of its websites, improving their user-friendliness. By the end of the year, a total of around 50 websites in various languages will be adapted to the new style and format. “The aim is to improve the information, while at the same time increasing the websites’ entertainment capacity and emotionality, and thereby strengthening the identity of the Continental brand”, says Monika Andrae, director of Online Relations at Continental and project manager. “Secure and convenient navigation around our sites is just as important to us as the quick and easy retrieval of information.”

26th October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

John Kemp Passes Away

Axle Group Holdings Ltd has announced the death of John Kemp, Partner, at the age of 53, following a year long battle against illness. John Kemp was a popular and well respected figure, having worked in the tyre industry for 30 years. He began his career with Birkenshaw International as Finance Manager, based in Glasgow and during this time helped oversee the merger of the southern based wholesaler, Viking Express to form one of the country’s largest tyre wholesalers, Viking International.

In December 2001, Mr Kemp joined Alan Revie, John Taylor and John Caldwell in the highly publicised management buy-out of National Tyres and Autocare and Viking International, from Continental AG. In his capacity as Group Financial Director, John Kemp played a pivotal role in the dramatic turnaround of the company’s finances.

25th October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Net Profit Trebles for JK Tyre

The financial quarter between July and September has proven to be a healthy one for JK Tyre & Industries, who on October 23 reported that its quarterly net profit had more than trebled from a year earlier, the result of lower raw material prices and better realisations. Net profit rose from Rs 69.8 million (£863,800) to 243.9 million (£3.02 million) in spite of sales decreasing 2.8 per cent to Rs 6.9 billion (£85.4 million) since a year ago.

On top of the growth in net profit, the manufacturer forecast sales growth in the area of 20 per cent for the year ending September 2008. “We are hopeful that in the coming year new product development and tinkering with [our] market mix will continue, which will help us drive volumes and higher profit margin,” managing director Raghupati Singhania informed media. Sales of truck tyres, a product that reportedly generate four fifths of JK Tyre’s revenue, were down during the quarter, however they are anticipated to increase again in the October to December quarter, which corresponds with India’s festival season, traditionally a time for making purchases.

24th October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Yokohama Opens Second Onomichi OTR Plant

Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd., held an opening ceremony for the second plant at its Onomichi site in Japan on 22 October. The plant is located in Onomichi City, Hiroshima Prefecture, and specialises in the manufacture of off-the-road (OTR) tyres. Tooru Kobayashi, director and corporate officer of Yokohama Rubber, announced that the company would further increase production capacity at the Onomichi plant by another 2.2 times above its 2007 production to 2,500 tons a month by the end of 2012.

22nd October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Pro-Align Launches Mobile Aligner

Pro-Align has launched a mobile version of its popular Hunter DSP600 alignment system – the DSP600CM. Upon making is debut at the Mechanex show in Sandown, company representatives remarked that the Hunter DSP600CM imaging system offers “the same benefits as its ‘fixed column’ cousin, but with the added flexibility of being mobile between adjacent alignment lifts.”

The CM has the main camera column fixed to the side of the alignment console, this allows the technician to simply move the whole unit between adjacent alignment lifts. It is then located in position using with small floor plates.

19th October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Nokian Signs JV Agreement in Kazakhstan

After months of speculation about Nokian Tyres’ involvement in a new project in Kazakhstan, the Finnish manufacturer formalised its commitment to establishing a greenfield passenger car tyre factory in this northern Eurasian nation on October 19 through the signing of an agreement with Kazakhstanian multi-industrial company Ordabasy Corporation JSC.

The two parties’ cooperation will take the form of a joint venture company called Ordabasy – Nokian Tyres JSC. Nokian will hold a 10 per cent stake in the joint venture company, with an option to increase ownership to a minimum of 50 per cent.

19th October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

AIM Share Placing Planned to Double Capacity

Rising Tyre Co Ltd has announced it intends to raise as much as £16.2 million, including expenses, through a share placing, ahead of its Alternative Investment Market debut on October 30. The company said proceeds from the placing will primarily be invested in its new production facilities

Rising Tyre is the British Virgin Islands incorporated holding company for its wholly owned subsidiary Linyi Unique, a China based firm principally engaged in the manufacture of tyres and inner tubes for bicycles, motorcycles and mopeds. Linyi Unique acquired the production assets and business of Shandong Zhengxing, on 7 February 2007.

