The German town of Bad Kreuznach reports Michelin’s acquisition of a 70,000 square metre land plot alongside its facility there, an area that will be used to expand the plant. The land is part of the ‘Marshall Kaserne’ site, a former US Army barracks in the Rhineland-Palatinate that closed in 2001.
Despite other whole market figures saying the UK annual passenger car tyre replacement demand fell back during 2014 (Gfk) or was stable (Continental), Maxxis reports that the last 12 months actually represented examples of “good growth”. While not exclusively for this reason, this is likely to be a result of the company’s successful growth of its fitting network – not to mention increases in OE sales and product development and strategic sponsorship.
Fabio Fossen has been appointed president of Bridgestone Brazil, succeeding Ariel Depascuali, who is retiring after more than 15 years with the company. Fossen comes to Bridgestone from Coca Cola Femsa, and his main role will be to lead Bridgestone’s expansion and modernisation in Brazil.
Tyre major MRF Ltd is reportedly increasing tyre production capacity at its eight manufacturing facilities across the country as part of its capital expenditure plan. “The company, in line with its long term strategy, proposes to increase capacities across all its existing factories,” MRF said in its reply to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). According […]
Leading Italian brake brand, Brembo, has announced plans to invest 32 million euros in an aluminium brake caliper manufacturing facility in Escobedo, Nuevo Leon, just outside of Monterrey, Mexico. According to the company, the plant will include a new aluminium foundry and machining facility capable of producing two million calipers per year destined for the company’s customers in the NAFTA region. The foundry will have a melting capacity of 14,000 tons. The facility will cover 31,500 square metres and when fully operational is expected to generate an annual turnover of 100 million euros. The plant is expected to commence initial production in 2016 and be fully operational by the end of 2018.
Kiswire, Inc. is continuing the expansion of its South Carolina, USA tyre cored factory with the investment of $30 million, a figure which is to expected to create 45 new jobs. Once the expansion is completed, Kiswire, Inc. will employ approximately 200 at its two Newberry, South Carolina facilities. The latest move represents the second […]
When Blackcircles.com appointed two new directors in early November, it was about more than simply expanding the range of experience available to the firm. It was also about driving the company’s international expansion plans forward. Tyres & Accessories recently caught up with founder and managing director Mike Welch in Edinburgh and found out more about […]
A group of “leading rubber processors from China” are set to visit Thailand, Indonesia and Myanmar to survey sites to establish rubber plants in the next week or so. Thailand’s The Nation reports that about 10 rubber processors from Shandong province and representatives from the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade are scheduled to visit Indonesia, Myanmar (Burma) and Thailand between 19 and 25 November.
The group reportedly consists of around 50 representatives from both companies and government agencies. It will reach Thailand on 23 November where it will stay for two to three days with a view to considering “opportunities to invest in the South and Northeast, the country’s major rubber tree growing areas”.
With Cooper, Mitas and most recently Michelin all upping production capacity in Serbia, you can understand the Serbs have invested in communicating the benefits of locating tyre production in the area during the course of 2014. But that’s not all. They have also invested in travelling all the way to Grungrao, Shandong provice, China in order to court the attentions of up-and-coming Chinese tyre manufacturers too.
Shares of Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. fell 1.9 per cent on 7 November following news that the company’s earnings in the third quarter of 2014 increased to 77 cents from breakeven earnings in the prior-year quarter. The latter figure is significant because it exceeded certain analysts’ estimates. For example the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 72 cents was some five cents below the actual results.
A little more than a year after the inauguration of its new plant in Rosario (Santa Fe province), Marangoni Argentina has further expanded its operations with the installation of a fifth 4-metre press for Unitread and Precauch flat pre-cure retread strips, plus two other presses for the production of Ringtreads. The presses will commence operation shortly.
Multiple Indian news sources are reporting that Taiwanese tyre maker Cheng Shin/Maxxis is planning to invest in an Indian factory. According to one Business Standard report, group president Dr. Wally Chen called upon Gujarat chief minister Anandiben Patel on 15 October.
With recent upgrades complete, Michelin gave Tyres & Accessories a tour of its fully-automated Remix retread remanufacturing plant in Stoke-on-Trent.
Foot for foot, Michelin’s Campbell Road, Stoke-on-Trent Remix plant is one of the smallest in the Michelin group, but it is arguably also the amongst most modern and most flexible and most productive. Built at the height of Michelin’s industrial activities in Stoke, the Remix site was originally a manufacturing plant for new truck tyres. In 1968 Remix capabilities were developed and in 2000, the French tyre maker’s Encore process was added. Nowadays the Stoke location is Michelin’s UK headquarters and is therefore home to hundreds of executive, sales, marketing and administration-based employees. Across the road from the offices, over 350 are directly involved in the manufacturing process. New tyre production left decades ago, but Stoke is still a bustling centre of market leading retreading activity.
A 20,000 tonne expansion to Evonik Corporation’s precipitated silica plant in Chester, Pennsylvania officially opened on 9 September, and has boosted the company’s global capacity for precipitated and fumed silica and matting agents to around 550,000 tonnes per annum.
The European Commission has approved the proposed acquisition of the steel tyre cord business of the Italian company Pirelli by its Belgian-based rival NV Bekaert SA under the EU Merger Regulation. According to an official statement dated 31 July, the commission concluded that the acquisition “would not raise competition concerns as the merged entity’s customers, which are large, multinational tyre companies, have countervailing buyer power which is further strengthened by over-capacity in the steel tyre cord market.”
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