Ecosystem Ltd has become the UK distributor for Evashred tyre shredders made by FV Evans & Sons NZ. These machines may be new to the UK, but they have been successfully sold into New Zealand & Australia for many years. According to the new UK distributor, the machines can be built with electric or hydraulic motors and can be supplied static, or mobile in a truck for on site shredding.
Czech tyre maker Barum Continental produced 18.52 million passenger car tyres last year, a growth of 7 per cent year-on-year, company representative Pavel Pravec told the Prague Daily Monitor. Production of “high-tech” tyres is said to have grown the most, increasing 81 per cent to 2.42 million units in 2005. Barum also added 300 staff in 2005. The company, which now employs 4,448 people, also reportedly plans a further hike in staff numbers for this year.
In an article in Die Welt, Continental Chief Executive Manfred Wennemer said that the company “can see no alternative” to ceasing production of passenger car tyres at the factory at Hanover.
2005 turned out to be a very successful year for Vellco Tyre Control and concluded with the accolade of being honoured as a finalist in the York Evening Press Business Awards.
Having applied for nomination at a late stage in proceedings, Vellco recently found themselves as one of three finalists in the ‘Best Environmental Company of the Year’ category. Vellco was represented at the event by directors, Bob Fell and Sue Fell plus John Campbell – business development director, Erlinda del Mar, accounts and administration manager and Dave Hollis – transport and logistics manager.
Continental’s Charlotte, North Carolina, plant is likely to close happen when the company’s Brazilian operation is fully operational in 2007, Deutsche Bank analysts have reported. The analysts’ comments come after the plant’s management asked workers to choose between a 35 per cent wage reduction (from $21/hour to $13.7/hour) and production cuts in order to save $15 million dollars a year.
The German Bundesrat is set to ratify new winter tyre regulations in Germany by the end of the year. While the legislation will not actually require winter tyre usage it goes one step further than a simple recommendation. Under the new law, German drivers not using winter tyres in adverse weather conditions could be fined between 20 and 40 euros by police if they breakdown. And of course a new regulation along these lines will give insurance companies all the ammunition they need to refuse to pay-out for winter accidents involving cars fitted with summer tyres.
The Motor Industry Research Association has conducted further tests that highlight the importance of adequate tread depth on vehicle tyres.
Independent braking tests were carried out to measure stopping distances and cornering performance of car tyres on wet road surfaces. According to the safety body the results showed “conclusively” that both stopping distances and cornering performance “noticeably deteriorated well before the end of a tyre’s life.”
Vredestein has launched a new agricultural tyre, which it describes as “the new standard for modern medium-class tractors.” The Traxion85 represents the latest stage of development of the company’s Traxion+ series, which has been on the market since 1997. The new tyre is available in 14 sizes.
“I would like to get rid of the expression ‘controlled distribution’,” one contributor told Tyres & Accessories. And this is because along with this term come some ominous implications – that manufacturers can purposefully steer purchasers towards their own products. Of course, this is said to take place most naturally in a manufacturer owned equity like Michelin’s ATS Euromaster, for example.
However, the concept of ‘controlled distribution’ covers a whole spectrum of different scenarios. These range from the obvious – manufacturer owned entities – to the more subtle influence manufacturers can exert over completely independent wholesalers and dealers. It is seldom as straightforward as one person controlling and another being controlled. ‘Controlled distribution’ does not only refer to the role played out by manufacturer equities alone, but also to a wide spectrum of influence extending as far as the independent wholesaler.
Nokian Tyres plc and YIT Construction Ltd have signed a contract agreement concerning the expansion of the Vsevolozhsk tyre plant. The agreement covers construction of a mixing department and warehouse. The contract, worth approximately 21.5 million euros, was signed in Vsevolozhsk on 23 September. Construction work will begin immediately and is scheduled for completion at the end of July 2006.
(India/Rubber Asia) Talk to motorists in most European countries about retreads and retreading, but don’t expect much more than a blank look in return. If you are lucky enough to strike a cord of recognition, you are likely to be quickly disappointed as soon as it becomes clear that the word retreading is irretrievably confused with terms like recut, regrooved (illegal in the case of car tyres) or part-worn. Somewhere along the line it is obvious that the retread has suffered a serious image problem.
The official inauguration of Nokian Tyres’ new tyre plant will take place today in Vsevolozhsk, Russia. The plant is already in operation, and the first tyres were manufactured in June 2005. Invitations to the ceremony have been sent to Finnish and Russian high-ranking authorities, partners in the construction project, customers, media representatives and the company’s own personnel.
