Now one of the largest tyre-producing countries in the world, China has an indisputable influence on the direction of global tyre trade. The home of both fast-growing up-and-coming brands as well as a burgeoning domestic market, this tag chronicles China’s involvement with the tyre business.
According to Taiwan’s national news agency, local tyre maker Cheng Shin Rubber has voiced interest in establishing a factory in India. The Central News Agency reported Cheng Shin president Chen Yun-hwa as saying demand from emerging economies, including India, remains strong despite escalating debt problems in the eurozone, and therefore the company may set up a plant in order to tap into the fast-growing Indian market.
The 27th Reifen show in Essen was the best yet with 19,000 trade visitors in attendance, according to show organisers Messe Essen. While the company announced that it had the largest number of exhibitors in the event’s history and the strongest international participation before the show, increased footfall was confirmed at the end of the event. Talk of tyre labelling and the new products linked to this legislation dominated the trade fair.
Techking Tires Ltd has opened its first OTR Techking Service Centre in Canada. The China-based tyre manufacturer has chosen Pneus Lanoraie Inc as its partner in the area and will now offer what it calls a “one-stop repairing and retreading service” to its Canadian customers in Quebec Province and neighbouring territories.
The UK’s major centre of excellence for vehicle research and development also houses the world’s ninth biggest tyre company, GITI Tire’s European Technical Centre; in May Tyres & Accessories joined representatives of the company and its UK dealers in visiting the site for a demonstration of its current high performance passenger tyre range. With an eye for the spectacular, the company’s test drivers at MIRA demonstrated the performance characteristics of current products such as the Champiro HPY, fitted to a BMW M3, and the Champiro HPX on an Ariel Atom for fast laps showing the tyres’ dry handling ability. Attendees at the event, which included representatives from the company’s exclusive UK distributor Micheldever, also tried for themselves the Champiro 228 on the wet circles track, and the Adventuro M/T off-road tyre in Mira’s 4×4 testing track. Contrasting with the high performance demonstrations was an amusing competitive element featuring a Fiat Panda, a parking cage and the unmistakable smell of burning clutch.
Well known retail chain and buying cooperative Point S has partnered with Däckarna in Sweden to complete its collection of Scandinavian tyre operations. Founded in the 1970s Däckarna is believed to be the first purchasing group aimed at unifying the strength of independent dealers. More than 40 years later the group has 39 branches in its partnership, collectively occupying a 5 per cent market share.
Europe’s largest tyre exhibition, Reifen 2012 has opened today with the show’s organiser, Messe Essen, claiming record numbers of exhibitors – 653 to be precise. Messe Essen also said that the show represents a new level of internationality, with two-thirds of exhibitors attending the show from 44 countries outside Germany. The show, situated in the West German city of Essen, runs until Friday 8 June.
At the end of May, eight years after it began hosting such events, the Tyre Recovery Association held its annual Forum day in Warwickshire. This year’s was entitled “a commitment to excellence” and saw speakers representing everyone from Michelin Tyre Plc to the Environment Agency and ATS Euromaster share their perspectives of how excellence can be achieved.
Nexen Tire’s new factory in Changnyeong, South Korea has entered service, and according to Joo-Ho Song, senior managing director, global marketing at Nexen, the facility will play a key role in the tyre maker’s ambitious plans. Output at Changnyeong will initially be a modest 3 million units in 2012 and will build up, aided by five planned further factory expansions, to 21 million units – 60,000 tyres a day – by 2018. By that date, Nexen says it will have invested a total of 1,200 billion won (£650 million) in the plant.
The China Rubber Industry Association reports that Double Coin is aiming to raise its annual all-steel truck radial production to 1.8 million units. The company is said to be accelerating work on its new factory, which is now expected to go on stream later this year.
Major Continental shareholder Schaeffler AG has reported a “good start” to 2012. On announcing the company’s January to March results on 29 May, CEO Dr. Juergen M. Geissinger said “we have successfully continued our growth strategy during the first quarter of 2012 despite an increasingly challenging environment. With sales increasing by six per cent, our growth has again outpaced the market. We have managed to stabilise our profitability at a high level.”
Land Rover recently produced its one millionth Discovery vehicle and, to celebrate this milestone and demonstrate the Discovery's versatility and all-round capability, the company decide to send the vehicle on a trip – from Birmingham to Beijing.
For this epic, 50-day, 8,000-mile adventure, Land Rover chose Wrangler DuraTrac tyres for the three vehicles that undertook the daunting journey across more than a dozen countries. The conditions on the way were challenging and varied, including crossing mountains and driving on all sorts of surfaces.
Among Westlake’s personnel in attendance at the CV Show was Johnson Su from the Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber Co. (ZC Rubber), manufacturer of Westlake tyres. Su, manager, import & export at ZC Rubber with a 30 year history at the manufacturer, is responsible for importing all raw tyre production materials in addition to export sales of the finished product.
Steinbichler Optotechnik GmbH from Neubeuern has announced plans to present new shearography innovations at its Reifen show stand (4-321). Aimed at retreading plants with small production quantities, test laboratories and tyre development units, the Intact V20 made by Steinbichler is said to offer a multitude of different possible uses, according to the company.
Famed for its ascent to World Rally Championship tyre supplier status alongside tyre Goliath, Michelin since the 2011 season, Chinese-manufactured brand Dmack, based in Cumbria in the north west of the UK, will begin to supply a full range of road-going passenger car tyre and a super single 385/65R22.5 truck tyre globally through appointed regional distribution partners in June. The company’s managing director Dick Cormack and sales and marketing director Shane Harding told Tyrepress.com that Dmack is seeking to capitalise on its status as “one of the fastest growing motorsport brands” to position itself as a “quality mid-range” product range, which includes an eco-friendly, a high performance product and a cold weather tyre.
A newly created joint venture between USON’s leak testers and Innovative Products and Equipment’s automation systems expertise, USON-Innovative Systems (UIS), has resulted in a single source turnkey solution for semi-automated and fully automated leak testing applications.
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