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Net Profit Trebles for JK Tyre

The financial quarter between July and September has proven to be a healthy one for JK Tyre & Industries, who on October 23 reported that its quarterly net profit had more than trebled from a year earlier, the result of lower raw material prices and better realisations. Net profit rose from Rs 69.8 million (£863,800) to 243.9 million (£3.02 million) in spite of sales decreasing 2.8 per cent to Rs 6.9 billion (£85.4 million) since a year ago.

On top of the growth in net profit, the manufacturer forecast sales growth in the area of 20 per cent for the year ending September 2008. “We are hopeful that in the coming year new product development and tinkering with [our] market mix will continue, which will help us drive volumes and higher profit margin,” managing director Raghupati Singhania informed media. Sales of truck tyres, a product that reportedly generate four fifths of JK Tyre’s revenue, were down during the quarter, however they are anticipated to increase again in the October to December quarter, which corresponds with India’s festival season, traditionally a time for making purchases.

24th October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Tyrexpo Asia Continues to Grow Despite Clash of Dates

The sixth Tyrexpo Asia, held in Singapore in September, left no hint of a doubt as to the importance of the regional tyre market and of the show itself in comparison with other regions and events. The organisers of the biannual Tyrexpo Asia, the UK’s ECI International, have again been proud to present the show’s final figures, which show an exhibitor increase of about 30 per cent compared to the 2005 show: this year 125 companies from 25 different countries booked floor space in the Singapore Expo Center. In terms of booked floor space this year’s show has developed equally well: about 6,500 m² was covered which, representing a growth of 25 per cent. However, this success is not completely untarnished as the number of visitors might be expected to have grown on par – something that would been justified by the quality of exhibitors – if there had not been a clash of dates with the CITExpo tyre show in Shanghai, China. At the end ECI International reported a growth of nine per cent up to 3,219 registered visitors from 88 different countries.

22nd October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone Outlines Mid-Term Goals

Bridgestone has declared its intention to “establish the status of being the undisputed world number one tyre and rubber company both in name and reality” by means of a new five-year plan unveiled on October 22. This mid-term management plan has been formulated through planning on the part of each of Bridgestone’s strategic business units to maximise use of all global business resources available to them, with these efforts supported by the company’s global management platform.

The intended result of this mid-term plan is an increase in net sales of almost 20 per cent (over its 2007 sales forecast) to 4 trillion yen (£17 billion) by 2012. These funds will be channelled into a number of areas, and to facilitate this Bridgestone will implement a number of key strategies based upon what it calls its “four fundamental management policies.” These strategies include reinforcing and adding value to product areas in which the company has “preceded its competitors”, including run-flat tyres, PCR UHP and winter tyres, as well as Greatec and low profile tyres for trucks and buses. The company also intends to “secure overwhelming competency to ensure long-term superiority” in the area of large OTR radial plus aircraft and motorcycle tyres. Furthermore, Bridgestone reports that “full use” will be made of Bridgestone Bandag, with package solutions being made available to customers in the truck and bus tyre business. This move will potentially see Bridgestone competing on a level in the retreading business previously solely enjoyed by arch rival Michelin, who to date has been the only new tyre manufacturer to market its retreaded products as a tyre option on par with its new tyre range.

22nd October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Apollo Tyres Unveils Smart Retail Outlets

Apollo Tyres Ltd has launched its first branded retail store in Patiala, India. The company now plans to take these stores to all the metropolitan and class A cities in the country in the coming months.

The first store to sport the new look is National Tyres, Patiala, one of Apollo’s leading retailers in the state of Punjab. Speaking at the inauguration, Mr Satish Sharma, Chief, India Operations, Apollo Tyres Ltd, said: “There’s much happening in the Indian retail space and it’s the right time for us to give our customers the same best-in-class experience. We are creating outlets where women feel comfortable making a purchase. In an environment where the consumer can make an informed decision and is backed by quality service levels and knowledge. These stores look and feel different and will finally bring in the global tyre-buying experience into India.”

