Dneproshina JSC, the second largest tyre manufacturer in the Ukraine, has dismissed its director general Jozef Rucek. This news was given in a December 1 company statement and disseminated by iTyre.com; it is reported that the decision was made on November 26 by company president Vitaliy V. Verbas, and Rucek’s contract was ended by mutual agreement on November 29.
Hankook Tire has picked up awards for the design of its enfren and Optimo 4S tyres at the iF Product Design Awards 2009 ceremony, held in the German city of Hanover. The two tyres became the first passenger car tyres to ever win the design award organised by the International Forum Design. They were both awarded in the ‘Transportation’ category, and were judged according to their technology, environment friendliness, functionality, safety and design quality.
The tyres are appraised independently for their quality and performance in terms of the environment and fuel efficiency, and Hankook attributes the tyre’s recognised innovative qualities to its consistent 5 per cent investment into its Kontrol Technology programme, which it states is one of the highest proportional levels of R&D investment in the tyre industry. The enfren tyre was launched in Korea in June 2008 and according to the Korea Automotive Technology Institute reduces rolling resistance by 21 per cent and improves fuel economy by two per cent. The Optimo 4S is currently the only tyre in the world and first all-season tyre ever to receive the famous German eco-label, the Blue Angel (Der Blaue Engel, in use since 1978 and considered to be the world’s first environmental-related label for products and services).
Production is being cut back at Continental’s three German tyre production plants. From December 4 until early January no truck tyres will be manufactured at the company’s Hannover-Stöcken facility, and other production adjustments will take place at this and the Conti factories in Korbach and Aachen.
Across many industries, including our own, 2008 will be long remembered for its spate of raw material price increases and their knock-on effect. Although these prices had by mid-November retreated from their earlier record highs, across the board they left eroded profits in their wake – and consumers smarting from the increases tyre manufacturers in turn slapped upon their products.
Due to reduced demand for passenger car tyres, Bridgestone Firestone North American Tire is halting production at its Wilson, North Carolina factory for a longer period over the Christmas break. Originally the plant was scheduled to operate between December 28 and 30, however the decision has been taken to remain closed between December 24 through to January 1.
When developing winter passenger car tyres for its premium brands, Continental AG says the most important consideration is how well brakes perform in one of the most commonly occurring yet critical road conditions for motorists in Western and Central Europe – wet road surfaces. An evaluation of the latest winter tyre test results reported by leading international trade magazines, reports Conti, confirms the wet-braking properties of tyres developed by the German manufacturer, which in most cases received the best scores within this particular category. In contrast, remarks Continental in a release, several competitor products and cheap Asian imports designed primarily for low rolling resistance were marked down for poor performance on wet surfaces.
With 15 years of experience in the aftermarket components sector, Stuart Jackson was not completely unfamiliar with the tyre business when he joined Vredestein a year ago. Having said that, 12 months after becoming UK managing director, Jackson admits that changing lanes into the tyre segment is also “a really good challenge.” In his words he is “very happy to bring a fresh perspective to the business.” In a recent interview with Tyres & Accessories Jackson reflected on the last year revealed details of Vredestein’s plans for 2009.
2008 has reportedly been a “very successful year” for Vredestein – with the company predicting that its UK operations are on track to report a 16 per cent growth rate year-on-year. According to Jackson this does not simply reflect tyre sales volume, but rather “organic financial growth” and “great commitment” from dealers. Some months are said to have been better than others, but by working flexibly with its partners order fill rates have been “consistently high.”
Kumho has returned to the Nigerian market following the naming of a new national distributor. Super Tyres and Motor Limited have been appointed to the role, reports Koh Bongyoon, Kumho’s international marketing manager, Africa operations. At a media briefing in Lagos, Super Tyres and Motor brand manager Aloke Sharma said the company aimed to position Kumho above competition in the premium segment.
According to Aloke, Super Tyres and Motors plans to hold at least 20 per cent market share for passenger car tyres within the first six months of Kumho tyre sales. The company is also the sole Nigerian distributor for GT Radial, Vikrant, DoubleCoin, BKT and Techking.
Although still a relatively new company, British Recycled Plastic has re-branded itself as British Recycled Products, after releasing a product range made from used car tyres. In its six months of operation, the Yorkshire based company has already amassed a client list that includes high profile customers such as the MoD, ASDA and the City of London Corporation. Director Jason Elliot believes the company’s success lies in its UK based production and sourcing of raw materials.
