Indonesia
Romain Febvre claimed his second consecutive victory in MXGP, winning the inaugural FIM Motocross World Championship round in Lombok, Indonesia. It was the second time in two weeks that the Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team rider visited the top of the podium. Febvre used Geomax MX34 front and MX14 rear tyres to manoeuvre through the mix of sand and dirt terrain in the high heat and humidity.
The European passenger car and light truck tyre (PCLT) import market recovered substantially from its bout of Long Covid in the second half of 2022 as the benefits of local versus remote production took an unexpected hit. A perfect storm of significantly lower freight costs and high European energy costs nudged the dial on the relative competitiveness of imports and domestic PCLT tyre production in the second half of 2022. Looking at the European PCLT tyre market through the prism of imports, leading sector analyst Astutus Research shares with Tyres & Accessories its data demonstrating the effects of a rapidly changing market context. The latest Astutus Research briefing, ‘Supply Dynamics in the European PCLT Tire Industry to 2028’, priced at £995 is available now on Tyrepress.
Luo Yongli, deputy general manager of the company, recently told a briefing that he is optimistic about the operation of Cheng Shin in 2023. In the past, Cheng Shin has reportedly significantly reduced capital expenditures to combat adversity in the operating environment. But with the overall situation expected to improve, the tyre maker will start expanding production capacity, including launching a 40 million tyre capacity expansion plan at factories in mainland China.
On Friday 25 November 25, 2022 B-Quik hit a benchmark number of tyre retail centres, with the opening and open store #200 in Thailand. According to the company, the latest opening will be followed by stores 201, 202 and 203 in the next week. To the pace of growth into perspective, at the start of the pandemic, B-Quik had 148 stores in Thailand. Moving forward, the expansion plans look set to continue with company representatives said: “we are ready for the next growth spurt”.
On 10 November, Cheng Shin Rubber Ind., Co., Ltd. announced that it is preparing to increase the capital of PT. Maxxis International Indonesia by US$30 million (about £25.53 million pounds; 29.01 million euros). Cheng Shin Rubber said that the capital increase meets the operation’s needs.
The goal at Continental is to exclusively obtain natural rubber for its tyres from responsible sources as of 2030. Confirmation of responsible sourcing is essential to natural rubber’s status as a sustainable raw material, and gaining this confirmation requires traceability within the supply chain. Although completely seamless traceability is currently technically impossible, Continental says it is “working at full speed” on a blueprint for the sustainable and responsible structuring of natural rubber supply chains.
Mountain bike tyres from the Continental Gravity range have become the first products to feature responsibly sourced natural rubber from a project aimed at establishing sustainable natural rubber supply chains. Continental aims to achieve 100 per cent sustainable supply chains by 2050 at the latest, but is going one step further when it comes to natural rubber and intends to cover its entire demand exclusively through responsible sources by as soon as 2030.
Bridgestone Corporation owns almost 24,000 hectares of natural rubber plantations in Indonesia and has approved plans to increase yields there to ensure a sustainable supply of natural rubber for its tyre production. The company will invest US$26.7 million by 2030. The aim of these investments is to enhance the plantations’ productivity, with Bridgestone setting a goal of doubling harvest volumes (compared with 2022 projections) in a given area in 2035.
Staff at B-Quik branch number 196 set to open the growing tyre retailer’s latest branch in Thailand. The Chiang Mai Huaikaeuw location is store number seven in the city of Chiang Mai. Three more openings in Thailand are planned for the next six weeks.
With the purchase of the 49 per cent shareholding that Barito Pacific Group had in Royal Lestari Utama (RLU), the joint venture pilot project to develop sustainable rubber tree plantations in Indonesia becomes a 100 per cent Michelin-owned affair. Moving forwards, Michelin views RLU as a “significant long-term opportunity to actively contribute to making the natural rubber sector more sustainable.”
B-Quik Otomotif Indonesia has opened roughly a branch a month in Indonesia for the last four months.
As 2021 drew to a close, Far Eastern tyre retail specialist business B-Quik opened its 200th store and hit an interim growth target. The opening of the new location at Maxxbox Lippo Village brought the chain’s Indonesian total to 9 branches and 200 across Thailand, Indonesia and Cambodia.
Hankook Tire has announced it will provide formic acid, an eco-friendly coagulant, to rubber farmers in West Kalimantan, Indonesia. It says this measure furthers its “commitment to enhance the sustainability across its value chain for natural rubber.”
Pirelli’s latest efforts are quite literally for the birds – and this is by no means a bad thing. Together with the BMW Group, Pirelli is joining with BirdLife International in a three-year project that aims to favour the long-term production of sustainable and deforestation-free natural rubber in Indonesia. Our feathered friends are just one of a whole range of potential beneficiaries.
The vice chairman of Giti Group, Cherie Nursalim, has become the Indonesian government’s special advisor on climate. In addition to her leadership role at Giti Tire, Nuralim is also the vice chairman of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), and board member of Publicis Groupe in France, IMAGINE Collective with Paul Polman, and Partnering for Green Growth (P4G).
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