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All Steamed Up

Apollo Tyres has signed an agreement with Gail India Ltd., India’s largest natural gas company, to cooperate in a ‘steam conversion project’. The deal, signed on July 10, not only falls under the Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) criteria but will also lead to lower gas consumption and increased energy efficiency for Apollo.

The agreement was signed by Apollo chief – legal Shri Mahesh Sharma and Gail director of marketing Shri B C Tripathi at Gail’s office in New Delhi. Also present for the occasion were numerous senior officials including Gail chairman and managing director Dr. U D Choubey, Apollo chairman and managing director Shri Onkar S Kanwar, and Dr. Amit Mitra, Secretary General of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

The project will be implemented by Gail at its Vaghodia Compressor Station in the western state of Gujarat and will provide steam to Apollo within 24 months at a cost of around £4.3 million. The duration of the Agreement is 15 years and commercial supply will start from July 2009, with an annual contracted quantity of 436,800 tonnes.

11th July 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Metro Tyres Looks Towards EU for Expansion

Motorcycle and bicycle tyre manufacturer Metro Tyres has discussed plans to expand into European markets. The Punjab, India based manufacturer entered into a technical collaboration deal with Continental in January and is now in the process of preparing for the unveiling of its European distribution cell. Conti will also source bicycle tyres from the company.

“European markets hold much bigger potential for the company as far as cycle and bike tyres are concerned,” said Metro Tyres managing director Rummy Chabbra. He further commented that Metro Tyres currently holds 24 per cent of the bicycle and 3 per cent of the motorcycle tyre market in India. The company aims to capture a 10 per cent share in the motorcycle sector with the next two years.

11th July 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

‘Source’ Reports Bridgestone India Expansion Plans

According to news published by leading Indian business daily Business Standard, Bridgestone India intends to invest Rs 2.63 billion (£32.3 million) expanding capacity at its facility in the central state of Madhya Pradesh. This expansion will reportedly include capacity for a new radial range. This would be the fully-owned subsidiary’s first major expansion since 1998, and Business Standard claims to have viewed documents indicating the company plans to increase existing capacity by between 4,000 and 6,500 tyres per day. 271 jobs will reportedly result from this expansion.

“The company has said that it has planned to complete the expansion by December 2008 to add another 1.5 lakh nos [150,000] of tyres for all vehicles per annum,” printed the Business Standard, reportedly quoting a government source. However the previously mentioned documents indicate a capacity increase of ten times this amount.

10th July 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Hangzhou Tyres OE in India

Tyres produced by Hanzhou Zhongce, the Chinese manufacturer at the centre of a half a million-unit recall in the US, are supplied OE clients such as Tata Motors in India. “Tata Motors is satisfied with the quality of tyres from China, and has not faced any issues,” a Tata Motors was quoted as saying. The tyres involved in the US were radials, while Tata Motors imports only bias tyres, one Indian news source reported.

Indian tyre manufacturers told dnaindia.com that while Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber has the technology to manufacture quality products – it contract manufacturers for other global brands like Goodyear and Cooper – many smaller Chinese companies dump substandard products in the Indian aftermarket.

“It’s a little scary, given our lack of safety regulations or data on fatality rates due to tyre failure. Chinese imports between April and December 2006 were over 500,000 units compared to 300,000 in the entire 2005-06,” said a senior official of a local tyre manufacturer.

9th July 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

JK Tyre Sheds Further Light on Expansion Plans

JK Tyre has released additional details of the company’s expansion plans, and it appears far more money than previously reported will be invested in increasing production capacity. The Indian tyremaker plans to inject Rs 11 billion (£135 million) into capacity expansion during the next three years. According to India’s Economic Times, JK Tyre finance director A K Kinra has stated that both capacity for OTR tyres and for radials will be expanded in order to meet with increased demand – passenger radial capacity will be increased from its current 4.5 million units to 7 million units, and TBR capacity will be boosted from 400,000 to 1 million units per annum – and the planned expansion projects will be funded through a combination of loans and internal accruals.

