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 to Kraiburg Austria, 2006 marks the centenary of retreading and, the company argues, giving new life to worn tyres is as important today as ever it was. The experts are not in total agreement, but many are of the opinion that the retreading of tyres started in 1906 in Germany, while 1908 is the year cited for England and China, and 1917 for the USA.
LMI Technologies Inc., the global producer of sensors used in automated systems and controls in a number of industries including the automotive and tyre manufacturing businesses, has adopted a new logo and corporate identity under the name “Sensors That See”.
The organisation has R&D, engineering and manufacturing facilities across the globe, in Canada and the USA, Sweden, Ireland and The Netherlands. It also has dealers in countries such as India and China.
Vehicle imports into China totalled 147,000 units in the first eight months of this year, the Xinhua news agency has reported. This is up almost 72 per cent on a year earlier. The imports were worth US$4.84 billoin and most came from Europe, South Korea and the US. Luxury cars and SUVs with engines of over three litres accounted for 49,000 of the vehicles imported. This was up 110 per cent on a year ago. The main buyers of SUVs were described by China’s General Administration of Customs as private mine owners, real estate developers and owners of private entertainment businesses. China lowered import tariffs on cars, cross-country vehicles and mini-buses from 28 per cent to 25 per cent on 1 July.
The Indian government has put provisional anti-dumping duty (ADD) on tyres imported from China and Thailand, with effect from 9 October the Business Standard reported. According to the newspaper, 300,000 imported tyres brought in mainly from China for the commercial vehicle (CV) segment are sold in India annually. Domestic manufacturers sell over 10 million tyres.
Kirkby Tyres has been involved in the wholesaling and export of truck tyres for close on half a century, and has built a reputation for the quality of goods supplied, dependable delivery and economic pricing. Kirkby has also become known as a reliable supplier of hard to get items, such as compactor tyres, mining tyres and military tyres. More recently, however, the company has made a name as a major supplier of popular sizes and types to the OE and replacement markets, holding massive stocks of major brands and imported makes, mainly from China.
One trade company, which isn’t exactly a major market player but nevertheless has a long and successful history in China is the Alltyre Shanghai Trading Co., Ltd. which is owned by a German entrepreneur. The holding company is called Allexim Handel GmbH and is based in Hamburg, Germany. Currently, the company operates three tyre dealerships in Shanghai under the name Alltyre. In addition, there is a wholesaling business which mainly supplies car dealerships with tyres, says Johannes H. Muecke, whose family owns the business. In these three outlets Alltyre sells about 9,000 to 11,000 tyres per year, which is “a reasonably good figure” for Shanghai, Mr Muecke says.
It is taking quite a long time for those involved in the Chinese retreading markets to get up to speed in comparison with the rapid developments in the other tyre-related sectors. The first signs of developments can particulalry be found in the OTR tyre segment. Truck tyre retreading isn’t yet seen as a generally necessary way of saving money and energy. However, tread manufacturers such as Elgitread from India are preparing for a breakthrough in China. That’s why representatives have travelled to the far East to exhibit at the CITExpo year after year although their business in China remains relatively low-level. Elgitread has created a worldwide network of business partners over the past years including five equity production sites – although so far China is not counted among the production sites.
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The fact that Singaporean wholesaler, Stamford Tyres, operates both a service centre chain (“Mega Mart“) as well as a tyre retail chain (“Tyre Mart“) in South East Asia and China shows that the people’s republic is more than just a production base for company. Instead the Chinese market is increasingly become a focus for Stamford’s retail operations.
After the company was founded in 1998, the Qingdao Qizhou Rubber Co., Ltd. has developed and produced various kinds of commercial tyres. Now it seems the company is going in a new direction and will specialise more in its OTR tyre business.
Although the domestic Chinese tyre market is growing at an enormous rate, export markets are also offering an ever more tempting business opportunity for tyre manufacturers from China. In light of major production over-capacities in particular in the PC tyre segment European and American tyre markets almost assure profitable and relatively easy growth perspectives to Chinese tyre companies. The Yinbao Tyre Group for example is one company that is currently adjusting its own growth strategy towards a more international standing. The company is based in the city of Shouguang in Shandong province. Export manager Sino He explains that the company, which was founded in 1994 has sold its truck, OTR and industrial tyres on the domestic market until very recently. It is offering the tyre brands Goodtyre, Yinbao and Huibao.
(Akron/Tire Review) TRIB has added two new international members, one from China and the other from Oman. Joining TRIB are Favorsea International Group Ltd., based in Jiangsu, China, and House of Tyres LLC, based in Oman. The new members give TRIB a total of 460 members in 37 countries. “TRIB continues to grow internationally as more and more companies in the retread industry throughout the world realize that TRIB is the only international retread industry association,” said Harvey Brodsky, TRIB’s managing director.
Chinese manufacturers want to and, in fact, already are benefiting from strong international demand for OTR tyres. One company that follows these lines very closely is the China Noble OTR Tyre Co., Ltd. When at the turn of the century it was becoming more evident that there was going to be a strong growth on the profitable OTR tyre market, Noble Tyre decided to jump on the bandwagon. The company’s co-founder Sky Zhuang said in an interview with Tyres & Accessories that this was the time when Noble decided to change its production plans. The company used to produce truck tyres and then changed over to the production of OTR tyres and thus invested considerable amounts of money from 2001 onwards.
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For a company like Shandong Linglong Rubber Co., Ltd. presence at the CITExpo is obligatory. In the past other major Chinese manufacturers like Giti Tire or Chengshan used the CITExpo for their purposes. This year Linglong was by far the biggest manufacturer exhibiting at the Shanghai tyre show with all the other tyre majors missing. For export manager Merry Wang this doens’t mean that Linglong has to act like its competitors. On the contrary: “We want to build a brand,” she says with self-confidence.
Kwik-Way Products Inc. is seeking US state assistance to establish a joint venture with a Chinese company. The company is seeking a “$135,000 forgivable loan” from Iowa’s Economic Development Set-Aside Program administered by the Iowa Department of Economic Development. David Parks, president of Kwik-Way Products, told online news sources his company is forming a venture with Launch Tech Company Ltd. of Chenzhen, China.
(Akron/Tire Review) Kumho Tire Co. has received approval by regional government authorities to build a $380 million tyre plant in southern Vietnam’s Binh Duong Province. Production is expected to begin in March 2008, with an annual output of 3.15 million units, according to Kumho. Jongsun Sun, general director of Kumho Tire (Vietnam) Co. Inc., said the tyre maker would invest $155 million for the first phase of the project, which will begin next month.
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