19th October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Automechanika Canada Debuts

(Akron/Tire Review) The recently ended Automechanika Canada – the first for North America – draw nearly 3,000 attendees and 2020 exhibitors from 16 countries. Held in Toronto from September 26 to 28, this first Automechanika event also included participation by the Ontario Tire Dealers Association. Participants included automotive and tyre suppliers, manufacturers, retailers, shop owners and installers, and offered a number of education sessions with the trade show.

Exhibitors came from Brazil, China, Germany, India, Iran, Israel, Italy, Malaysia, Mexico, Portugal, South Korea, Taiwan, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the US, according to organisers Messe Frankfurt. “We were pleased to be able to deliver such a high quality event to the growing Canadian market this year,” said Messe Frankfurt president David Audrain. “Automechanika Canada enabled aftermarket professionals to source new products from around the world and enhance their business in Canada.”

The next Automechanika Canada has been scheduled for June 18-20, 2008.

18th October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Production Gathers Momentum at Dunlop India as New Workers Hired

Production facilities at Dunlop India’s Sahaganj plant have been operating seven days a week since October 14, evidence the company is on its way to fulfilling recently announced plans to increase production to 90 tonnes per day by the end of October. “We would like to see Dunlop operating 24 hours a day and seven days a week,” said Dunlop India chairman Pawan Ruia. “This is a step towards making the Sahaganj unit a cost-effective, high quality manufacturer of tyres and industrial products. Very soon, Sahaganj will surpass all its previous records in production and productivity.”

17th October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Apollo to Build Hospital Near Tyre Factory Site

Apollo Tyres has plans to build a specialty hospital close to the site of its soon to be relocated Premier Tyres manufacturing facility. The Rs 6 billion (£74.8 million) hospital project will be operational by the time relocation of the tyre plant in Kalamassery, Kerala is complete in April 2009, and is expected to substantially boost medical tourism in the region. The company also plans to build a traditional “Ayurveda” healthcare clinic and residential home for the elderly on six acres of land adjacent to the Kalamassery factory site. This proposal is currently being considered by India’s State Industries Department.

17th October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Apollo in OE Talks with Skoda & Hyundai

Apollo Tyres, whose chairman Onkar S Kanwar recently voiced the company’s ambition of doubling turnover to US$2 billion within the next three years, is reportedly in OE supply talks with both Skoda and Hyundai. Specific details of these negotiations have not as yet been made public. And while the Indian tyre major has not at this stage been selected as an OE supplier for the Tata 1 lakh (£1,250) car – JK Tyre and MRF Tyres will initially fulfill this role – it is not ruling out the possibility of coming on board at a later date.

“When Tata Motors was initially finalising the vendor base, we did speak with them,” Apollo Tyres’ chief, India Operations Satish Sharma commented to India’s Economic Times newspaper. “However we plan to follow a different model. We would initially supply tyres in the after-sales market for the Tata Rs 1 lakh car and once the volumes pick up, we might become their OE partners.”

17th October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Tubeless Radials the Hot Ticket in India

(Akron/Tire Review – Hindustan Times) The flurry of new car launches in India is bringing in a quiet revolution: tubeless radial tyres have become standard fitment. Most of India’s tyremakers including MRF, JK Tyres and Ceat have started manufacturing tubeless radial tyres.

It is a quiet change on behalf of carmakers, says Tom Thomas, chief of manufacturing and technical for Ceat Tyres. Previously, most carmakers stuck to regulation tyres with tubes. These are cheaper, but they are also prone to punctures and excessive wear and tear. “Tubeless tyres give better long-term value for money for a buyer, and it is easy to repair too,” said a Mumbai-based sales manager for Tata Motors who declined to be named. “Tubeless radials can carry on with a nail in them for many kilometers, and you will probably notice the flat tyre at home, rather than on the road,” added Thomas.

16th October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Indian Tyremakers Becoming More Reliant on SR

Indian tyre manufacturers increasingly must ‘fake it to make it’ – that is, rely upon synthetic rubber in the manufacture of their products. Natural rubber already accounts for about 50 per cent of production costs in India, and since May-June the per kilogram cost of this sought after commodity has increased from Rs 80 (£1.00) to Rs 90.75 (£1.13). Apollo Tyres’ Onkar S. Kanwar believes an increase of this degree has the potential to reduce profits by 3 to 5 per cent; to counter this his company is considering doubling its use of synthetic rubber.

