China Archives - Page 179 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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Yokohama Establishes Thailand Sales Office

Only weeks after announcing the start of operations at its new Yokohama Asia facility in Thailand, the Japanese tyremaker has announced the establishment in May of Yokohama Tire Sales (Thailand) Co., Ltd. This new tyre sales company, also based in Bangkok, will begin trading in July 2008 and has been fully capitalised by Yokohama Rubber at a cost of 200 million baht (£3 million).

Yokohama reports that sales of its branded tyres, particularly in the high performance passenger car tyre segment, are rapidly increasing. Previously Yokohama Rubber sold its tyres nationwide through local tyre distributors. The company says, however, it has become necessary to establish its own tyre sales company so as to further expand sales of passenger car tyres and also strengthen sales of truck/bus tyres and light truck tyres that are manufactured by Yokohama Tire Manufacturing (Thailand).

10th June 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

India Now 3rd Largest Market for Budget Chinese Tyres

Data released by India’s Automotive Tyre Manufacturers Association (ATMA) adds weight to complaints from Indian tyre manufacturers about the quantities of budget tyres arriving from China. According to the ATMA, since 2002-03 India has jumped from being the 39th largest market for Chinese tyres to being the third, and the organisation predicts it will slip into top place in the near future.

India’s Business Standard newspaper reports that during April-February 2008 Indian imports from China, at 1.2 million units, had almost doubled compared with the same period a year earlier. Chinese tyres hold a 15 per cent of the RS 78 billion (£927 million) replacement tyre market for trucks.

9th June 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Yangtze Petrochemical Now China’s Largest Butadiene Producer

The latest butadiene facility built by Yangtze Petrochemical entered trial operation on April 16, and the company reports the plant, with its 100,000 ton annual capacity, has propelled the company into China’s top butadiene production spot. Capacity at Yangtze Petrochemical has, to-date, reached 206,000 tons per annum.

The construction of this additional RMB 247 million (£18.1 million) was made necessary by growing Chinese market demand for tyres, and the company says that the market for butadiene, which is a major raw material of rubber, “looks promising and is expected to bring forth fat returns for investors.”

9th June 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

International Tyre Exhibitors Sign Up for Tyrexpo Asia’09

International exhibitors are already confirming plans for the new products and displays designed to catch the eye of tyre industry buyers at next year’s Tyrexpo Asia March’09 exhibition. For Singapore-based manufacturer and distributor Omni United, the sales focus next March has already been agreed as its Radar ranges of bus and truck tyres, designed in India and manufactured in China. Radar OTR tyres will also form a very prominent stand presence, with products ranging in size to cover mining and industrial equipment from 21 to giant 57-inch wheel sizes.

Confirming the company’s plans, senior vice president, Shivi Kalra said: “Tyrexpo Asia’09 is an important opportunity to interact with current customers, showcase our expanding ranges of products and meet potential new customers. Next year the focus will be on our ranges of SUV, PCR, TBR and OTR tires – all marketed under our Radar private brand range.”

5th June 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Aufine Announces Price Increase

The Qingdao, China-based Aufine Group has become the last tyre manufacturer to announce additional price increases.

In a statement released to the press, Aufine’s management explained that the as yet unknown price increase will take effect from 1 July. The company puts the price increase down to the continuing price pressure manufacturers are receiving from the raw material suppliers.

5th June 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

ATMA Issues Anti-Dumping Plea

Indian news sources have reported that the Automotive Tyre Manufacturers Association (ATMA) have requested a government-implemented anti-dumping duty on radial truck and bus tyre imports. The request follows concerns over the 1,300 per cent increase in Indian tyre imports from China in the last five years.

According to business commentary in India, the increasing cost of raw materials in India has left domestic tyre manufacturers exposed to the challenge from cheaper Chinese imports.

4th June 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Bandengroothandel Mast Offers Versatile Industrial Range

Bandengroothandel Mast’s fastest development in recent years has been the evolution of its large harbour, quarry and mining tyre ranges. This development gained momentum when the company became established as the appointed European distributor of Chinese manufacturer, Tianli.

During the course of 2007 Mast introduced a number of new ranges and additional patterns in the CargoMaster series including new options in solid tyres for skid steer. Another new product being developed has been radial OTR tyres, which are currently being tested and are expected to be available in the UK and Europe in the near future. This new CargoMaster range is produced in China and will be offered in smaller sizes including 23.5 25 plus larger sizes will be phased in during the course of 2008.

4th June 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Pirelli Invests $65 million in Egypt Tyre Plant

The Pirelli Group is to increase truck and bus tyre production capacity in Egypt by 50 per cent through the investment of $65 million dollars in its Alexandria TBR plant. The announcement was made by the Chairman of Pirelli & C. SpA, Marco Tronchetti Provera, to Egyptian Trade and Industry Minister, Mohamed Rashid, on the occasion of the Italian-Egyptian inter-governmental meeting taking place in Rome. The new investment will allow the factory in Alexandria to increase its annual production to 1 million pieces and become the largest site for manufacturing radial tyres for industrial vehicles in the MEA (Middle East and Africa) area.

