China Archives - Page 169 of 240 - Tyrepress

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.

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Reifen China 2008 Opens with 25% Visitor Increase

Reifen China 2008 opened its doors in Shanghai today, with over 3000 visitors entering the city’s New International Expo Center for the show. The show’s organisers – Messe Essen, China United Rubber (Group) Company and concept partner Bundesverband Reifenhandel und Vulkanisieur-Handwerk (the German equivalent of the NTDA) – were all reportedly pleased with the 25 per cent increase in visitor numbers compared with the 2007 show. Over 110 companies from 16 countries are exhibiting their products and services at Reifen China covering 3500 square metres of floor space (31 per cent more than the 2007 show).

4th December 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Reifen China off to a Successful Start

The organisers of the Shanghai based Reifen China 2008 exhibition have reported a successful first day. On December 4 more than three thousand trade visitors attended the show at the Shanghai New International Expo Center, an increase of 25 per cent on the previous year. Show hosts CURC (China United Rubber (Group) Company) and Messe Essen, along with major sponsor BRV (Bundesverband Reifenhandel und Vulkanisieur-Handwerk – the “Federal Association of the Tyre Trade and the Vulcanisers’ Skilled Trade”) expressed their satisfaction with this result, particularly against the background of current global economic unease.

4th December 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone Concludes Anti-Vibration Rubber JV Agreement

Bridgestone has concluded an agreement with India’s Sundaram Industries to establish a joint venture to produce anti-vibration rubber for use in vehicles. The Tamil Nadu based company is a member of India’s Prominent TVS Group, and a leader in the field of anti-vibration rubber in that country. Bridgestone first concluded a technical assistance agreement in anti-vibration rubber for automobiles business with Sundaram Industries in 1996, and the two companies have built a close relationship over the years. Bridgestone believes the joint venture will enable the production and sale of high-quality products boasting technical superiority at a competitive cost in the expanding Indian market, and lead to an enhanced global supply chain.

4th December 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Michelin to Jointly Develop Electric Powertrains

Michelin has reportedly teamed up with a Chinese company to jointly develop electric powertrains. Information published by Automotive News indicates that the French firm has signed an agreement with battery material supplier CITIC Guoan Mengguli (MGL) to develop electric powertrain systems for electric vehicles and plug in hybrids. The system will integrate Michelin’s active wheel technology with lithium ion batteries from MGL, and the two companies will jointly develop controllers for the system.

3rd December 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Comings and Goings

On May 24, 2008 tyre industry steel cord producer Bekaert and China’s Anshan Iron and Steel Group Corporation (Ansteel), one of the world’s leading steel producers, signed a memorandum of understanding outlining the terms of a close future partnership between the two companies. As part of the arrangement both firms agreed to explore strategic cooperation projects in order to better address the growing demand for advanced wire products on the Chinese market.

27th November 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Falling Prices a Focus at Rubber Organisation Meeting

Falling prices for natural rubber will be a key theme at the meeting of the Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries (ANRPC) on November 26 to 28. Representatives from India, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam will discuss price trends and supply-side measures in detail, reports Sajen Peter, chairman of India’s Rubber Board.

24th November 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Goodyear Assurance Gains Top Award From China’s Auto Magazine

After undergoing extensive testing, Goodyear’s Assurance tyre has received the 2008 “Annual Product of the Year Award” from Auto Magazine, one of China’s most respected automotive publications. Upon delivering word of this distinction, Goodyear comments that the Assurance, introduced in China last April, provides drivers with outstanding traction and performance – and therefore enhanced confidence. The tyre accomplishes this, says Goodyear, by incorporating Kevlar fibre along with a silica-based sidewall compound to help resist cuts and tears. The Assurance tyre’s ArmorGrip Technology also sports an array of interlocking waffle blades and additional silica-based compounds within its tread that provides enhanced lateral stability and de-coupling power to assist grip over varied road conditions and on both wet and dry surfaces.

21st November 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Pirelli Launches 2009 Calendar

On the evening of November 20 the 2009 edition of the Pirelli Calendar – one of only a few objects in this world that can be described as iconic without fear of a visit from the ‘cliché police’ – was unveiled at its world premiere in Berlin. The ‘Cal’ has been a cult object for more than forty years among connoisseurs of photography, beauty and cultural evolution, and the setting for the 2009 edition is the landscape of Botswana, where famed photographer Peter Beard spent ten days immortalising seven internationally renowned models. Beard, who lived in Kenya for thirty years, has developed a reputation as one of the world’s greatest interpreters of the mystery and charm of Africa.