(India/Rubber Asia) In India, over 85 per cent of passenger car tyres are radials. This is expected to go up to 95 per cent in two to three years. In the light commercial sector the level has reached only 10 per cent. Truck and bus radialisation is worse still with only two per cent. A start has been made when it comes to radial tractor tyre production.
However, there are enough signals to say that the country is poised for radialisation in truck/bus/LCV segments like never before. Expert estimates vary but all agree that it won’t be long before we see exponential growth in radialisation in these three.
Indonesia’s production of car tyres rose 16.3 per cent year-on-year to 23.8 million units in the first seven months of this year. Data at the Association of Tire Companies (APBI) said the country exported most of its tyre production every year.
In the January-July period exports totalled 16.3 million units valued at $317.3 million, against sales on the domestic market of 77 million units. Total sales in the seven-month period represented a 18.4 per cent increase compared with sales a year ago.
Tyre manufacturers emphasise forward planning at Hillhead
This year’s Hillhead exhibition – the International Quarrying and Recycling show –– was sold out several months in advance of the event. As far as tyre exhibitors go the usual faces Michelin, Bridgestone and Goodyear Dunlop were there, joined by Marangoni, OTR Tyres, Rema Tip Top and Vacu Lug.
Over 16,000 visitors attended the biennial working event held at Buxton Derbyshire, a four per cent increase on 2003’s figures say organisers. However with the on going global shortage of OTR tyres both manufacturers and distributors were faced with never-ending product availability questions covering all segments of OTR tyres, giant medium and small and all sectors, mining, quarries and construction.
Demand for OTR tyres has fast outpaced world tyre industry expectations. Between 2003 and 2004, global demand for OTR tyres grew around 20 per cent, for some sizes demand was up by 30 per cent. What’s more this demand shows no signs of tapering off. According to Bridgestone global demand for rigid dump truck tyres is expected to be 50 per cent higher in 2005 than last year. Tyre manufacturers are still struggling to meet this growing demand and this will continue to be the case if, as expected, demand outstrips supply until 2007.
According to Continental Tire North America’s director of dealer sales, Jack Fenner, production levels of OTR tyres have remained flat since 1999 having only recently increased. Now, everything the tyre manufacturers are producing is being sold. According to Goodyear Tire & Rubber spokesman Dave Wilkins, every large tyre produced by the company in 2006 is already spoken for. And unlike passenger car tyres, earthmover tyres can not be produced by their hundreds each day.
The main reason for the global OTR tyre shortage is the rapidly expanding Chinese market. The country is consuming vast amounts of raw materials and commodities – such as copper, iron, gold, and coal – and is creating a massive demand for original equipment. In the last two years the price of natural rubber has more than doubled, putting all tyre manufacturers under pressure to increase the price of new tyres. These price increases are set to continue not only due to creeping raw material costs but those of shipping too.
“We fully understand the difficulties our customers are facing because we are also suffering from shortages of the raw materials we need to manufacture these specialist tyres,” said Bridgestone UK’s marketing manager, Barry Coleman. “We are all in the same boat and we want to ensure that we give advice and assistance to our customers during this trying period.”
Both tyre demand for OE and the replacement market is now above capacity supply. In an effort to address the shortage Bridgestone is spending £86 million to expand capacity at its Japanese plant by 20 per cent, but these new plans will not be completed until 2008. Michelin is also building a plant in Brazil to help meet growing demand for earthmover tyres, however this is not expected to be operational until mid-2007, and will be serving North and South American markets.
If capacities are not expected to improve in the short term, and tyres that are produced are likely to be allocated to the Asian markets to fulfil OE demand, what does this mean for the UK and in fact European markets? According to Barry Coleman the situation is going to get “very very tight” and the bottleneck of tyre orders will continue to increase. With current threats that quarries will close due to under efficiency, and with machines left standing due to a lack of tyres, the situation cannot afford to get any worse. It is also affecting the OEMs who can’t produce machines without tyres and so are having to review their product lines.
The OTR tyre situation in the UK may see a marginal improve in the next two years says Mr Coleman but not by more than five per cent. All that tyre companies can do until supply increases is to advise companies on how to make their tyres last, even if that means operating a quarry less efficiently. And so with the current shortage expected to last until 2007 the emphasis is on planning explains Goodyear’s director of Off-the-Road tyres Andy Morris, “there is a definite need for companies to maintain the tyres they already have because they are not available off the shelf. The key to which is forward planning, something which companies are getting a lot better at.” This message was one that all tyre companies attending Hillhead strived to communicate.
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