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.
More than 25 CEOs and business leaders from the rubber and associated sectors are expected to speak at next year’s World Rubber Summit, including representatives from Bridgestone, Goodyear, Lanxess and Michelin. Event organiser, the International Rubber Study Group, has announced that next year’s summit will take place in Singapore on 22 to 24 May 2012 and be accompanied by World Rubber Week activities.
The Westlake tyre brand is named after one of China’s most popular domestic tourist destinations and a 2011 addition to UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites – the freshwater West Lake in the centre of Hangzhou, the home town of its manufacturer Hangzhou Zhongce, located around 180km south-west of Shanghao. Shen Jin-Rong, Hangzhou Zhongce president and chairman, reflects with pride on the link between what is seen as a premier Chinese location and the tyre brand named after it: “Westlake is our tyre brand and also the best place in our city.” The Al Dobowi Group distributes the brand in several European territories through its Eskay Tyres subsidiary; the newly exclusive distributor of the brand in the UK was announced as Axle Group Holdings at the end of September – owner of the Viking International wholesale arm and the National Tyres & Autocare retail chain (see T&A October’s Wholesale feature and the Related News link below). Tyres & Accessories travelled to the town from Shanghai with representatives from the Al Dobowi Group to see the development of Hangzhou Zhongce’s manufacturing facilities, and to witness the growth in interaction between the manufacturer and European dealers of its Westlake brand.
Kirkby Tyres has announced that it will have a “major presence” at LAMMA 2012 and will be featuring “many new tyre products and sizes for the tractor, row crop and trailer markets” Kirkby Tyres is the sole UK and Ireland agents for the extensive Alliance range of agricultural and earthmover tyres. The company is also the UK agent for BKT tyres and as such the string of launches and the products on display will be largely drawn from these two manufacturers.
Alliance is set to introduce the Farm PRO 85 and 70 series R-1w tractor radial tyres. With 20 per cent more tread than conventional R-1 tyres and a large foot-print the Farm PRO Traction tyre has an advanced multi–angle lug design with a steep central angle for a smooth ride, long wear and mud clearing properties and a shallow angle at the shoulder for exceptional traction and hillside stability.
Transense, a provider of sensor systems for the transportation and industrial markets, has entered into a strategic partnership with Wuhan Fenjin Electric Power Technology Co., Ltd through its IntelliSAW trading business. According to a statement released by the company, Fenjin will provide value-added system integration services for IntelliSAW's innovative wireless/passive temperature monitoring system throughout China in electric power transmission and distribution systems. China has been identified by the directors as a key geographical region for IntelliSAW. The partnership provides a foundation for the adoption of IntelliSAW's technology within China's so-called Smart Grid market.
The fifth Reifen China exhibition which took place in the Shanghai New International Exhibition Center on 22 – 24 November 2011 reportedly “registered a plus in all the sections”, according to show organisers Messe Essen and the China United Rubber Corporation. Official figures released by the two companies show that 11,255 trade visitors (20 per cent more than in the previous year) from 77 countries were present to order and obtain information about everything to do with tyres, wheels and garage equipment at the trade fair. And this emphatically answers the question posed by Tyres & Accessories preview of the show – Will 10,000 attend Reifen China this year?
Toyo’s new tyre plant in China’s Jiangsu Province is officially open. On 8 December Toyo Tire & Rubber held a ceremony to mark the entry of the Toyo Tire (Zhangjiagang) Co. Ltd. passenger car and light truck tyre factory into the company’s global manufacturing network.
In recent times the Starco name has been no stranger to the pages of Tyres & Accessories and tyrepress.com; much has been happening within the Danish company. Indeed, in the last few years we have witnessed Starco’s development from a Europe-focused small wheel specialist into a wheel and tyre manufacturer with global ambitions. Yet this transformation is just the latest chapter in the history of a company that, as of 11 December, has been in business for fifty years. To mark the company’s golden anniversary, Tyres & Accessories recently spoke with Starco chief executive officer Peer Ejlersgaard, who gave an insight into where the company has been and where it plans to go.
Through its “Forever Forest” programme, Yokohama Rubber and its subsidiaries aim to create verdant surroundings at Yokohama facilities around the world; the intention is to plant more than half a million trees by 2017, a goal Yokohama is almost halfway towards achieving. The company’s US tyre operation, Yokohama Tire Corporation launched the second phase of its Forever Forest activities on 7 December with the planting of more than 300 seedlings at its headquarters. This second phase planting in Fullerton, California followed the inaugural event held in December 2010 when Yokohama Tire Corporation planted more than 500 tree seedlings.
Following the publication of Tyres & Accessories’ report on the recent NTDA Tyre Wholesalers Group annual lunch, ETRMA secretary general Fazilet Cinaralp has written an open letter stating her association’s surprise at the issues raised in TWG chairman Ashley Croft’s keynote speech. During the speech, Croft referred to testing, lobbying and the relative importance of the implementation of current tread depth legislation. As our coverage explains, no-one was available to attend the event on behalf of the European Tyre and Rubber Manufacturers association, so here is the association’s response in full:
The FIVB Volleyball Women's World Cup, held in Japan during November, is one of the main qualifying tournaments for the 2012 Olympics. China’s national team finished the 12-team tournament in third place, assuring it a berth in London next year. Commenting on this achievement, team sponsor Shandong Linglong Tyre praised the 18 players for showing the “spirit of Chinese women’s volleyball” to the world.
Qingdao, China based tyre manufacturing equipment maker MESNAC Co. has taken a 100 per cent equity position in US firm Wyko Tire Technology. In its relatively short history MESNAC has rapidly grown to the number four position in its field and speaking to Tyres & Accessories in China at the end of November, company executives hinted that the next phase of growth would be both outside its native China and would include acquisitions such as the latest Wyko purchase. MESNAC has indicated it will retain the Wyko brand and continue to provide normal service and support to customers, with no disruption in business.
At the Lanxess Rubber Day China, held in Beijing on 2 December, Jiang Jian from China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology informed delegates that preparations for a Chinese tyre label are already underway. “With regard to potential guidelines for tyre labelling in China, we are comparing the stipulated standards with the present conditions. We have already made a start with research in this area.”
Independent tyre dealer AG Services of Long Eaton is using a branded Skoda Octavia VRS, advertising the range of Evergreen-branded tyres it stocks. AG Services, run by father and son duo Alan and Richard Gadsby, is a customer of Grouptyre member We Sell Tyres (Wholesale), and is currently the best performer on Evergreen tyres for We Sell Tyres Nottingham branch. The dealer is an “Evergreen Performance Tyre Centre”, one of the strategies the brand, manufactured by Shandong Jinyu in China, is using to grow its UK sales.
In connection with its Rubber Day China, which takes place in Beijing on December 2, specialty chemicals company Lanxess has reported on a study it commissioned the Technical University of Munich to undertake. This study indicates that the proportion of ‘green tyres’ in China is likely to increase to up to 50 per cent of the entire tyre market by 2020. China, Lanxess notes, already accounts for a third of global tyre production; around 400 million passenger car tyres are produced there each year.
An agreement between Huf Hülsbeck & Fürst GmbH & Co. KG and BorgWarner Beru Systems GmbH has been reached regarding Huf Electronics’ take over of BorgWarner Beru’s tyre pressure monitoring system business and acquisition of all shares in its Beru Electronics GmbH subsidiary. Subject to approval by the antitrust authorities the acquisition and merger of the Bretten, Germany based subsidiary, which employs some 230 people, will take place at the end of this year or early in 2012.
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