India
Continental AG chief executive Elmar Degenhart has shared details of how the automotive supplier is planning to invest 500 million euros into its tyre business in an interview Germany's Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung newspaper. According to the report, Degenhart admitted that Continental should have invested more in its tyre division during the past five years.
The period between April and August this year yielded a 29 per cent increase in domestic tyre production in India on the back of a sharp rise in automobile sales, according to a report published by Business Standard. This rise is made even more impressive when one considers the spiralling natural rubber prices in the same time-frame. The report states that the major tyre manufacturers produced 47.1 million tyres in April-August 2010, as opposed to 36.7 million in the same period of 2009.
Automotive Tyre Manufacturers’ Association (Atma) reportedly sought suspension of futures trading in natural rubber (NR) on 20 October. According to India’s Business Standard newspaper Rajiv Budhraja, director general, ATMA wrote to the Forward Markets Commission (FMC) and the Rubber Board after rubber futures went up by 5 rupees for the November contract in one day reaching 191 rupees/kg from 186/kg earlier. By 20 October NR futures are said to have risen to 200 rupees/kg.
Jointly organised by CEMS USA, CEMS INDIA, a leading multinational exhibition organizer of South & South-East Asia and CCPIT-Auto (China Council for Promotion of International Trade – Automotive Sub-Council), the Singapore International Auto Parts Expo 2010’ [SIAPE 2010] reports that it is set to be Asia’s latest platform, which is seeing a “revolution in the sales of Automobiles, for global players to assemble in the remarkable Asian business hub – Singapore.”
Ceat has reportedly increased tyre production capacity at its Nashik, India plant by over 1,000 tonnes a month. The plant produces truck, light commercial vehicle (LCV) and agricultural tyre products. Local news reports said that as a result of the expansion the Nashik facility’s truck tyre capacity has increased by 1,700,000 units, LCV tyres by 96,000 units and rear tractor lines by 50,000 units annually.
Radialisation is taking root in India’s commercial vehicle tyre market, and Bridgestone is taking steps to secure its share of this potentially huge market. At a the opening of a Bridgestone Fleet Point outlet in Chennai on October 11, the managing director of Bridgestone India confirmed the tyre maker was on target to begin truck and bus radial production next May. Initial TBR manufacture will take place at Bridgestone’s Kheda plant in Madhya Pradesh state, where truck radial capacity is being added through a US$36.7 million investment. Daily production will start at 200 units and almost double within a year.
A planned fourth factory is expected to increase Balkrishna Industries’ tyre making capacity by 73 per cent. Indian media sources report the tyre maker plans to establish a new facility in Bhuj, Gujarat state, by the third quarter of the 2013 fiscal year.
ECI International, the organiser of the new Tyrexpo India planned for 5 – 7 July 2011, has announced a strategic alliance with Capexil, the Indian Government-sponsored agency responsible for the promotion of the country’s tyre and rubber exporters. According to ECI, the link means the agency – which reports to India’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry – will work closely with ECI to maximise opportunities for Indian suppliers to promote themselves to potential export customers.
Apollo Tyres has taken a further step with its retail business within India. The company already operates 15 Apollo Zones in a number of major cities, and now the tyre maker reports opening its first Apollo Super Zone centre. Located in Kolkata, in the eastern Indian state of West Bengal, this 16th Apollo Zone outlet is the largest opened by the company to-date and has a showroom space of 5,000 square feet. The new Apollo Super Zone was inaugurated by Apollo Tyres' chairman, Onkar S Kanwar.
At present Apollo Tyres exports 50,000 Apollo branded tyres a month to Europe from its factory in Vadodara, India, yet company ‘sources’ claim this quantity will increase markedly in the coming months. According to Indian financial journal the Hindu Business Line, sources expect a 30 per cent increase in the monthly shipment of tyres to Europe, with 65,000 units a month arriving here by March- April 2011.
Apollo Tyres is apparently still considering its options for production in Eastern Europe. Company chairman Onkar S. Kanwar has said, reports India based financial news site livemint.com, that Apollo is “evaluating takeover possibilities” within the region. The tyre maker may invest up to Rs 20 billion (£280 million) buying and setting up facilities in outside of India; livemint.com says that an Asian acquisition is also being evaluated. A further Rs 10 billion is said to have been earmarked for expanding capacity within India.
JK Tyre & Industries has been a pioneer of radialisation in the Indian tyre market for some 35 years now and the country’s third largest tyre manufacturer, with its “JK Tyre”, “Vikrant” and “Tornel” brands, is considered a technological leader. While investment in the development and production of radial passenger car tyres during the mid 1970s has paid off and radialisation within this sector of the Indian market has grown to 97 per cent, JK Tyre & Industries has now once again positioned itself on the cutting edge of radialisation by investing a sizable sum in the local truck tyre market. And although this investment will initially serve Indian customers, the manufacturer plans the parallel expansion of its export activity and is focusing on the European market, particularly the passenger car tyre segment. Vice chairman and managing director Dr. Raghupati Singhania explained the background to this in an exclusive interview with Tyres & Accessories.
Dr. Raghupati Singhania, vice chairman & managing director of JK Tyre & Industries, was awarded ‘CEO of the Year’ by the Asia Pacific HRM Congress 2010 at a function held in Bangalore, India on September 3, 2010. The citation of this award to Dr. Singhania describes him as a prolific visionary and an entrepreneur who has a fondness for technology and innovation.
Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd. SRI is to purchase a 1.8 per cent stake in international tyre and wheel distributor, Stamford Tyres Corporation Limited. Subject to the approval from the Singapore Stock Exchange, Stamford Tyres announced 21 September that it will issue SRI 4.3 million new shares at a price of S$0.35 per share.
Net proceeds from the placement, after deducting expenses of S$100,000, are said to be approximately S$1.4 million (£674,522; 793,471 euros; US$1.054 million) According to the company, the net proceeds will be used to fund the group’s working capital needs in South Africa.
Continental AG says automobile production in Europe and the US will remain stagnant next year, which is why it is stepping up expansion in Asia. The tyre and auto part maker said growth in emerging markets like China, India and Indonesia is important to its continued success.
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