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 statistics released by China’s Natural Rubber Association, the total area of rubber plantation land in the People’s Republic amounts to 1463 mu (98 hectares) up 65 mu (4.35 hectares) in 2009.
Damon Audia, Scott Honnold and Jenny Wang have been appointed to new leadership positions in Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company's finance department. Audia, senior vice president, finance and treasurer, was elected senior vice president, finance for the company’s Asia Pacific region, which is headquartered in Shanghai, China. Audia replaces Jenny Wang, who has accepted a new position in the company’s Asia Pacific operations. Scott Honnold has been elected vice president and treasurer, replacing Audia. Honnold was previously assistant treasurer, responsible for Goodyear’s capital market activities.
Apollo Tyres is reportedly working on a strategy to enter China, currently the world's largest tyre producing and exporting market. If Apollo is successful in this venture it would be the first Indian tyre manufaturing company to establish a permanent production presence in China.
“We aim to be a global tyre producer with footprints in all corners of the world,” Onkar Kanwar, Apollo Tyres' chairman, said at the launch of the brand in Europe, adding: “Only China is out of bounds right now but we will chart a strategy to be present there as well, through either a joint venture or a contract manufacturing arrangement.“
Birmingham-based Dunlop Aircraft Tyres had a royal visitor today (7 June) when the company welcomed HRH The Duke of York to its head office and manufacturing site in Erdington. The company is celebrating its centenary this year. Prince Andrew toured the company’s offices, factory and testing facility, where new products are being developed for aircraft including the Embraer E-Jets family, the Airbus A320, the Eurofighter and Airbus Military A400M transport aircraft.
As Reifen 2010 draws to a close, organising company Messe Essen is hailing the event as a great success after the company announced that provisional results for the 26th Reifen event show a record 600 exhibitors from 42 countries and over 18,000 trade visitors attended the tyre, retread and vulcanisation related expo. With guests from 127 countries, the fair also set a record also with regard to the internationality of the visitors.
60 per cent of Reifen 2010 visitors travelled to Essen from abroad. International visitors came primarily from Europe (75 per cent), followed by Asia, Africa, America and Australia. 88 per cent of the total visitors are said to have been decision-takers. And the statistics say the show was good for business too, with a third of the visitors having already ordered something and nearly half of the visitors having prepared deals which they want to complete after the fair.
Cooper chairman, president and CEO Roy Armes has been named to the board of directors at the Manitowoc Co., a producer of construction lifting equipment. “Roy is a highly regarded CEO whose vast knowledge and global manufacturing experience makes him an excellent fit for our board,” said Glen Tellock, Manitowoc’s chairman and CEO. “We anticipate that he will make immediate contributions and be an extremely valuable contributor as we continue to execute on our strategic priorities.” Armes, 57, joined Cooper in 2007, coming over from Whirlpool Corp. (Tire Review)
Michelin is seeking Chinese government approval to relocate its Shenyang plant to a larger site to allow for capacity expansion, according to a China Daily report. "We have to relocate the Shenyang factory for a really big capacity expansion in both truck and bus tyres as well as passenger car tyres, considering the growing demand in China's automobile market," Michelin managing general partner Michel Rollier is quoted as saying.
Cooper Avon’s Reifen 2010 location next to the main entrance to Hall Three has helped give the company access to attendees making “good genuine enquiries,” according to European marketing communications manager, Sarah McRoberts. She said Cooper has enjoyed “easy access” to both developed and emerging markets, with visitors from “Eastern Europe, India, China and the Middle East” taking time to speak with the company. Therefore Cooper Avon sees Reifen as a “truly international fair” for the industry, yielding enough business opportunities to make it the “only real” European tyre focused event it attends.
Michelin managing partner, Michel Rollier, has spoken of the French tyre manufacturer’s plans to invest $2 billion in increasing its capacity in emerging markets between now and 2012. French newspaper Les Echos quoted Rollier as saying "our problem is that the growth of our capacity is insufficient compared with demand" at this year’s Michelin Challenge Bibendum event in Rio de Janeiro. “We cannot equip a manufacturer in North America and tell him we're not able to do it in South America," he reportedly explained.
Michel Rollier’s comments follow suggestions from some sources that Michelin is lagging behind its main competitors when it comes to its presence in the emerging BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China). However, in the future BRIC countries are expected to have “an increasing share in the sales revenues of Michelin tyres,” managing partner Jean-Dominque Senard said.
Rubber and tyre industry equipment manufacturer VMI Group has appointed HJ (Harm) Voortman as the company’s new president and chief executive officer. Voortman takes over on 1 July 2010 and succeeds JJ (Coos) Spanjer who held this position since 1992.
Techking Tyres has established US headquarters with a new base in Chattanooga, Tennessee. At the same time, Tire Review reports that the company has hired a pair of US tyre industry veterans to lead its North American efforts. Larry Williams, most recently president of China Manufacturers Alliance, has been hired as Techking’s North American chief. Former Trelleborg Wheel Systems marketer takes on the role of director of marketing. (Tire Review)
When the European Commission published the preliminary results of its anti-dumping investigation of Chinese aluminium wheel producers, it also released a wealth of market information to anyone willing to trawl through numerous pages of legal jargon. The good news is that Tyres & Accessories has done this, so you don’t have to. And the results reveal the sheer scale of the case.
Karl-Thomas Neumann, the former chief executive of Continental AG, will head Volkswagen's China operations from September. The news sees Neumann, an experienced and respected manager, electronics engineer and expert in hybrid and electric cars return to his previous employer after Conti in the midst of a power struggle with major shareholder Schaeffler Group last August.
MAI Group, the Italian manufacturer of all-steel, radial OTR tyres for the mining and construction industries, has announced the appointment of the Dynamic Tire Corp. (DTC) as the group’s distributor for Canada. Under the deal, Dynamic Tire will handle MAI's complete Maxam tyre range of OTR and high speed crane products.
In welcoming DTC as the company's latest distributor, MAI Group CEO Ian Thomas said he was "delighted" to have negotiated the deal with DTC founders Peter Koszo and Bob Sherkin and he believes that their local market knowledge will prove invaluable in establishing and strengthening the Maxam brand in Canada.
The automotive parts industry in China has reportedly become the world’s most profit making industry of its kind. According to a survey report produced by AlixPartners, the profits of auto parts enterprises in China topped its counterparts in 2009. Average profit levels were 8 – 10 per cent, which is apparently double the global average. In 2009, the revenue of auto parts enterprises in China is said to have reached 1,140 billion yuan, an increase of 23 per cent over 2008. However, supplier sales are said to ahve lagged behind the OEM growth because of a higher decline in exports. Several major domestic auto-parts suppliers are emerging as winners, with companies entering the top 100 global suppliers by revenue.
However, says the study, in order to maintain their profitability, suppliers need to effectively manage rising cost pressures, upgrade their technology, build their aftermarket capabilities and, significantly, find ways to recruit and retain qualified people in what has become a very competitive labour market.
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