China Archives - Page 197 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 Pioneer Still Going Strong

Double Coin tyres are produced by Shanghai Tyre & Rubber Co. Ltd., the oldest tyre manufacturer in China – the company was established in Shanghai in the early 1930s as a manufacturer of rubber products and tyres. In its current form the company was established in 1992 when two tyre factories based in Shanghai were merged (Shanghai Ta Chung Hua Rubber Factory and Shanghai Tsen Tai Rubber Factory). This 75 per cent state-owned company, located on the outskirts of Shanghai, mainly manufactures all-steel radial truck tyres, bias-ply truck tyres, radial as well as diagonal light truck tyres and agricultural tyres.

According to the manufacturer approximately 350 different tyre specifications are available. Products are marketed in 80 different countries and are DOT- and E-marked for export markets; they also carry a CCC mark (China Compulsory Certification) for the local market. The two brands the tyre manufacturer is primarily known for are Double Coin and Warrior. These brands are well received on both European and Chinese tyre markets.

20th July 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Double Coin Tyres ‘Have Plenty More Potential’

In the last year, Kirkby Tyres & Wheels has experienced a near 20 per cent increase in truck tyre sales. Speaking to managing director, Dave Dorrity, Tyres & Accessories learnt that the company’s Chinese-produced Double Coin truck products are at the forefront of company growth, with fleet deals, OE business and increased tyre and wheel assembly business all either underway or on the horizon.

In fact business is going so well that Kirkby recently took the step of extending its own office in China, with an extra two mother tongue Chinese speaking employees committed to securing continuous stock levels and obtaining new product lines. Currently the company brings in six containers a day (across all product lines), with business growth reported in every sector.

While the majority of Kirkby’s truck tyre sales are in the replacement market, the company is also involved in various OE and fleet operations. These centre on Kirkby’s growing tyre and wheel assembly business which sees the company supply complete tyre/wheel packages to various trailer-makers. “The OE side of the business has really been customer led,” Dave Dorrity explained.

20th July 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Conti Boosts Presence in Emerging Markets through Acquisition

Continental’s Automotive Systems Division is bolstering its brakes systems capabilities in both Europe and in emerging markets, particularly Asia, through the acquisition of drum brake manufacturer Automotive Products Italia S.r.l. from the Australian Pacifica Group Limited. Based in Cairo Montenotte, in the Italian province of Savona, Automotive Products Italia employs approximately 500 people and since its establishment in 1984 has grown into a business with annual sales (2006) of 79 million euros.

This acquisition is not the beginning of relations between Automotive Products Italia and Continental Automotive Systems – the two parties have been involved in a technical and marketing cooperative agreement for the past decade. Automotive Products Italia has grown to become Europe’s second largest producer of drum brakes; approximately 5.8 million drum and park brakes were manufactured at the company’s 17,000 square metre facility in Savona last year, and counted amongst the firm’s OEM customers were major manufacturers such as Fiat, Ford, Renault/Nissan, Toyota, Land Rover, Mazda and General Motors. Upon regulatory approval the company will be integrated into the Hydraulic Brake Systems business unit of Continental Automotive Systems.

19th July 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Record Exhibitor Numbers at Tyrexpo Asia’07

Russia’s Alimark Ltd has become the 140th exhibitor to sign up for September’s TyrexpoAsia exhibition in Singapore, breaking all records for the show as it approaches its 10th anniversary. One of Tyrexpo Asia’s strengths has always been the diversity of its exhibitor base.

2007 will be the biggest and most international to date with over 140 exhibitors representing 24 different countries covering an area of approximately 6000 square metres. Amongst these are the major players in the tyre industry offering the widest range of products and services available in the industry.

There are many exhibitors making repeat appearances at Tyrexpo Asia’07, but equally there are many first-time attendees. Of particular interest this year is the participation of over 35 Chinese exhibitors to the show to date, confirming the importance and value the exhibition has to a wider international market.

18th July 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Chinese Govt Defends tyre Quality

In response to legal action initiated by US tyre importer Foreign Tire Sales, China’s official quality control organisation, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, has spoken in defence of Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber.

