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.
A proposed Chinese joint venture between Qingdao Doublestar and Continental AG fell apart because of a dispute over who would take the majority stake in the partnership, according to a Bloomberg report. The Chinese company has since said it is in talks with other overseas companies for a venture in which it wants a majority stake, the Chinese company said in a Shenzhen exchange statement today. The statement did not name the prospective partners.
Pirelli has announced that it has embarked on exclusive negotiations with RoadOne Tyre Co Ltd, a market leader in conveyor belt manufacturing. The new joint venture is to be based in Shandong Province and will manufacture large all-steel radial truck tyres for the domestic market and other export markets in South East Asia. Pirelli sees its latest move confirming its strategy in China, the world’s fastest growing market for road transportation. Negotiations with RoadOne Tyre began after some of the conditions stated in the company’s Letter of Intents with Aeolus Tyre (2004) could not be met.
CITEXPO, the largest tyre exhibition in China is publicising its change of venue. The exhibition venue has moved from Shanghai East Asia Exhibition Center to a much bigger venue – Shanghai Everbright Exhibition Center. The exhibition’s organisers say that show aims to bridge the gaps between the soaring tyre industry in China and companies from overseas. After being launched in 2003 the second CITEXPO attracted over 100 exhibitors and 5000 visitors from a range of tyre industry roles including manufacturers, buyers, distributors, wholesalers, direct retail and manufacturing purchasers. This year, CITEXPO will be held from 14 – 16 December 2005.
(Akron/Tire Review) Workers at Cooper Tire & Rubber’s Texarkana, Arkansas, tyre plant remained on strike today, as talks between the tyre maker and United Steelworkers of America (USWA) negotiators are said to be continuing. USWA represented employees walked off the job 12 March when their contract with Cooper, which had been extended from an earlier 6 March deadline, finally expired.
(Brisbane/ATD) Just when markets around the world are complaining of being over crowded with suppliers, some companies are arriving on the scene with a difference approach. In Australia, King Wheels PTY Ltd is one such company.
Performance Fibers will build a second polyester fibre and fabric plant in Kaiping, China, to meet demand from the country’s growing automotive market. The new plant will double the company’s dimensionally stable polyester capacity in China, where it is the industry leader. This is the company’s second expansion at the Kaiping facility in two years, having doubled capacity of the original plant with the addition of new production lines in early 2005.
The Trelleborg Group has inaugurated its newly constructed Chinese plant Wuxi , part of expansive Shanghai region. The Wuxi plant, which has approximately 300 employees, will produce antivibration systems and other vehicle components. The plant replaces an earlier Trelleborg facility in Wuxi and represents a doubling of production capacity. According to a company statement, the new facility has a total area of nearly 20,000 square metres and has been designed according to strictest environmental considerations. Trelleborg Automotive has also recently opened a technical centre in Shanghai.
“This is another stage in strengthening our leading position in China,” says George Caplea, president of the Trelleborg Automotive business area. “We now have a best-in-class facility with enough capacity to meet growing demand, while we are also able to offer very favourable technical-development capacity, benefiting both domestic and international customers.”
A report in the Korea Herald says that Kumho Tire Co expects to complete expansion at its tyre plant in Nanjing, China, in mid-April rather than at the end of 2005 as was previously thought. Originally the company had planned to quadruple production to 12.6 million units, the early conclusion of its plans could suggest that it has reduced this target. In addition, Kumho plans to break ground for a new $184 million tyre plant in Tianjin, China, its second in that city. Plans call for that plant to be on stream in 2007, Tire Review reports
This year the General brand is celebrating its 90th anniversary, while Toyo Tire & Rubber Co will enjoy its 60th birthday this summer. At the same time Yokohama Tire Corp is celebrating its 35th year of doing business in North America. 2005 must be the Year of the Tyre Company, writes Tire Review.
Goodyear has announced the appointment of John Tseng as chairman and president, Goodyear Greater China. Tseng previously served as corporate vice president and general manager digital and film imaging systems for Eastman Kodak’s North Asia operations.
WQOW-TV, a Wisconsin, US, news station has reported on how some American dealers are stockpiling tyres, Tire Review has reported. According to the report, which aired on 7 March, “retailers are treading on thin rubber. There is a shortage of tyres, especially large ones used for construction equipment and semi-trucks. Manufacturers say they haven’t seen demand this high since 1999. Many tyres are being shipped to Iraq and Afghanistan for building projects and China is using more on mining equipment.”
Continental AG has retreated from its memorandum of understanding with China’s Qingdao Doublestar, Bloomberg has reported. A Continental spokesperson told Tyres & Accessories that the decision was made recently when the company realised it would not be able to gain a majority share in the Chinese joint venture. Because the decision was taken at this early stage, no money has been lost, the representative said.
Gummiwerk Kraiburg is continuing to develop its international market position. This is why the Austrian corporation will invest in a new rubber mixing facility in China which will be built without any local partners. From 2006 onwards the company will produce “rubber for non-tyre applications,” Thorsten Schmidt, vice president Gummiwerk Kraiburg Austria, explains. The greenfield project will cost about 6 million euros and the new company will be a 100 per cent Kraiburg subsidiary. Now that Kraiburg has acquired the necessary real estate in the Shanghai area, construction work is about to begin.
Duro brand tyre maker Hwa Fong Rubber Industrial has received an order from Sumitomo Rubber for 750,000 ATV tyres annually, according to reports out of Taiwan. Hwa Fong Rubber Industrial’s plant in Thailand will reportedly produce the tyres, writes Tire Review.
Hwa Fong Chairman Steven Chang said the order is a “major achievement” for the company’s ATV tyre business. Deliveries are set to begin in April. Chang said the order is so large that Hwa Fong is investing $13 million to $16 million to add capacity at the Thailand plant.
A new research report by the Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association (MEMA) suggests that government intervention in the US steel market has caused a cost crisis that is hurting automotive and heavy-duty suppliers across the country, reports Tire Review. The MEMA report says that the result has been “unprecedented bankruptcies and job losses.”
The MEMA study, available online at www.mema.org, was written by economists Brian Becker and Kevin Hassett. The pair found that the steel crisis “triggered distortions in the steel market that have contributed to decreased availability, poorer quality and delayed deliveries of steel,” according to MEMA.
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