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Reducing India's Road Deaths a Main Theme at Lanxess Rubber Day

More fatal traffic accidents occur in India than in any other country. According to the World Health Organisation, the country’s road toll has risen consistently since the start of the last decade and now an average of 13 people die in road accidents every hour. A study by the Technical University of Munich puts the total death toll from traffic accidents in 2008 at 120,000 – a massive figure considering India has only 15 registered vehicles for every 1,000 inhabitants. By comparison, the UK boasts 458 vehicles per 1,000 inhabitants yet figures from the Department for Transport show indicate just over 2,200 traffic fatalities in 2009: one third the vehicles of India along with a death toll more than fifty times lower.

3rd December 2010/by Tyrepress Editors

Suntrac Brand Makes its Debut, PCR Line to Follow

International News

One brand Tyres & Accessories met for the first time in Shanghai (at the recent Reifen China exhibition) was Suntrac, which is produced by Dubai-based Sun Global Fzco at partner factories in China and a joint venture in Sri Lanka. The company also produces Nison brand truck and bus tyres which, a brand that was established nearly six years ago.

Currently the business focuses on the manufacturing and international distribution of bias and radial light truck, truck and bus, and off-the-road tyres distributed globally under the Suntrac name. However executive director Nitesh Shewakramani told T&A that the company plans to launch a comprehensive range of PCR & SUV as well as solid and implement tyres by mid 2011. Product wise the company currently offers over 20 different truck fitments across 16 different tread patterns.

3rd December 2010/by Tyrepress Editors

Indian Commodity Exchange Refutes Price Manipulation Allegations

The National Multi-Commodity Exchange of India has dismissed allegations of rubber future price manipulation. Despite claims from Automotive Tyre Manufacturers' Association director-general Rajiv Budhraja regarding “evidence for the price manipulation of natural rubber on the NMCE,” the commodity exchange states prices for the raw material have risen due to an imbalance between demand and supply.

3rd December 2010/by Tyrepress Editors

China Research and Intelligence Releases Tyre Top 50 Report

Companiesandmarkets.com has announced the publishing of a new research report from China Research and Intelligence on the world’s top 50 tyre enterprises, 2010-2011. The report gives an analysis on the enterprises whose sales ranked among world's top 50 in 2009, including their operations, sales volume, development trend, and investment in China, amongst other things. The report ranks the world’s top 75 tyre enterprises in 2010 according to sales revenue relative to tyre manufacturing in 2009. The top three, somewhat unsurprisingly, remain as Bridgestone, Michelin and Goodyear, though the sales revenue of these three companies witnessed a double-digit drop on 2008 figures.

2nd December 2010/by Tyrepress Editors

Eastman Industries’ AddoIndia Brand Reports ‘Strong’ EU Sales in 1H 2010

Despite already being in existence for the seven years since 2003, Eastman Industries Ltd’s AddoIndia brand was a new one for Tyres & Accessories. Speaking to the magazine during the Reifen China exhibition in late November, Harpeet Singh Walia, the company’s international marketing executive, explained that the company’s cross ply tyres are produced in India, while the firm takes delivery of and distributes passenger car radials manufactured in China. In addition to these lines, the company sell “everything from bike to OTR tyres” and also markets lines in battery and wheel products. Many of the truck tyres the company sells are of bias construction, but company representatives are pragmatic about the fact that these will eventually go away.

30th November 2010/by Tyrepress Editors

Ceat Ltd. Acquires ‘Ceat’ Name from Pirelli, Pushes Exports

India’s Ceat Ltd. now holds global ownership of the ‘Ceat’ brand name after purchasing the rights from Pirelli & C. SpA for nine million euros. The company is said to have made an upfront payment of 4.5 million euros to Pirelli with a bank guarantee for the balance. The purchase allows Ceat to export tyres under the eponymous brand anywhere in the world, and Ceat shares jumped 7.4 per cent to 138.85 rupees as details of the deal became known.

29th November 2010/by Tyrepress Editors

Sumitomo Chemical to Build S-SBR Plant in Singapore

In future the 270 square mile state of Singapore will be home to no less than three major synthetic rubber production plants following Sumitomo Chemical’s decision to construct a solution styrene-butadiene rubber (S-SBR) facility on Jurong Island. The Japanese firm intends to have the 40,000 tonne per annum capacity plant ready for commercial operation in the fourth quarter of 2013.

26th November 2010/by Tyrepress Editors

Hayes Lemmerz Begins Passenger Car Steel Rim Production in India

A ceremony held on November 23 marked the official opening of the first facility producing Hayes Lemmerz passenger car steel wheels in Asia. The plant in Chakan, near the Indian city of Pune, is the product of an established joint-venture between the US based wheel producer and Indian automotive component manufacturer the Kalyani Group. Approximately US$15 million has been invested in the plant.

26th November 2010/by Tyrepress Editors

Apollo Aiming for 'At Least' The Top 10

If you were playing a word association game with a tyre executive and said “emerging markets” the chances are they would say “China.” However, while China is top of the tree when it comes to tyre production in the so-called emerging markets – and indeed the world – the recent investments of global players (such as Bridgestone and Michelin) in India, coupled with the rapid growth of the market’s domestic producers should make you sit up and take notice of what is happening in the sub-continent.

