Alongside its decision to build a tyre plant in Charles City, Iowa, CGS Tires US Inc., the US subsidiary of Czech-based CGS Tyres, has changed its corporate name to Mitas Tires North America Inc, reports Tire Review. When the new plant is ready, the renamed company will relocate its US headquarters from Charlotte, North Carolina, to Charles City, Iowa.
While Michelin North America officially says it has not committed to expanding its Woodburn, Indiana tyre plant, behind the scenes it has secured tax breaks to make that investment happen, reports Tire Review. The Allen County Council unanimously supported tax breaks, voting last week to provide incentives worth between $50 million to $75 million to the tyre-maker.
A US$9 million upgrade at Cooper Tire & Rubber’s Tupelo, Mississippi passenger car and truck tyre plant will, according to plant manager Patrick Jodon, make the facility “stronger, more flexible and more competitive.” Jodon explained that the Tupelo plant will receive new equipment that will aid in improving its efficiency; this new equipment will be installed within the next 12 to 14 months. The upgrade is expected to add 35 new jobs to the plant’s 1,300 strong workforce.
Expansion work at JK Tyre & Industries’ facility in the city of Mysore and its new project near Chennai will be completed this year and are expected to help the company secure more than 20 per cent of India’s tyre market. Speaking to the Hindu Business Line newspaper, company marketing director A.S. Mehta said the two projects would help the company attain a higher market share through raising the Mysore plant’s capacity from 800,000 to a million tyres a year and from the 400,000 tyres a year expected to be coming out of the new Chennai plant by the end of 2011.
Recent restructuring at Heuver Tyrewholesale has given the company’s agricultural division a more prominent role, and Heuver reports its intention to strengthen agricultural tyre export activities, in particular the export of its brands to Germany, Belgium and France. The Dutch wholesaler says it “expects a great deal” from this.
During the month of January Michelin is bringing two new motorcycle tyres designed for road use to market. Spearheading this portfolio expansion is the eagerly awaited Pilot Road 3 for sport touring bikes. Michelin states this new product has been designed to deliver superior grip in all conditions of use – whether on wet or damp – as well as offer outstanding total mileage. The tyre, the manufacturer adds, reflects Michelin’s across-the-board R&D strategy of improving individual tyre performance characteristics without sacrificing others. In this instance, engineers at the Michelin Technology Center “developed X Sipe Technology” (XST), which integrates dual-action sipes into the tread. How this works, Michelin explains, is that the sipe ribs first cut through the surface of the water, which is then evacuated faster and more effectively toward the outside of the tyre through wide grooves.
India’s Apollo Tyres has begun commercial vehicle tyre exports to neighbouring Bangladesh. Initial sales will focus on cross-ply tyres for heavy and light commercial vehicles and these products will be distributed through the Rahimafrooz Group, Bangladesh’s largest manufacturer and distributor of automotive and industrial batteries.
Dunlop Aircraft Tyres is the world’s only specialist aircraft tyre company, and in 2010 the firm celebrated a century in the business. After a hundred years the Birmingham-based manufacturer is still going strong and recently announced further additions to its research, quality and production teams.
Half a year after opening his HiQ outlet in Dorking, former British Touring Car Championship driver Jeff Allam has signed on the dotted line to open a second franchise centre. The fast fit network reports Allam is opening a centre in Leatherhead following a “productive six months” in partnership with HiQ. The ex-BTCC driver was the first UK dealer to secure a partnership with HiQ and his expansion is seen as a big show of strength for the network.
Trelleborg has signed an agreement for the acquisition of the UK’s Watts Tyre Group through its Trelleborg Wheel Systems business area, an action the Swedish company believes will strengthen its industrial tyre segment position through geographic expansion and an increased presence in the aftermarket. Watts has annual sales of approximately £27.4 million and about 230 employees. The purchase consideration amounts to approximately £21 million.
A foundation laying ceremony for Michelin’s new Shenyang factory in Liaoning Province, China was held on November 21, marking the official start of work on the Michelin Shenyang Tire expansion project. When the US$1.457 billion expansion is complete the factory will hold the capacity to produce ten million passenger and light commercial vehicle tyres per annum plus 1.8 million truck tyres and 295,000 retreaded truck tyres.
During the first six months of its current financial year, India produced some 28 per cent more tyres than a year earlier. Data from national industry organisation the Automotive Tyre Manufacturers’ Association (produced using information supplied by its eight member companies, who account for around 90 per cent of the country’s tyre production) states that 9.53 million tyres rolled out of ATMA member factories in India between April 1 and September 30 this year; in the same months of 2009 just 7.44 million tyres were produced. According to ATMA, production increased across all tyre market segments, the largest expansion being seen in the motor scooter segment, where production grew 67 per cent year-on-year. Passenger car tyre production in India increased 41 per cent to 2.09 million, while light commercial vehicle and truck/bus tyre production grew two and five per cent respectively. A total of 1.27 million truck/bus tyres were produced in the April to September period.
North Eastern Tyre and Exhausts has set aside £2 million for a two-year growth strategy centring on its wholesale division. As a first phase of this strategy the company has acquired a 69,000 square foot warehouse in Stockton for its NE Wholesale Operation. The storage site relies on 1400 stillages and three forklift trucks to manage its stock base of 100,000 of tyres, and next on the company’s agenda is to invest in state of the art automated technologies which will enable faster picking and stock optimisation.
As Tyres & Accessories' November issue went to press President Barrack Obama and David Cameron were out banging the drum for American and British business in India and China respectively. 24 hours after Obama set foot in the subcontinent, the Sunday Telegraph's resident cartoonist was portraying the leaders of two of the richest countries in the western world as beggers seeking scraps from two so-called “emerging markets.”
The plans of international tyre buying and marketing cooperative Point S to fill in the gaps in its European market map with a UK operation are reported to be “ahead of schedule.” In less than a year since membership talks began and just four months after the news of Point S (UK) Ltd formation was announced, the company’s plans for the establishment of one of the largest retail networks in Britain are said to be running so well that they could meet next year’s target before the end of 2010.
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