A 20-inch size has now been added to Vogue Tyre & Rubber’s white/gold stripe tyre range. The 245/40R20 fitment, publicly displayed for the first time at the SEMA show in Las Vegas, will be available as of mid-November through Vogue’s US dealer network.
The 20-inch tyre is an addition to Vogue’s existing line of 16, 17, and 18-inch passenger car tyres. The white/gold tyre has been part of the Vogue range for over 40 years. “There is a great deal of consumer interest in this product,” said Greg Hathcock, president of Vogue Tyre. “We are proud to add the 20-inch white/gold to our product line of quality tyres.
The fact that Michelin invests around 600 million euros a year in research and development, coupled with good financial and strategic planning will enable the company to ride out the storm that looks likely to buffet the tyre business in 2009. That was Michelin managing partner and worldwide Research & Technology head, Didier Miraton’s message to journalists at a recent innovation day at the company’s Ladoux technology centre. Miraton affirmed that the company is passionate about beating the increasing legislative and technological challenges facing all tyre manufacturers with some ambitious targets: “By the time the [global] number of vehicles doubles, we will have halved fuel consumption [relating to tyres].” Neither will the tyres fitted to the giant vehicle parc of the future weigh one gram more, nor produce one decibel more noise, Miraton said, adding that the company will also continue to reduce braking distances.
However, perhaps the boldest claim, and one Tyres & Accessories had not heard before, was that Michelin will essential halve the time it takes to design, develop and produce a new tyre. According to Didier Miraton, this is not about simply introducing new products, but rather preparing and developing the solutions to future challenges in advance – it is about being: “Open minded about what is useful for customers and society.” Goals like these make for great speeches, but they make even more of an impact when they are backed up by practical examples – which is why Michelin spent the rest of the day demonstrating how it has already begun to put these principles into practice in the passenger car, commercial vehicle, agricultural and OTR segments. For Michelin, the development of its 59/80R63 XDR giant earthmover radial was case in point. In this instance, before vehicle manufacturers like CAT had even built a machine to run on 63-inch tyres, Michelin had built a factory (the company’s Lexington, US plant) based on these enormous dimensions.
While the innovation day started and finished with a particularly visual demonstration of how Michelin tyres influence passenger car fuel efficiency, the importance of earthmover tyre technology was also very close to the fore. The 59/80R63 tyre represents a milestone in tyre development. When fitted to a Caterpillar 797B, one of the world’s largest trucks, the 59/80R63 XDR enables the vehicle to carry 360 tonnes for a gross vehicle weight of over 600 tonnes. And what’s more in addition to acting as a kind of suspension of EM vehicles that rarely include such technology, the tyres manage to last 25 per cent longer than competitors, according to Michelin. The giant XDR tyre contains 890 kilograms of steel and 3.89 tonnes of rubber, enough to produce over 600 car tyres.
Judging by the company’s recent third-quarter results, there are good financial reasons for Michelin’s decision to put its OTR flagship tyre into the public eye. In addition to being an example of technological leadership, sales of OTR tyres (including the 63-inch products which sell for around $60,000 each) have been supporting Michelin’s profitability. In its recent third-quarter results, Michelin reported sales of 4.212 billion euros for the quarter, 1.6 per cent above Morgan Stanley’s expectations. Upon closer inspection, the analysts point out that earthmover tyre sales account for 39 per cent of Michelin’s truck tyre revenues and 32 per cent of specialty division revenues. Without this part of the business functioning as well as it currently does, financial results could be quite different – the bad news is that, according to Morgan Stanley, the third quarter is the last quarter where earthmover sales will remain strong.
Turbulent times
Michelin’s portfolio is much wider than this particularly successful segment alone. Earthmover tyre sales may represent 39 per cent of Michelin’s truck segment revenues, but no-one is predicting a sudden end to the strong demand for earthmover tyres as the moment. Nevertheless this still leaves another 60 per cent of profitable truck and commercial vehicle tyre business. Tyres & Accessories asked Didier Miraton how he thought the pessimistic predictions of a 20 per cent fall in 2009 truck registrations would affect Michelin. Recognising that these are “turbulent times” Miraton pointed out that Michelin is not over-reliant on truck OE business: “More than 60 per cent of [segment] sales are in replacement business. We are well placed to absorb these difficulties.”