Kinra added that growth in these three sectors will form the basis of JK Tyre’s future expansion, and he expects the company to achieve a revenue of Rs 50 billion (£615 million) within a three-year window. The previous financial year saw the company achieve revenues of £365 million.

9th July 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Apollo International Gains WEF Membership

Apollo Group export company Apollo International Ltd. (AIL), sister company to Apollo Tyres, has been inducted into the World Economic Forum’s Community of Global Growth Companies. AIL was selected after meeting the World Economic Forum’s stringent parameters and the company has stated its initial involvement will be participation in the inaugural annual meeting of the ‘New Champions’ to be held in China’s Dalian from 6 to 8 September.

“We feel privileged to have been identified as a Global Growth Company by the World Economic Forum,” said AIL managing director Raaja Kanwar. “The Forum will provide us with the platform for interaction and collaboration with other members companies and sharing of ideas of business opportunities. This will also help us in furthering our vision of nurturing entrepreneurs through partnership.”

Apollo International exports tyres through its Tyre Tech Global division, which is also the technology transfer of tyre manufacturing capabilities to other countries. Tyre Tech Global is headquartered in Gurgaon, India and has offices in Hong Kong, China (Qingdao), Dubai and Canada.

6th July 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Dunlop India Planning to Produce Aircraft Tyres

Despite the recent troubles that have plagued Dunlop India, the company is remaining positive and has announced that, as part of an initiative to revive its fortunes, the company will begin manufacturing aircraft tyres and industrial products at its Sahaguni and Ambattur factories in September. Production at both factories is currently halted, allegedly due to a shortage of working capital.

“We will start manufacturing industrial products like conveyor belts and other products used in steel and other industrial plants and these will be part of the revival programme,” reported Dunlop India vice-president Dhrubojyoti Nandi. “The production will start in September, when both the factories in Sahagunj and Ambattur resume full operation.”

6th July 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Higher Anti-Dumping Duties Recommended in India

An Indian government panel has recommended increasing the anti-dumping duty imposed on truck tyres from US$99 to $135. Originally implemented last October, the duty is intended to curb the large numbers of low-priced Chinese imports flooding into India. At present tyre imports from China are running at 68,000 units a month, a five-fold increase in the levels recorded three years ago.

The difference in price between Indian tyres and their Chinese equivalents is approximately 25 to 35 per cent despite the Chinese government’s removal of its 5 per cent tyre export subsidy and increased freight charges for exports to India. Such a gulf in prices means, according to MRF executive director of marketing Philip Eapen, that the increase in duty will make little difference apart from making Chinese imports a “little more unattractive.”

5th July 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Birla Tyre Planning Greenfield Project

B K Birla Group chairman Basant Kumar Birla has announced plans for an £85 million greenfield tyre factory in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand. The plant, to be built near the city of Haridwar, where the company has already acquired a 42 hectare site, will have a production capacity of 1.7 million passenger car tyres per year. The plant is anticipated to be ready within the next two years and is to be funded through internal accruals and loans.

Birla Tyres entered the Indian market in 1991 and today is India’s fifth largest tyremaker, with production facilities in the eastern state of Orissa. The plant in Balasore, Orissa was set up with technical assistance from Pirelli UK, and has an annual production capacity of 1.5 million tyres, including passenger car and light commercial radials as well as bias car, truck and agricultural tyres. Birla Tyres states that its products are exported to 43 countries.

4th July 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Dunlop India Plant Halts Production

Production at Dunlop India’s Sahagunj facility, which re-opened late last year and began producing tyres in January for the first time since 2001, has once again come to a virtual stop. According to state commerce and industry minister Nirupam Sen, a shortage of working capital is the factor behind this stoppage. “I shall discuss the issue with chairman Pawan Kumar Ruia,” he said following a meeting with union representatives and a local member of parliament. During this meeting it was alleged that company management have not been honouring the agreement they made with employees.

