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JK Tyre Tops Indian OE Survey

JK Tyre has topped the J.D. Power Asia Pacific 2009 India Original Equipment Tire Customer Satisfaction Index. Now in its ninth year, the study analyzes new-vehicle buyer satisfaction with original equipment tyres by examining five key factors – durability, ride, traction and handling. With an overall score of 811 on a 1,000-point scale, JK Tyre performed particularly well in all factors that drive overall satisfaction. MRF came second with 804, followed by Bridgestone (797), Apollo (784) and Goodyear (767). Overall satisfaction has declined by 10 points from 2008 to an average of 798 in 2009. Furthermore, the percentage of customers reporting a problem with their original tyres increased from 19 per cent in 2008 to 22 per cent in 2009.

“The occurrence of even a single problem leads to a strong negative impact on tyre satisfaction, with satisfaction averaging 70 points lower among customers who experience a tyre-related problem, compared with customers who do not,” said Mohit Arora, senior director at J.D. Power Asia Pacific, Singapore. “Problems like excessive tyre noise while driving, poor traction on wet roads and recurring flat tyres not only cause driving inconvenience, but also can be safety hazards, which intensifies the negative impact on customer satisfaction.”

13th May 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

CEAT Tyres Inaugurates First Wheel Management Centre

In India CEAT Tyres has opened its first wheel management centre at Sankagiri in Tamil Nadu. The Economic Times reports that the centre is set to be a hub for the service and maintenance of truck radials.

The company’s vice president, sales and marketing, Arnab Banerjee told the paper, “Service and maintenance of a tyre means proper alignment, greasing and retreading in periodic intervals, nitrogen filling in tyres, and various other measures to improve tyre life and fuel efficiency of the vehicle.” He also suggested that the centre would be used for driver-based training.

It is reported that the company is tapping into the local industrialised market of 10,000 trucks, 25 per cent of which run on radials compared to the Indian average of 10 per cent.

12th May 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Apollo’s Vredestein Acquisition Worth $300 Million – Analyst

The Apollo Tyres acquisition of Vredestein Banden, which should be finalised in late May, is said to be a deal worth in the vicinity of US$300 million. This figure was put forward by India’s Hindustan Times and was provided by an industry analyst who wishes to remain anonymous.

“Vredestein was bought over by Amtel in 2005 for $260 million so this acquisition would at least amount to $300 million,” said the analyst. “The deal is a win-win situation for Apollo as it not only gets access to high-end technology which it can also bring into India, but also a firm marketing and sales foothold in Europe.”

7th May 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Dunlop India Ready to be ‘Plugged In’ at Sahaganj

Provided the supply of electricity is restored, Dunlop India will most likely recommence the manufacture of tyres at its Sahaganj facility during May. The supply was cut following the suspension of production last November; the Press Trust of India quotes company chairman P K Ruia as recently saying “the Sahaganj plant is waiting for electricity connection to restart production.”

The facility partially re-opened on March 6, with 200 of the plant’s 1147 employees returning to carry out maintenance work.

30th April 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Apollo Net Profit Down 52%

Apollo Tyres’ India operations profits were less than half that of last year according to the year-end financial report released today by the manufacturer (April 2008-March 2009). While net sales grew 10 per cent from 36.9 billion to 40.7 billion rupees in the period, operating profit came down to 3.3 billion from 4.7 billion rupees and net profit more than halved from 2.1 billion to 1 billion rupees. Despite the relative gloom of the full year figures, Apollo came closer to matching the January-March 2008 quarterly operating profit in the same period this year, down merely 40 million rupees from 2.14 billion to 2.1 billion. The board of directors recommended a dividend payout of 45 per cent to shareholders.

29th April 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Rajmahaal Geared Up for Expansion in Western Europe

Indian retreading equipment manufacturer Rajmahaal Tire Equipments sees itself in a position to expand its export programme into Western Europe. According to company managing director M.V.D Rajendran, Rajmahaal already sells autoclaves, buffing machines, spreaders and other products in Eastern Europe. Now, armed with a newly developed low-energy autoclave that can accommodate up to 24 tyres, it has its sights set on conquering all of Europe.

27th April 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Ruia Pledges Dunlop India Stake to Refinance Loan

It has been revealed that the Ruia Group has pledged 51 per cent of its 74.5 per cent shareholding in Dunlop India with a private bank in order to raise Rs 6 billion (US$125 million) to refinance a hedge fund debt. Although this deal was arranged with the Singapore branch of ICICI bank in October 2008, details of the transaction were only made public in April 2009.

