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RMA Makes Five Staff Promotions

(Akron/Tire Review) The Rubber Manufacturers Association made five staff promotions: Tracey Norberg was promoted to senior vice president of environment and resource recovery and deputy general counsel. Daniel Zielinski was promoted to senior vice president of public affairs. Michael Blumenthal was promoted to vice president of environment and resource recovery. Christian Gullott was promoted to vice president of state government affairs. Daniel Mustico was promoted to vice president of the Elastomer Products Group.

18th October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Michelin Poland Logistics Centre to Employ 1,000

A thousand new staff will be taken on by Michelin Poland when its logistics and production centre in Olsztyn, in the country’s northeast, is completed. The £180 million facility, being constructed on a 50,000 square metre site, will serve production in the domestic market, the rest of Europe and in North America.

Michelin’s growth in Poland has been made easier through the granting of a couple of concessions; the town of Olsztyn gave Michelin a 99-year lease on an 82 hectare site in early 2005, for which the tyremaker pays a sum of 100,000 zloty (£18,650) per month. That same year the Polish government implemented a number of tax rebates for the company and approved an aid package valued at around £11 million.

12th October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Recycled Tyres to Help Protect Olympic Horses

A product produced by Hong-Kong tyre recycling company Jets Technics products will be used in The Hong Kong Jockey Club Parade Ring in Shatin Racecourse. Jets Technics, beat overseas rivals to win a major contract for the equestrian events at the Beijing 2008 Olympics. The company also makes flooring and wall tiling products that will line the stables and a clinic at the Olympic equestrian venue in Hong Kong to protect the valuable horses taking part in the event.

Jets Technics has been developing green technology in various markets for the past 27 years and sees the contract as “a significant coup.”

“There will be a good number of valuable horses coming for the 2008 Olympic Equestrian Event,” said John So Chi-chun, Assistant Director of Jets Technics. “To protect the horses’ hooves from being hurt, special materials need to be used in the walls and floorings of stables and the equestrian hospital.

9th October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Ireland Introduces new Tyre Recycling Regulations

As of January 2008 greater responsibility for waste tyres will be placed upon tyre manufacturers, suppliers, traders and retailers in the Republic of Ireland. This increased accountability comes courtesy of a new piece of legislation, the Waste Management (Tyres and Waste Tyres) Regulations 2007, signed by Ireland’s Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, John Gormley, on October 4.

Approximately 3 million tyres make their way onto Ireland’s roads each year and an estimated 35,000 tonnes of waste tyres are generated annually. “It is time that we had a proper database on this waste stream and I believe the new system that my Department has agreed with the tyre industry will effectively address that deficiency,” commented Mr. Gormley. “These new regulations will now provide a proper regulatory framework for comparing quantities of waste tyres arising with the amounts placed on the market and for tracking the movement of waste tyres from the time they are discarded until they are either reused or processed for recycling.”

5th October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

FPS Supports Tyre Safety Month

The national tyre safety month campaign being arranged by TyreSafe for October, has received support from the Forecourt Division of the Federation of Petroleum Suppliers, formerly GarageWatch. The organisation represents the independent forecourt sector with some 6,400 forecourts throughout the UK.

26th September 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Pontiac GTO Tyre Defect Claim Rejected

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has ended an investigation into allegations of a safety defect on the Pontiac GTO, built by Holden. The alleged fault involved the clearance between the front tyres and the suspension components. NHTSA said it could not find a safety defect and was closing its investigation. However, according to a report in the Sydney Morning Herald, the investigator said it appeared there was a problem with the suspension settings on many cars.

Despite the US government closing the issue, General Motors still faces a class-action suit filed in California on behalf of owners of 2004 and 2005 model year GTOs, which the suit contends are prone to tyre failure due to the alleged suspension problem. The company denies any defect.

17th September 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

US-China to Sign Quick Recall Pact

(Akron/Tire Review) NHTSA and the Chinese government will sign an agreement Sept. 12 that will help speed the recall of defective auto parts. The “memorandum of cooperation” gives NHTSA a tool to speed recalls of Chinese-made goods. If the agreement had been in place this summer when concerns arose about the tires, “we would have felt much more comfortable reaching out to the Chinese government and asking for their assistance,” said Nicole Nason, NHTSA administrator.

11th September 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Indian Tyremakers at Odds with Rubber Board

Tensions between India’s tyre industry and the government run Rubber Board have recently been under strain and appear to be getting worse. Representatives from the tyre industry claim that a drop in natural rubber production of close to 50,000 tonnes since May stands to cost the industry Rs 20 billion (£242.6 million) annually, yet these concerns have been dismissed by the Rubber Board, who argue such dire predictions are no more than a ploy by the tyre companies in order to secure a reduction of import duties on rubber.

Chairman of the Rubber Board, Sajen Peter, states there are no grounds for the tyre manufacturers’ claims. “This year we had projected production to be 8.74 lakh (874,000) tonnes (and domestic consumption to be 8.53 lakh (853,000) tonnes,” he told India’s The Economic Times. “Availability is not a problem at all, even though the chickengunia disease has affected our tappers. Tyre companies have been pushing to reduce the import duty on rubber for a long time now and we are going to fight them till the very end.”

3rd September 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Police Nail ‘Tyre Repairmen’

(Akron/Tire Review) According to local media, enterprising Cambodian tyre repairmen were jailed after being arrested for spicing up their business by covering roads near their roadside repair stalls with nails.

Chamcarmon district police in the capital of Phnom Penh said they detained Khy Pros, 21, and So Mom, 26, both of whom made a living from fixing flat tyres on the roadside, on August 17.The arrests came after a senior government official’s car was stopped by a suspicious quantity of nails on the road.

