Industrial Tyres
CEAT Kelani Associated Holdings is to invest 300 million rupees (£1.67 million) into the radialisation of its Kelaniya, Sri Lanka plant Managing director Rohan Fernando explained that the new equipment would produce tyres for “light weight vehicles.” Local news sources have reported that the manufacturing upgrade will be funded by local banks.
Chinese brand Aeolus is set to introduce a range of low-loader tyres in the Netherlands and across Europe. This news represents Aeolus’ response to the ever-increasing demand for these tyres from European companies in the transport business. The expansion of this line again signifies the increasing Chinese presence in the European tyre market. Aeolus has selected Heuver Banden of Den Ham to distribute these tyres in the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Austria, Denmark and France. Kirkby Tyres sells Aeolus products in the UK.
Gloucestershire, UK-based, Watts Industrial Tyres has expanded its production facility in Brazil, together with its joint venture partner, Souza Pinto Ind.& Com. De Artefatos De Borrahca Ltda.
Watts and Souza Pinto commenced manufacturing of a limited range of resilient solid tyres in late 2001, and have expanded the facilities product range over the last four years. The initial strategy in setting up the facility was to service the rapidly growing Brazilian market, as well as taking advantage of the opportunities presented by the Mercosur markets. The Brazilian Watts factory and central warehouse is based in Lorena, on the main Rodovia Presidente Dutra highway between Sao Paolo and Rio de Janeiro, and has grown from a 1,300 square metre facility to its new current size of 4,400 square metres.
Recently the global mining industry has had to face a new obstacle. And it has nothing to do with a lack of demand for the raw materials that this business harvests from the earth. Far from it. In the wake of economic expansion in Asia and America, global demand for raw materials has increased rapidly. Order books are full. Despite this, without an integral component, some mining companies have been brought to a standstill. Like cars, earthmovers and other off-the-road (OTR) vehicles cannot go anywhere without tyres.
The chronic shortage of the right kind of rubber for these, often enormous, vehicles means wheel loaders, earth movers and other quarry, mine and dump orientated machines are increasingly rolled out to customers shod only with wooden bandages designed to protect the rims. Frustrated at the pace of delivery, some mine and quarry operators have even sourced new tyres from the tyre trade themselves, new tyres that are intended to fit newly bought vehicles. Although now, even the tyre trade is finding it difficult to offer anything in this respect.
Continental has introduced what the company describes as “a novel wheel/tyre system” which it believes could revolutionise the fitting of industrial tyres.
Called the CSEasy, the tyre can be fitted on any Lemmerz-type rim without using a mounting press and using only a special, conical-shaped adapter and a torque wrench. The advantages are obvious; no call-out delay and greatly reduced downtime as the tyre is fitted on-site straight away. “CSEasy,” says Continental, “will revolutionise Super-Elastic tyres forever.”
However, there is more to the CSEasy than just simple fitment, as the tyre claims to offer operational benefits compared with conventional Super-Elastic tyres. These benefits include lower rolling resistance, greater tolerance to heat build up and enhanced load-bearing capabilities.
CSEasy tyres will be introduced in popular sizes during 2006 and 2007. The sizes available from January 2006 are 180/70-8 and 7.00-12, with size 125/75-8 being introduced in April. Thereafter, size introductions will be as follows:
150/75-8, 200/75-9 and 225/75-10 (from July 2006); 6.00-9 and 250/75-12 (from October 2006); 5.00-8 (January 2007) and 6.50-10 (July 2007).
The CSEasy has been tested in the field by a number of companies, with Continental analysing the results. One operator has been trialling the tyres on a fleet of around 40, 4.5 tonne forklifts with an average of 2,500 hours operation annually. The current average service life is 1,200 hours, or around six months’ average use. After six months’ use, the CSEasy has nearly 40 per cent of its tread left, thus adding greater service life to the benefits gained from ease of fitting.
Case study number two involved a fleet of over 100 forklifts, ranging from 1.6 tonne to 7 tonne. Again, the tyres have been operating for six months and the indications are that the wear rate is better than the tyres in current use. When it comes to mounting the tyre, the person in charge of service and maintenance of the fleet described it in the following four words: ”Simple, fast, reliable, efficient.” When it comes to comfort, he adds: “There have been no complaints of fatigue from the drivers, it handles well on the vehicle and my personal impression is that it offers a soft ride.”
When the China International Tire Expo (CITExpo) opened its gates for the second time in 2004, it was already considered to be the potential Chinese tyre show of the future. It appears these estimations were well founded now that the third show in December has reached a size, which makes it the biggest show of its kind in East and South-East Asia. CITExpo even had to move into a different venue in order to accommodate its 150 exhibitors. Overall more than 5,800 visitors have registered with the organisers; two thirds came from abroad and the growing number of foreign exhibitors emphasises the increasingly open Chinese tyre market.
To the organisers of the China International Tire Expo the positive developments of the show have been much more than just good luck. “Most industry experts know our exhibition by now,” says Wilko Fong. The managing director of Reliable International Exhibition Services Co., Ltd., the organising company from Beijing, firmly believes that many of the current exhibitors have already taken part in earlier shows as visitors in order to find out how the land lies. Only now this wait-and-see-approach has actually paid off for the Shanghai CITExpo, with the latest event taking place in the Everbright Convention & Exhibition Center in downtown Shanghai.
Continental has introduced what the company describes as “a novel wheel/tyre system” which it believes could revolutionise the fitting of industrial tyres.
