The 2 millionth ContiSeal tyre produced at the firm’s manufacturing plant in Lousado, Portugal rolled off the production this month. The 235/45 ZR 17 dimension tyre will be mounted on a Volkswagen Passat as original equipment, according to the company. Continental has been manufacturing car tyres with ContiSeal technology since 2008.
This month, many of those born in June 1946 are gearing up to receive their gold watch and embark on retired life. Not so Tyres & Accessories. Sixty-five years after its birth as a “new journal for a new age,” the UK’s magazine for the tyre and wheel industries continues going from strength to strength and takes pleasure in bringing the latest news and information to an ever-evolving industry.
GITI Tire has appointed Richard Lyons to the position of general manager Europe as part of a series of moves that sees the firm implement a new organisational structure for its European operations. The structure, which took effect 1 May 2011, has been established following the departure of Michael Andre in March. Andre previously held the role of marketing director for passenger car tyres Europe and was managing director of the company’s Giti Tire Germany GmbH Deutschland subsidiary. Hervé Richert, GITI’s executive director, international sales and marketing described the new-look team a “direct consequence of GITI Tire Europe’s growth of business over recent years.” Writing in a statement detailing the reshuffle, he explained that it also follows the company’s “clearly defined strategy of building on strong relationships with its partners and customers with a focus on key markets in Europe and emerging markets” such as CIS and Russia.
Toyo is to attend the Sporting Legends Breakfast Club on the morning of 5 June in its capacity as the official tyre partner of the Goodwood Revival. Toyo’s range of passenger car tyres, extending from road-going car fitments to racing cars and 4x4s, will be on display in paddocks 65-68, while the company will also run the Toyo Tires Tyre Clinic. Also present at the Breakfast Club will be a TVR marque celebration;
Toyo will joining TVR in celebrating its range, as the tyre brand has original equipment ties with the manufacturer.
German tyre brand Syron Tires has introduced a specially developed 255/30 R20 97W (XXL) size tyre. This Syron ultra high performance product has been conceptually designed with sports cars and “especially…high performance vehicles” in mind. According to the company, the decision to develop this size with extra reinforcement is the result of the high claim rates for other XL-tyres produced by other manufacturers, according to Syron’s internal data. The Syron 255/30 R20 97W (XXL) with extra-load capabilities is said to be available now.
Korean tyre manufacturer Nexen Tyres has announced the availability of its new high-performance summer tyre with what the company terms “smooth-run features”. Nexen believes the CP661 (TR) offers “noticeable energy savings” and “excellent handling on both wet and dry surfaces”. The range comprises twenty-five sizes from 13” to 17” with aspect ratios between 55 and 70 and is made at Nexen’s Korea and China production facilities. A CP661 tyre is currently fitted as OE on the KIA Soul and the KIA Forte model.
Last November, Hankook Tire signed a US$954 million investment agreement to build an 11.5 million tyre per annum factory in Liang Jiang Xin Qu, Southwest China. The plant is scheduled to start operation in August 2012 and build up to an output of 4,500 truck and bus radials and 30,000 passenger car radials per day by the end of 2015; on May 18, 2011, a groundbreaking ceremony was held for this third Hankook Tire factory in China. Senior company management including vice-chairman and CEO Seung Hwa Suh, CMO Hyun Shick Cho and Hankook Tire China COO Ki Yeul Huh joined some 180 government officials from Chongqing region for the ceremony at the factory site.
Continental has confirmed news first reported last year on its intention to erect a new factory in Russia. Alexander Lührs, head of media and press relations for the German manufacturer’s Passenger & Light Truck Tires division, told Tyres & Accessories that approximately 200 million euros will be invested in a greenfield plant initially capable of producing four million passenger car tyres a year. Production is expected to begin in the fourth quarter of 2013, Lührs added.
At the Michelin Annual Shareholders’ Meeting on May 13, the French manufacturer reported its position strengthened in every geography during 2010 and particularly in mature markets. “Last year at this same time we were observing how the exceptional crisis of 2009 had had an impact on our business,” observed Michelin managing general partner Jean-Dominique Senard. “I think that this year we need to admit that the 2010 context is different and it was a buoyant situation. We had a much stronger market recovery than we could have envisioned at the time.”
Apollo Tyres Ltd has approved the company’s audited financial results for the fourth quarter (January to March) and the financial year 2010 – 2011. Consolidated annual revenues, taking into account manufacturing bases in India, South Africa and the Netherlands, grew 9 per cent to reach net sales of 88.6 billion rupees (£1.205 billion; 1.386 billion euros; US$1.983 billion). Net profit fell to 4.4 billion rupees from 6.5 billion rupees the previous year.
Despite a slight increase in net sales and a significant jump in operating income, during the financial year ending March 31, 2011 Toyo Tire & Rubber reported a net income significantly lower than in the previous 12-month period; its net income of 521 million yen (£3.9 million) was 2,436 million yen or 82.4 per cent lower than a year earlier. During the year net sales increased 2.2 per cent to 294,092 million yen (£2.2 billion) and operating income was up 40.6 per cent to 12,182 million yen (£92.4 million). Annual ordinary income amounted to 9,193 million yen (£69.7 million) and was 2.4 per cent higher than in the previous year.
A further US$200 million is being invested in Michelin North America’s factory in Lexington, South Carolina in order to accommodate growing regional demand for passenger tyres. Work on expanding capacity at the Lexington site will begin immediately and equipment for this latest project, which adds to the more than $1 billion invested in the site since its establishment in 1981, will be installed by the first half of 2013. Michelin North America reports that 270 new jobs will be created at the Lexington factory and phased in over the coming two years.
The quarter one results released by Nokian Tyres plc on May 6 show the group’s net sales to have increased 57.3 per cent to 289.2 million euros in the three months to March 31, 2011 and profit up 211.1 per cent year-on-year to 62.4 million euros. For the rest of 2011, the Finnish tyre maker anticipates operating profit, which during the first quarter jumped 241.8 per cent year-on-year to 183.8 million euros, will “improve clearly” compared with 2010; this may be helped by a 30 per cent increase production capacity during the year, largely in its Russian plant. The challenge posed by raw material costs remains, however, and Nokian anticipates these will this year be 30 per cent higher than in 2010. To counter this, Nokian is preparing for “further tyre price increases during 2011.”
GITI Tire has appointed Richard Lyons as general manager as part of a series of moves that sees the firm implement a new organisational structure for its European operations. The new structure, which took effect 1 May 2011, has been established following the departure of Michael Andre in March. Andre previously held the role of marketing director for passenger car tyres Europe and was managing director of the company’s Giti Tire Germany GmbH German subsidiary.
Hervé Richert, GITI’s executive director, international sales and marketing described the new-look team a “direct consequence of GITI Tire Europe’s growth of business over recent years.” Writing in a statement detailing the reshuffle, he explained that it also follows the company’s “clearly defined strategy of building on strong relationships with its partners and customers with a focus on key markets in Europe and emerging markets” such as CIS and Russia:
Triangle Group, one of the largest tyre makers in China and arguably the largest producer of radial OTR tyres in the country, is celebrating winning a SQEP platinum supplier award from well-known off-road vehicle manufacturer Caterpillar.
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