“There should no worries about tyres made in China,” commented Wang Xin, a senior official with the government body. He further added that the tyres were “qualified to be sold in the US.” Xin’s comments are in line with those expressed by Hangzhou Zhongce, who state that their own inspections have not found any of the faults reported by Foreign Tire Sales, and that none of the company’s other US customers have expressed concerns about the reliability of the tyres they purchased.

The controversy surrounding the Foreign Tire Sales case has sparked a wider debate on Chinese imports into the US, with some calling for tighter restrictions on what is allowed into the country.

18th July 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Giti Tire Breaks Ground on New Production Facility

Giti Tire has broken ground on a 10 million units-a-year tyre production facility, situated next to an existing Giti tyre production plant in Heifei, Anhui province China. The addition of the latest tyre manufacturing plant, brings the company’s total tyre production capacity to over 53 million units, confirming its position as China’s largest tyre manufacturer. The new plant will feature the latest technology and assist in achieving Giti’s ambitious goals in key markets like Europe, company representatives told Tyres & Accessories.

18th July 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

The End of Cheap Chinese Tyres?

On 1 July, the Chinese government reduced tax relief on tyre exports, causing those involved in importing or selling Chinese produced tyres in Europe to brace themselves price increase. At the same time, as one industry insider told Tyres & Accessories, market conditions are changing and “you are no longer doing Chinese companies a favour by selling their tyres.” So does this move mean the days of cheap Chinese tyres are numbered?

The Chinese government’s decision to cut its previously high tyre export subsidies from 13 per cent to 5 per cent; and to cut VAT refunds on wheels produced for export from 17 per cent to 9 per cent; is designed to address the Republic’s overwhelming export growth and is attempt to manage its trade surplus. Traditionally, export VAT refunds have kept export prices low for tyremakers and tyre and wheel component suppliers exporting out of China. Now, however, according to an Ernst & Young report released 20 June, “any change to a VAT refund rate will impact the prices charged on export goods as well as the profitability of exporters.”

16th July 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Images of First Phase of Nexen’s £87 million China Investment Unveiled

Nexen has unveiled visual plans for its China factory currently under construction and due to be up and running by the end of 2007. The new plant will be one of the largest single tyre factories in China and follows a commitment by Nexen to invest £87 million ($170 million) over three years including the construction of a new R&D centre in China at the beginning of 2008. The visual plans of the new Nexen plant also highlight additional employee facilities including a cafeteria and recreational area.

Chairman of Nexen Tire Corporation Byung Jung Kang, said: “The new plant in China will allow Nexen to improve availability and continue to increase the company’s international growth.”

16th July 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Former BRC Champion Higgins Riding Hankook to Victory in China

Hankook Tyres has contributed to the 2007 success of former British Rally Champion David Higgins, who has been blitzing the opposition in China. The Welsh-based driver and co-driver Leuan Thomas won the first two rounds of this year’s Chinese Rally Championship – and praised the performance of their vehicle’s Hankook tyres.

“This was my first international win on tarmac and the tyres played a huge role in this success,” said Higgins. “It was one of the most demanding rallies for tyres with long corners into more long corners so finding the right compound was extremely important.” Higgins and Thomas were fastest on all but two of the high-speed tests with their TQ Education Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9, and their puts the WY team firmly at the top of the points table.

13th July 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Conti Still Interested in Chinese Production

While no official word has been given, Continental reportedly retains very strong intentions of setting up its first tyre manufacturing facility in China. Klaus Kreipe, head of the tyremaker’s China operations, told the Reuters news agency on July 10 that “we are more than just seriously considering to start local production.”

This is not the first time such reports have come from the German tyremaker – in March 2006 Tyres & Accessories printed news that Conti CFO Alan Hippe was still weighing up its options regarding production in China and in August we reported that the company was looking at two potential locations for a greenfield factory project. Mr. Kreipe’s latest comments did not include a timetable of when any production projects would be established.