The ratio of natural to synthetic rubber used by Indian tyremakers could therefore feasibly reach the magic figure of 70:30 – the highest ratio technically practicable. Such measures were threatened earlier in 2007, but so far no manufacturer has utilised synthetic rubber to this degree in its products. In Europe the established ratio is 80:20, a proportion seen as not compromising the superior vulcanising qualities of natural rubber.

15th October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Apollo Turnover to Double in 3 Years – Kanwar

India’s tyre industry will most likely grow by 8 to 10 per cent over the next five years, claims Apollo Tyres’ chairman Onkar S Kanwar. He added that in the coming three years the tyremaker’s turnover will double to US$2 billion. “We are looking at inorganic growth and have acquired a facility in South Africa and are also in the process of starting a facility in Europe”, said Onkar. Specific details of Apollo’s current activities in Europe, however, were not provided.

12th October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Zeppelin Acquires Chronos Richardson’s MPS Division

Zeppelin Silos & Systems GmbH (Friedrichshafen) has acquired Chronos Richardson’s Materials Processing Systems (MPS) division located in Nottingham, UK establishing a new subsidiary in the city. With the consent of the Antitrust Commission Zeppelin’s acquisition of the “Conveying, Dosing and Weighing and Control Technology” product portfolios from the British manufacturer Chronos Richardson has been completed.

According to the company’s the complementary skills of Zeppelin & Chronos will be beneficial for the future development of the important tyre and rubber manufacturing segment. The control technologies, for which Chronos set recognised technical standards, are expected to complete Zeppelin’s product portfolio and the company says the new enterprise will also become a trend-setter for research and development in various industrial sectors in the future. (The world’s largest test centre for the handling of bulk solids including two purpose built research plants (one for pellets and one for powder) is located at the Zeppelin facility in Friedrichshafen, Germany).

11th October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Schrader Wins TPMS Contract with with Mahindra and Mahindra

Antrim-based Schrader Electronics, has announced details of a major new order for its tyre pressure monitoring systems from one of India’s largest vehicle manufacturers, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. The order includes the supply of Schrader’s new snap-in valve sensor to vehicles exported to the North American market, starting in January 2009 and running through to the end of 2011. The new business has led Schrader Electronics of Carrickfergus to open its seventh production line next month.

Mahindra & Mahindra is in the business of manufacturing and marketing utility vehicles and light commercial vehicles, including three-wheelers. It is the market leader in utility vehicles in India and currently accounts for about half of India’s market for utility vehicles. The group exports its products to several countries in Europe, Africa, South America, South Asia and the Middle East.

10th October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Premier Tyres to Relocate Kalamassery plant

Premier Tyres has decided to relocate its tyre manufacturing unit at Kalamassery to another location in Kerala, according to local news sources. The move is expected to allow the company to increase its production capacity, through additional staff and new machinery. The company will reportedly also consider various options for development of the present site at Kalamassery. Premier Tyres, Ltd. manufactures products including bus and industrial tyres, tubes and conveyor belting. The company, formerly known as PTL Enterprises, Ltd., was founded in 1959 and is based in Kochi, India.

9th October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

MRF Considers China Operations

India’s largest tyre manufacturer, MRF Ltd, has achieved a fiscal milestone and, at the same time, spoken afresh of plans to circumvent the country’s ‘inverted’ duty structure for tyres and raw materials.

The company’s chairman, K.M. Mammen, told media in Chennai on October 5 that MRF had, in the 2006-7 financial year, become a Rs 50 billion (£620.4 million) company, with turnover in the recently closed financial year up from Rs 42.6 billion (£528.6 million) during the previous year. The company added that profit is expected to be about 1.8 per cent of turnover, some Rs 900 million (£11.2 million).

Almost 20 per cent of turnover reportedly came from OEM sales. A further 10 per cent was garnered from exports and 2 per cent from sales to India’s military. The remainder came from the Indian replacement market, a £2.4 billion market of which Mr. Mammen claims MRF holds a 26 per cent share.

8th October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors