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Conti Increases Production at Romania Plant

Continental intends to boost production capacity at its Timisoara plant in Romania by around 8 per cent, to over 13.5 million tyres per annum. Capacity in 2006 stood at 12.5 million units, and the German tyremaker will utilise a 15 million euro investment budget to bring about the planned increase.

During the past seven years 50 million tyres have been produced at the Timisoara facility, with production capacity on average increasing by a million tyres per year. “Less than seven years after production started in Timisoara, in the wake of over 170 million-euro investments, we now produce up to 40,000 tyres a day,” stated Martin Kleinbrod, general manager of Continental Automotive Products.

Continental opened its new Timisoara facility, the manufacturer’s most modern in Europe, in 2000, and since that time the company has opened three tyre and automotive component factories in western Romania.

5th June 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Chris Behan Appointed UK General Manager at Snap-On

Snap-on has appoint Chris Behan (43) as UK general manager. In this role Behan will have responsibility for the sales service and administrative activities for both Hofmann and John Bean.

“Chris is a proven and seasoned sales leader in the UK having demonstrated general management success in expanding UK markets for German and US produced industrial products,” said Thomas L Kassouf, president, Snap-on Equipment. He joins Nap-on with extensive experience in the power tools sector having workted with A&M Electric, Atlas Copco and AEG. Most recently he acted in the capacity of general manager for fastener distribution company, Tornado Fixings.”

“I believe that the Snap-on Equipment heritage is second to none,” said Behan, adding: “My aim is to build upon the equity of both the Hofmann and John Bean brands to maintain a clear brand direction and differentiation within the UK automotive wheel and service equipment market. Going forward we will be unveiling a fresh marketing strategy to support our customers in the UK automotive market. I am entirely confident that the same quality products and customer service will be behind our energetic new look.”

4th June 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

India & China Fuelling Increased Carbon Black Demand

According to the US market research organisation the Freedonia Group, worldwide demand for carbon black is forecast to rise by 4.2 per cent per annum, reaching an annual consumption of 11 million tonnes in 2011. Consumption is predicted to particularly grow in the Asia-Pacific region, thanks to the continuing expansion of China and India’s automotive and tyre industries. These two countries also saw the largest increases in new carbon black capacity between 2001 and 2006. In contrast, Freedonia states that it expects demand in developed regions to “post below-average gains through 2011, with the large US and Japanese markets holding particularly weak prospects.”

Two-thirds of this anticipated demand will come from the tyre industry, which is expected to account for 7.1 million tonnes by 2011. And with little construction of new carbon black production facilities, utilisation rates in developed markets is predicted to remain at 95 per cent or higher.

4th June 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

U.S. Military Receives First Shipment of BFGoodrich Tyres

(Akron/Tire Review) Michelin North America’s (MNA) BFGoodrich brand announced the delivery of the first 5,000 Baja T/A military edition tyres to the U.S. military for use on Humvees. The military edition tyre features a load capacity of 3,850 pounds per tyre at 50 psi, expanded tread life, more wet- and dry-pavement manoeuvrability and increased mud traction.

BFGoodrich is the primary brand used by the military Humvees. As part of the supply contract, MNA has expanded product mix at its BFGoodrich plant in Fort Wayne, Ind., where the tyres are produced. “This project is a significant milestone for the plant,” said Paul Cagle, Fort Wayne plant manager. “Not only are we reaching our production goals and expanding our production capabilities, but the spirit at the plant is high as employees are displaying a sense of pride in having the opportunity to support the men and women who serve in our Armed Forces.”

The contract with the U.S. military expires in the fourth quarter, but MNA intends to expand the partnership in 2008.

1st June 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Hankook Aiming for Doubled Euro Sales by 2010

With the opening of Hankook Tire’s £340 million facility in Dunaujvaros, Hungary scheduled for June, the South Korean manufacturer’s goal of doubling its European market share to 8 per cent by 2010 looks on track. By the end of this three-year timeframe the new factory will have an expected capacity of 10 million units. During this same period Hankook plans to increase global output from 69 million to 80 million units, and the company has previously stated that its longer-term goal is 100 million units a year.

Hankook is the fastest growing of the world’s top 11 tyremakers, with sales increasing by 20 per cent annually. Furthermore, it reportedly enjoys the industry’s highest profitability, with average operating profit margins exceeding 10 per cent. And as Hankook’s largest export market, Europe is naturally very important to the tyremaker – a fact confirmed when the company referred to Europe as their “second domestic market” earlier in the year. A total of 35 per cent of the company’s export revenue (which in turn is 70 per cent of total revenue) comes from European sales.

