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Xingda to Expand Tyre Cord Capacity

China based manufacturer and distributor of radial tyre cord and bead wire, Xingda International Holdings Ltd., has announced the expansion of its high performance tyre cord by 40,000 to 50,000 tons per year in each of the next three years. This capacity increase will take place at the company’s “Factory No. 8” facility.

At the end of 2007 the company’s radial cord capacity stood at 237,100 tons, a 22.2 per cent increase over 2006, the company reported in its annual statement. The utilisation rate of this tyre cord was 84 per cent, only marginally lower than the year before. The Jiangsu Province based firm aims to reach a total radial tyre cord production capacity of approximately 400,000 tons by 2011. The company quotes the China Rubber Industry Association as saying demand within China for radial cord will exceed 800,000 tons in 2008, an increase of over 25 per cent on 2007.

15th April 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Hankook to Double Capacity in Hungary

Hankook is reported to have plans for doubling capacity at its facility in Hungary. The BBJ, an English-language Hungarian business weekly, published comments made by Hankook Tire Magyarország PR manager Katalin Roy, who said that the tyremaker intends to boost daily capacity from 15,000 to 31,000 tyres by 2010.

The expansion will involve increasing the area of the Dunaújváros facility, south of Budapest, by 40 per cent, and 300 new staff will be employed. Hankook has already applied for the necessary environmental licenses for the expansion, said Roy. The cost of the investment was not disclosed, however at the time of the plant’s opening Hankook said it would spend 500 million euros in investments at the base by 2010. Work on expanding the plant will apparently begin this June and be completed within a year.

15th April 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Herkules Provides Mighty Lifting in Confined Spaces

A new range of small platform lifts have been added to Beissbarth UK’s leading automotive and service product line-up. Known as the Herkules range, Beissbarth report that these are products ideal for smaller workshops or those hard-pressed for space.

“The operational costs are minimal because the Herkules uses air, which in most workshops is both plentiful and readily available,” said Beissbarth UK managing director Philip Hodges about the newly-introduced range. “This range is absolutely ideal for Fast-Fit and Tyre Repair workshops where time is seen as vital for a smooth and efficient workshop. All Herkules Lifts carry a three-year warranty and represent extremely good value in the current lift market.”

14th April 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Tornel Takeover to Give JK 15.3 Million Unit Capacity

The 100 per cent acquisition of Mexico’s Tornel by JK Tyre, announced on April 11, sees the Indian tyre manufacturer become the country’s fourth-largest. The £34.19 million acquisition, which is expected to close by the end of May, will be funded through a special purpose vehicle (SPV) – a company created solely for this particular transaction – based in Mexico.

“We will raise the money through internal accruals and debt, which will be structured though a SPV,” commented JK Tyres & Industries’ vice-chairman & managing director Raghupati Singhania. “Tornel will be a fully-owned subsidiary of JK Tyres and there will be no dilution of the existing shareholding in the company. We shall also bring a rights issue in the next few months, which will be in the ratio of 3:1, to help bridge the funds for the acquisition. The price of the issue will be determined at the time of offer.”

14th April 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

JK Tyre Gains Access to NAFTA Markets Through Tornel Acquisition

India’s JK Tyre & Industries has gained a channel through which it can access the NAFTA markets following the purchase of Mexican tyre manufacturer Tornel. The Rs 2.7 billion (£34.19 million) acquisition was announced on April 11, and will give JK Tyre the scope to expand in the Americas thanks to the free trade agreement in place between Mexico, Canada and the US.

“The acquisition is also a strategic fit for JK Tyre as we are already the largest exporter to the North and South American markets,” chairman Hari Shankar Singhania said in a statement released by JK Tyre. The statement added that Tornel operates three tyre facilities with a combined annual capacity of 6.6 million tyres, and employs around 2,000 people.

11th April 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Rotary Introduces Extended Height Adapter

Rotary Lift introduces a new extended height (EH) adapter to enable technicians using any frame-contact Rotary Lift model to properly pick up the Toyota Tundra and other light trucks, SUVs and vans. Additionally, Rotary said it has widened the frame-engaging pad on this and its existing EH auxiliary adapter by half an inch, in order to accommodate new vehicles, many of which have wider frames.

10th April 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Indian CV Tyre Market Will Be 20% Radialised by 2011

JK Tyres president Arun Bajoria has predicted that radialisation is the “next big thing” in the Indian tyre market. His comments came alongside an announcement that the company will almost double the Indian manufacturer’s PCR capacity thorough the construction of a Greenfield passenger car radial tyre factory. “We are falling short of capacity and we are planning a new plant,” Arun Bajoria, president, JK Tyre & Industries Ltd told the Hindu Business Line. Bajoria told the newspaper that JK Tyre is scouting out possible locations in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and some States in the north of India.

9th April 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Goodyear’s Laura Thompson Elected Company Officer

Goodyear’s Board of Directors has voted to appoint vice president of business development, Laura Thompson, as an officer of the corporation. Ms Thompson has served in her current role since June 2005 and is responsible for acquisition, divestiture and partnership activities in supporting Goodyear’s long-term strategies.

The 43-year old Akron region native began her career with Goodyear in 1983, working part-time while finishing her undergraduate degree in accounting from the University of Akron (she also holds an MBA in finance from the same establishment). Ms Thompson then served in various financial and accounting staff positions, both in business units and corporate staff, until being named manager of finance for Research and Development in 1997. In 2000, she was named director of Investor Relations and served in that capacity for two years. She became finance director for consumer tyres in the company’s North American Tire business in 2002, and was named director, business development for the unit a year later.

9th April 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Keegan: Goodyear Well Positioned Despite Economic Uncertainty

In his address at Goodyear’s 2008 annual shareholders’ meeting on April 5, chairman and CEO Robert J. Keegan said the company is well positioned for future success despite economic uncertainty in 2008. This, he said, is the result of the determination and innovative thinking exhibited by thousands of Goodyear associates around the world that helped turn the company around.

“Our company’s product, brand and customer mix has become considerably richer,” said Keegan. “We are more focused on the premium segments of the global tire markets, which have relatively inelastic pricing dynamics. Our ability to generate top-line growth is underpinned by our product leadership strategy. We focus our industry-leading new product engine on increasing our mix of high-value-added tyres. The introduction of impactful new products to our portfolio globally raised the bar again in 2007.”

9th April 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Sameer Importing Chinese Tyres to Meet Local Demand

International News, News

Kenyan manufacturer Sameer Africa has begun importing tyres from China to meet a strong demand for low priced products in its home market. This, however, says Kenya’s Business Daily newspaper, is a measure placing the company in deeper debt as it must borrow heavily to pay invoices. The company installed a new £84,000 light truck tyre assembly machine last July and also increased capacity, however the company continues to struggle, as it has since changing its name from Firestone to Yana tyres three years ago.

“We were not making enough money from our tyre production unit so we borrowed to finance the importation of tyres that we don’t make” said Sameer managing director, Eric Kimani. The Chinese brands imported, says Mr. Kimani, include Dyna and Triangle. “The tyres are affordable but very durable. When we import we don’t just bring anything, we buy quality,” he added.

8th April 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Yellow Sea to Expand Capacity

Company News, International News

Approximately £90 million is said to be earmarked for Qingdao Yellow Sea Rubber to assist it move production to a new facility. This money is to come from controlling company China National Chemical Corporation (ChemChina), and the move of production from its headquarters to an industrial park will allow an increase of all-steel radial capacity to 1.8 million units per annum in 2008, and when its semi-steel radial production moves later the overall annual capacity in the facility will be 3 million units. Additional all steel and semi-steel capacity will be added, with all construction expected to be completed by the end of next year.

8th April 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Cabot Closes West Virginia Carbon Black Facility

Operations at Cabot Corporation’s carbon black facility in West Virginia, US, ended on the last day of March, the company reports. The upcoming closure of the Waverly plant was first announced in June 2007, at which time Cabot stated that changes in the tyre manufacturing industry were the predominant factor behind the decision. The company has engaged in significant restructuring measures in the past two years in response to diminishing tyre output and capacity in North America and expansions to facilities in China, the Asia Pacific region and South America.

8th April 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Lanxess Acquisition of Majority of Brazil’s Petroflex Completed

Specialty chemicals group Lanxess AG has completed the acquisition of an approximate 70 per cent holding in Petroflex S.A., Latin America’s largest rubber producer. Lanxess is paying some 200 million euros for the package of shares. The transaction took effect on April 1, 2008. Petroflex S.A. will be included in Lanxess’ consolidated financial statements from the second quarter of 2008. In accordance with local regulations, Lanxess will shortly issue a public takeover offer for the remaining shares.

“Petroflex ideally complements our product portfolio and strengthens our position in one of the world’s most important growth markets,” said chairman of the Lanxess Board of Management Axel C. Heitmann. “In this way we are decisively reinforcing our position in Latin America and welcome our new employees with whom we want to continue growing.”

4th April 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Goodyear Industrial Tyre Lifts More

Goodyear has increased the load carrying capacity of a key size of one of its popular Sure Grip Lug industrial tyres. The load index of the 12.5/80-18 Goodyear Sure grip lug tyre has increased from 139 (10PR) to 146 (14PR) following an upgrade to the carcass and bead construction. This increase gives the new tyre a maximum nominal carrying capacity of 3000Kg which is an increase over the previous tyre of 570Kg per tyre or 1140Kg on the axle. This tyre size is a popular fitment on JCB, Komatsu, Cat, CNH and Volvo industrial machines and in particular on the front axles of Backhoe loaders.

According to company representatives, the change has been brought about following an in-depth analysis of the machines in the market place and in anticipation of future developments of these industrial machines.

4th April 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Gripen Wheels Now in the UK

The products of Swedish manufacturer Gripen Wheels have only recently arrived in the UK, with the company’s first pricelist for our market introduced in 2007. The company boasts a wide range of product offerings – in addition to a large stock of rims for OTR vehicles such as earthmovers and those used in mining operations, the company claims to have the largest OTR tyre warehouse capacity in Europe with most tyres in stock for immediate delivery. Further details about the company’s product offerings can be obtained from the Gripen Wheels website www.gripenwheels.com

3rd April 2008/by Tyrepress Editors