India
Goodyear India Ltd was awarded the 'Superbrand' status at a ceremony held in New Delhi 3 August. The award was received by Rajeev Anand, vice chairman and managing director, Goodyear India Ltd. Goodyear India garnered one of the highest scores amongst an assortment of companies and is reportedly the only tyre company in India to receive this recognition.
AME International unveiled a new logo, as part of the opening of the recent Tyrexpo India show in Chennai. The Brooksville, Florida-based manufacturer of tyre changing tools and equipment modified the background of the logo to reflect the colors of the Indian flag. “Our modification to the logo is a temporary change, to show our dedication to developing the market in India,” said Keith Jarman, president of AME, who attended the exhibition in Chennai. “The logo has been well received here at the show and I expect that we will continue to use for marketing here in India.”
On August 1, Dunlop India owner Pawan Kumar Ruia was informed he had seven days to present his plan for the tyre maker’s Sahaganj factory to the West Bengal state government. Ruia met with state labour minister Purnendu Bose and was asked to furnish a detailed report covering his intentions.
Michelin has released its first half financial results, showing stable operating income of €971 million for a 9.6 per cent operating margin, with net sales up 21 per cent. The Group says the figures are in line with its corporate “road map”, revising its full year sales volumes objectives upwards – after 12.6 per cent market growth in the first half – and reconfirming its profitability estimates. The Group suggests market growth should accelerate in line with long-term trends by the end of the year, targeting an 8 per cent growth in full-year sales volumes.
Apollo Tyres partnered with vehicle manufacturer Mahindra & Mahindra for the first time in Monsoon Challenge 2011, one of the biggest rallies on the Indian off-roading scene. Beginning on Friday, 22 July from the western Indian city of Nasik with more than 50 participating teams, the rally covered 1,500 kilometres in three days, going via Aurangabad and Kolhapur to the beaches of Goa on Sunday, 24 July. The winning team of Somdev Chanda and Nirav Mehta, riding on a Mahindra Stinger, took home a cash prize of Rs 800,000, a sum Apollo says is the largest cash award ever given in any Indian off-roading adventure.
The labour minister of India’s West Bengal state has asked Ruia Group chairman Pawan Kumar Ruia to clarify his intentions regarding Dunlop India, and its Sahaganj plant in particular, to the state government. Labour minister Purnendu Bose visited the Sahaganj facility on July 17 – and articles published by India’s media indicate he was not impressed by what he found.
In its interim report for the April to June 2011 quarter, Sweden’s Trelleborg AB reported net sales of SEK 7,583 million (£721.2 million) from continuing operation, up on the same period last year. Operating profit grew 9.8 per cent year-on-year to SEK 706 million (£67.2 million) and net profit increased 13 per cent to SEK 469 million (£44.6 million).
The July edition of Tyres & Accessories is now online our e-paper format. July's magazine features special reports on EDIWheel, EM/OTR tyres and manufacturing machinery, plus reviews of Automechanika Middle East, Autopromotec and a preview of the forthcoming CITExpo in Shanghai. Subscribers can simply click more to view the latest issue.
Commenting on Continental’s 18.5 million euro purchase of Modi Tyres Company Limited (MTCL), Nikolai Setzer, head of the German manufacturer’s Passenger and Light Truck Tire division, said Conti’s acquisition of a 100 per cent shareholding “underlines our commitment to the Indian market.” Both parties have agreed to keep commercial details of the transaction confidential, however the key points are that MTCL has now become a fully-owned Continental Corporation subsidiary and will be renamed Continental Tyres India Limited. The new entity will focus on the local production and distribution of cross-ply and radial truck and bus tyres as well as radial passenger car tyres for the Indian market.
Saloon car owners here in the UK have long drawn pleasure from deriding the “Chelsea tractor”, and giving drivers of off-roaders ample guff about their vehicles’ environmental hostility and shyness to leave the tarmac is a firmly entrenched part of our motoring culture. But it seems that over in India the 4×4 has yet to be tarred with this brush. Recognising their widespread appeal, Apollo Tyres has released a 4×4 coffee table book in conjunction with Autocar India.
On July 15, India’s Modi Rubber Ltd notified the Bombay Stock Exchange that the sale of its Modi Tyres subsidiary to the Continental Group has been completed. It informed the BSE that the entire shareholding in Modi Tyres Company Limited, a total of 56,046,680 equity shares, changed hands for a share purchase consideration of Rs 1,176,189,838 (£16.1 million) and a non compete fee, net of withholding tax, of Rs 172,295,100 (£2.4 million). Modi Tyres Company Limited is thus now a wholly owned subsidiary of the Continental Group.
The first staging of Tyrexpo India 2011 in Chennai was said to have been so successful that organisers ECI International have announced the dates for the next show in 2013. Managing director Paul Farrant said: “Our original intention was to review the show for several months before reaching a decision on a follow up, but we’ve already seen enough to make the decision with confidence that the show will be back in Chennai from 9-11 July 2013.”
On July 15 the very first course will commence at the new Michelin Training Centre at the tyre maker’s Chennai site. The centre, which officially opened on May 30, has been set up to improve the employability of people in the local area; the first course held there will impart English language skills, and other courses, including computer skills, accounting and vocational programmes, are already planned. The Michelin Training Centre is located within the Thervoy Kandigai Industrial Park in Chennai’s Thiruvallur district, where the Michelin is investing Rs 40 billion (£560 million) in a truck and bus tyre facility.
Existing speculation on Apollo Tyres’ intention to branch into the natural rubber segment has been boosted by an article in India’s Business Standard newspaper. This suggests that both Apollo and JK Tyre may be in the business for plantations in Southeast Asia. The two tyre makers’ dependence, along with their competitors, upon ever more expensive spot market purchases has locked them into a situation where external factors determine the price they must charge for their products; the attractiveness of eliminating reliance upon the fickle natural rubber market is therefore very easy to understand.
Pirelli returns to Formula One in the United Kingdom this week for what the company says is a second home Grand Prix this season, after the Italian Grand Prix, since the company employs around 50 at its logistics and distribution facility at Didcot, 45 minutes from Silverstone by car. The 12 engineers assigned to F1’s teams and the 19 tyre fitters whose job it is to put the tyres on the rims are based there too, alongside its 12 carbon black trucks: two service trucks, seven tyre transporters, and three trucks for the hospitality unit.
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