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JK Tyre Sponsor Indian National Karting Championship

JK Tyre are to sponsor the fifth JK Tyre Indian National Rotax Max Karting Championship, which begins with its first round of the season at Coimbatore. The championship will take off at the Kari Motor Speedway with the qualifying & heat races to be held on Saturday June 6 and the main races on Sunday June 7, 2009. The winners of the 3 classes will have the honour of being declared the National Rotax Karting Champions of India.

The concept of the championship has been formatted to develop the burgeoning field of Indian motor sports. For the first time several teams will be in the fray for the prestigious event, with Amaron-Meco Pro Kart, Red Rooster, Mohites, Indus, AW, Rayo and Meco-City Kart all taking part. Also, for the first time the entries will have an international flavour, with a Scottish driver and an Iraqi girl participating.

3rd June 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Gripen UK Enjoying ‘Month on Month’ Growth

Over on the other side of the North Sea lies the headquarters of one of the largest and fastest growing wholesalers in Scandinavia and Europe, Gripen Wheels. The Swedish based company delivers tyres to more than 20 countries and operates numerous warehouses throughout Europe. Some 18 months ago the UK joined the list of locations where Gripen boasts a presence, and the Cambridge headquartered operation now supplies customers nationwide from its warehouse in Immingham, near Hull. Tyres & Accessories recently spoke with Gripen’s UK director, Ray Coulson, to find out how the company is progressing in our market.

2nd June 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Tax at Ruia Group Tyre Companies under Investigation

An article published by the Indian business daily Mint indicates that three tyre companies owned by Ruia Group chairman Pawan Kumar Ruia are being investigated for tax incongruities. The probe is focusing upon the presence of “hawala” activities, a name given to the transfer of money in order to avoid taxes without a corresponding physical or electronic transfer of funds. The companies under investigation are Dunlop India Ltd, Falcon Tyres Ltd and Monotona Tyres Ltd.

2nd June 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Unrest Continues Despite Lifting of MRF Lockout

The lockout at MRF Ltd’s Arakkonam factory in southeast India has been lifted – but many employees are refusing to return to work. An announcement from management regarding an end to the ten-day-old lockout was made on May 27, yet the company’s dispute with the MRF United Workers Union (MUWU), which declared a strike at the Arakkonam plant on May 9, remains an unresolved issue.

India’s Business Standard newspaper discloses that a number of MRF workers plan to file a Supreme Court petition against the company’s management. MUWU honorary president V. Prakash told the paper “we don’t have a choice but to file a petition in [the] Supreme Court” following recent failed talks. “The main plea would be to recognise the union,” he explained.

27th May 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Michelin India Project a Step Nearer to Realisation

Objections to Michelin’s Rs 40 billion (£530 million) greenfield factory project in Tamil Nadu, India have been overruled by the Madras High Court. On May 26 the court ruled against an environmentally based petition instigated by a local villagers’ association, stating that the need for employment and investment must take precedence.

27th May 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Reports: Goodyear India to Expand Annual Capacity to 4 million Tyres

Goodyear India is aiming to boost annual capacity by 15 per cent to 4 million tyres a year, according to various online news sources. The news follows the launch of the Goodyear DuraPlus in the country, a tyre aimed at small family hatchbacks that account for the largest segment in the Indian car market. Goodyear India reportedly wants to target the replacement market with the new tyre and is said to be negotiating car makers on the subject of OE for the new tyre.

In an interesting twist, the reports also states that Indian branch of the manufacturer will soon be offering run-flats imported from Goodyear’s manufacturing facilities in the US or Europe. According to the reports, these tyres retail at more than 10,000 rupees (£132) each in India.

26th May 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

MRF Temporarily Relocating Production from Locked Out Plant

India based tyre manufacturer MRF Ltd appears set to circumvent the lockout and worker protests at its Arakonam factory in Tamil Nadu state by temporarily transferring production to its Medak facility. In a press statement, the company made reference to vehicle manufacturers’ dependence on tyres it supplies, commenting that “MRF has made all efforts to ensure regular supply of OE tyres from its factory at Medak in Andhra Pradesh.”

The Business Standard newspaper reports that on May 21 around 800 employees and their families were arrested for continuing their sit-in strike within the company’s premises and were evicted.

22nd May 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

MRF Strikers Plan New Protest Strategies

Striking workers at tyre MRF’s Arakonam and Puducherry plants in India are considering surrendering their important ration and voter identify cards in protest against a wage agreement signed with a rival labour union. The worker’s sit-in strike began on May 9 and led to a lockout being declared at the Arakonam site on May 17. Production at both locations has come to a complete halt as a result of the industrial action.

20th May 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

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

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

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