India
An Air India flight to Delhi via Frankfurt had to make an emergency landing at Los Angeles International airport when a tyre burst soon after take off.
The plane dumped fuel over the ocean before returning to the airport. 100 firefighters and paramedics stood by but the jet landed safely and the 273 passengers and crew were unhurt.
(India/Rubber Asia) JK Industries Ltd has reported a net profit of 170 million rupees on a gross turnover of 24 billion (£294.7 million) for the year ended 30 September. JK recorded a net profit of 120 million rupees for the same period last year. Tyre exports stood at 3.82 billion rupees (£46.2 million).
(India/Rubber Asia) A customer satisfaction study conducted in 21 Indian cities has found a progressive reduction in car ownership cycle time (OCT) from an average of 61 months in 2002 to 53 months in 2005. However, the decline in OCT applied more to small and mid-size car models.
(India/Rubber Asia) The off-the-road (OTR) tyre makers in India are refusing to take fresh orders “at least for the next few years” in the wake of an avalanche of orders hitting them. The acute shortage of tyres, especially meant for heavy-duty dumpers, raises a serious threat to one of India’s core sectors, the mining industry, especially coal.
(India/Rubber Asia) At long last Dunlop India, a name that is as deeply steeped in history as it is in litigations, is getting the much-awaited kiss of life. After months of apparently tortuous negotiations, the Kolkata-based Pawan Ruia group has finally wrested management control of Dunlop India and also that of Falcon Tyres from the Dubai-based Jumbo Group for 2 billion rupees (about £25 million). The Jumbo group is owned by entrepreneur Manu R Chhabria.
Tubeless tyre sales in India remain flat despite the best promotional efforts of manufacturers. According to the Business Standard, tubeless products “have failed to impress buyers.”
“The infrastructure development and the road conditions have not kept pace with the technology development. The sales of tubeless tyres is restricted to the higher segment premium cars and still not many here are aware about the benefits of tubeless tyres,” said the regional service manager of JK Tyre.
Four Falcon Tyre board members have resigned, only days after the company was bought by the Ruia group. The company informed Bombay Stock Exchange that Vidya Manohar Chhabria, Komal C Wazir, Mohan M Thakur and Deepak Chaudhuri (the former executive director) had all resigned. The resignations took effect on 1 December, it emerged.
Michelin is planning to expand a Lexington County, South Carolina plant that makes large earthmover tyres, the associated has press reported. With reference to the current earthmover tyre shortage, Michelin said the company is investing in a South Carolina facility “west of Columbia.” He said capacity will be added there but did not discuss the size of an expansion nor a definitive timetable.
The privately owned Ruia Group has closed a deal to buy Dunlop India Ltd and Falcon Tyres Ltd, from the Dubai-based MR Chhabria group for a reported 2 billion rupees (£25 million).
“An agreement has been reached between Mr Pawan Kumar Ruia and the (Chhabria) Jumbo Group to hand over both Dunlop India and Falcon Tyres,” said H Sandu, a Chhabria group spokesman, confirming the development took place at a meeting in Mumbai.
(India/Rubber Asia) Simplex is a new and exciting franchise programme for overseas investors to get a head start in the profitable and challenging tyre retreading business. It comes from the stable of Goodway Rubber Industries Sdn Bhd (“Goodway”) which claims to be a market leader and one of the fastest growing rubber technology and rubber compound providers in the world.
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(India/Rubber Asia) With annual consumption by the Indian tyre industry of over 400,000 tonnes of natural rubber (NR), “a price increase of just 1 a kilogram, imposes an annual financial burden of over 400 million rupees on us,” says Paras K Chowdhary, CMD of Ceat Tyres and chairman of Automotive Tyre Manufacturers Association (ATMA) of India.
The average price of NR has gone up from 39.17 rupees/kilo in 2002-03 to 63 rupees in 2005-06 (October) — an increase of 23 a kilo in about three years. This translates into about 8,800 million rupees annual financial burden on the Indian tyre makers, he said. (1$ = about 44 rupees).
At the opening of a new development and manufacturing facility in Wuxi, China, Franz Fehrenbach, the Chairman of the Bosch Group Board of Management, announced intentions to significantly expand activities into the region.
The number of Bosch manufacturing facilities in the People’s Republic of China has doubled to 20 in the past five years. At the end of 2004, Bosch had invested some 550 million euros in the establishment and expansion of activities. The company now plans to invest a further 650 million euros during the next two years across the country. “Bosch has a strong focus on China. We see it as a core country for our business in the entire Asia-Pacific region” explained Fehrenbach.
Canada’s Tire News and Pneu Mag, published by Publications Rousseau & Associes, have joined the global tyre publication consortium formed by Europe’s Tyres & Accessories and Neue Reifenzeitung with America’s Tire Review nearly a year ago.
With the addition of the Canadian magazines, which cover all aspects of Canada’s tyre industry from coast to coast, the consortium now encompasses eight highly respected tyre publications. Besides Tire Review, Tyres & Accessories and Neue Reifenzeitung, the group includes Southern Africa Treads (South Africa), Rubber Asia (India) and Australian Tyre Dealer (Australia).
Sameer Africa’s first Kenyan branded and produced tyres have rolled of the production line. The firm’s marketing manager, Jeremiah Siage, said Sameer Africa has the capacity to produce its own brands. The tyres open a new chapter for a firm that had previously been associated with the Firestone brand.
The Indian Ministry of Consumer affairs, Food & Public Distribution is considering branding automotive tyres with the “ISI” mark. The move is expected to be implemented from 1 April next year. While tyre manufacturers are reported to have welcomed this move, the Society of India Automobile Manufacturers Association (SIAM) has raised objections.
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