Called the CSEasy, the tyre can be fitted on any Lemmerz-type rim without using a mounting press and using only a special, conical-shaped adapter and a torque wrench. The advantages are obvious; no call-out delay and greatly reduced downtime as the tyre is fitted on-site straight away. “CSEasy,” says Continental, “will revolutionise Super-Elastic tyres forever.”
Trelleborg has acquired the French company Cimap Roues Industrielles SAS, which is part of the family-owned CIMAP Group, through its Trelleborg Wheel Systems business.
Cimap Roues Industrielles, which holds a leading position in industrial tyres in France, has been a distributor of Trelleborg’s industrial tyres since 1999. The company has annual sales of approximately 40 million Swedish Krone and some 10 employees at its head office in Paris and at a distribution centre in Bordeaux.
(India/Rubber Asia) Michigan Rubber (India) Ltd. is part of the Electra Tek Corp. of the Grand Cayman Group of Industries, a US business group with diversified business interests in the US as well as India in technical collaboration with ATEMCO USA. Fully promoted by non-resident Indians, Michigan Rubber manufactures a full range of tyres for automobiles, agricultural equipment, a host of industrial tyres, and even tyres for airplanes.
The positive business results of Alliance Tire Company have been rewarded by a vote of confidence from investors’ side. The company is currently producing around 120,000 agricultural tyres at around US $ 42 million a year and has been the second best Israeli stock market investment of the year. Company share grew at 160% from the beginning of 2005.
This year Trelleborg is 100 years young. The company’s name is fairly well recognised in the UK market but there is still room for improvement. Ask where the company comes from, what it’s up to on the UK market, or how Trelleborg Wheel Systems (TWS) fits into the picture and the response is often vague. However the manufacturer is addressing these brand awareness issues and is beginning to focus more and more on its agricultural division as well as marketing itself as a specialist in agricultural tyres. Tyres & Accessories spoke to Ian Gillespie, managing director of Trelleborg Wheel Systems UK, to discern its UK market approach.
Amtel Holdings Holland NV has completed its acquisition of Vredestein Banden BV from Vredestein Investment Consortium (VICO) for 195.6 million euros in cash. Amtel says it plans to use the opportunity to expand its global operations in Europe, Asia, the former Soviet Union and North America. Combined production capacity will now amount to around 22 million tyres a year.
Watts Industrial Tyres has won two of the Fork Lift Truck Association’s (FLTA) Annual Awards for Excellence. Watts Industrial Tyres received the ‘Environment’ award, which recognises the progress Watts has made in the difficult field of ‘Solid’ tyre recycling. Watts now has a number of programmes in place that enable its tyres to be either ‘Remoulded’ or processed into ‘rubber mulch’ for equestrian and playground use and also into rubber crumb to be re-manufactured into a variety of rubber products.
UK Equipment Ltd has appointed Warren McKay as its area sales manager for the North-West. He has over twenty years experience in the automotive industry, primarily in the wheel service and parts industry.
The small Czech rubber group Ceská Gumárenaská Spolecnost (CGS) took over Continental’s agricultural business unit, Agrotyres, in November. As part of Continental the division demanded more attention to become truly successful, and CGS claims that it is now satisfying that. Of course, the moment the Czech company gained full responsibility of the business and its profit and loss statement, it was always going to receive its full attention. The newly acquired factory at Otrokovice is said to have transformed the business. Along with this and its new business ethic CGS is now in a position to focus on its core business.
Under Continental the unit was worth 100 million euros, yet its costs were so high that they ate into its profit and the agricultural business was not profitable until 2001; the year Thorsten Bublitz, CGS’ managing director of marketing and sales, believes the business truly “came into its own.” Under CGS the goal was to reach a double-digit profit by the end of 2004 and during an interview with Mr Bublitz in November he said: “It looks like we’ll make it.” In 2003 CGS’ turnover was 223 million euros, now, following the acquisition it is 320 million euros. The entire tyre sector turns over somewhere in the region of 230 million euros and tyres account for around 72 per cent of the company’s overall business. When it comes to the tyres, 60 per cent are agricultural products which rake in a turnover of around 130 million euros. The remainder of the company’s tyre sector is largely made up of industrial tyres.
The Czech company signed a license agreement with Continental giving it the right to use the Continental, Barum, Semperit and Euzkadi (sold only in Mexico) brand names. As far as its commitment to the Continental brands goes, it has signed a contract for the next 10 years, with a possible five year extension if it so wishes. The Conti and Barum brands are of the most importance to the company, followed closely by Mitas. The Barum brand is dominating its sales, and claims 80 per cent of the eastern European market according to Mr Bublitz. At present it still produces under the Uniroyal brand that belongs to Michelin and is licensed to Conti, but in CGS’ words the brand has a “short life.” The brands have been seen as lower quality in the past and CGS is tackling this quality issue by assuring the standard of the products in the market. The company wants the Conti brand to equal quality and will try to achieve this by stabilising its position in the market. By striving to improve brand image, it is attempting to gain more influence in the market.
With the amount of brands on the market increasing and the amount of shelf space decreasing, many retailers are concentrating on the premium brands and the higher margins that go with them. Because of this budget brands are being pushed off the shelves. Does CGS believe its budget brands will survive a reorganisation in the market? Mr Bublitz thinks so, as far as the tyres’ quality goes, he claims that the customer is getting “more than it pays for,” and he suggests that the decrease in customer claims against the tyres speaks for the improvement in quality.
If you would like the latest news from the Chinese tyre industry in Chinese, visit our partner site TyrepressChina.com. Or click below to continue on Tyrepress.
