China Archives - Page 222 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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Bridgestone Announces Enormous Expansion Plans

Bridgestone Corp has announced huge expansion plans, which could see the manufacturer spend as much as 200 billion yen (£990 million) every year between now and 2008.

Bloomberg has reported that Bridgestone is pre-empting a stagnation in the domestic Japanese market by increasing investment in new factories and upgrading equipment. The company is aiming for sales of 3 trillion yen (approximately £15 billion) by 2008, with a profit margin of 5 per cent, company president Shigeo Watanabe told a Tokyo press conference. “We are aiming to capture about 20 per cent of the global market share for tyres” by 2008, from the current share of “between 18 per cent and 19 per cent,” he said.

18th October 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Van den Ban Clears the Way for New Brand

At the beginning of September Van den Ban Autobanden BV launched its new ‘Clear’ brand in several European countries. Produced in China, the new exclusive brand, is said to have attracted “a great deal of interest” already. Van den Ban has stated its intention to enhance its size range by the end of 2005, but the company says its “ultimate objective” is to present a comprehensive portfolio of over 30 high performance size options in due course. There are even plans to extend the range to include SUV and truck sizes. The Clear HP166 model is being promoted on the basis of its V-shaped pattern. In addition to wet and dry traction performance, the new tyre is said to include a rim protector to guard against wheel damage.

18th October 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone Increases Number of Retail Outlets in China

(Akron/Tire Review) A report by the Shanghai Daily says that Bridgestone Corp. will add 750 retail tyre outlets to its distribution in China by 2010, with some 400 of them being “high-end branded stores.”
Already, Bridgestone has 4,850 sales outlets in China, and will boost that total to 5,600 within five years. Among those are 100 Car Wings company-owned outlets, which Bridgestone says it will increase to 500 stores. Car Wings outlets sell tyres, wheels, stereo equipment and accessories.

17th October 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone Opens Guangzhou Urethane Foam Plant

Bridgestone Corporation has officially opened a plant that produces urethane foam for automobile seats in China. The operator of the plant is Guangzhou Bridgestone Chemical Products Co., Ltd., a joint venture company for the manufacture and sale of urethane foam for automobile seats located in Guangzhou City. Bridgestone set this facility up together with the automotive components arm of Guangzhou Automobile Industry Group Co, Ltd on 5 July 2004.

14th October 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Pirelli Opens First Tyre Plant In China

Pirelli executives Marco Tronchetti Provera and Francesco Gori have attended the opening ceremony of the company’s first tyre plant in China. The joint venture facility is split 60:40 between Pirelli and the Yinhe Group (Roadone Tyres) respectively, with the Italians planning to gradually increase their share in the coming years. The new plant’s is about half a million radial truck tyres, a number that will soon be raised to 1.2 million tyres per year. The tyres produced in the new truck tyre factory will be sold in China, South East Asia and Australia.

12th October 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

A Changing Wholesale Business?

When Tyres & Accessories last wrote about the pressures facing wholesalers, the issues pressing the business were not too dissimilar to what there are today. Then raw material price increases at the manufacturer level, not to mention high oil prices, were in danger of effecting wholesale pricing policies. Today oil prices (affecting both raw material and transportation costs) are almost 50 per cent higher, and almost all manufacturers have raised their product prices at least once if not twice this year. In order to get a feeling for how these issues are affecting international wholesalers, T&A spoke to representatives of US company Zisser Tire and Belgium-based Deldo.

29th September 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Bringing Back Respectability to Car Tyre Retreading

(India/Rubber Asia) Talk to motorists in most European countries about retreads and retreading, but don’t expect much more than a blank look in return. If you are lucky enough to strike a cord of recognition, you are likely to be quickly disappointed as soon as it becomes clear that the word retreading is irretrievably confused with terms like recut, regrooved (illegal in the case of car tyres) or part-worn. Somewhere along the line it is obvious that the retread has suffered a serious image problem.

26th September 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Tyrexpo Asia Success

ECI International has announced record figures for the fifth edition of Tyrexpo Asia, which took place at the Singapore Expo Centre from 13-15 September, 2005. Just under 3,000 tyre industry specialists visited the exhibition, as did 100 exhibitors, occupying 5,000 sq.m of stand space and displaying a wide range of products including tyres, tubes, garage equipment, retreading materials and equipment as well as a variety of ancillary products and accessories. Overall Tyrexpo Asia 2005 achieved a growth rate of 20 per cent compared to the previous event in 2003.

23rd September 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

De Vries: “Navitrac is Coming to Europe“

Interstate Europe’s product portfolio will soon feature two new tyre brands. As commercial director Theo de Vries explains during an interview with Tyres & Accessories, the wholesaler is entering the truck tyre business with a new brand called “Navitrac.” Furthermore, Interstate Europe is hoping to make an impact on Europe’s exclusive brand market with the launch of the “Sceptor” passenger car tyre line. However, exactly when these two brands will be available in the UK and on the European market is not clear. The names of the exclusive distributors that will take on the new tyres in each of Europe’s national markets are similarly undefined.

23rd September 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Team MRF Clinch Asia Pacific Rally Championship

Jussi Valimaki (Finland), of Team MRF Tyres, won the Indonesian round of the Asia Pacific Rally Championship at Makassar during the September 10/11, 2005 Gudang Garam International Rally 2005.

Driving a Mitsubishi Evo 8, the Indonesian victory also confirmed the FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship Drivers’ title for Valimaki, the 31-year old MRF Team driver, who collected 15 points and reached a total of 70 points in the Drivers’ Championship – a lead that no APRC driver can match this year. Valimaki wins both the overall and the Group N categories.

20th September 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Continental AG Considers Stock Split

Continental AG is mulling over the possibility of a stock split after its shares grew more than fivefold since the spring of 2003, according to an article published in Die Welt, citing chief executive Manfred Wennemer.

19th September 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Van den Ban: Flexible Distribution Service

Dutch wholesaler, Van den Ban, has announced that it will add a new exclusive brand to its tyre portfolio. The new brand, Clear, is already available in a number of sizes. Van den Ban says it intends to introduce further sizes in the coming months ultimately leading to 30-size strong high performance portfolio. A further range expansion is planned for next year.

19th September 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Continental Expects Tyres Sales to Help Profitability

Continental expects its profitability will be assisted by improvements at its truck tyre business and demand for electronic car parts. , Furthermore, the automotive part supplier, the third-best performer on Germany’s DAX share index this year, expects to improve earnings and is said to be considering its options in emerging markets like India and China.

15th September 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone Establishes Proving Ground in China

Bridgestone has been granted approval to establish a new $25 million proving ground in China follwoing a period of negotiation with Chinese authorities. Bridgestone aims to use this testing and research facility to develop a system that enables the swift provision of tyres for original equipment and replacement in the Chinese market.

15th September 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Chinese Market Favours Malaysian NR

The Chinese market seems to favour Malaysia’s natural rubber (NR) and is attracting increased interest from players in the Malaysian rubber products industry, according to the Malaysian Rubber Board (MRB). The MRB recently organised a trade delegation visit to China and revealed details about business between the two far eastern countries.

The MRB explained that Malaysian rubber was well-known in China for its good quality. China imports about 1.4 million tonnes of NR per year, and this year, Malaysia’s NR exports to China are projected to increase to 350,000 tonnes from 290,000 last year.

13th September 2005/by Tyrepress Editors