29th May 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

The Magic Touch(less)

In recent times the name Beissbarth has become all but synonymous with their new Touchless wheel alignment system, and if the company’s presence at Brityrex was anything to go by, they don’t mind this at all. The aligner, often referred to using the words ‘revolutionary’ and ‘breakthrough’, took centre stage at the Beissbarth stand.

“This is the biggest advance in wheel aligner technology that I have ever witnessed in more than 30 years in the industry,” said Beissbarth UK managing director Philip Hodges. “Aside from pinpoint accuracy, there are enormous time savings per vehicle on the current process, which will build both capacity and turnover in all busy workshops.”

The Touchless system, previously reported by Tyres & Accessories on several occasions, is touted by Beissbarth to offer the fastest wheel alignment ever. The non-contact aligner will, they say, save up to 20 minutes on preparation time per vehicle. “There’s no wheel clamps to mess about with,” a Beissbarth representative commented to Tyres & Accessories. “The vehicle is just driven into position and the results can be seen on screen in seconds.”

25th May 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone UK Names New Motorcycle Division Manager

Bridgestone UK has strengthened its sales team with the appointment of Andrew Whitehead as manager for its motorcycle division. According to an official company statement, Whitehead’s primary role will be to “secure Bridgestone’s market share of quality motorbike tyres.” This portfolio includes the new Battlax BT-021, a long-term replacement for the successful BT-020, the market-leading sport touring tyre.

“It’s an exciting time to join the motorcycle division following the official launch of the BT-021,” said Whitehead. “It’s a fantastic product, and the positive feedback we’ve received about the handling and performance capabilities of the tyre leads us to believe it will make a real impact in the market. The BT-020 is an incredibly tough act to follow, but my focus is to ensure the BT-021, and the rest of the Bridgestone motorbike range, can generate equally impressive unit sales.

Andrew Whitehead, 44, formerly worked in a sales capacity for Bridgestone’s truck division following a six year stint at Dunlop, where he was also responsible for truck and motorcycle tyre sales.

25th May 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Hankook Marks China Milestone

Mid-May saw Hankook Tire reach an important milestone, with the company celebrating the 10th anniversary of the opening of its Huai’an factory in China’s Jiangsu Province. Government officials, including Mr. Ding Jieming, Part Secretary of Huaian government, Jiangsu province and Mr. fan Jinglong, Mayor of Huaian joined senior Hankook officials including company CEO Mr. Seung Hwa Suh in commemorating the occasion.

“Hankook Tire has experienced rapid growth,” stated Seung Hwa Suh during the ceremony. “We have recently celebrated the No. 100 million tyre off the production line and have sustained the top position in China’s market, which has helped Hankook Tire to build a solid foundation for ranking the 7th in the global market, and to lay down a solid foundation for the further high speed growth in China market.” Since first establishing a Chinese market presence in 1996 the company has established two factories, in Jiaxing, Zhejiang Province and Huai’an Jiangsu Province. Production capacity at these two plants now stands at 28 million tyres per year.

24th May 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Introducing Autocat+ v4.0

MAM Software has launched Autocat+ v4.0, the next major release of its electronic parts cataloguing software for motor factors, accessory retailers and parts distributors. This introduces a number of significant enhancements to the application and further extends its functionality.

This latest version of Autocat+ is designed to run at a larger screen resolution of 1024px by 768px. This enables the software to display more information on the screen at any one time and has removed the need for scroll bars on some of the controls. As a result, the main parts grid now displays new fields including fuel type, body type, engine capacity, cylinders, cam, valve and transmission.

The introduction of new data columns gives users more fields on which to filter data. Combined with new progressive searching routines, Autocat+ v4 helps users to quickly and easily drill down data to find a match. With more information to search on, parts lookups are more accurate, increasing the likelihood of achieving ‘first-time-fit’.

24th May 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Toyo to Expand North American Tyre Production

Japan’s Toyo Tire & Rubber Co,. Ltd has announced plans to increase production capacity at its North American manufacturing subsidiary, Toyo Tire North America. The company will inject about 6,000 million yen (£25 million) into the US operations with a view to expanding North American sales of the company’s 16 to 24-inch UHP tyres and meet anticipated future OE demand from local car makers.

