Associated Press has brought details of plans afoot by Washington Tire Corporation to erect an 18-building factory for the production of off-road, truck and passenger car tyres. The company, who in past times was known as American Tire Corporation, will apparently commence work on this Ephrata, Washington State project in April 2010.
The production of Dunlop brand tyres in India has recommenced, and according to parent company the Ruia Group, the brand expected to generate revenues of Rs 6 billion (£80.6 million) by the next financial year. Before the two facilities ceased operations in 2008 Dunlop India turnover stood at Rs 900 million (£12.1 million).
Irans’s Industrial Development and Renovation Organization (IDRO) has reportedly earmarked $440 million dollars for the construction of a tyre factory in the country’s western Kordestan province. According to a report in the Tehran Times, the goal ultimate goal is for Iran to become self-sufficient in terms of tyre production.
At the beginning of November, the Fraunhofer Institute for Factory Operation and Automation, IFF, Magdeburg in Germany and the Ascona Company, Meckenbeuren, invited leading wheel industry representative to the launch of a new touchless alloy wheel measuring machine. What’s different about the new equipment it that the new 3D laser wheel measuring machine makes possible for the first time the contactless measuring of light metal wheels directly in the production sequence.
Starting on December 16, 2009, Volkswagen’s sports-oriented ‘R-Line’ version of its Passat CC is leaving the factory fitted with tyres featuring Continental’s ‘ContiSeal’ technology. The size 235/45 R 17 and 235/40 R 18 self-sealing ContiSportContact 3 tyres featured on the Passat R-Line are capable of closing off punctures up to five millimetres in diameter, and thus Conti believes around 85 per cent of all tyre failures can be resolved through this technology.
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The reaching of a million man-hours without a recorded ‘losttime’ accident has been described as a “major safety milestone” for the Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations (BATO) tyre factory in Wilson, North Carolina. The Wilson plant, which produces passenger car and light truck tyres and has a staff of more than 1,800, is the eighth Bridgestone Americas facility to reach this milestone in 2009, making it a record year for the company.
According to Yokohama Rubber, its Yokohama Tire Manufacturing (Thailand) passenger car and truck and bus tyre facility has achieved “zero emissions”; in other words, less than one per cent of its total waste volume is now subject to direct landfill disposal. In order to confirm this result the Japanese company conducted on-site investigations of all contractors commissioned to dispose of waste from the plant.
Efforts to reduce pollution have earned the Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations (BATO) factory in Aiken County, South Carolina an award from the state’s Department of Health and Environmental Control. The “Spare the Air” award for positive environmental impact was given in recognition of staff activities, such as carpooling, the use of motorcycles or hybrid vehicles and volunteering an community environmental events, along with plant innovations such as the utilisation of volatile organic compound reducing cementless ‘Innovative Tire Building Technology’ and the use of emission-free hydrogen powered forklifts.
After standing idle for more than a year, on December 2 Dunlop India’s Sahaganj factory in West Bengal resumed production. The facility had been closed since November 2008 and been the subject of first a lockout and then electricity connection issues, yet preliminary work to resume production has now began in preparation for an initial production of 40 tonnes of OTR tyres per day.
According to Mumbai based private equity advisory and investment banking services provider Firstcall India, the top and bottom line at Apollo Tyres is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 15 per cent and 29 per cent in the financial years from 2008 to 2011. This is one of the reasons Firstcall is currently recommending a ‘buy’ on Apollo shares, with a price target of Rs 64 (£0.83) as against the November 25 market price of Rs 52.05.
Indian news sources are reporting that Dunlop India is to resume production at its plant in Sahaganj from 2 December. A company press release stated that workers have been informed via a notice hung at the factory’s entrance. Its reopening had been delayed at first by the West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company following its first suspension on 30 November, 2008. Electricity supply to the factory was delayed by deliberations over credit terms. Power was restored on 9 November following the acquisition of a bank guarantee. The plant’s medium-term closure was precipitated by the refusal of a number of workers to accept a temporary shutdown.
Britannia Tyres, part of Bridgestone’s First Stop tyre service network, has refurbished the reception of its Coventry Centre. Following significant investment, the company says that the reception area gives customers a modern, comfortable environment. The group’s Nuneaton, Hinckley and Derby centres have just taken the top three places in First Stop’s Elite Business Development Programme, designed to help First Stop dealers deliver the highest possible levels of service. Centres are rated by mystery shoppers, monthly mystery phone calls and a detailed audit from a Business Development Manager.
The Goodyear Dunlop factory in the US town of Tonawanda (New York State) is anticipating an increased workload following the closure of the company’s Spartanburg, South Carolina plant. According to Goodyear, a portion of the work now carried out in Spartanburg will be transferred to Tonawanda following the South Carolina facility’s closure at the end of the year, however Tonawanda plant spokeswoman Diane Zwirecki said specific details, including whether the factory will benefit from an expanded workforce, are still being finalised.
Dunlop India’s Sahagunj factory may actually resume production following a settlement over electricity payments between the Ruia Group company and the West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company. Ruia Group management has agreed to provide a bank guarantee to the power supply, who in return will resume supply. Should Dunlop India be able to successfully follow through with the funds, approximately 900 workers will return to their jobs a month after production at the company’s Ambattur factory recommenced.
Apollo Tyres’ new Rs 20 billion (£257 million) facility in India’s Chennai state is expected to be operational from the start of December, and the company states the plant should attain a peak daily capacity of 14,000 tyres by the middle of next year. Of this total, commented the company on November 8, 8,000 will be passenger car radials and 6,000 truck and bus radials.
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