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Does ATC Have Government Backing?

American Tire Corp., with only a single sales office in Chino, Calif., now claims to have the support of the U.S. government. In a recent news release claiming it had successfully completed testing its Colorado 63-inch radial OTR in a “tropical area in Africa,” ATC claimed to be a “U.S. government-supported OTR tyre manufacturer.”

The company offered no explanation as to what support it allegedly is receiving from the government. ATC had not used that language in any of its releases until recently. Even though ATC currently has no actual production facilities in the U.S., ATC continues to claim it is one of “four U.S. major OTR tire manufacturers.” (Tire Review/Akron)

26th August 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

RAC Holds Recycling Conference

The Rubber Association of Canada is hosting the biennial Rubber Recycling Symposium, with the help of host sponsor Tire Stewardship British Columbia and the Rubber Manufacturers Association. The event will be held in Vancouver, B.C., on Oct. 29-31 at the Four Seasons’ Hotel.

The Rubber Recycling program was developed for recycling entrepreneurs, as well as those from the government, academia, industry consultants, environmentalists and rubber product manufacturers. For more information, visit www.rubberrecycling.ca. (Tire Review/Akron)

22nd August 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

26 More Hungarian Municipalities ‘Interested’ in Apollo Tyre Factory

The Hungarian Ministry of Economy and National Development has announced that a total twenty-seven Hungarian municipalities have signed a letter of intent to become the new site for Apollo Tyres’ new 200 million tyre factory. The announcement follows earlier reports that the Hungarian region of Polgar was interested in hosting the factory.

According to the Hungarian government, the joint declaration was signed by the municipalities of Ajka, Bábolna, Érd, Hatvan, Heves, Isaszeg, Jászberény, Kalocsa, Kapuvár, Kazincbarcika, Kiskunfélegyháza, Komló, Maklár, Marcali, Mezőkövesd, Mezőtúr, Miskolc, Mosonmagyaróvár, Nagyatád, Nagykanizsa, Polgár, Szeged, Szentes, Sziksza, Szolnok, Zagyvarékas and Záhony.

19th August 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

If Only They Had Run-Flats

Nothing’s stranger than the truth…or so the saying goes. But would you believe that a flat tyre could have led to recent war between Georgia and Russia? According to The Telegraph, a flat tyre on a Russian diplomatic car did exactly that. When the diplomat the car in question was supposed to be carrying failed to arrive at peace talks in South Ossetia the day before fighting broke, it seems the two states passed the point of no return. Refusing to take his excuse at face value, the Georgian government feared the worst and began the pre-emptive shelling that “invited” the subsequent Russian invasion.

18th August 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Aiming for Zero

OHSAS 18001 is the internationally recognised assessment specification for occupational health and safety management systems developed by leading trade bodies, international standards and certification bodies. The specification enables organisations to establish an occupational health and safety management system and improve performance through eliminating or minimising risk to employees. One tyre industry company that has recently obtained the globally acknowledged OHSAS 18001 for Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems certification is Malaysian retreading compound and materials supplier Goodway Rubber Industries.

15th August 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Car Scrappage Scheme ‘Simplistic’

Recommendations from the House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee for a government–funded car scrappage scheme have been criticised by the Automotive Distribution Federation (ADF). “There is a blinkered attitude towards environmental issues which propels people towards simplistic ‘headline’ solutions, rather than small simple steps which, in combination, can have a significant impact,” says ADF chief executive Brian Spratt.

Spratt contends that tighter environmental inspections in MoT tests, which in turn would lead to better servicing of vehicles, along with programmes of driver behaviour training aimed at reducing pollution and improving fuel economy would be preferable. “Even a simple thing such as the correct tyre pressures,” he says, “will add to the positive impact and, cumulatively, outweigh the environmental costs of producing new vehicles. These straightforward measures will be a greater benefit to motorists who, despite any scrappage incentive, will still find it impossible to fund the purchase of a newer car.”

15th August 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Amidst Rumors, Double Coin Chairman Ousted

Fan Xian has been replaced as chairman of Double Coin Holdings, one of China’s largest tyremakers and parent of China Manufacturers Alliance in the US. There have been a number of unconfirmed reports out of China that Fan had been “detained” and is under investigation by the government for unspecified reasons.

Liu Xunfeng was appointed to replace Fan, effective August 6, by the Shanghai Huayi Group, a government body that owns a 60 per cent share of Double Coin Holdings. Fan also served as vice president of Shanghai Huayi Group, and was replaced in that capacity, as well. Yue Chun Chen, general manager of Double Coin and president of its Shanghai radial truck tyre plant, will continue to manage the day-to-day affairs of the company and its global tire subsidiaries.

