India
Dunlop India Limited’s plant in Sahagange, reportedly the oldest tyre plant in Asia, restarts production today (Tuesday 30 October) after years of inactivity. Dunlop’s Ambattur plant re-opened a little over a month ago. “We are dealing with old machines at Sahagange. The problem has been compounded by damage and thefts when the plant had be closed,” S K Paul, managing director of Dunlop India, told reporters at the opening of the Ambattur plant.
Kerala (India) Congress leader and former minister K M Mani said a State Government probe into the affairs of Palazhi Tyres Ltd politically motivated. Mani said that no financial irregularity has been committed and the company documents will speak themselves.
“The only fault with the company is that the mission for setting up a tyre factory has not become a reality till date, for various reasons. It owns 37 acres of well-kept rubber estate having big valuation at Valavoor in Meenachil taluk. The company has been registered as per company and co-operative laws and it has an audited annual balance sheet,” KM Mani told local newspapers.
LMI Technologies Inc., the global producer of sensors used in automated systems and controls in a number of industries including the automotive and tyre manufacturing businesses, has adopted a new logo and corporate identity under the name “Sensors That See”.
The organisation has R&D, engineering and manufacturing facilities across the globe, in Canada and the USA, Sweden, Ireland and The Netherlands. It also has dealers in countries such as India and China.
Apollo has published un-audited financial results showing second quarter sales of 7.67 billion rupees (£90.5 million), up 21 per cent year-on-year. Net profits grew 3.8 per cent to 193 million rupees (£2.28 million) despite global raw material increases. Sales improvement was reflected in the half-year results. Net sales were up 27 per cent to 15.246 billion rupees (£180 million). Operating profit grew 2.8 per cent in the six-month period to 1,167 billion rupees (£13.78 million).
The Indian government has put provisional anti-dumping duty (ADD) on tyres imported from China and Thailand, with effect from 9 October the Business Standard reported. According to the newspaper, 300,000 imported tyres brought in mainly from China for the commercial vehicle (CV) segment are sold in India annually. Domestic manufacturers sell over 10 million tyres.
MRF India has achieved a milestone turnover for the first time in the history of the Indian tyre industry. Ranked the 15th largest tyre company in the world, MRF has achieved a fiscal turnover, for the year ended 30th September 2006, of 42,000 million Indian Rupees (US$914 million). This record turnover, which has been achieved for the first time in the Indian tyre industry, represents a 22 per cent increase over the company’s 2005 turnover.
The Yokohama Rubber Co. Ltd. has announced that it is to establish a wholly-owned subsidiary in New Delhi, India in January 2007. Named Yokohama India, the new company will initially operate as a tyre sales and marketing company. However, in the future, it is planned to become Yokohama’s local headquarters in India for coordinating any future expansion of business such as manufacturing tyres and marketing automotive hoses and sealants. It will have a start-up capitalisation equivalent to approximately 50 million yen (334,468 euros).
It is taking quite a long time for those involved in the Chinese retreading markets to get up to speed in comparison with the rapid developments in the other tyre-related sectors. The first signs of developments can particulalry be found in the OTR tyre segment. Truck tyre retreading isn’t yet seen as a generally necessary way of saving money and energy. However, tread manufacturers such as Elgitread from India are preparing for a breakthrough in China. That’s why representatives have travelled to the far East to exhibit at the CITExpo year after year although their business in China remains relatively low-level. Elgitread has created a worldwide network of business partners over the past years including five equity production sites – although so far China is not counted among the production sites.
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Chinese manufacturers want to and, in fact, already are benefiting from strong international demand for OTR tyres. One company that follows these lines very closely is the China Noble OTR Tyre Co., Ltd. When at the turn of the century it was becoming more evident that there was going to be a strong growth on the profitable OTR tyre market, Noble Tyre decided to jump on the bandwagon. The company’s co-founder Sky Zhuang said in an interview with Tyres & Accessories that this was the time when Noble decided to change its production plans. The company used to produce truck tyres and then changed over to the production of OTR tyres and thus invested considerable amounts of money from 2001 onwards.
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For the first time since the early eighties, South Africa hosted its own dedicated tyre trade event. The three-day exhibition was held at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg where over 110 national and international exhibitors took part. According to the organisers, a total of 2738 tyre trade professionals, from 44 countries, attended the show. In addition to those from within South Africa, others came from Botswana, Burundi, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Libya, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Samoa, Swaziland, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. More international visitors came from Australia, China, Europe, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Singapore, Thailand, U.A.E and the US.
Al Saeedi Group, a leading Dubai-based tyre distributor, has opened a new corporate, service and warehousing complex in the country’s Jebel Ali Free Zone (JAFZ). The 100,000 square feet facility, was inaugurated by Jamal Majid bin Thaniah, Group Chief Executive Officer, Ports & Free Zone World in the presence of Y.K. Sinha, Consul-General of India, along with local dignitaries and executives representing world’s leading tyre brands.
Ceat Ltd, one of India’s leading tyre manufacturers, has launched the ‘Ceat Mile XL’ truck tyre onto Indian roads. General manager marketing, Rajiv Jain told reporters that the Mile XL is designed to produce 15 per cent more mileage than other similar tyres. “With the transportation scenario in the country undergoing drastic changes, Mile XL will cater to the need of carrying additional weight and performing at higher speed, even while providing higher mileage,” he said. On an average, Ceat manufactures 1.8 million tyres per annum in its manufacturing facilities at Mumbai and Nasik, and had a market share of 18 per cent in truck tyre industry, Jain told local news sources.
The Indian finance ministry has introduced anti-dumping duty on nylon filament yarn and nylon tyre cord imported from China, Taiwan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Korea. According to the Directorate General of Anti Dumping and Allied Duties (DGAD), these items have been exported to India at artificially low prices. Importers of nylon filament yarn from China will have to pay a duty of Rs 63 (1.06 euros) per kg, but importers from Taiwan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and South Korea have been hit harder, paying Rs 77 (1.29 euros) per kg. The DGAD recommended that the finance ministry introduced duties on synthetic fabrics, saying that the Indian industry had suffered material losses because of dumping by exporters from these six countries, as the market for synthetic textiles in India continues to grow.
(Akron/Tire Review) Rubber planters in Asia are tapping trees faster than ever, pushing down prices and helping a recovery in shares of tyre manufacturers Bridgestone Corp., Groupe Michelin and Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. Rubber prices in Tokyo, the world’s biggest futures market for the material, have fallen 20 per cent since reaching a record on 12 June. Supply has risen after companies such as PT Astra Agro Lestari planted more rubber trees in Indonesia and Malaysia to keep up with Chinese consumption. Now, China is taking steps, such as last week’s interest rate increase, to slow its economy.
Goodyear India Ltd. is to invest 500 million rupees (£5.7 million) in strengthening its Indian retail operation in order to capitalise on the country’s rapidly expanding automotive market. Goodyear India will set up 50 shop-in-shop branded stores by the end of 2006 and at least 250 more by end-2008, according to the local news reports.
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