India Archives - Page 85 of 127 - Tyrepress

India

Posts

Government Can’t Intervene in Dunlop India Crisis

The labour minister in the Indian State of West Bengal has admitted there is not much the state government can do to resolve the problems between Dunlop India and union groups. This disclosure, reports the Times of India, came after the minister received a letter from company representatives explaining their decision to suspend production.

Mr. Mrinal Banerjee, the labour minister, said he would meet with union leaders on December 2. “We will talk separately with unions and the management and then plan a tripartite meeting,” he said. “But this is all we can do. For, this is not a sick company and the management is simply saying that it has failed to run the factory.”

2nd December 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Stamford Warning Q2 Loss

Stamford Tyres of Singapore has told Asian news sources that it expects to record a loss in its second quarter ending 31 October, 2008. The company said that the losses were a result of currencies in Australia, South Africa, Indonesia and India weakening against the American dollar in October. It says that the losses are not related to speculative hedging instruments. The firm still expects to post a profit for the first half of its financial year.

2nd December 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Lockout at Dunlop India Plant Declared

Dunlop India plans to suspend production at its Sahaganj facility and idle its workers on an Rs 2,000 (£30) a month retainer have run into complications, resulting in the company declaring a lockout at the plant on November 30. Workers have refused to sign an agreement accepting a suspension of production and the monthly payment, and on the morning of November 30 staged a demonstration against the company’s decision.

1st December 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Analysis of Indian Tyre Industry Published

The Indian tyre industry is around eighty years old, but over the past decade has seen significant growth and has played a major role in the growth of the Indian automotive industry. The total value of industry sales in 2006 and 2007 was Rs 190 billion (£2.49 billion) and its export value was Rs 26 billion (£341.18 million).

To give industry participants and observers a greater insight into the Indian tyre market, Icfai Books, a division of Icfai University in Hyderabad, India, has published a reference book titled “Tyre Industry in India – Issues and Outlooks”. This publication contains information on numerous issues including the evolution and growth of the Indian tyre industry, directional trends, SWOT analysis and the industry’s competitiveness. Separate chapters are dedicated to all the major Indian based manufacturers.

1st December 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

G8 International FZE – Trading Partners

We have been hearing a lot about the G8 group of countries recently, but this article is concerned with another G8 – G8 International FZE, a trading company established in the Sharjah free trade zone of the UAE.

Originally, the purpose of G8 was to procure various raw materials for the automobile tyre and tube industry in India and other parts of the world, but the scope of the business has expanded somewhat. As well as offering a range of synthetic and natural rubber, sourced mainly from Russia and India, G8’s products include five types of carbon black, chemicals used in tyre manufacturing, such as zinc oxide, sulphur and stearic acid among others and a range of tube valves. G8 also trades in metals, minerals (rock phosphate), fertilisers and commodities such as sugar.

1st December 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Dunlop Zimbabwe Permitted to Sell in Forex

The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe has granted Dunlop Zimbabwe the licence required for companies in the country to sell products using foreign currencies, according to the Chronicle newspaper.

The paper quotes the firm’s Southern regional manager Dumisani Ndlovu, who stated, “the inspection was done by the RBZ on 25 November to check whether the ultra violet money detection machine was in place, the invoicing, security, computer network and warehousing. The team was satisfied and Dunlop was given permission to sell in forex.” He concluded that the licence would allow the manufacturer to import more raw materials, which would make an increase in production capacity possible, “thereby improving the company’s viability and safeguarding the company’s employment base. In addition, the more we sell in forex, the more forex that is made available to the RBZ to finance crucial national programmes in the country,” he stated.

28th November 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Dunlop India Chairman Issues Consolatory Media Brief

PK Ruia, the chairman of Dunlop India has told national media sources that the situation at the company’s Sahagunj plant, where work remains under suspension, is “under control.” The factory has been closed since Tuesday 18 November, when staff members were told to go home with an allowance on 2,000 rupees a month. The company now states that talks with banks to negotiate the necessary working capital to reopen are “at an advanced stage”, and that the factory expects to reopen in between 15 and 90 days’ time.

25th November 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Sales Tax Exemption, Productivity Agreement Sought By Dunlop India

Pawan Kumar Ruia claims he has no intention of closing down Dunlop operations in India. Before activities can resume at the company’s Sahaganj factory, however, he wants the West Bengal government to arrange sales tax exemption and an agreement with employees assuring an increase in productivity. Production stopped at the factory on November 17.

