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.
Shandong Linglong Tyre Co. Ltd. first introduced its Green-Max passenger car tyre range in 2011, and said the new line-up met with wide acclaim. During 2012, the company has continued to expand the range, and at present a total of 69 Green-Max dimensions are available for 13 to 20-inch diameters. Recent additions include more high performance dimensions, including the increasingly popular 245/45WR17.
Say Ni Hao to two of Hefei’s newest ‘honourary citizens’. At a recent ceremony in the capital of China’s Anhui Province, Mr. Burkhardt Koeller, Continental Tire division’s executive vice-president Finance and Controlling, and Dr. Tobias Kerle, general manager of the company’s Hefei tyre plant, were awarded Hefei City ‘honourary citizenship.’ This distinction, says Continental, is an official award acknowledging the Continental Tire division’s contribution and long-term commitment to Hefei city’s economic development. Mr. Wu Cunrong, secretary of the Hefei Municipal Party Committee, presented the award to Koeller and Kerle.
Triangle Tyre reports that between 24 July and 1 August an eleven-person company delegation, led by Triangle president and chairman Ding Yuhua, visited several regions of Russia on a fact-finding mission. Topics of focus during the visit were issues regarding investment and related policy, Russia’s tyre market and vehicle manufacturers. Triangle says the group was warmly welcomed by government departments and officials.
The Warrior brand is set to do battle with in the Chinese market, and perhaps will be pitted against premium brands. On 28 August the joint venture operation run by Double Coin Holdings, parent company Shanghai Huayi (Group) and Michelin unveiled its new passenger car range. Double Coin Group (Anhui) Warrior Tires began manufacturing Warrior branded tyres at its Wuwei, Anhui province factory in March and the new facility is expected to have a six million tyre a year capacity by the end of 2012. Output capacity should reach 15 million a year by 2015.
Messe Essen’s Reifen 2012 expo was something of a première for the new EU tyre labelling legislation, since it was the first large gathering of the business since the voluntary introduction period began on 31 May. While the preceding year was filled with knowing winks, tapped noses and polite refusals to reveal label performance predictions, the curtain was well and truly lifted on labelling during the show. What was revealed by manufacturers’ stands visited by Tyres & Accessories was the varying, and not necessarily expected, approaches and explanations for each company’s views on tyre labelling. The experience was like seeing a dress rehearsal, appropriately enough for this voluntary introduction period from which T&A writes, except some major players looked to be still learning their lines, while some of the assumed understudies were more ready to take up the challenge than many assumed they might be. Another assumption that has the potential for being rebutted was that labelling will protect the price premiums of established, mature market brands; in fact, it has begun to look like labelling could shake up the existing three tier pricing model.
Tyrexpo Asia 2013 has smashed through the 150-exhibitor milestone; with six months still to go before opening day, the biennial event is now 90 per cent full, an unprecedented position in the show’s 16-year history. Event organiser ECI International also reports the presence of “heavyweight” domestic Singaporean, Malaysian, Indonesian and Chinese exhibitors, plus interest from a large number of Indian, European and US suppliers.
China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has introduced new policy guidelines covering the country’s retreading industry and waste tyre utilisation. These include directives regarding where a retreading facility may and may not be set up – no new retreading plants are to be established in environmentally sensitive areas – and also calls for greater consistency in the production process and with production equipment plus the implementation of product quality control systems and testing equipment in line with national and industry standards.
Trelleborg is supporting its collaboration with Challenger Tractors with a new marketing campaign entitled “Trelleborg and Challenger: Power Needs Power”.
With just three months to go before the mandatory implementation of labelling in November 2012, there are still many questions to answer about exactly who will be enforcing the law and what the penalties will be.
A formal opening ceremony for Goodyear Tire & Rubber’s Pulandian plant in China was held on 15 August. Around 700 guests attended the celebration, including government officials and president of Goodyear’s Asia Pacific business, Dan Smytka. During a speech, company chairman and CEO Richard Kramer declared the factory’s commissioning to be of “extraordinary significance” to Goodyear.
On 26 September, the US tariff on Chinese-manufactured consumer tyres is scheduled to end. On that day it’ll be exactly three years since a 35 per cent duty was slapped upon all such tyres imported from China; this was reduced to 30 per cent in 2010 and for the past 12 months US consumers have paid a 25 per cent duty on Chinese passenger car and light truck tyres. The tariff received a mixed welcome – the Tire Industry Association referred to it in 2009 as “a politically motivated decision that will end up costing more jobs than it saves” while the United Steelworkers union praised Barack Obama as being “a President with the guts to enforce trade laws.” Either way, in little over a month the tyre tariff will be history.
Xiaorong Wang, the man accused of stealing confidential information from Bridgestone, has been charged by a US District Court with eight counts of theft of trade secrets and seven counts of making false statements to federal agents. Cleveland-based WOIO-TV reports that the indictment returned by federal grand jury alleges that Wang stole information on projects, formulas and other confidential matters from Bridgestone's Akron, Ohio, technical centre in April 2010. The false statements Wang allegedly told FBI investigators focus on Wang's intention to accept employment at Suzhou University in China to establish a rheology polymer centre, WOIO-TV added.
During the second quarter of 2012 Nexen Tire achieved net sales of KRW 433.3 billion (£242.8 million), the Korean tyre maker reports. This result represents year-on-year growth of 29.8 per cent. Gross profit, at KRW 118.6 billion (£66.4 million), was up 49.2 per cent year-on-year and a margin of 27.4 per cent was reached. Operating profit amounted to KRW 51.8 billion (£29.0 million), up 90.1 per cent year-on-year, and a margin of 12.0 per cent was achieved. Ordinary profit came to KRW 42.7 billion (£23.9 million), 51.8 per cent higher than in the corresponding quarter of 2011. EBITDA, at KRW 72.3 billion (£40.5), was up 62.2 per cent year-on-year and had a margin of 16.7 per cent.
From 1 November 2012, every new tyre manufactured since July will be legally required have a tyre label. And what’s more the information contained on the label must be presented – physically or electronically – to the consumer at the point of sale. So what better place to start this month’s in-depth labelling special than to take a look at the much vaunted itself and introduce its main features and some of the discussions relating to it?
The latest edition is now available to read in e-paper format. As well as all our regular features, August's Tyres & Accessories includes additional coverage previewing the forthcoming TAFF Awards, OTR tyres and of course Tyre Labelling. As well as this there is our annual Brake feature and the conclusion of our Reifen Essen reoport to look forward to. Subscribers can simply click more to see the digitalized edition.
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