India
In its 18 October-announced Mid-Term Management Plan 2012, Bridgestone reported it plans to spend an average of 250 billion yen on capital expenditure projects, half of which will be for strategic tyre projects. Further to this company announcement, a Japan-based reporter for Reuters writes that in the 2013 calendar year Bridgestone will spend 280 billion yen (£2.2 billion) to expand capacity in emerging markets, including India and Thailand.
India’s Hindu Business Line reports that the first phase of Balkrishna Industries’ new Bhuj facility has been commissioned and production at the site has begun. First phase capacity is 25,000 tonnes, with approximately 60 per cent of total capacity dedicated to the manufacture of radials. When in full production it will have a capacity of 120,000 tonnes. The company will boast a total annual capacity of 270,000 tonnes when the project is ready in 2015.
It’s now more than a day since reports of a potential Apollo Tyres acquisition of Cooper Tire & Rubber hit the headlines, and Tire Review observes there has been far more speculation than denial since then – which it says brings into question just what is happening. And while silence may be golden, the lack of comment – or even flat denial – from either party has led to all manner of speculation.
Shares in NYSE listed tyre maker Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. gained seven per cent yesterday following the publication of news regarding a potential acquisition by India’s Apollo Tyres. Neither Cooper Tire nor Apollo Tyres has commented on the acquisition reports.
India’s Ministry of Finace has implemented anti-dumping duties on cross-ply tyres imported from China and Thailand. The duty will be in place for five years; tyres imported from Thailand will attract duties of $0.86/kg, while most cross-ply tyres from China will be liable to duties of $1.31/kg. Tyres produced in China by Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber Co Ltd will have a lower $1.12/kg duty.
Eastman Industries Limited was present at CITExpo with its ‘Addo India’ tyre and battery brand. The company, which is headquartered in Ludhiana, in India’s Punjab state, produces and supplies a wide range of passenger car, truck, industrial OTR and agricultural tyres.
Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel took his second win of the season in Singapore with a two-stop tyre strategy, which prevailed following two safety car periods. Vettel started from third on the grid with the P Zero Red supersoft tyre and then completed two stints on the P Zero Yellow soft tyre, which had been nominated for the weekend. Vettel’s winning margin was nine seconds over McLaren’s Jenson Button, who adopted the same strategy, pitting four laps later for his first pit stop than Vettel.
The Apollo tyre brand is being repositioned in order to, manufacturer Apollo Tyres shares, move the humble tyre from being a commodity and “grudge purchase” to a lifestyle product. In a handbook outlining its rebranding strategy, Apollo Tyres says its core brand idea centres on two things, namely “go the distance” and “safety.”
A fire at a plant operated by India’s TVS Srichakra Limited has killed three employees and injured five. The fire broke out at the company’s Madurai factory on 16 September. The Times of India reports that the three fatally injured workers were in the plant’s paint shop at the time.
Tyrexpo India 2013 is aiming to act as a global trade interchange offering companies access to the booming Indian tyre market when it is held 9-11 July 2013.
According to Tyrexpo India organiser Paul Farrant of ECI International, next July’s exhibition will encourage both inward investment and export opportunities.
Lewis Hamilton recorded McLaren’s third consecutive win this year at the Italian Grand Prix, adopting a one-stop strategy to claim victory from Sauber’s Sergio Perez, who started from 12th on the grid, and used a different one-stop strategy to dazzling effect. Pirelli’s P Zero Silver hard tyre and P Zero White medium were the compounds available at Monza, and the two hardest tyres in the Formula One range showed good performance and durability. Hamilton ran 30 laps on the hard tyre at the end of the race, while the speed of the medium tyre – which Perez used for his 24-lap final stint – enabled him to lap more than two seconds faster than his closest rivals at one point.
An agreement on contract labourers’ wages at Birla Tyres’ Balasore plant has been reached after prolonged negotiations. The Indian tyre maker and the union representing plant workers have decided upon a daily wage increase from Rs 92 to Rs 160 (£1.80) with the daily rate increasing to Rs 180 next January and Rs 200 from May 2014. The contract settled on 6 September will be valid until the end of July 2015.
When Reifen China opens the doors to the Shanghai New International Exhibition Center for the show between 14 and 16 November 2012, it will mark the sixth time that international tyre trade event has been held. And it comes at a good time for European buyers looking to connect with Chinese manufacturers as it is set against a backdrop of continuously increasing capacity and the relaxation of import tariffs against Chinese passenger car tyres bound for America.
Vredestein UK managing director Stuart Jackson also serves as the chairman of TyreSafe, so it is safe to say he is pleased to welcome the safety organisation’s latest member – Vredestein’s parent company Apollo Tyres.
McLaren’s Jenson Button completed a dominant weekend to win the Belgian Grand Prix. Only second-placed Sebastian Vettel could match the Briton’s ability to look after his tyres, using an almost identical one-stop strategy – medium compound P Zero White tyres, changed to hard compound P Zero Silvers just before the midway point – to finish 13 seconds behind Button, who led from start to finish. This was the first race at which a driver has achieved this in 2012 While Button’s imperious drive would have taken some beating, Vettel’s ascent from tenth on the grid was aided by a spectacular smash involving Championship leader Fernando Alonso and McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton at the first corner, over which Lotus’s Romain Grosjean has been handed a one-race ban.
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