car tyres Archives - Page 116 of 122 - Tyrepress

Posts

Polyurethane Tyre Passes the Test

Amerityre has completed another phase of high-speed testing with its “zero-pressure” polyurethane tyre. The tests were done in compliance with FMVSS 129, the safety standard governing the testing of non-pneumatic car tyres.

“We are extremely encouraged by the results of the high speed testing, said Richard Steinke, Amerityre’s president and CEO. Our polyurethane compound, once again, shows it can run cool under heavy loads without breaking down.”

Additional tests will be performed within the next few weeks.

8th March 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

A New Market is Born

When you have a tyre market that grows by ten per cent each year, as in the case of Russia, an impact on the retreading market is inevitable. Although retreads still don’t have the same status as they do in Western Europe, the eleven companies that are currently doing business in this market are looking forward to a bright future. The growing new tyre market has led to the appearance of a number of different retread companies, including Bandag, Kraiburg and Ellerbrock. Smaller companies like Elgitread from India and ITG from Italy have also shown interest in the Russian market.

1st March 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Is there a Future for Passenger Car Tyre Retreading?

The European market doesn’t appear to hold a bright future for retreaded passenger car tyres. Just recently one of the biggest manufacturers of the tyres, Reiff Reifen + Autotechnik GmbH, withdrew from this segment. Nokian Tyres has also taken a similar decision: the Finnish tyre manufacturer has sold its passenger car retreading plant to a Swedish company even though its retreading business was recently brought together under the roof of a new “profit centre”.

1st March 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone Invests

Bridgestone has announced that it will invest 227 billion yen (£1.13 billion) in its global tyre manufacturing business between 2003 and 2007. In the announcement the company explained that is has been operating a kind of five-year investment plan, in order to meet growth in demand. According to a Deutsche Bank report, the company is to invest 88 billion yen (£438 million) in addressing the shift in demand towards high-performance tyres and tyres of large rim sizes.

To meet the increase in demand for passenger car tyres in emerging markets, Bridgestone is investing 49 billion yen (£244 million) in the expansion of its production capacity in Asia and Latin America. The company is also planning to put 50 billion yen (£249 million) towards serving the growing demand for truck and bus tyres and tyres for construction equipment. In addition the company is planning to have spent another 40 billion yen (£199 million) on raw material production expansion by the end of its investment programme.

28th February 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

The implementation of ECE 108/109 into German law

The German retreading industry has, for some time now, been concerned about when and how the ECE regulations 108 (passenger tyres) and 109 (truck tyres) would eventually be transferred into mandatory national law. In fact concerns over how the regulations will affect the German retreading market have been lingering since they were put into place in Geneva in June 1998.

18th February 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Polyurethane Compounds Outperform Rubber

Polyurethane tyre manufacturer, Amerityre, has claimed that its products out perform “comparable rubber compounds” when it comes to heat aging and Ozone resistance. The claim follows testing at an independent laboratory in accordance with ASTM test standards. Amerityre explains that it tested its products for these attributes in anticipation of NHTSA standardised testing, including an “oven-aging test” due to take effect in July 2007.

10th February 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

The Condor Will No Longer Fly

Reiff Reifen & Autotechnik (Germany) gave up the production of retreaded passenger car tyres at the end of December 2004, because it was not making a good enough return on its investment. The Condor tyres it produced were a well-known brand and the Reiff manufacturing plant, built only five years ago, was considered the “most modern in the world.” What caused the degeneration of such a promising business model?

27th January 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Sibur Discusses Future with Dealers

Russian tyre company, Sibur, has conducted a conference for its dealers in which to discuss the future development strategy of the business and to form a plan to increase the effectiveness of the regional commercial partners.

The company directors gave a presentation on the current state of the business, emphasising that an increase in the effectiveness of the tyre business is the company’s top priority. The company has already initiated a new development strategy for the tyre business in April last year, in order to improve the quality of production and to meet the requirements of today’s market.

25th January 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Market Prepares for Breakthrough

There has been much talk about the Chinese tyre market in recent months. Now, following the news of Amtel’s takeover of Vredestein, and the collapse of one of Continental’s joint ventures, the Russian market has been a hot topic. But what about India?

The Indian market may not be as large as Russia’s, but it certainly offers many challenges and opportunities to the companies working within it.

One such opportunity is radialisation. Currently radial products only make up a very small percentage of the Indian truck tyre segment, around two per cent. And, according to those involved, there is a large backlog in demand.

For instance, just recently Michelin entered into a joint venture with Apollo Tyres in order to produce radial truck and bus tyres destined for the domestic market. Pirelli and its partner, Ceat Ltd is also looking to fill the same gap in the market. No doubt other Indian manufacturers will follow suit in the future.

