India
The Indian Government is to permit Michelin to import bus and truck radial tyres for wholesale trading on cash and carry basis until its joint venture with Apollo Tyres becomes operational. Michelin Apollo, 51 per cent owned by the French firm and 49 per cent by Apollo Tyres, will take about 20 months to begin production.
ThyssenKrupp Elastomertechnik has signed a further technical co-operation agreement with the Indian-based manufacturer, Alfred Herbert India. The agreement relates to the manufacture of the column curing presses, for the Indian market. Following the agreement signed in 1999 for the manufacture of the first frame-type hydraulic curing presses for India, the two companies are now moving into the area of advanced machine technology for the production of high-performance radial tyres and ultra-high-performance tyres. ThyssenKrupp Elastomertechnik’s Managing Director, Frank Horch, believes that India – particularly its tyre sector – will play an important part on the world market and for ThyssenKrupp Elastomertechnik in the coming years.
India has approved a proposal by Europe’s biggest tyre maker, Michelin, to pick up a 14.9 per cent stake in tyre-maker Apollo Tyres Ltd for 71.44 million Dollars. A government statement said the investment by Michelin would be used to manufacture, market and distribute truck and bus radial tyres in India. Truck and bus tyres account for more than 70 per cent of India’s 2.2-billion dollar tyre industry but less than two per cent of tyres are radials. But radials make up more than 75 percent of car tyre sales. Indian transporters have shied away from radial tyres, seeing them as not rugged enough for the appalling roads and rampant overloading in India. However, radial sales are expected to increase because of improved highway conditions.
Bekaert has officially inaugurated its first steel cord plant Bekaert Industries Pvt Ltd in Pune (India).
‘Europe was top dog in the 1800’s, America was the great power of the last century and the next 100 years will belong to Asia’ (The Times).
A recent report by Goldman Sachs forecast that China will overtake America to become the world’s largest economy by 2040. As China’s economy grows, it will act as a magnet for raw materials and goods from surrounding Asian countries, giving a boost to the whole region. It remains one of the most exciting growth areas in Asia, with its potentially vast consumer markets and its low manufacturing cost base.
Singapore is a recognised gateway to Asia, attracting leading buyers from the whole of South East Asia and Australasia as well as the key decision makers from China and other Asian markets, providing a comprehensive mix of buyers and sellers from across the entire region.
The Asian region offers the tyre industry major opportunities for those companies committed to its long-term future. With Asian tyre consumption accounting for over 35 per cent of world demand combined with the enormous potential of tyre markets such as China and India where companies are making a name for themselves in the global tyre market, the Asian region offers investment opportunities to manufacturers and suppliers alike.
Tyrexpo Asia 2004 will be the 4th in the series of Tyrexpo Asia events that focuses on the fastest areas of growth in the tyre market and it is the only established tyre event of its kind in Asia. The 2004 event will be the largest yet and exceeds previous Tyrexpo Asia shows by over 25 per cent. The 2001 exhibition attracted visitors and exhibitors from over 63 different countries making it a truly international event. The show will once again be sponsored by Tyres & Accessories and Neue Reifenzeitung in addition to being strongly supported by specialist trade press and sponsors IE Singapore (International Enterprise Singapore). Tyrexpo Asia 2004 takes place from the 17 to 19 February at the Singapore Expo Centre and provides the perfect forum for the tyre industry to be stimulated by new ideas, products and market opportunities which reflect the importance of globalization within the region. The show focuses on every aspect of the tyre industry from tyres, retreads, tyre changing & repair equipment, to fast fit, garage equipment and parts & accessories. Amongst exhibitors are:
A-Z Formen und Maschinenbau, Big Wheel, Clipsal Airtec Pty Ltd, Collman, Columbus McKinnon, Del-Nat, Elgitread, DuroTyre, Federal Corporation, Fujikoki, Global Traco, Gummiwerk Kraiburg, Hangzhou Zhongce, Hock Lee, Italmatic, Jantsa, Kenda, Konimpex, Leka-Reifengrosshandel, Liew Koon, Mace Engineering, Midas, Mindtrac, Mohawk International, Myers Tire Supply International, Newera, Nexen Corporation, Pirelli Speciality Products, Pt Gajah Tunggal, Pt Mega Tires, Rema Tip Top, Samik Corporation, Sicam Tyre Equipment, Stamford, Tech International, Treadway Exports, Tyre Trading International, Value Tyres, Viewtum, Vipal and many more.
Indian tyre manufacturers will have to compete with tyre imports from China at much lower protection levels in 2005. The Indian Finance Ministry has formally included China in the list of countries that can avail themselves of preferential rates of Customs duty on specified products under the Bangkok Agreement. Mr D. Ravindran, Director-General of the Automotive Tyre Manufacturers’ Association (ATMA), said that the five per cent concession in Customs duty would definitely result in more imports of truck and bus tyres into India from China.
Bridgestone plans to set up a plant in India that will make truck radials and help it establish a firm foothold in the country, the world’s fifth biggest tyre market. The tyre manufacturer’s local unit, Bridgestone ACC India, currently manufactures radial tyres for passenger cars and small vans at a factory located near Indore in Madhya Pradesh. Sources said Bridgestone officials are preparing a project report on the size of production capacity and investments required to set up the plant, which will take around 18-24 months to build.
