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.
The 13th edition of Automechanika Shanghai opens its doors on 29 November 2017. This year exhibition space has increased by 9 per cent to 340,000 square metres, and for the first time ever will cover 15 halls of the National Exhibition and Convention Center in Shanghai.
Trelleborg describes its receipt of the ‘Best Contribution’ award at last month’s 2017 AGCO China Supplier Day held in Changzhou, Jiangsu province, as a “great honour.”
Further growth in China is on the cards for Hankook Tire following an expansion of a retail agreement with China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation, or Sinopec. Earlier this year, it entered into an agreement to supply truck and bus radials to Sinopec garage retail centres in seven of China’s 32 provinces, and adjusted production at one of the three Hankook tyre plants in China to accommodate expected demand. Yonhap News Agency reports this arrangement has now been extended to a further eight provinces.
Michelin has announced the sale of its 40 per cent equity in Double Coin (Anhui) Warrior Tire Co. Ltd. Specifically, as the tyre maker reported today, Huayi Group (Hong Kong) Co., Ltd. will purchase 30 per cent of the equity in the business held by Compagnie Financière Michelin SCmA, and Double Coin Tire Group Co., Ltd. will purchase the remaining ten per cent of the equity, currently held by Michelin (China) Investment Co. Ltd.
Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd. has reported net sales of 466.79 billion yen in the first ninth months of 2017 – a new record for this period. Of this figure, 333.13 billion yen was generate by sales of tyres (excluding Alliance Tyre Group operations, which are included in the firm’s accounts following the business’ acquisition in September 2016). Therefore, profit attributable to owners of parent increased 96.4 per cent over the same period of the previous year, to 16.7 billion yen, on a 39.7 per cent increase in operating income, to 26.4 billion yen.
Fontijne Holland celebrated the relaunch of its wheel production lines business unit on Monday 6 November 2017. The reception was held in the charming courtyard garden of the company’s premises in Vlaardingen, with towering indigenous plants and ponds filled with graceful koi.
In 2012 the EU introduced plans to support consumers with better information about a tyre’s noise, wet-braking and rolling resistance performance. Since then, Japanese, South Korean and US variants have been either mooted or implemented. However, the world’s largest tyre market (China), is also close to releasing its own labelling system – or should that be systems? Tyres & Accessories saw two labelling variants during the recent Tire+ exhibition in Shanghai and discussed the subject with a number of firms exhibiting there.
At the end of April Tyres & Accessories reported that Guizhou Tyre Co. Ltd. announced plans to build a truck tyre factory in Vietnam. Back then, reports suggest the company would invest RMB 1.67 billion (£189.3 million) in the project for a plant capable of manufacturing 1.2 million all-steel radials per annum. The intention was to set up the factory in the Long Jiang Industrial Park, some 30 miles from Ho Chi Minh City where a 20-hectare site had been selected. During the recent Tire+ exhibition in Shanghai, Tyres & Accessories sat down with Guizhou’s general manager of the export division, Jie You, and found out more about the company and its plans.
The 15th edition of the China International Tire Expo (CITExpo), and its second at the Shanghai World Expo Exhibition & Convention Center, opened its two-hall, 40,000sqm exhibition space at a time of uncertainty for the Chinese tyre industry – especially the aspirational medium and small sized companies the show tends to attract as exhibitors. Two factors that promise to change the shape of the industry provided a backdrop for the show: in Europe, the European Commission announced its intention to initiate an anti-dumping proceeding focusing on imports of truck and bus tyres originating in the People’s Republic, prompted by the “coalition against unfair tyres imports,” a group representing the interests of manufacturers accounting for more than 45 per cent of all new and retreaded truck and bus tyre production in the European Union. Meanwhile in China, the government’s crackdown on certain factories for environmental reasons looks likely to affect some tyre manufacturers’ pricing structure at best, and ability to continue to operate at worst. Tyres & Accessories spoke to one representative who suggested that some factories could struggle to meet demands as the availability of raw materials for tyre production is affected by the state mandated closures.
Continuing the theme of technological development, Linglong Tire – a top five Chinese tyre enterprise – exhibited a number of technological developments including its: a dandelion natural rubber-based tyre, a tyre featuring a graphene compound and a polyurethane tyre manufactured with 3D printing techniques.
No I am not talking about the unqualifiable rumours that Doublestar made an offer of up to 250 million euros for Zenises. Rather, that in the first week of September we learnt that Doublestar’s proposed acquisition of Kumho was collapsing before the firm’s eyes after the Qingdao-Chinese tyre manufacturer asked for a double-digit discount. And it is also worth considering what all this means for the wider tyre manufacturing sector.
The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd. is once again supplying specialist racing tyres to the Macau Grand Prix. The 64th Macau Grand Prix to be held in Macau (China) 16-19 November 2017. Yokohama Rubber supplied tyres for this event for 33 straight years until 2015. This year marks the 34th time the Company will support the Macau Grand Prix. Yokohama tyres will be the control tyre for the event’s main race, the FIA F3 World Cup, and for the FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) race. In addition, they will be the tyre of choice for many cars competing in the event’s support races.
With one industry insider calling ChemChina’s acquisition of Pirelli “a genius move”, it would have been remiss of us not to take the opportunity to spend time with new Aeolus general manager Giovanni Pomati and find out more about how the changes affect the best-known ChemChina brand (Aeolus) and the company’s views on the latest changes in the Chinese marketplace during Tyres & Accessories recent visit to China.
Taiwan-based tyre manufacturer Kenda has purchased Starco Europe. Announced on 2 October, the move is described by Kenda as “a good cultural, organizational and strategic fit” for which both companies see “significant long-term opportunities”. Kenda has been a Starco supplier since 1982. Over the last 12 months a series of meetings determined a clear willingness from both Kenda and Starco to take the partnership to another level. Starco does not plan any organizational changes or redundancies related to the acquisition.
Apollo Tyres has denied reports published in India’s Economic Times suggesting that it is about to enter the race to acquire Kumho Tire. An Apollo spokesperson told Tyres & Accessories: “Apollo Tyres strongly denies the story headlined ‘Apollo Back in Kumho Race as Geopolitics Sours China Deal’ that appeared in the print edition of The Economic Times on 2 October, 2017.
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