Mesnac, the Chinese-based rubber processing machinery maker, is investing US$20 million in a new production plant in León, Guanajuato, Mexico. According to the company, this strategic move seeks to consolidate its presence in North America.
The Scottish Government has granted planning approval for a new tyre recycling facility in Linwood, Renfrewshire, to address the growing challenge of waste tyres across the country. The facility, operated by Renfrewshire-based SSH Recycling, is reportedly the first of its kind in the UK and is designed to “recycle or repurpose every component part of waste tyres”.
An investment of approximately US$85 million will increase production capacity for Bridgestone tyres in India and facilitate the development of products customised for the local market. Bridgestone Corporation’s Bridgestone India Private Ltd. (BSID) subsidiary will implement the investment at its Pune and Indore sites, with work commencing early next year.
Shandong Daye, a supplier of raw materials for tyres, has decided to invest 1.485 billion yuan (about £160 million; €190 million) to open a manufacturing centre in Morocco.
The Moroccan factory is planned to be carried out in two phases. The investment amount of the first phase project is 850 million yuan (about £92 million; €110 million), and it is planned to build a production line capable of producing 40,000 bead wires and 40,000 tons of steel cord per year in two years. The project’s first phase is scheduled to start construction in January 2025 and be completed and put into operation in December 2026.
Less than two years after announcing the project, Nokian officially opened its new tyre plant in Oradea on 19 September 2024. The Finnish tyre manufacturer sees the whole thing as a milestone. But not just for itself. First and foremost, it wants to use the new building to increase the production capacity it has lacked since it closed its production site in Russia. Apart from that, however, the plant is also a milestone for the tyre industry as a whole, as it is the industry’s ‘first carbon dioxide-free factory’ and demonstrates the potential for sustainable tyre production. The motto of the opening ceremony was therefore ‘Lead to Zero’, which probably means that Nokian sees itself in a pioneering role in this respect.
Yokohama Rubber Co. Ltd. has signed a partnership agreement with racing team Scherer Sport PHX of Germany in a bid to win the ADAC Ravenol 24h Nürburgring (the Nürburgring 24-hour Race) in 2025.
Vaculug Ventures reports that it is investing in e-scooter maker Pure Electric at “a pre-money valuation of £37.5 million”. Pure Electric is reportedly “on a mission to revolutionize urban mobility by reducing pollution and congestion with its award-winning e-scooters”. With a partnership with McLaren and patented technology, Pure Electric purportedly holds a premium position in the fast-growing market.
Earlier in October, Guizhou Tyre reported that phase III of its Vietnam factory project had made new progress, and “all domestic and overseas investment approval and filing procedures have been completed”. As a result, now the tyre manufacturer “will actively promote the construction of the Vietnam phase III project and strive to put it into production as soon as possible”.
The Thailand Board of Investment (BOI) has approved an additional US$400 million investment by Continental Tyres (Thailand) Co. Ltd. in the firm’s Rayong production base. According to BOI, the funds are for the expansion of tyre production in the country, boosting output to 7.8 million tyres per year. Of course, BOI officials also noted that such an investment consolidates “Thailand’s status as the World’s second largest tyre production base”.
On 30 September 2024, the first 17-inch and 18-inch tyres rolled off the production line at Sentury’s Morocco factory. The tyre manufacturer called this “the official start of production at the Morocco factory”. Qin Long, chairman of Sentury, attended the commissioning ceremony and announced that the first batch of tyre products officially rolled off the production line.
In the first half of 2024, Jiangsu General’s revenue reached 3.07 billion yuan (about £333 million; €400 million), a year-on-year increase of 36.91 per cent. During the same period, the tyre company’s net profit was 290 million yuan (about £31 million; about €38 million), an increase of 393.32 per cent over the same period in 2023.
Doublestar has held a ceremony to celebrate the start production at its Cambodia tyre factory. The factory’s total investment is about US$200 million. It is a joint venture between Doublestar and Zhongqi Holding Group. At total production levels, it will be able to produce 7 million semi-steel radial tyres and 1.5 million full-steel radial tyres per year.
While Nokian Tyres opened a new test centre in Spain a good three years ago and presented the so-called ‘Hakka Ring’ to a wider public for the first time this spring, the Finnish tyre manufacturer still has a lot going on. This primarily refers to the recent official opening of its new tyre plant in Oradea, less than a year and a half after the foundation stone was laid and less than two years after the decision was made to locate the plant in Romania, less than 20 kilometres from the Hungarian border.
Vaculug Ventures has announced that it is investing in pyrolysis firm Heru Technologies’s £1.8 million financing round as part of its ongoing “Sustainable Thinking” campaign. The investment highlights “Vaculug Ventures’ dedication to advancing sustainability and innovation”, according to the company.
Total investment in the Hubtrac brand’s European production base in Serbia will now total over 1.5 billion euros after company representatives confirmed that it will receive an additional $645 million of investment. The additional funds will be used to launch the second phase of the factory’s expansion project. Once completed, the facility will have an annual production capacity of 1.1 million high-performance radial tyres, including 800,000 commercial vehicle tyres, 50,000 engineering radial tyres, 150,000 agricultural radial tyres, and 100,000 retreaded tyres.
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