Georgia-based Toyo Tire North America was established three years ago and began the volume production of passenger car and light commercial vehicle tyres in March 2006, employing a new, proprietary, automated “Advanced Tire Operation Module (A.T.O.M.)” system that facilitates the multi-item small-lot production of products within a much smaller space. The A.T.O.M. will be upgraded as part of the announced capacity expansion so as to help achieve higher product quality while boosting output to approximately 3.3 million units per year by 2009.

23rd May 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Kumho Breaks Ground at New China Site

The groundbreaking ceremony for Kumho Tires’ fourth factory in China – and the first not to be engaged in the manufacture of passenger car tyres – was held in Nanjing on May 16 in the presence of more than three hundred company executives and distinguished guests. The company will invest around £50 million in the construction of this latest facility, which when completed in the second half of 2008 will specialise in the production of truck and bus radials. Annual production is planned at 300,000 units.

At the ceremony, Kumho chief executive Park SamKu stated “I am very glad to build this bus and truck tyre factory at Nanjing, an important place for us to further our growth in the Chinese market.” He added that Kumho intends to place a greater emphasis on dealings between the company’s Korean headquarters and its operations in China. Furthermore, Kumho Tires is planning, in the company’s own words, to “aggressively pursue the Chinese tyre market through an export markets diversification strategy.”

23rd May 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Treadsetters and UK Tyre Group Partner in Durun Joint Venture

Telford-based wholesaler, Treadsetters, has partnered with UK Tyre Group to import and distribute Durun brand passenger car and UHP tyres. Following negotiations with Durun’s Chinese manufacturer (Shandong Yongtai Chemical Group) at the end of 2006, Treadsetters began importing the tyres at the beginning of 2007. Then, during Brityrex week at the beginning of May, the two parties announced that they are going to pool resources by effectively selecting Durun as a UK Tyre Group exclusive house brand. Treadsetters will continue to hold the exclusive rights to distribute Durun tyres in the UK, the Republic of Ireland and South Africa.

22nd May 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Kuo and Cabot to Further Invest in Mexican Carbon Black Production

Grupo Kuo, S.A.B. de C.V., formerly known as Desc, S.A.B. de C.V. has announced that it and Cabot International Capital Corporation, shareholders of carbon black manufacturer Nhumo, S.A. de C.V. have approved capital investment plans for the Nhumo production facility in Altamira, Mexico. The capital investment plans include the installation of a new cogeneration unit, as well as machinery and equipment upgrades that will increase the plant’s nameplate production capacity to approximately 150,000 tonnes per year by 2008.

The additional capacity will allow Nhumo to respond to increasing demand for carbon black in Mexico, already one of the world’s highest volume traders in the commodity. Kuo ranks as one of Mexico’s largest industrial groups, with annual sales of approximately US$1.8 billion and some 10,500 employees.

22nd May 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

On a Roll

India’s third largest tyre manufacturer, JK Tyre & Industries Ltd (JK Tyre), has made no secret of its plans to increase domestic market share in key segments and to seek out new export markets, but bringing these goals to fruition requires the expansion of the company’s existing production capacities. Therefore JK Tyre has its eye on making an investment of somewhere between £60 million and £75 million in this area over the next three years.

President of JK Tyre, Mr. Arun K. Bajoria, recently spoke to the respected Indian daily publication Hindu Business Line regarding the steps his company was making towards realising its aims. “The expansion will be across the four existing facilities and the investments would be spread over the next three years,” he stated. “But in the next 12 months we would be first investing around Rs 120 crore (£15 million) for increasing the capacity by around 50 per cent in the off the road tyres segment used by the mining, cement, coal and earth-moving sectors.”

22nd May 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

CTNA Makes Forklift Tyre Changes CSEasy

(Akron/Tire Review) Continental Tire North America has introduced CSEasy, a solid super-elastic tyre for forklifts. The CSEasy, said CTNA, requires no press, specialist technician or equipment for installation. The solid pneumatic industrial tyre can be fitted at the job site, “ensuring the forklift is back in full operation within mere minutes,” CTNA said. CSEasy features an “innovative reusable adapter between the tyre and rim,” the company said. The conical adaptor, said CTNA place the tyre in the proper position for quick mounting using a torque wrench.

21st May 2007/by Tyrepress Editors