Both men face charges of vandalism and disrupting public order by Phnom Penh Municipal Court and are now serving up to six months in Prey Sar jail awaiting trial, court officials said on Monday. If convicted, the pair face up to five years each in prison.

29th August 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Indian Tyremakers Lobby Govt to Certify Tyre Imports

In a move that echoes events taking place in the US, India’s government has listened to demands from local tyremakers to only permit ‘certified’ tyres to be imported into the country, and is now considering what measures it will introduce. Calls for legislation banning the importation of tyres not meeting this criterion have ostensibly been made in response to a number of vehicle accidents involving reportedly sub-standard Chinese made tyres, however it is also no secret that Chinese tyre imports are hurting the bottom line of Indian tyre manufacturers.

In June representatives of India’s Industrial Policy and Promotion department, Consumer Affairs department and Bureau of India Standards met with those from vehicle and tyre producers to discuss this issue and prepare a case to present to the government. A proposal to introduce a US$135 anti-dumping duty on imported tyres has also been submitted to the government.

23rd August 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

US Trade Agency Votes to Continue OTR Tyre Dumping Claims

The United States International Trade Commission has voted to further investigate the joint petition presented by Titan International and the United Steelworkers in the wake of accusations of foul play on the part of Chinese OTR tyre manufacturers and China’s government. The Commission voted 6 to 0 in favour of continuing the investigation into alleged dumping of OTR tyres onto the US market and illegal government subsidies.

According to the International Trade Commission, 18 per cent of all OTR tyres sold in the US during 2006 were sourced in China, a US$306 million chunk of the market. As this percentage is growing year on year both Titan and the union see China as a growing threat to both US based OTR tyre manufacturers and the almost 4,000 workers they employ, and have stated their opinion that imposing duties on Chinese OTR tyre imports is the only means by which the tide of cheap imports may be stemmed.

“We are very encouraged that the Commerce Department voted to proceed with the investigation, 6-0,” said Titan chairman and CEO Maurice M. Taylor Jr. “We still have a long way to go, but the important part of this whole process is determining what is fair and lawful. The American working men and women can be as competitive as anyone in the world, but when foreign governments subsidise and carry unlawful trade practices, then the US government must even the playing field.”

22nd August 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Conferences to Help Business with an Eye on Eastern Europe

It is no secret that Russia and Eastern Europe hold much potential for global automakers, and also for those in the tyre and related industries. However it is essential that overseas operators enter these markets with their eyes open, and sometimes businesses need all the help they can get to fully grasp the intricacies of doing business in an environment so different from their home market. Conferences and forums provide a valuable venue in which to obtain this much needed information.

The third annual AutoRussia conference, an international forum for companies participating in the automotive business in Russia or globally, is scheduled to take place on December 4 and 5 at the Astoria Hotel in St Petersburg. More than 300 senior representatives; leading figures in Russia’s automotive manufacturing sector, including leading OEM projects in the St Petersburg area, as well as senior representatives from auto OEMs and T1s around the world, will meet at the conference to discuss their current projects and future plans.

17th August 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Dunlop India to Retain Factory Land – For Now

Dunlop India’s battle to retain a legitimate claim to a piece of land at its factory in Ambattur, Chennai has been given a boost by a decision made by a district court in Chennai. The court has ordered that, for the time being, the land seized by real estate company VGN Enterprises should remain in the hands of the tyremaker.

The court official, Ponneri executive magistrate and revenue district officer, M.S. Sangeeta, said in an interim order that “the impugned land should be placed in as-is-where-is condition without any change, construction, removal of machinery or apparatus and [the] status quo should be maintained.”

This interim order lends weight to the Ruia group’s argument that the sale of 60.86 acres of factory land to VGN Enterprises in 2004, a transaction made by Dunlop India’s previous owners, was illegal.

15th August 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Hendrickson Launches New Automatic Tyre Inflation Unit

US supplier of truck suspension and related equipment, Hendrickson Trailer Suspension Systems, have introduced a new variation of its automatic tyre inflation system for trailer units. Named the Tiremaax CP (Constant Pressure), the new unit features a more simple design than the original Tiremaax, which has now become known as the Tiremaax EC (Electronic Control).

Both Tiremaax systems draw from the trailer’s air supply to help keep trailer tyres properly inflated. The mechanical Tiremaax CP unit continually checks tyre pressure without pressurising the axle or wheel ends and employs a pneumatic controller to direct air to tyres that fall below a preset pressure level. A signal light illuminates only when attention is required to alert the operator of tyre or system leaks.

The unit’s mechanical design, free from electronics, transducers and pressure switches, allows for easy maintenance of the Tiremaax CP. The CP requires no special tools to adjust tyre pressure settings and operates on either 12- or 24-volt electrical systems.

10th August 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Reduced Subsidy to Cost Chinese Tyre Trade Tens of Millions

The Chinese government’s decision to slash tax rebates on tyre exports from 13 to 5 per cent will cost manufacturers tens of millions of dollars. In response Qingdao Yellow Sea Rubber Co Ltd reportedly said that the policy would have a negative impact on its performance and create roughly 10 million yuan (US$1.32 million) in additional costs. Giti Tire Corporation is also said to have noted the negative impact.

China eliminated or cut tax rebates for more than 2,800 export items from 1 July this year, in what China Daily described as: ”its boldest move yet to rein in exports since it joined the World Trade Organization in 2001.” The affected items account for 37 per cent of all export products, according to the Ministry of Finance.

8th August 2007/by Tyrepress Editors