14th August 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Pirelli JV Factory to Supply AvtoVAZ

The announced joint venture tyre plant to be established by Pirelli and Russian Technologies will have an initial capacity of 4.2 million tyres, states Pirelli – and sources indicate that a large chunk of production will be supplied to Russian carmaker AvtoVAZ. The facility, to be built in a new industrial estate in northwest Togliatti, in Russia’s Samara region, will be located near the giant AvtoVAZ factory, which is majority controlled by Russian Technologies. The regional government plans to make the industrial estate a special economic zone, in which investors are granted tax concessions.

7th August 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

NTDA and RAC Foundation Warn of Tyre Ageing Dangers

According to the RAC Foundation, up to 3 million UK motorists could be at risk by not checking the age and condition of their tyres. The motoring organisation made a point of publicising this on 31 July to coincide with the launch of the eight-week tyre safety campaign it is running in conjunction with the NTDA, urging drivers of low-mileage vehicles to have their tyres inspected. The coordinated awareness-raising campaign includes national and local radio and press coverage, coupled with free safety checks at 2700 NTDA member sites.

When the NTDA announced it was planning this summer’s tyre ageing campaign back in April, it came as a surprise to many. However, in an interview with association chairman Peter Gaster, Tyres & Accessories learnt that initial plans for the awareness raising effort actually began more than four years ago.

7th August 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

India’s ATMA Repeats Demand for Duty Free NR Imports

With India’s tyre industry potentially facing a severe shortage of natural rubber, the Automotive Tyre Manufacturers’ Association (ATMA) has repeated its demand for the immediate duty-free importation of 100,000 tonnes of natural rubber.

The industry, which consumes 57 per cent of India’s domestically produced natural rubber, is said to be in the midst of its worst ever raw material availability crisis. The Hindu Business Line quotes ATMA director general Rajiv Budhraja as saying during the final days of July 2008 the availability of sheet rubber to the tyre industry has been ‘woefully inadequate’. Mr. Budhraja added that, as domestic natural rubber prices are even higher than those on the international market, the commodity now accounts for 41 per cent of the tyre industry’s raw material costs.

31st July 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Hungary Production Will Not Begin Before 2010 – Apollo

Apollo Tyres is said to be experiencing delays acquiring land and gaining regulatory clearance for the tyre manufacturing facility it is building in Hungary. Because of this, production is now expected to commence later than the originally anticipated June 2009 start date.

“The government regulatory process is still ongoing. What we had expected to get done now has been delayed by about a quarter or so,” Kankana Das told the Reuters news service. Apollo now hopes to acquire the site land by December and begin construction work next March or April. Therefore, it appears that production will begin in June 2010 at the earliest.

31st July 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Dunlop Zimbabwe Voices its Commitment to the Home Market

Zimbabwe’s sole domestic tyre manufacturer, Dunlop Zimbabwe, states it remains committed to continuing local operations. The company, now 100 per cent owned by Apollo Tyres, has maintained a presence in the country for 45 years, and its CEO, Mr. Kennedy Mandevani, states it will be guided by “business rationale” and won’t close up shop in Zimbabwe for political reasons.

The Zimbabwe government owned Herald newspaper quotes Dunlop Zimbabwe as saying it will “not join the multinational companies’ crusade against doing business in Zimbabwe.” An article published on July 28 specifically points to UK and US influenced multinational companies, including Tesco and Barclays, as pressuring local subsidiaries to cease operating.

28th July 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Calls for Winter Tyre Restrictions in New Zealand Renewed

Pressure is mounting in New Zealand for the government to legislate against the importation of used cold weather tyres. These tyres, known as snow tyres in New Zealand, are regularly entering the country fitted to used vehicles imported from Japan – the most common source of second hand cars in this country – or loose in containers. While the tread depth on these tyres exceeds the 1.5mm minimum required in New Zealand, they are often fitted to vehicles also fitted with summer tyres and used in conditions they were not intended for. The inappropriate use of these tyres has been linked to several fatal accidents.

28th July 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Court Rule Against Tiremakers in Data Reporting Suit

The U.S. Court of Appeals rejected an RMA argument concerning public access to early warning data tiremakers are required to supply the government under terms of the TREAD Act.

The court, in a case involving Public Citizen, said the “plain language” of the TREAD Act precluded attempts to keep private certain early warning data. Tiremakers are required to provide NHTSA with a wide range of information they collect on accidents resulting in deaths, injuries or property damage. However, they claimed, through the RMA, that such information should not be released publicly as it is often incomplete and could be misinterpreted. (Tire Review/Akron)

24th July 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Indian Tyremakers Face Shortage as NR Supplies Decline

Tyre manufacturers and other users of natural rubber in India may face a supply bottleneck due to the country’s declining natural rubber replantation rate during the past four years. According to a report in India’s The Economic Times newspaper, the rising price of natural rubber has created a reluctance amongst rubber growers to re-plant; trees cannot be tapped for rubber during their first seven years of life, so farmers are avoiding replantation where possible and are continuing to tap older trees. Although this provides greater funds at present, a question mark hangs over future supply as both the quantity and quality of latex produced by older trees is inferior to that of younger trees.

23rd July 2008/by Tyrepress Editors