24th November 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Ruia Group Acquires Inner Tube Manufacturer

India’s Ruia group has acquired two-wheeler inner tube manufacturing company JJ Polymers for an undisclosed sum, and Ruia is setting about raising capacity at the company’s Mysore facility in eastern India. “Its capacity is being raised to 900,000 per month,” said group chairman Pawan Kumar Ruia; previously the JJ Polymers plant had a monthly capacity of 375,000 units.

24th November 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Falling Prices a Focus at Rubber Organisation Meeting

Falling prices for natural rubber will be a key theme at the meeting of the Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries (ANRPC) on November 26 to 28. Representatives from India, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam will discuss price trends and supply-side measures in detail, reports Sajen Peter, chairman of India’s Rubber Board.

24th November 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Dunlop India Factory Deadlock Set to Continue

The situation at Dunlop India’s closed Sahagunj factory, reported this week on Tyrepress.com, looks to be at a standstill. India’s Financial Express is reporting that the two major trade unions at the factory – Citu and Intuc – have decided not to sign a bipartite agreement with the plant’s management. Both unions, it is reported, want the Indian government to be included in a three-party meeting.

The paper quotes Dipanker Roy, Dunlop Workers’ Union (Citu) general secretary, who said that he would be communicating with the country’s labour minister, adding that, “We have been to the [Dunlop factory] office to discuss the management’s proposal, but no one from the decision-making body was present.” Workers remain at home with the offer of a 2,000-rupee monthly grant from the company’s management, which followed the suspension of production.

21st November 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Rubbery Figures

According to the International Rubber Study Group, the European Union is currently the third largest regional consumer of natural and synthetic rubber. In 2007, Europe’s consumption of natural rubber reached 1.373 million tonnes, 14 per cent of global natural rubber consumption. The Singapore based organisation notes that European consumption increased 1.7 per cent since 2005, a much smaller increase that the 10.9 per cent growth in global consumption. For synthetic rubber, the IRSG reports the EU consumption in 2007 to be 2.616 million tonnes, a 20 per cent share of global consumption.

21st November 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Dunlop India Halts Sahaganj Production

Dunlop India has felt the worldwide pinch, reacting by closing its Sahagunj factory indefinitely from Tuesday 18 November. Its 1,200-strong workforce has been asked to stay at home. Website IBNLive reports that company sources have reported that the company is running short of working capital and that it is in negotiations with the banks. It is believed that workers will be given 2,000 rupees a month until the factory reopens, though the website says that its sources believe that it could be some time before the factory resumes processing.

Meanwhile Sindh Today reports that a company spokesman told the paper: “The [economic] crisis has had a heavy impact on the tyre sector. We have a huge shortage of capital. So we called the union leaders Saturday for a bi-partite and told them since there is almost no demand, the company would be incurring heavy losses if production continued. And they agreed.” The spokesman added that he didn’t know how long the situation would remain the same: “We may get the funds in 15 days, or it may be three months even. We don’t know. But we are hopeful that we will be able to solve the problem fast.”

17th November 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Apollo Plans Rs 30 Billion Investment in Five Years

With the battle cry of large investment plans, Apollo is continuing its march towards the company’s goals of becoming a “Top Six” international manufacturer and turning over $4 billion in the next five years. The major Indian player is already in the process of setting up new factories in Chennai and Eastern Europe, though the company has yet to confirm the location of the latter.

Apollo vice chairman and joint MD, Neeraj Kanwar told the Press Trust of India, “We will invest about Rs 3,000 crore [£4.07 billion; 1 GBP = 73.7 INR] over the next five years. Me and my whole team’s desire is to be amongst the top six players of the world.” Meanwhile, Business Standard reports that Apollo is considering Slovakia and Poland for the location of its first European plant, having hit difficulties in Hungary (as reported on Tyrepress.com earlier in the year).

17th November 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Toyota, Renault-Nissan Look to Emerging Markets

With vehicle sales in established markets declining, it is hardly surprising that manufacturers are eyeing fresh fields. India’s Tata has already unveiled the Nano, at £1,300 the world’s cheapest new car; now the company faces competition from international rivals hoping for a share of the Indian and other newer markets.

Toyota, along with its Daihatsu small vehicle unit, is said to be developing a new low-cost car for emerging markets. The vehicle, which would sell in locations such as India, Brazil and Africa, is said to have a planned price tag of around £3,200. Japan’s Asahi Shimbun newspaper reports this vehicle will be introduced in the early 2010s and manufactured in India. Toyota executives have not, however, confirmed this news, and are said to have countered that selling such a car under the Toyota badge could harm its brand image.

11th November 2008/by Tyrepress Editors