21st November 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Rubbery Figures

According to the International Rubber Study Group, the European Union is currently the third largest regional consumer of natural and synthetic rubber. In 2007, Europe’s consumption of natural rubber reached 1.373 million tonnes, 14 per cent of global natural rubber consumption. The Singapore based organisation notes that European consumption increased 1.7 per cent since 2005, a much smaller increase that the 10.9 per cent growth in global consumption. For synthetic rubber, the IRSG reports the EU consumption in 2007 to be 2.616 million tonnes, a 20 per cent share of global consumption.

21st November 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

OE, Replacement Tyre Markets Shrank in October, says Michelin

According to data released by Michelin, the European market (including the CIS) for OE passenger car and light truck tyres shrank by 21.3 per cent in October compared to the same month in 2007. Year to date, the original equipment market has shrunk 2.0 per cent in Europe compared with last year, and the replacement tyre market 4.2 per cent.

The European market for replacement tyres in this sector also reduced from a year earlier, by 9.9 per cent. In the truck tyre segment, the combined European and CIS region experienced 11.4 per cent decline in the OE market during October, and an 11.8 per cent shrinkage in the replacement tyre market. Year to date, the OE truck tyre market has grown 7.3 per cent in Europe compared with 2007, and the replacement tyre market reduced by 4.5 per cent.

21st November 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Asian SBR Prices to Fall Further, Predict Manufacturers

Asian based tyre manufacturers and producers of styrene butadiene rubber (SBR) believe regional prices for the commodity can fall even further beyond the 40 per cent experienced in November. While spot prices to China for non-oil grade 1502 dropped to around US$1,500 to $1,600 a tonne in mid November, market sources speculate the going price could reach as low as $1,100 to $1,200 a tonne by the year’s end.

20th November 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

China Pledges Thai Rubber Imports Won’t Decrease in 2009

Global number one natural rubber consumer China has pledged it will import as much natural rubber from Thailand next year as it has in 2008, despite feeling the impact of the global economic slowdown. Thailand deputy minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives Teerachai Saenkaew stated this on November 18, elaborating that he has discussed natural rubber cooperation during his recent meeting with China’s vice agricultural minister Niu Dun.

20th November 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Nanjing a ‘Strong Partner’ for Kumho

As reported on November 7, Kumho Tires has officially opened its new $US100 million factory in Nanjing, China. This facility, with an annual capacity of more than 300,000 truck and bus tyres, will feed China’s market, which in this segment is expected to grow between 25 and 30 per cent each year.

“Kumho Tires is already the number one passenger car tyre maker in China and this state-of-the-art plant gives us an important foothold in its fast-growing truck and bus tyre market,” said Sae-chul Oh, president and CEO of Kumho Tires. “China has enormous growth potential and is a key part of our strategy to become one of the top five global tyre makers.”

17th November 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Hankook Tire Names New Head of Europe Headquarters

There is a new man at the helm of Hankook’s European operations. On November 13 the South Korean manufacturer announced the appointment of Mr. Jin-Wook Choi, executive vice president and member of the board of Hankook Tire Co, Ltd. to the position of Head of Europe Headquarters. Mr. Choi brings to the position more than 33 years of international business experience with Hankook, including more than eight years at top management level.

14th November 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Yokohama Income Declines in H1 2008

Yokohama Rubber has announced experiencing a 53.7 per cent decline in operating income for the six months to September 30, 2008 in comparison to the same period of the previous year, to 5.6 billion yen (£37.7 million), despite a 1.3 per cent increase in net sales, to 256.6 billion yen (1.7 billion). Net income for this first half of the current financial year declined 95.7 per cent, to 554 million yen (£3.7 million). For the three months ending September 30, 2008, net sales were 133.5 billion yen (£898.8 million), an increase of 1.8 per cent. Operating income decreased 81 per cent to 1.5 billion yen (£10.1 million) and net income dropped from 29.5 million yen (£198,600) in 2007 to a loss of 7.03 million yen (-£47,000) in the recently concluded quarter of this year.

13th November 2008/by Tyrepress Editors