News of the facility’s latest woes has been widely reported in India’s media. Newspaper The Statesman has quoted union representative Kali Ghosh as saying “Mr Pawan Ruia has lost all his credibility.” He further stated that the Ruia group had not brought in capital or raw materials to run the plant, and claimed that workers are also owed money.

3rd July 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Falcon Tyres, Sumitomo Signs Technical Assistance Deal

India’s Falcon Tyres has signed a technical assistance agreement with Japanese giant Sumitomo Rubber Industries. Chairman of Falcon’s parent Ruia group, P.K. Ruia, has stated that Sumitomo will provide know-how for the production of tyres for two-wheeled vehicles.

According to Mr. Ruia, the agreement will provide assistance for everything from improving production processes through to the introduction of tubleless and other technically advanced tyres. He said although the brand had to date focused upon the OEM segment, the current sluggish growth in OEM demand might force the company to increasingly look at the replacement market.

Falcon Tyres finalised its 2006-07 results at its board meeting on June 28, and have reported an increase in dividend from 25 to 30 per cent for the year. This follows an increase in turnover from £312.9 million £393.9 million. The company’s net profit improved from £4.4 million to £4.8 million.

29th June 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Goodyear Opens New Indian Retail Outlets

Goodyear India is attempting to raise its profile through the opening of new branded retail outlets, the latest being in the southern state of Kerala. The two new outlets, in the towns of Malappuram and Kollam, are part of Goodyear’s efforts to gain a stronger foothold in the nation’s replacement tyre market.

The new stores will also stock a range of car care products supplied by other manufacturers, such as perfumes, car wash and tyre shine – the intention being to make the stores a place where customers can purchase all their automotive-related requirements under the one roof.

26th June 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Challenge Bibendum Returns to China in 2007

Michelin’s Challenge Bibendum has been seeking solutions to the downside of motoring since 1998, and this year the event returns to the city that last played host to the Challenge in 2004 – Shanghai, China’s largest city and economic hub. This choice of venue is particularly appropriate given China’s growing global profile and its status as the world’s fastest growing vehicle market and vehicle producer, and a brand new location – the Automotive Exhibition Center, part of the Shanghai International Automobile City (SIAC) – has been selected to host the event between November 14 and 17.

As in previous years Challenge Bibendum will tackle pressing issues such as CO2 emissions, traffic congestion, vehicle fatalities and security of fuel supply. And while each of these problems has been present in the West for some time, the burgeoning economies of the world’s most populous countries, China and India, has created a new urgency for the development of alternatives to the status quo. Challenge Bibendum recongises that the change to more environmentally, economically and socially responsible vehicles and infrastructure will not occur organically, and thus entrepreneurs, industrialists and scientists from around the world have been invited to Shanghai to share their vision and present technical solutions to policy makers and the media.

25th June 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Indag Rubber Ltd Joins TRIB

Indag Rubber Limited, India, has joined the Tire Retread & Repair Information Bureau (TRIB). “TRIB continues to grow internationally as more and more companies in the new tyre and retread industries throughout the world realise that TRIB is the only international retread industry association representing new tyre manufacturers, retreaders and tyre repair companies,” said Harvey Brodsky, TRIB’s Managing Director. “We are pleased that so many companies from India are realising how important TRIB’s efforts are on behalf of retreaders and suppliers to the retread and tyre repair industries everywhere, including India,” he added.

19th June 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Ceat Undeterred by Lack of TBR JV Partner

Indian tyremaker Ceat is considering going it alone in the establishment of a truck and bus radial facility if it is unable to find a joint venture partner. The company has set aside approximately £60 million for the project but to date has not made any commitment to work with another manufacturer.

Speaking to India’s Financial Express newspaper, Ceat’s president of sales and marketing, Arnab Banerjee, said, “We are in talks with some of the leading radial technology providers in the global arena. But we are yet to reach a consensus with any of them. If the joint venture option doesn’t work out, we will definitely explore the possibility of doing it ourselves.” He added that Ceat “have the skills and the know-how,” to establish a truck and bus radial facility without external assistance.

19th June 2007/by Tyrepress Editors