To this end the innovation day highlighted the strong fuel saving properties of Michelin’s latest energy saving truck tyre. The Michelin X Energy SaverGreen helps reduce fuel consumption by 0.4 litres per 100 kilometres. At a time when fuel is a long-distance trucking company’s second largest expense (accounting for 27 per cent of total costs versus 16 per cent in 1999), the X Energy SaverGreen offers an opportunity for significant cost savings. According to Michelin it can save a trucker more than 500 litres of diesel a year, or nearly 1,000 litres over the tyre’s initial life. 60 per cent of the tyres fuel savings are said to result from its Energy Flex casing, which means benefits will be passed onto retreaded tyres as well. In two years time this tyre will be remade using Re-Mix technology. In the meantime the new tyre will be distributed across Europe from the beginning of 2009. It is already available in the Spanish, Portguese, Italian and German markets.
“There is no antagonism between fuel economy and braking distances”
The most graphic demonstration of the day came when Michelin illustrated the fuel efficiency of passenger car tyres. To make their point as clearly as possible, technicians took two identical Mercedes kitted out with Michelin tyres and the closest competitor and effectively replaced the fuel tanks with two external test tube-style equivalents. The idea being that after a few hours of driving at 80km/h there would be a visible difference in fuel consumption. And of course there was (see picture). While this demonstration may not be as scientific as some, it was independently adjudicated on the day and highlighted the French manufacturer’s emphasis on this technology.
Some of Michelin’s competitors have asserted that focusing so strongly on fuel economy can only come at the cost of braking distance. Didier Miraton was equally assertive in his response: “There is no, there is no antagonism between fuel economy and braking distances.” Giving a brief explanation as to why this is, Miraton told T&A that the two factors are basically different categories of optimisation that do not have to conflict with each other. Michelin technicians, he explained, can adjust the heat build-up characteristics of a tyre without affecting its rolling resistance. With this in mind, Michelin is hoping to convince an increasing number of original equipment manufacturers of the benefits of its fuel saving, carbon dioxide emission reducing tyres.
Abdul-Galil Shaif al-Shaibi, vice chairman of the Yemen General Free Zones Authority and Aden Free Zone (AFZ) met with a delegation from the UAE on on 25 October. During the meeting the delegation, chaired by director of Bin Sooda Investment Companies Kareem Far’a reportedly “expressed a desire to establish a factory for producing cars tyres in Aden Free Zone.”
According to Yemeni news reports, the factory is initially expected to serve markets in the Middle East and the Horn of Africa. Abdul-Galil Shaif al-Shaibi reportedly indicated that AFZ may offer investment opportunities and facilities due to the Port of Aden’s strategic importance in the region.
The Michelin Man, will be seen on buses across the UK for the next few months as the leading French tyre manufacturer launches a bus-back advertising campaign for its new Energy Saver car tyres. The advertising campaign sees Bibendum take pride of place on the back of 53 buses operating within fleets across the UK, all of which are Michelin fleet customers.
Peter Snelling, UK head of communications at Michelin Tyre plc explained: “As far as we are aware, this is a completely unique campaign, where the brand advertised is also being used on the medium – or vehicle – to communicate this important message. Using buses that are fitted with our latest Michelin tyres seemed a very good and logical approach.
Aufine Tyre Company has appointed Al Saeedi Automotive Trading as distributor for Aufine Truck Radial Tyres in the Gulf region. Founded in 1986, the Aufine Group Company is located in China and currently employs over 6000 employees. The company describes its production process as being fitted out with advanced technology and “world class testing equipment.” Company figures put its manufacturing output at 1.5 million radial truck and bus tyres in 2007. Operating in the continents of Asia, Africa, Europe, North America and Oceania, Aufine has passed the DOT, ECE, CCC certification for quality.
Indian tyre manufacturers have seen production across all segments rise five per cent (6,990,767) on August 2007 (6,674,269), while the numbers for the first five months of the new financial year yielded an eight per cent gain on the average monthly production (7,059,732) against the same period in 2007, say figures released by the Automotive Tyre Manufacturers’ Association. The same could not be said for exports, where the cross-segment figure for August ’08 dropped considerably by 12 per cent from 535,325 to 473,444.
A particular highlight of the collected statistics is the action of the Tractor segment in August. Exports fell by 71 and 41 per cent respectively in front and rear categories compared to the monthly figures for 2007, though at the same time production in these sections rose 18 and 103 per cent. As these proportions suggest, the numbers for rear Tractor tyre production are particularly striking, going from 100,676 to 204,118 for August YOY. In terms of average monthly production between April and August 2008, front and rear Tractor tyres have increased in numbers by 10 and 30 per cent compared to the same five months in 2007. Looking at export figures, these segments have also witnessed an average month-on-month decrease of 41 and 17 per cent respectively in the same period.
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