Another example, and in this case a big technological challenge, is the production of radial passenger car tyres. Even so, this sector is way ahead of the truck market with 85 per cent of the segment occupied by radial tyres. According to industry association ATMA this figure is likely to peak at 97 per cent in the coming years.

But one of the biggest factors influencing the Indian tyre market is the advance of motorisation. As this process gains momentum, more and more Indians want to and can afford to own passenger cars. In the last 10 years automobile production in India has quadrupled, last year alone it increased by an impressive 36 per cent.

Within the pages of this supplement on the emerging Indian market, TYRES & ACCESSORIES will give an overview of the major factors that are influencing the market and the big players that are trying to stake a claim in a market they believe should be theirs.

Subscribers to Tyres & Accessories can download the supplement in advance of publication. Please click the more button to download the file.

5th January 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone to Invest $700 million in Brazil

The Associated Press new agency is reporting that Bridgestone Corp will invest $700 million (£364 million) in the construction of a new factory in northeastern Brazil, according to Brazilian news sources.

The company plans to build the plant in the state of Bahia because of strong expansion in Brazil’s motor vehicle production industry, the daily Valor Economico newspaper said. Bridgestone’s Brazilian unit had no immediate comment on the report. The company says it plans to invest $300 million (£156 million) in the first stage of the project alone.

Bridgestone’s existing factory in a Sao Paulo suburb produces up to 30,000 tyres per day. The Valor newspaper did not reveal details of the new plant’s production capacity, although it is likely that the new plant will be used to produce passenger car tyres.

Brazilian car production reached 2,020,704 vehicles for the period between January and November, up 20.8 per cent from the first 11 months of 2003, reflecting the country’s robust recovery from a sluggish 2003, when the economy grew less than 1 per cent. The auto industry’s trade association is predicting an output of 2.2 million vehicles by the end of 2004.

14th December 2004/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone Increases Prices

Bridgestone has announced that it will raise its prices by 5 – 10 per cent on Bridgestone and Firestone branded passenger car tyres and by up to 10 per cent on its construction and mining vehicle products. The increases apply to products exported from Japan to Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and the former Soviet republics of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

The company says the price increases are to compensate for the rising costs of steel and oil-based materials. According to Bridgestone, the price increases will vary by product and by market, will be implemented in stages, from 1 January, 2005.

9th December 2004/by Tyrepress Editors

Several Hundred Jobs in Danger at Conti

Continental AG is currently contemplating the possibility of phasing out passenger car tyre production at its primary facility in Hanover-Stöcken, chairman Manfred Wennemer told a works meeting yesterday. Now, the company will examine whether or not passenger car tyres can still be produced profitably. The problem, according to a company spokesman, is the “development of the market and of the costs.” Currently Continental is producing at full capacity, but it is difficult to say whether or not it will be in the same position in a year’s time, added the spokesman. Therefore Mr Wennemer has already informed the staff “we are reviewing the situation at the moment.” One possibility in order to improve the competitiveness of Hanover as a production base, in comparison with Otrokovice (Czech Republic) and Timisioara (Romania), would be to increase worker’s hours without increasing wages.

350 people are employed at the Hannover-Stöcken facility where 1.5 million passenger car tyres are produced each year. According to the company, the announcement only refers to passenger car tyre production – other segments will remain unaffected.

9th December 2004/by Tyrepress Editors

Fulda to Showcase UHP tyre to UK Market

Fulda will be launching its new UHP tyre at Autosport International early next year. The company has already announced that it is to be the title sponsor of the live action arena at the show during the 13-16 January 2005, and will be using the opportunity to promote its new tyre.

23rd November 2004/by Tyrepress Editors

Nokian and Matador Expand Cooperation

Nokian and Matador are to expand their co-operation, the companies report. The two tyre manufacturers signed an agreement on 5 November, which will see Nokian increase the number of passenger car tyres that are produced at Matador’s plant in Slovakia. In conjunction with this, Nokian Tyres and Matador also signed an agreement on machinery acquisition. The Finnish company will purchase new equipment at a cost of around 3 million euros in order to secure the production capacity at Matador’s tyre plant.

The objective is to increase the present production of 300,000 tyres to 500,000 tyres in 2005 and to gradually increase the volume to 1 million tyres.

According to Nokian, the manufactured tyres will mainly be Nokian-branded passenger car tyres intended primarily for the Central European markets. The contract manufacturing agreement will be valid until the end of 2009 and after that renewed for one year at a time. The new agreement will replace the earlier agreement signed in January 2003.

8th November 2004/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone’s Financial Results

Bridgestone has released its unaudited consolidated business and financial results for the first three quarters of the present fiscal year ending 30 September. In its tyre segment it recorded operating income of $983 million on sales of $12.6 billion. The manufacturer claims “strong sales supported by surging demand, mainly in markets outside Japan, offset the effect of rising raw materials costs on profitability.”

8th November 2004/by Tyrepress Editors