27th April 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Indian Govt Ponders PCR Duty

India’s government intends to introduce import duties for passenger car radials in an attempt to protect the domestic industry against the growing quantities of the product being shipped into the country. According to an anonymous official, the Directorate General of Safeguards, a section of the national Revenue Department, is examining an industry filed complaint. Tyre manufacturers allege that the sharp increase in imports over the past year is causing them harm. A formal case is likely to be initiated by the Director General of Safeguards.

24th April 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Rubber Prices May Plummet 35% as Tyre Sales Slow

International News

Global sales of passenger car and commercial vehicle tyres may decline to 1.32 billion units in 2009 from 1.41 billion last year, said No Dock Moung, an analyst with the Singapore based International Rubber Study Group. The drop of almost 6.4 per cent would be the steepest since at least 1975, he said. And according to a Singapore based trading manager from Marubeni Corp., Japan’s largest rubber trading company, this could lead to natural rubber prices weakening by as much as 35 per cent.

21st April 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Malhotra Growing in the Radial Business

Not many companies successfully negotiate the transition from retreading to the new tyre industry. India’s Malhotra Rubber Ltd., however, is one such firm. The company began producing cold cure retreading materials more than fifty years ago, but it was only in the late 1970s that it began the manufacture of new tyres. Much later, some five years ago, the Indian company entered the radial market with a commercial vehicle tyre intended for the domestic market. Despite this, the company’s offering in European markets continues to focus on the supply of cold cure retreading materials, which are sold under the ‘Malhotra’ brand name. The company stressed at Tyrexpo Asia that it also supplies materials for the as-yet not widespread Indian mould cure retreading industry – a line-up that includes bonding rubber and repair patches.

21st April 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

China Provides Optimistic Rubber Counterpoint

China has increased its rubber imports from 180,000 tonnes in the first two months of 2009 to 190,000 in March, Bloomberg has today reported. A rise of 10 per cent in automobile sales year-on-year (according to figures from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers) has led to the rise following government subsidies. Incentives to the industry Japan, Germany and France are also offering incentives.

Bloomberg suggests that any revival in rubber demand from recovering car sales may be mitigated as tyre-makers switch to cheaper oil-based alternatives. The mix of synthetic to natural rubber in tyres is roughly 60 to 40 per cent, said Lawrence Orlowski, an analyst at S&P Equity Services in New York. Usually about 5 to 10 per cent of a tyre’s material can be switched, he said. (Tire Review/Akron)

20th April 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Alliance Appoints Trio of VPs

Alliance Tire Group has announced that the Company appointed Jean-Paul Spijker as vice president sales global OEM, B.S. Rama Murthy as group vice president commercial and D. Suresh as vice president of Technology function at the end of February.

17th April 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Positive Feedback for Automechanika Malaysia

The organiser of the Automechanika Malaysia exhibition has reported on the success of this year’s show. Messe Frankfurt states that the exhibition, held at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre between March 25 and 28, attracted 133 exhibitors from 14 countries and regions, plus 4,521 visitors. The top five visitor countries and regions outside Malaysia were Singapore, China, Thailand, Korea and Egypt.

Receiving official recognition can substantially boost a show’s standing, and Messe Frankfurt comments that the Malaysian government “understands the needs of having an automotive parts and aftermarket trade fair to boost the industry”. Malaysia’s Deputy Minister of International Trade & Industry, YB Dato’ Jacob Dungau Sagan officially opened Automechanika Malaysia. He is quoted as saying: “I am happy to note that Messe Frankfurt Hong Kong proceeded with this event although the automobile industry is experiencing a bumpy ride.”

15th April 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

MRF Lands OE Deal with Military Aircraft Manufacturer

MRF, the first Indian tyre manufacturer to produce aviation tyres for military aircraft, has secured an order from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), one of Asia’s largest aerospace companies. The initial supply contract, reports the Financial Chronicle, is for some 400 to 500 tyres for HAL’s Chetak multi-purpose helicopter. India’s defence authorities have also reportedly asked the company to develop tyres for other types of military aircraft.

14th April 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Evergreen Global Ready to Enter Europe

During the past 25 years Evergreen Global has developed from a small Singapore based wholesaler into a well-known truck tyre supplier offering its own brands, “United”, “Global Star” and “Matrix”. The next stage in the company’s development, outlined general manager Lancy Nazareth during Tyrexpo Asia, is to establish a presence in the European market.

Since the early 1980s, when company founder Ram Niranjan Jatia moved his business – which in those days dealt exclusively with the yarn trade – from Mumbai to Singapore and entered the tyre business, Evergreen has seized the opportunity to set up branch offices in numerous global locations: Today the company’s network of offices includes sites in Myanmar (Burma), Vietnam, Dubai, India and Brazil.

14th April 2009/by Tyrepress Editors