18th October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Michelin Produces 100 Millionth Tyre in Bridgewater, Canada

The Michelin North America plant in Bridgewater, Canada has turned out its 100 millionth tyre. The production of this milestone item, a LTX A/T2 truck tyre, was marked by staff and management at the facility in Nova Scotia, and plant manager Dana LeBlanc referred to it as “an important event for everyone here at Michelin in Bridgewater.”

“Since 1973 the Bridgewater facility has been a leading example throughout Michelin of producing quality tyres,” said LeBlanc. “Achieving this production milestone again demonstrates how Michelin in Bridgewater is dedicated to being a leader in the manufacturing sector in Nova Scotia.”

The Bridgewater facility’s 100 millionth tyre follows expansion plans announced in July to modernise and increase production capacity, as well as an expansion announced in August 2006 for the steel cord products operation at the facility.

18th October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Pirelli Signs Tyre Sector Research Agreement

On October 15 Pirelli and the Politecnico di Torino, an institute specialising in engineering and related disciplines, signed a five-year framework agreement for joint research in the tyre sector. The agreement will see the Politecnico’s research infrastructure utilised and will have the aim of further developing manufacturing processes and products derived from Pirelli technology.

In the realm of processes, in particular, the research team will work on the future generation of MIRS (Modular Integrated Robotized System), the robotised manufacturing system patented by Pirelli, and of the CCM (Continuous Compound Mixing) method that allows for a continuous production of mixes. On the products front, Pirelli and Politecnico di Torino will focus on development of the Cyber Tyre, an “intelligent” tyre able to “dialogue” with the vehicle, thereby permitting greater road safety.

16th October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Amtel-Vredestein to Supply 480,000 Tyres for Renault Logan

Amtel-Vredestein’s Russian subsidiary OJSC Amtel-Vredestein has signed an exclusive contract to supply Amtel tyres for Renault Logan passenger cars produced in Russia. Amtel-Vredestein will be the only Russian tyre producer to supply OJSC Autoframos with original equipment.

The majority of the tyres will be manufactured by Amtel’s Amtel-Povolzhye tyre complex (Kirov). It is projected that the company will supply between 30,000 – 35,000 tyres per month, and will supply a total of 480,000 OE tyres by the end of 2008. According to the company, preparations leading up to the contract took three years.

16th October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Michelin Aiming for 15 Million Tyres a Year in Poland

The previously reported Michelin expansion in Poland will see capacity at the company’s Olsztyn plant boosted to 15 million units a year, claims Deutsche Bank’s Equity Research division. This capacity will further be revised in the mid-term to 20 million units, making the facility in northeast Poland the tyremaker’s largest.

The reasoning behind the decision to expand in Poland at the expense of facilities in Western Europe becomes clear when viewing the relative costs of each region. In Western Europe, direct labour costs per passenger car tyre represents approximately 7.5 euros, or 15 per cent of its selling price. In Poland the same tyre can be manufactured for 1.7 euros, less than 4 per cent of the tyre’s retail price.

15th October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Wolfgang Meier to Leave Pirelli UK

Pirelli’s factory in Carlisle will bid farewell to its head of operations at the end of this year. UK industrial director Wolfgang Meier has accepted a senior position at Pirelli headquarters in Milan, and will end his five-year tenure with the company’s UK operations in December. He will be replaced by the current UK traditional manager Vittorio Carducci-Agostini, who will take over in January.

Meier’s career in the UK began in 2003 following his appointment to the role of human resources director. He served in this capacity until the start of 2006, when he stepped into his current position following the retirement of John Nixon.

15th October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Kumho Broadens its OE Horizons

Kumho has been a significant supplier to OEMs in its home market of Korea for many years. Recently, however, the company has taken a number of strides towards securing deals with major automotive manufacturers in Europe and the US. To that end, Kumho have set up offices in Birmingham, Hamburg and Detroit, as well as an office in Tianjin, China.

The tyremaker’s breakthrough in Europe came in 2001, when Kumho won the contract to supply 200,000 tyres a year to Volkswagen AG for the 2002 model year Polo. Though this was the company’s first ever European contract, it was not the first association with Volkswagen, to whom it already supplied tyres for the Mexican built Beetle. More recently, Kumho was selected by DaimlerChrysler AG to supply tyres for the second generation Mercedes Benz A-Class model. The development programme for this contract was led by Kumho’s Birmingham based European Technical Centre (KETC) and the main focus was ride refinement whilst maintaining suitable levels of wet and dry performance as well as a low rolling resistance. The result was a new tread compound and carcass material for the Kumho SOLUS KH15.

12th October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors