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Apollo Capacity Increases Ready by Mid-2009

Apollo Tyres makes no secret of its intention to become a market leader in India’s passenger car tyre segment, and during a press conference in Chennai the company’s head of India Operations, Satish Sharma, outlined the means by which Apollo plans to reach its goal.

Mr. Sharma stated that Apollo’s new Rs 5 billion (£61 million) greenfield facility in Oragadam, near Chennai, will be ready to enter production by June 2009 and have a daily production capacity of 30,000 passenger car tyres. The capacity expansion at Apollo’s Baroda plant, an upgrade costing the company Rs 1.5 billion (£18 million), is also scheduled for completion around that time. When complete, capacity at Baroda will increase by 5,000 units a day to 15,000 units.

11th March 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Conti May Merge Siemens VDO Facilities – Wennemer

According to Continental CEO Manfred Wennemer, the merger of some of the Siemens VDO production plants Conti acquired last year remains a possibility. In an interview with the German business magazine WirtschaftsWoche, Mr. Wennemer said “we have 200 plants in 36 countries. We certainly do not need all of these plants. One has to combine them in order to improve the manufacturing capacity of each of these plants.”

While the CEO did not elaborate on which facilities may be affected, he used the manufacture of airbags as a case in point: “We make airbags in Regensburg and Ingolstadt (Germany), in America, China and South America. We will examine which are the most competitive. And we will decide to produce the airbags there.”

10th March 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Conti’s Hippe to Run Passenger & Light Truck Tyre Divisions

During Continental AG’s March 7 board meeting the decision was taken to reorganise responsibilities within the company’s Executive Board. As a result, as of April 1 Manfred Wennemer will hand over control of the Passenger and Light Truck Tire division to company CFO Dr. Alan Hippe. At the end of September 2008 Dr. Hippe will also take charge of the ContiTech division, succeeding Gerhard Lerch, who intends to retire and relinquish his seat on the board at this time. Mr. Wennemer will remain responsible for the Interior division.

Dr. Hippe will continue in the capacity of CFO until a successor to the position is appointed. Continental reports that no changes have been made to the responsibilities held by other members of the Executive Board.

10th March 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Kumho’s Vietnam Plant Officially Opens

Kumho’s new tyre manufacturing plant in Vietnam’s Binh Duong province was inaugurated on March 5, reports the Vietnam Economic Times. Vietnam’s Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung and South Korea’s Ambassador to Vietnam, Lim Hong-che, were present at the ceremony, during which a memorandum of understanding regarding investing a further US$300 million in stage two of the facility was signed.

6th March 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Giti’s Range Keeps 4×4 Drivers On – and Off – the Road

Giti Tire is a company with ambitious plans – in December company director Dr. Enki Tan told Tyres & Accessories that Giti intends to penetrate the European and US markets faster than any tyre manufacturer has ever done so before. To reach this ambitious goal the company is in the process of adding an additional 10 million units a year capacity to its facility in China’s Anhui province.

Giti Tire claims to now offer 4×4 drivers a wide range of tyres to suit their driving style and the type of terrain on which they drive. Amongst the comprehensive Giti 4×4 range is the UHP GT Champiro 528 for 4×4 vehicles. This line-up has been exclusively designed for the luxury and sports SUV sector and covers 15 popular sizes, all V speed rated. The tyre features a directional tread pattern that Giti describes as “aggressive.”

5th March 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Titan Sales Hit Record, Loss Still Posted

Titan International’s 2007 sales were up 23 per cent compared to the year prior, but the company yielded a net loss of US$7.2 million for the year. Sales for 2007 reached a record $837 million, up 23 per cent compared to 2006’s sales of $679.5 million. Those results were buoyed by record fourth quarter sales of $204.9 million, said Titan. The profit drop compared to a net positive profit of $5.1 million in 2006.

Titan said the sales boost was primarily due to expanded agricultural and OTR tyre offerings, including the addition of General branded OTR tyres to its portfolio. Titan’s year-end cash balance was $58.3 million, up some $25 million from $33.4 million at year-end 2006, and Titan’s long-term debt balance sat at $200 million at the end of 2007, down $91.3 million from the year prior.

3rd March 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Cooper Tire International Ops Up 29% in Record 4Q Results

Cooper Tire & Rubber Company has reported net income of $51 million for the fourth quarter of 2007, ended 31 December. Income from continuing operations increased $67 million from a loss of $28 million for the same period last year. The substantial earnings improvement was accompanied by a new record of $765 million in sales for the quarter, a 7 per cent increase over the same period last year. During the quarter, the Company reported a $26.5 million gain on the sale of the operations of the Oliver Rubber Company and explained that it received net cash proceeds of $66 million.

The Company’s International Tire Operations reported sales of $228 million in the quarter, an increase of 29 per cent compared with the fourth quarter of 2006. The segment’s operating profit improved by $8.6 million to $3.8 million from a fourth quarter loss of $4.8 million the previous year. This increase was said to have been driven by higher unit volumes and pricing. For the total year, operating profit for the segment improved to $29 million, a $19 million increase over the same period last year.

29th February 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Goodyear: Dalian $1 Billion Tyre Factory Report ‘Inaccurate’

Following reports that Goodyear was about to sign an agreement to invest a 10-figure sum in a production plant in Dalian, China, Goodyear has responded to Tyres & Accessories with the following statement. According to Keith Price, Goodyear’s National Media Relations Director: “Dalian is already an important location for Goodyear and further investments in that location are possible, however we continue to explore opportunities in Asia and Dalian is one of them.”

According to Price, Goodyear is not currently in a position to invest the huge figure Reuters reported: “$1 billion in one plant in less than several years is an impossibility for Goodyear. We will make the appropriate announcements once any decisions have been finalized.”

“We also are continuing to evaluate strategic investments in high-value-added and low-cost capacity in Eastern Europe and Asia,” the statement continued, adding: “As indicated in Goodyear’s fourth quarter investor conference call, the company remains committed and on track to reduce our net debt, improve our cash flow and achieve our next stage metrics.”

28th February 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Goodyear to Give Max Technology UK launch at CV Show

Goodyear Dunlop will be using the 2008 Commercial Vehicle Show (15-17 April) to launch its innovative Goodyear Max Technology ranges to the UK market. According to the company, Max Technology benefits are said to include improvements to fuel consumption, shorter wet braking, greater load capacity and longer tyre life. To prove their performance, Goodyear’s new regional and long haul truck tyres have been independently tested and successfully compared with not only their predecessors but also their competition. Max Technology includes new high silica content tread compounds, new tread designs, new carcass construction and new sizes.

25th February 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Titan to Increase Giant OTR and Agricultural Tyre Capacity

Production of giant OTR tyres at Titan International is set to markedly increase, says company chairman and CEO Maurice M. Taylor Jr. At a speech given to the Tire Industry Association in Hawaii on February 22 Taylor said that the company expects to produce more than twice as many giant OTR tyres as previously estimated.

25th February 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Foundation Stone Laid for New Apollo OTR Plant

Yet another new chapter in the history of Apollo Tyre’s impressive growth was written on February 25 at a foundation stone laying ceremony for the company’s new OTR tyre production facility. The construction of this new plant marks Apollo’s entry into the OTR tyre segment. Presiding over the auspicious occasion at Limda, in India’s Gujarat state, was company chairman and managing director Onkar S Kanwar.

The OTR facility will be ready for production within the next 15 months and will have an initial capacity of 10 tonnes per day, to be increased to 60 tonnes a day over a three-year period. Sizes produced at the Limda plant will start at 25-inch and diameters up to 57-inch are planned. The first phase of development will require an investment of about Rs 1 billion (£12.7 million), and this money will go towards establishing facilities primarily for the production of cross-ply OTR tyres. Additional investments will be made for radial production.

25th February 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Hankook to Raise Prices 10%

Hankook Tire intends to increase operating profit by 32 per cent this year, a target it will reach through the increased sale of high performance tyres and by raising prices to counter higher raw materials costs. Chief financial officer Cho Hyun Bum told media in Seoul that the company intends to charge 10 per cent more for tyres, a necessary measure if it is to achieve its targeted 2008 profits of 348.5 billion won (£188.7 million). Last year the company made profits of 263.6 billion won (£142.7).

22nd February 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

GPX To Close Canada Factory

OTR, industrial and specialty tyre manufacturer GPX International Tire Corporation has disclosed its intention to cease operations at its solid tyre production facility in Mississauga, Canada and “consolidate its solid tyre manufacturing operations in Gorham, Maine and Xingtai, China.” This planned closure and consolidation is part of the company’s overall plan to rationalise its wholly owned manufacturing facilities, said GPX in a statement. These plans will see North American operations focusing on specialty products whilst the plant in China will produce the “longer run commodity type” products.

22nd February 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Amtel-Vredestein Reports Production Resumed at Kirov Facility

Amtel-Vredestein has responded to recent media speculation over a halt in production at its Amtel-Povolzhye facility, claiming that production resumed at the plant on February 15. The company reports that operations “continue as usual” at the facility, located in the Russian city of Kirov, following a “temporary suspension in the supply of raw materials that led to a disruption in production on 11 February.” This downtime, claims Amtel-Vredestein, was utilised to complete scheduled equipment maintenance and repairs.

21st February 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

2007 a Strong Year For Bridgestone, 2008 to be Tougher

Full year 2007 financial results for Bridgestone Corporation were released on January 19, and these figures paint a picture of a healthy year’s trading. Net sales increased 13 per cent to 3,390.2 billion yen (£16.118 billion), and operating income jumped 31 per cent, or 59 billion yen (£280.5 million), to 249.9 billion yen (£1.19 billion). Net income, at 131.6 billion yen (£625.65 million), showed a 55 per cent increase on 2006 results.

Bridgestone reports that, amidst an environment of increasing raw material costs, a slowing US economy, recovering Japanese and European economies and economic growth in Asia, Bridgestone group companies managed to increase production capacity in strategic product lines while benefiting from strengths in research and development. Furthermore, Bridgestone adds the companies “also maintained group-wide efforts to enhance their portfolio of highly competitive products and businesses despite an increasingly difficult business environment caused by changes in the global structure of demand and competition.”

20th February 2008/by Tyrepress Editors