India
Increasing numbers of vehicles on Indian roads will drive the Indian replacement tyre market past the 305 billion rupee (£4 billion, 4.8 billion, US$6 billion) value level, according to research conducted by TechSci research.
This week the millionth truck-bus radial came off the production line at Apollo Tyres’ Chennai manufacturing facility. The TBR unit entered service in April 2010 with an initial production of 250 tyres a day; following a series of gradual ramp-ups a total of 4,000 tyres are now produced there each day. TBR tyres now account for 19 per cent of Apollo’s total commercial vehicle tyre production, a figure that mirrors India’s overall 20 per cent commercial sector radialisation level.
It’s been almost two years since Lanxess’ Jhagadia production site in India began supplying antioxidants to tyre industry customers, and now the range of products manufactured there has been expanded. Lanxess subsidiary Rhein Chemie has established a facility in Jhagadia for the production of the pre-dispersed rubber additive Rhenogran and the environmentally-friendly release agent Rhenodiv in Jhagadia. The plant was formerly located in Madurai, in India’s Tamil Nadu state, and is one of three new units being set up in Jhagadia. In total, Lanxess has invested more than 70 million euros there and created 300 new jobs. Jhagadia is Lanxess’ second largest production site in India after its site in Nagda in Madhya Pradesh state, and covers an area of 18-hectares.
AM Bromley has launched TMS Log Graph and enhanced TMS Internal Sensors for its Tire Monitor System for off the road vehicles. Manufactured independently by AM Bromley, the TMS System provides visible, real-time data to drivers and managers to help them return the best value on their outlay on tyres. The initial TMS range launched in 2005 and the company says it is now used by thousands of OTR vehicles across the world, with a “surge of interest from developing regions including India and China”.
India’s Ceat Limited has released its results for the quarter between 1 October and 31 December 2011, a period in which net sales rose 18.2 per cent to Rs 10.48 billion (£132.45 million). Yet the tyre maker reports that “results for the quarter were adversely impacted by an illegal stroke of workers at [the] Nasik factory” which lasted from 30 September to 22 October. And when Ceat says results were adversely impacted, it means that quarter net profit sank 52.3 per cent year-on-year to Rs 23.90 million (£302,000).
On 23 January Apollo Tyres held its inaugural Apollo Fleet of the Year awards. With the awards, the tyre maker’s aim was to acknowledge the importance of safety, technology, sustainability and customer service initiatives to fleet operators in India. Taking away the large operator award was VRL Logistics, while Sangha Freight Carrier secured the honour in the medium operator category. The two top winners and other awardees were selected from more than 5,140 entries received from fleet operators across India.
In its recently released annual report for the 2010-11 financial year, MRF Tyres estimates the entire Indian tyre industry’s annual turnover as being Rs 300,000 million (£3.8 billion), with exports accounting for Rs 36,000 (£455.8 million) of this. MRF states that during the year to the end of September 2011 an estimated 119.2 million tyres were produced in India by 39 tyre companies; the ten largest of these produced 95 per cent of this these.
Headquartered in the north Italian town of Seregno, BKT Europe says it is committed to increasing product knowledge; the latest action on this front has been a round of European testing of the Mumbai, India company’s agricultural tyre range, Agrimax Fortis. BKT charged the Agricultural Research Council (CRA-ING) in Treviglio, Bergamo with carrying out an independent, standardized and comparative assessment for the purpose of evaluating the performance of the Agrimax Fortis. BKT says the tests show fuel consumption and soil compaction – features that impact productivity, the environment and the farmer’s pocket – comparable to performance features offered by two unnamed “competitors, acknowledged leaders at an international level”. BKT believes the results show the benefits of its investment in research, particularly in “eco-friendliness”.
The recent easing of rubber prices was understandably welcomed by tyre manufacturers, yet it represents no panacea for the industry; other costs, notably for energy, continue their upward trend. In India, these issues are accompanied by a weakening rupee. Financial daily the Business Standard reports that despite a 15 per cent fall in natural rubber prices, India’s tyre makers are facing ever tighter operating margins.
More than 25 CEOs and business leaders from the rubber and associated sectors are expected to speak at next year’s World Rubber Summit, including representatives from Bridgestone, Goodyear, Lanxess and Michelin. Event organiser, the International Rubber Study Group, has announced that next year’s summit will take place in Singapore on 22 to 24 May 2012 and be accompanied by World Rubber Week activities.
In recent times the Starco name has been no stranger to the pages of Tyres & Accessories and tyrepress.com; much has been happening within the Danish company. Indeed, in the last few years we have witnessed Starco’s development from a Europe-focused small wheel specialist into a wheel and tyre manufacturer with global ambitions. Yet this transformation is just the latest chapter in the history of a company that, as of 11 December, has been in business for fifty years. To mark the company’s golden anniversary, Tyres & Accessories recently spoke with Starco chief executive officer Peer Ejlersgaard, who gave an insight into where the company has been and where it plans to go.
Following the publication of Tyres & Accessories’ report on the recent NTDA Tyre Wholesalers Group annual lunch, ETRMA secretary general Fazilet Cinaralp has written an open letter stating her association’s surprise at the issues raised in TWG chairman Ashley Croft’s keynote speech. During the speech, Croft referred to testing, lobbying and the relative importance of the implementation of current tread depth legislation. As our coverage explains, no-one was available to attend the event on behalf of the European Tyre and Rubber Manufacturers association, so here is the association’s response in full:
An agreement between Huf Hülsbeck & Fürst GmbH & Co. KG and BorgWarner Beru Systems GmbH has been reached regarding Huf Electronics’ take over of BorgWarner Beru’s tyre pressure monitoring system business and acquisition of all shares in its Beru Electronics GmbH subsidiary. Subject to approval by the antitrust authorities the acquisition and merger of the Bretten, Germany based subsidiary, which employs some 230 people, will take place at the end of this year or early in 2012.
India’s MRF Limited has reported a significant increase in year-on-year net profit for the quarter ending 30 September 2011. The company reported a net profit of Rs 3,954.5 million (£48.4 million), an increase of 413 per cent on the same quarter of last year. This growth occurred even though income rose only 24.3 per cent to Rs 26,197.9 million (£326.6 million) and can in part be attributed to a change in the company’s policy of accounting for depreciation.
Indian manufacturer Metro Tyres has introduced the latest product to result from its technical collaboration with Germany’s Continental AG. In a statement, the company reported the release of its first tubeless motorcycle tyres. The new product will initially be manufactured at the company’s factory in Ludhiana plant; production will later be extended to a second plant.
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