TYRE exporters in India may have cause for cheer now that the Central Government has allowed fixation of value caps for availing duty entitlement passbook (DEPB) on a per kilogram basis. This is as against the present system, where the Director-General of Foreign Trade fixes uniform value caps for each category. Thus, exporters of truck and bus tyres were eligible to claim 20 per cent DEPB on free-on-board value or the specified value cap of Rs 5,500 per pair (tyre plus tube), whichever was lower. To overcome the classification problems, the Government now fixed the value caps on a weight basis at Rs 90 per kg for all automobile tyres. There has, however, been no change to the DEPB rate, which has been pegged at 20 per cent.
India’s outsourcing boom is likely to have little impact on the tyre industry that has huge potential. The tyre industry needs to source rubber at global prices. Availability of rubber at par with international majors like Continental, Pirelli or Yokohama would lead to development of India as a base for manufacturing, according to Anil Sampat, an industry analyst and former rubber industry insider. India’s largest player MRF is still one fifth in size of global companies. The only way the Indian tyre industry can grow and reach global scale is to attract investments from international tyre majors as the industry is capital intensive. The small size of Indian companies is a source of worry, says Sampat. With tyre industry expected to grow only by 2 per cent, “real growth can come only when India offers world class manufacturing facilities for global players,” he points out.
The stocks prices of tyre companies have gone skyrocketed in the last few months following the auto boom. Share prices of tyre manufacturer Apollo Tyres increased from Rs 193.00 to Rs 259.85, Ceat appreciated from Rs 44.85 to Rs 63.85 and JK Industries moved up from Rs 38.90 to Rs 86.20. Vikrant Tyre gained from Rs 18.05 to Rs 75.30, Falcon Tyres increased from Rs 23.80 to Rs 26.75 and Goodyear Industries appreciated from Rs 33.70 to Rs 50.30. Govind Rubber gained from Rs 8.49 to Rs 16.32, MRF jumped from Rs 1418.45 to Rs 2097.35, while Premier Tyre increased from Rs 9.15 to Rs 12.38 and Krypton Industries appreciated from Rs 11.21 to Rs 18.00. Making local tyres available at fair prices would emerge as the key factor to Indian rubber goods manufactures taking advantage of the auto boom.
ThyssenKrupp Elastomertechnik GmbH, the world’s largest manufacturer of tyre machinery and a part of the Euro 35 billion ThyssenKrupp group, has deepened its alliance with the RS Lodha-managed Alfred Herbert India Ltd by signing an additional technical collaboration agreement.
JK Tyres has responded to the Apollo Michelin JV by saying that it is open to an equity tie with Continental. “We are in constant dialogue with Continental. India is an important market for them. It’s one of the potentially developing markets. It is a possibility that we can enter an arrangement with them,” JK Industries MD, R. P. Singhania said. Singhania is not worried about Michelin’s entry into the Indian tyre market. It will not pose a big threat to JK Tyres, he said. “We have been producing truck and bus radials for the last four years and have foreseen the market and opportunity. We have radialised the Indian market to the extent of 1.5 per cent. We are well prepared to meet the challenge of Michelin,” he added.
J.K. Tyre, which so far had been focussing on car tyres, is banking on truck and bus radial tyres to propel growth. The JK Group is India’s leading manufacturer of four wheeler tyres. But now it wants to create a market for radial tyres for trucks and buses. Radials are 25 per cent more expensive, but offer 10 per cent higher fuel efficiency and last longer than normal bias tyres. JK is offering fleet operators a money back guarantee. A. K. Bajoria, president of J. K. Tyre said, “There’s a huge opportunity. The sky is the limit. People have to be educated about the fuel efficiency and durability of radials.”
A short time before the announcement of the joint venture between Michelin and Apollo Tyres, the Indian company broke off its alliance with Continental. An Apollo spokesman said that the arrangement with Conti “was only a technical tie-up. As far as we are concerned this (the jv with Michelin) is a real marriage.” Michelin paid around $28 million for a 14.9 per cent stake in Apollo and the French company owns 51 per cent of the joint venture company, which is called Michelin Apollo Tire. MAT plans to invest $70 million over the next four years in building a manufacturing plant in India.
Apollo Tyres has joined with Michelin in a joint venture company called Michelin Apollo Tyre to manufacture, market and sell truck and bus radial tyres. “We are scouting for an appropriate location in the states of Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The commercial operations will begin by September 2005,” said Onkar S. Kanwar, Chairman, Apollo Tyres Ltd. Michelin will have 51 per cent shareholding and Apollo 49 per cent in the new Michelin Apollo Tyre Ltd. The Apollo board of Directors has also approved Michelin’s purchase of 14.9 per cent of equity share capital by means of a preferential allotment from Apollo Tyre Ltd for about 28 million US dollars. The joint venture comes in the wake of ongoing road improvements and highway building projects being currently undertaken in India. While the Radialisation level in the passenger car segment is around 75 per cent, in bus and truck, it’s less than 2 per cent. “We plan to increase this to 5 per cent in next three years,” added Kanwar. Edouard Michelin, President Michelin said, ” We want to become Indian in India, French in France and Chinese in China and we believe that we have just the right tyres to match the Indian conditions.”
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