China Archives - Page 192 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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Chinese Carmakers Flocking to Detroit Show

(Akron/Tire Review) The North American International Auto Show in Detroit will take on more of an international flavor in 2008 as five Chinese automotive companies – including four automakers – plan displays there.

While no Chinese car companies are ready to sell products in North America as yet, Geely International Corp., Changfeng Motor Group, China America Cooperative Automotive Inc. (Chamco), BYD Auto Co. and Li Shi Guang Ming Auto Design Co. will all have booth space at the event.

The NAIAS will be open to the public from January 19-27.

8th October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

MRF Considers China Operations

India’s largest tyre manufacturer, MRF Ltd, has achieved a fiscal milestone and, at the same time, spoken afresh of plans to circumvent the country’s ‘inverted’ duty structure for tyres and raw materials.

The company’s chairman, K.M. Mammen, told media in Chennai on October 5 that MRF had, in the 2006-7 financial year, become a Rs 50 billion (£620.4 million) company, with turnover in the recently closed financial year up from Rs 42.6 billion (£528.6 million) during the previous year. The company added that profit is expected to be about 1.8 per cent of turnover, some Rs 900 million (£11.2 million).

Almost 20 per cent of turnover reportedly came from OEM sales. A further 10 per cent was garnered from exports and 2 per cent from sales to India’s military. The remainder came from the Indian replacement market, a £2.4 billion market of which Mr. Mammen claims MRF holds a 26 per cent share.

8th October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Beaurepaires Indroduces ‘Climate Neutral’ Tyres to Australia

One of Australia’s largest tyre retailers, Beaurepaires, is calling on motorists to help reduce the environmental impact of their cars and tyres through the use of climate neutral tyres. For the first time, Australian motorists can purchase climate neutral tyres at no extra cost thanks to the Beaurepaires Climate Neutral campaign the retailer is running across its 300-store national network during October.

If the 11 million passenger vehicles on Australian roads were fitted with climate neutral tyres, more than 10.5 million tonnes of CO² emissions could be prevented from entering our atmosphere. This is equivalent to the volume of 2.3 million Olympic sized swimming pools or more than 1.6 million households switching to clean energy for one year.

Beaurepaires has also produced a set of tips to help motorists reduce the environmental impact of their cars and tyres on a day-to-day basis. Managing director and CEO of Beaurepaires, Judith Swales, urged motorists to do their bit to lessen the environmental damage caused by their vehicles.

5th October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Goodyear Philippines Plans Factory Upgrade, Seeks Retail Investors

Manufacturing facilities at Goodyear’s operations in the Philippines are likely candidates for an upgrade, according to the president of Goodyear Philippines David Morin. At a press conference on October 4 Morin said that additional equipment would be purchased for the Las Pinas Goodyear factory in Manila, and he outlined plans to introduce a number of new products for export to Asean markets.

Goodyear’s Las Pinas plant exports 50 per cent of its production to Southeast Asian countries, including China and India, however as the facility is already operating at full capacity no new staff will be added to its complement of 700 workers as part of these improvements.

In addition to this planned upgrade, Goodyear Philippines is urging potential Filipino distributors and retailers to invest in the tyre industry. According to Morin the company has plans to expand its retail outlets in 15 to 20 untapped markets throughout the chain of islands.

5th October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Bekaert Announces US Lay Offs

In the US Bekaert Steel has laid off 23 employees at its Rome, Georgia facility, a result of stronger competition from manufacturers in China. The factory, which produces steel cord used in tyre production, began laying off staff on October 1.

“We hope this is short lived,” plant manager Gary Downey told local newspaper the Rome News-Tribune. “The market is slow right now, but we fully anticipate that it is going to return.”

In late August the company also announced the closure of its joint venture steel cord facility in Geelong, Australia, quoting cheaper production costs in other regions as a factor in this decision.

5th October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Sometimes Change is a Good Thing

After 28 years in the tyres business Peter Harries has been appointed as the new managing director of the UK’s largest wholesale group, Group Tyre (UK) Ltd. For Harries, the appointment represents something of a step change from the manufacturer-based positions he enjoyed at Cooper Avon for the vast majority of his career. Tyres & Accessories met with the new managing director as he settled in to his new role at Group.

Prior to joining Group Tyre, Harries spent six years as sales director of Cooper Tire & Rubber Europe. Before this he spent more than two decades in a range of positions with Avon Tyres and Cooper Tire. “I am very excited to be joining Group, a company which I have always admired,” Harries told Tyres & Accessories, adding that he has joined the company at a significant point. “There is a lot of change in tyre industry,” he commented.

So what’s the plan from here on in? “I am here to develop strategy and structure and to drive the business forward to higher sales and deeper penetration,” said Harries, adding that there is “a lot of scope for growth.” Group Tyre and its members have achieved some impressive results over the last decade and a half, and recent performance has been no different. Harries is confident that Group turnover (which will reach £234 million this year) will continue to grow. There are also said to be five and 10 year plans in the works, but the new managing director was less willing to give details of those away.

5th October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Indian Domestic Manufacturers Hit by Strong Rupee

The growing strength of the Indian rupee against the US dollar has been squeezing the export margins of tyremakers in the subcontinent for some time. A more recent development, however, is the strain India’s increasingly robust currency is placing on companies producing tyres for the domestic market.

Imports have become cheaper with each rise in the rupee, and those domestic market products with cut-price overseas equivalents have struggled to remain competitive. This phenomenon is not restricted to the tyre industry; the Hindu Business Line reports that a number of manufacturing sectors, including chemicals, textiles and automotive components, have been affected.

