India
MRF Ltd is reportedly considering a number of overseas acquisitions options. According to various Indian news reports, top of the list are tyre plants and rubber plantations in moves that will form part of the company’s global expansion plans.
Dunlop India Ltd has informed the Bombay Stock Exchange of its decision to suspend operations at the company’s Sahaganj factory. In a lengthy letter outlining the various problems the company has faced at this factory since acquiring the tyre manufacturing business in 2005, Sahaganj plant manager M A Khan said it is no longer “possible to keep the factory open, continue to make payment of unproductive wages to idle workers and take risk for the safety and security of [the] plant and its employees.”
Autosport International kicks off the 2012 motorsport season at the Birmingham NEC, UK, on 14-15 January and we’re offering three readers the chance to win a pair of tickets. If you want to win, all you have to do is answer this very simple question: Which tyre manufacturer took over F1 tyre supply from Bridgestone during the last season? To be in with a chance, simply email your answer to info@77.237.250.82 or post it the old fashion way to: 6a Salem Street, Stoke-on-Trent, ST1 5PR. Mark your entries "Autosport Competition" and don’t forget to include your contact details. The three winners will be drawn from all the correct answers. The closing date is 9 December 2011.
Following an all-cash transaction valued at approximately US$725 million, wheel manufacturer Hayes Lemmerz International, Inc. has been acquired by Iochpe Holdings, LLC, a subsidiary of Brazilian automotive and railway wheel and chassis manufacturer Iochpe-Maxion S.A. The deal will combine Hayes Lemmerz’s global wheels business with that of Iochpe-Maxion.
Following Michelin’s investor’s day briefing at its Cuneo, Italy factory on 5 October financial analysts suggested that while the good news is that Michelin’s European production is up and increasingly efficient, the company remains over-exposed amidst the ailing demand of the North American markets and conversely not exposed enough in the emerging markets.
September’s official launch of numerous additions to the Pirelli :01 Series presented Tyres & Accessories with the opportunity to visit the Italian manufacturer’s production site in Izmit, Turkey, where some of the range is produced alongside passenger car and motorsport tyres. It also gave us the chance to sit down with Ugo Forner, who has worldwide responsibility for Pirelli’s ‘Truck’ business unit, and listen to his views on Pirelli’s plans and the changing nature of the global commercial vehicle business.
Clever tyre strategy allowed Force India’s Paul di Resta to claim a season’s best sixth at the Singapore night race, where Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel claimed his ninth victory of the year. Only Jenson Button’s second place finish for McLaren prevented the title fight from ending. Pirelli described the race as one of the toughest of the season, taking the longest time to complete and requiring the heaviest fuel load.
You get what you pay for. That’s the clear message Continental was communicating to fleets, safety associations and the trade at a series of Continental experience days the company has been running at MIRA this year. The firm also ran presentations and demonstrations on the benefits of greater tread depth, winter tyre usage, OE development and the evolution of its on ContiSportContact range.
Production at Michelin’s new factory in Chennai, India should be underway by November 2012. B Kumar, national sales manager for Michelin India’s truck and bus division, confirmed this date to the Press Trust of India, adding the tyre maker has already employed some 500 plant workers and “plans to hire more soon.” According to PTI, a workforce of around 1,500 is planned for the facility’s initial phase.
Leading wheel distributor, Motor Wheel Service has appointed Peter Knapman as finance director. Knapman, from Manchester, previously operated as a finance professional offering freelance advice and solutions to a wide selection of SMEs throughout Europe including Polish engineering firm, Europower SPZ O.O. and Italian automotive exhaust specialist, Klarius Srl. The appointment comes on the same day as John Ellis, managing director of Motor Wheel Service, announced the company’s plan to increase turnover from £7 million to £20 million in the next five years.
Harvey Brodsky, managing director of the Retread Tire Association, will be a featured speaker at the Asian Tyre & Rubber Conference. The conference will be held in Chennai, India, on 2-3 December. Brodsky’s presentation will be retread quality and its importance to India.
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Following Continental’s recent acquisition of India’s Modi Tyres Company Limited, the German company has announced plans to expand its Indian market operations. Initial plans involve increasing Continental India Limited’s cross-ply truck and bus tyre production at its Modipuram factory to over 500,000 units per annum this year and further boosting output to more than a million units in 2013. On top of this, more than 50 million euros will be invested to equip the company for passenger car and commercial vehicle radial manufacture; Continental anticipates starting production of these tyres in the second half of 2013.
Infinity Tyres has launched its new foundation, which comprises the Infinity Aspire and Infinity OutReach programmes designed respectively to help “talented young people and give them a fair chance”, and “to identify and support local causes in the communities where Infinity operates”. The company says it is “proud to introduce the Infinity Tyres Foundation,” which “believes in giving back to the community locally, regionally and throughout the world”.
Continental has introduced a world first product it says can lead to commercial vehicle weight savings of up to 12 kilograms per axle. Produced by the company’s ContiTech Air Spring Systems business unit, the air spring contains a plastic piston that saves up to 75 per cent of the weight of conventional steel pistons. Another breakthrough feature is that the air spring has an interior volume that can be used entirely for enhancing comfort. This new product has debuted on the Mercedes-Benz Actros, a vehicle that Continental says utilises a completely revised drive and chassis concept in which the ContiTech air springs with plastic pistons play a “decisive” role.
Gareth Passmore has been appointed as marketing head for Apollo Tyres South Africa (Pty) Ltd, which manufactures the Dunlop brand in Southern Africa. The rapid expansion of Apollo Tyres internationally, with the acquisition of the European tyre manufacturer Vredestein Banden being the latest example, has necessitated the restructure and realignment of key positions and departments within the Apollo Tyres Group and the appointment of new personnel in order to achieve the company vision of dynamic growth into new markets.
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