11th July 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Conti Invests in China Engineering Centre

Continental’s Automotive Systems Division has announced plans to build a dedicated engineering centre in China. On July 10 the company announced in Shanghai that 48 million euros have been earmarked for the project, which will be comprised of two facilities, an office site with design and test labs in the Yangpu District of Shanghai and a site containing large-scale equipment for bench testing. This second site will be an extension of the existing Continental Automotive Systems Shanghai facility in Jiading. The Yangpu site will also serve as the new Asia headquarters of Continental’s Automotive Systems, ContiTech and Passenger & Light Truck Tire divisions. Both facilities will be fully operational at the beginning of 2009 and provide employment for about 450 people, with the potential for this number to increase to 600 by 2011.

10th July 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Hangzhou Tyres OE in India

Tyres produced by Hanzhou Zhongce, the Chinese manufacturer at the centre of a half a million-unit recall in the US, are supplied OE clients such as Tata Motors in India. “Tata Motors is satisfied with the quality of tyres from China, and has not faced any issues,” a Tata Motors was quoted as saying. The tyres involved in the US were radials, while Tata Motors imports only bias tyres, one Indian news source reported.

Indian tyre manufacturers told dnaindia.com that while Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber has the technology to manufacture quality products – it contract manufacturers for other global brands like Goodyear and Cooper – many smaller Chinese companies dump substandard products in the Indian aftermarket.

“It’s a little scary, given our lack of safety regulations or data on fatality rates due to tyre failure. Chinese imports between April and December 2006 were over 500,000 units compared to 300,000 in the entire 2005-06,” said a senior official of a local tyre manufacturer.

9th July 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Apollo International Gains WEF Membership

Apollo Group export company Apollo International Ltd. (AIL), sister company to Apollo Tyres, has been inducted into the World Economic Forum’s Community of Global Growth Companies. AIL was selected after meeting the World Economic Forum’s stringent parameters and the company has stated its initial involvement will be participation in the inaugural annual meeting of the ‘New Champions’ to be held in China’s Dalian from 6 to 8 September.

“We feel privileged to have been identified as a Global Growth Company by the World Economic Forum,” said AIL managing director Raaja Kanwar. “The Forum will provide us with the platform for interaction and collaboration with other members companies and sharing of ideas of business opportunities. This will also help us in furthering our vision of nurturing entrepreneurs through partnership.”

Apollo International exports tyres through its Tyre Tech Global division, which is also the technology transfer of tyre manufacturing capabilities to other countries. Tyre Tech Global is headquartered in Gurgaon, India and has offices in Hong Kong, China (Qingdao), Dubai and Canada.

6th July 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

An Untapped Resource? Nokian’s Kazakhstan factory bid

Editorial/Comment, International News

With news of Chinese product recalls and revised tax rules, some people are looking elsewhere to source their tyres. But if a tyre manufacturing colleague said they were about to expand capacity by entering into an off-take agreement in Kazakhstan, they would probably be met with either a blank “where-exactly-is-that face?” or a stream of Borat-related quips. Joking aside, Nokian Tyres, a company that has made a real success of its niche market approach, has reportedly taken the plunge and broken ground on $200 million-worth of production capacity in Astana, the former Soviet country’s capital city.

Although Nokian staff have not immediately confirmed their involvement in the deal, it would see Nokian gain another low-cost production base to supplement its very successful St Petersburg, Russia operation and – just as importantly – a strong and growing market in which to sell its high quality winter tyres. The winter conditions in Ukraine and Kazakhstan are harsh, making studded tyres popular.

6th July 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Higher Anti-Dumping Duties Recommended in India

An Indian government panel has recommended increasing the anti-dumping duty imposed on truck tyres from US$99 to $135. Originally implemented last October, the duty is intended to curb the large numbers of low-priced Chinese imports flooding into India. At present tyre imports from China are running at 68,000 units a month, a five-fold increase in the levels recorded three years ago.

The difference in price between Indian tyres and their Chinese equivalents is approximately 25 to 35 per cent despite the Chinese government’s removal of its 5 per cent tyre export subsidy and increased freight charges for exports to India. Such a gulf in prices means, according to MRF executive director of marketing Philip Eapen, that the increase in duty will make little difference apart from making Chinese imports a “little more unattractive.”

5th July 2007/by Tyrepress Editors