The Indian financial daily quoted Ashish Bharat Ram, managing director of SRF Ltd, as saying, “the rupee appreciation is adversely impacting those domestic manufacturers where the product is substitutable by imports.” This even applies to imported raw materials. “Imports of raw material from China, for instance, are of special concern as the yuan has not been revalued, and this puts pressure on margins even further.”

3rd October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Senior Management Changes at Bridgestone

On September 28 Bridgestone announced that its board of directors has approved the following proposals of the changes in member of the board and in corporate officers.

1. Changes in position and responsibilities of members of the board (effective October 16, 2007)
– Tatsuya Okajima
New position and responsibilities: Senior vice president, advisor to the president
Current position and responsibilities: senior vice president, chief compliance officer, responsible for original equipment tyre sales and quality management; concurrently chief risk-management officer

– Masaharu Oku
New position and responsibilities: Vice president & senior officer, advisor to the president. Oku has been seconded to Bridgestone Cycle Co., Ltd where he will serve as chairman.
Current position and responsibilities: vice president & senior officer, responsible for production technology

3rd October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Compass Expands Warehouse 35%

Compass HD Tyres Ltd, part of the Compass Group Ltd, UK and Ireland distributor of GTRadial and Runway-brand tyres, is expanding its warehousing facilities still further. According to company officials a new 35,000 square foot facility will come on stream to add to the current 100,000 square foot of space at the Compass’ Huddersfield base. In addition, a number of extra sales and logistics staff are due to be recruited.

Tim Chesney, managing director of the Compass Group told Tyres & Accessories that the expansion of storage space is directly attributable to the ongoing success story of Giti produced tyres in the UK. The Company launched GT into Europe almost 20 years ago when it imported the first ever containers of the then fledgling car tyre brand with just seven sizes in the radial range. Today the GT Radial car tyre brand has many hundreds of sizes in its range, covering almost every popular size in car, van and 4X4 and it is a market leader in the mid range sector of the market with its development of UHP and other cutting edge tyre designs. Sales into the new car tyre replacement market have increased year-on-year and today, through Compass Group, GT produced tyre brands boast a market share in the UK that leads the market outside the premium sector.

2nd October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Name Change for Shanghai Tyre and Rubber Group

In the US China Manufacturers Alliance, LLC (CMA) has announced that its parent company, Shanghai Tyre and Rubber (Group) Co., Ltd (STRC) has changed its corporate holding company’s name to Double Coin Holdings, Ltd., to consolidate corporate identity behind the company’s most recognisable and valuable asset, the Double Coin brand. Double Coin Holdings, Ltd is the holding corporation for several tyre related business units including CMA.

China Manufacturers Alliance, LLC will continue to operate under the same name for the foreseeable future, as they have developed strategic customers to whom they provide products that are outside Double Coin Holdings product line up. CMA has built recognition since 1997 for providing a seamless link between strategic manufacturing in China and North America.

Company officials said: “Double Coin branded products will continue to be the marketing focus for CMA. They reflect our flagship brand and have global recognition.” The Double Coin brand of products is sold in over 90 countries worldwide and has been accepted as an OEM product in both North America and China.

28th September 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Linglong to Build New 40,000 m2 Factory

Shandong Linglong Rubber Co. has announced plans to construct a new 40,000 m2 factory for the production of passenger-car/light truck tyres. Online news sources quoted Jiang Guibo, Shandong Linglong's import and export business business chief, as saying that the new plant will be built in Shandong province, will cost 1.5 billion yuan (£100 million, 141 million euros), and will focus on high performance products.

26th September 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

CMA Hires Agency, Begins US Double Coin Brand Push

(Akron/Tire Review) China Manufacturers Alliance has hired Chicago’s Fathom Communications as its communications and marketing agency for North America. The tyre company and agency announced that CMA, the North American marketing arm of Shanghai Tyre & Rubber (Group) Co., is working on a new program to increase consumer and user awareness of the company’s Double Coin brand, and its campaign will leverage advertising, sales promotion, online marketing, web design and direct marketing.

Aaron Murphy, CMA vice president, said, “We have worked very hard to develop a comprehensive network of high-quality dealers and are now ready to create a clear, distinct brand image for Double Coin with both trade and consumer audiences. Fathom has demonstrated an in-depth understanding of our vision, and we are looking forward to working with them to meet our marketing objectives.”

21st September 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

New Process Improvement Chief Named by Cooper

(Akron/Tire Review) Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. appointed Jeff Endicott as its new process improvement director, where he will oversee quality improvement, cost control and waste reduction for Cooper’s North America plants.

Most recently, Endicott served as technical director of the Cooper/Kenda Tire joint venture manufacturing facility in Kunshan, China.

21st September 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

China in the firing line

(Rubber Asia) A number of China’s tyre makers are presently having a tough time in the US, but protectionist sentiments may spread to Europe too. While China’s export pricing has much to do with this, China has recently moved to reduce the export incentives that had become such a bone of contention in the West. But the rancour felt particularly in the US goes further and deeper than this.

Some of the current animosities have as much to do with culture as they have with conditioning. The China of today is a young and resourceful economy, whereas its large export markets in North America and Europe are, for the most part, mature economies where the twin burdens of regulation and social protection weigh much more heavily. That is why China’s freebooting ways in particular are causing tensions.

20th September 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

CMA Hires Agency, Begins Double Coin Brand Push

(Akron/Tire Review) China Manufacturers Alliance has hired Chicago’s Fathom Communications as it communications and marketing agency for North America. The tyre company and agency announced that CMA, the North American marketing arm of Shanghai Tyre & Rubber (Group) Co., is working on a new program to increase consumer and user awareness of the company’s Double Coin brand, and its campaign will leverage advertising, sales promotion, online marketing, Web design and direct marketing.

19th September 2007/by Tyrepress Editors