According to an official statement on the matter, the growth of production capacity will be focused on “the most advanced product and process technologies able to express maximum performance both in terms of the needs of emerging markets and with respect to the requirements of the main customers in Continental Europe.”

4th June 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

US Motorists Driving Less

A sharp drop in the amount US motorists are driving, coupled with continued raw material price pressures has led financial analysts to lower US manufacturers earning predictions. Estimated vehicle miles travelled on all US roads declined 4.3 per cent year-on-year in March, according to the US Federal Highway Administration. The drop is apparently the steepest in the history of the data. This coupled with concerns about the effect of increasing raw material costs led Detusche Bank analysts to write: “In the near term, the combination of hyper-inflating raw material costs and weak demand will present major challenges for the tyre industry.”

“While we continue to see robust pricing behaviour within the industry, with price increases of “up to 8 per cent” having been recently announced by Goodyear (effective June 1) and Cooper Tire…we note that pricing may not completely offset raw material cost inflation in every quarter.”

3rd June 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Devalued Rupee Leads to Opposing Opinions on Tyre Dumping Duty

Depreciation of India’s Rupee against the US dollar is leading to stronger voices being raised for and against the country’s dumping duty on imported tyres. At present the duty is applied to bias tyres, and the All India tyre Dealers’ Federation (AITDF) is calling for its abolition in face of prices that effectively have increased 10 per cent in the last two to three months.

“Over the last eight to ten weeks, the rupee has depreciated by 10 per cent vis-à-vis dollar,” commented AITDF head SP Singh. “This has resulted in an increase of Rs 2,100 in the prices of a pair of radial truck and bus tyres. Moreover, the existing anti-dumping duty on bias tyres has already hit imports. So, we want the import duty to be abolished to compensate for the impact of rupee depreciation on the import of latest technology radial tyres.”

2nd June 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Kumho Tires Starts Work on Central R&D Centre

Kumho Tires makes no secret of its ambition to stand amongst the world’s top five tyre companies by 2015, and one channel the company says it will use to achieve this is to strengthen the Kumho R&D network. One key part of the South Korean manufacturer’s strengthening programme is the planned Kumho central R&D centre in Yong-in, Gyeonggi Province, and on May 15 an official ceremony was held to mark the start of construction work at the site. Numerous company executives and employees, including CEO Sae-Chul Oh, attended the ceremony.

The anticipated completion date for the central R&D centre is the latter half of next year. A sum of 70 billion KRW will be invested into the project, which will cover a floor space of 24,092 square metres and a land area of 34,842 square metres. The facility is planned to be, says Kumho, one of the world’s top three central R&D centres.

2nd June 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Sumitomo Increasing Capacity at China Facility

Plans are reportedly underway to increase capacity at the Sumitomo Rubber (Changshu) Co. Ltd tyre facility in China by 20 per cent. Capacity at the factory, opened four years ago, has already been expanded once, and this latest round will increase daily output by some 30,000 passenger car tyres and 3,500 truck and bus tyres. About £68 million will be invested in the project.

2nd June 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Yokohama Reaches Settlement in Patent Suit

Yokohama Tire Corp. and Yokohama Rubber Co. Ltd. have reached a final settlement agreement with Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber Co. Ltd. pertaining to design patent infringement, with Hangzhou agreeing to destroy the manufacturing moulds and remaining inventory of its Westlake H280 tyres. In September 2006, Yokohama Tire Corp. and its parent company initiated legal proceedings against China’s Hangzhou alleging, among other claims, a violation of Yokohama’s tyre tread design patent which protects some of its best-selling lines, including the Geolandar A/T+II.

29th May 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Michelin Giving Additional Half Million Euros to China Quake Victims

The Michelin Group announced on May 27 it would donate an additional 500,000 euros for victims of the earthquake that struck China’s Sichuan Province. This new pledge strengthens initiatives undertaken by Michelin China and its local employees immediately following the earthquake.

On May 13, Michelin China announced it was donating for earthquake victims. That donation has since nearly doubled thanks to donations made by some 5,500 Michelin employees in China. Overall, Michelin will donate 600,000 euros. The Group’s additional donation will be used for specific projects to rebuild Sichuan Province and restore the mobility of its inhabitants. Michelin’s local teams are currently in the process of selecting those projects that will receive support.

29th May 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Eliokem Increases Chemigum Nitrile Polymer Prices

At the end of May Eliokem increased its prices for products made in its Valia (India) plant by up to 13 per cent. The Valia plant specializes in emulsion polymerization of polymers and latices for both the rubber and latex industries. The products are marketed under trademarks such as Chemigum NBR Polymers in Latex, Powder and Bale forms; and Pliolite HSR High Styrene Butadiene Rubber Masterbatches.

“With the strong polymer demand globally and crude oil record highs, all major monomers and notably Butadiene used in rubber manufacturing are continuing to increase further, as are the costs of energy, chemicals, transportation and labour. Therefore, further price adjustments in June and in the third quarter cannot be ruled out”, said Jacques Collonge, CEO Eliokem.

28th May 2008/by Tyrepress Editors