While most of the world, perhaps excluding China, was languishing under the shadow of the recent recession, India’s economy is positively booming with gross domestic product (GDP) currently growing at between 8 and 9 per cent in a global economic scenario that sees some of the world’s so-called superpowers pleased to report growth of anything more than zero and avoid the dreaded double dip. What separates India from the only other economy in the world that operates on this scale (China), is the fact that it is simultaneously growing fast, home to roughly a billion people and is also as much consumer as much as an exporter. And what’s more the very words that Apollo Tyres chairman Onkar S Kanwar and vice-chairman Neeraj Kanwar both use to describe their own staff, can also be used to optimistically sum up the population – “young, dynamic and innovative.”

Tyres & Accessories recently travelled to India to learn more about arguably the most globalised – certainly the most Europeanised – Indian tyre manufacturer, Apollo Tyres. During our whistle-stop tour of the company’s executive, R&D and production operations across India, the company demonstrated that it is moving towards its goal of becoming a global player and entering the top 10 within the next five years at a rate of knots with the news that it has joined the list of globally approved suppliers to German car marque Volkswagen. Apollo also revealed how it recently launched giant OTR tyre production at its Limda factory, truck and car radial production at its modern Chennai Greenfield plant and gave details of the construction of a new R&T (research and technology) centre at the Chennai site.

22nd November 2010/by Tyrepress Editors

Pirelli Concludes First F1 Test, Next in Barhrain

Having brought its first Formula One tyre test to a satisfactory conclusion, Pirelli reports that its next private test will take place in Bahrain from 12 – 16 December. There will be another private test session in Europe during January, before all the teams reconvene at the beginning of February for the first official test.

Paul Hembery, Pirelli's motorsport director commented: "We've passed our first test with full marks. All the teams have done plenty of laps and everyone has worked very hard. We've focused on the development of the front tire and that has given us the most satisfaction. On Monday, we begin to analyze the data collected over the last two days"

22nd November 2010/by Tyrepress Editors

Indian Tyre Production, Exports Up in H1, 2010 – ATMA

During the first six months of its current financial year, India produced some 28 per cent more tyres than a year earlier. Data from national industry organisation the Automotive Tyre Manufacturers’ Association (produced using information supplied by its eight member companies, who account for around 90 per cent of the country’s tyre production) states that 9.53 million tyres rolled out of ATMA member factories in India between April 1 and September 30 this year; in the same months of 2009 just 7.44 million tyres were produced. According to ATMA, production increased across all tyre market segments, the largest expansion being seen in the motor scooter segment, where production grew 67 per cent year-on-year. Passenger car tyre production in India increased 41 per cent to 2.09 million, while light commercial vehicle and truck/bus tyre production grew two and five per cent respectively. A total of 1.27 million truck/bus tyres were produced in the April to September period.

17th November 2010/by Tyrepress Editors

Ceat Launches Website to ‘Idiot-Proof’ Motorcyclists

Motorcycle and moped riders in India are receiving a reminder that “roads are filled with idiots” courtesy of a new safety-themed website launched by Ceat Ltd. The manufacturer has launched the memorably named www.beidiotsafe.com website to promote the grip benefits its range of two-wheel tyres can offer, yet the site’s refreshing directness means its appeal goes way beyond that of its intended audience. Visitors to the site are met by a 360-degree rotatable idiot diorama; after playing with this feature, sub-sections such as an idiot’s gallery, a ‘spot the idiot’ game and a link to where road users can share their tales of idiocy are just a click away.

17th November 2010/by Tyrepress Editors

Rubber Prices May Force Production Cuts in India

Natural rubber prices have been the bane of tyre makers in India of late, and on November 12 the New Delhi based Financial Express reported that major tyre manufacturers in India are considering production cuts to minimise on losses arising from prices that have risen above Rs 200 (£2.77) a kilogram.

12th November 2010/by Tyrepress Editors

Raw Material Costs Prompt Apollo to Consider Further International Investments

Upon announcing Apollo Tyres Ltd’s results for the second quarter and first half of the current Indian financial year, company chairman Onkar S Kanwar commented “it’s been a very difficult six months managing the unprecedented rise in natural rubber prices.” This is perhaps an understatement; Kanwar noted the company’s natural rubber costs have risen 70 per cent in the last year and 150 per cent in the space of two years – a significant amount, considering the commodity accounts for 60 per cent of Apollo’s raw material costs. “This has affected all aspects of our operation.” Kanwar added. “I do hope the Government will look at some measure to check speculation, as well as bring down the unreal duty structure we have.”

11th November 2010/by Tyrepress Editors

Apollo Makes OE Breakthrough as Manufacturer Aims for Top 10

Apollo Tyres has demonstrated it is moving towards its goal of becoming a global player and entering the top 10 within the next five years with the news that it has joined the list of globally approved suppliers to German car marque Volkswagen. However the prestige associated with VW's global OE approval of Apollo's tyres is multiplied by the fact that the company has been selected to supply the replacement to VW's compact Fox model, known as the “Up”, which can be described as a European OE contract. This mini model is expected to be produced at the German carmaker's Brazil plant, where the Fox was previously constructed.

11th November 2010/by Tyrepress Editors