Goodyear South Africa has announced plans to invest 670 million South African rand (£32.216 million; 43.847 million euros; US$49.557 million) in increasing production of so-called high-value-added (HVA) consumer tyres at its Uitenhage manufacturing plant. Meanwhile, medium radial production currently at the location is to be relocated across the EMEA region.
Continental’s acquisition of A-Z Formen- und Maschinenbau GmbH last year brought one of the world’s most skilled tyre mould manufacturers in-house. Now the German tyre maker has announced its intention to expand capacity for extremely detailed tread designs at the A-Z factory in Runding, Bavaria this year through the construction of a new foundry. This project will be funded by a €6 million investment in A-Z Formen- und Maschinenbau. Continental says the investment will better prepare it for the increasingly complex nature of tyre moulds and their production, and will lead to 20 new jobs being created at Runding site.
Motorists will never need to feel like they are being taken for a ride again with the launch of an interactive booking directory of garages, which allows motorists to get instant prices for their car’s servicing, MOT, and repair requirements. The Motorist’s Organisation’s £1m investment sets to save consumers time and money by giving them the transparency of information to make an informed booking decision with confidence.
According to local media reports, Cooper Tire & Rubber will invest US$1.89 million in new equipment for its Tupelo tyre factory in the USA. The investment covers the purchase and installation of a new automatic compounder, along with a 1,300 square metre (14,000 square foot) extension of the facility in order to house the new equipment.
Camber Ridge LLC has announced its financial partnership with Teton Capital LLC of Jackson, Wyoming, to launch a new state-of-the-art facility for vehicle tyre characterisation, which will begin operations in 2016. The facility aims to offer all the advantages of testing real tyres on real surfaces, but with the precision, environmental control and repeatability of a laboratory environment.
The European Commission has approved regional investment of almost €117million for the passenger car tyre factory Nexen Tire intends to build in the Czech Republic. The Commission found the aid that government trade agency CzechInvest offered Nexen for the facility in Žatec is compatible with EU state aid rules, and deemed it will promote regional development without unduly distorting competition in the internal market.
New figures released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) confirm the growing strength and vitality of the UK automotive industry and its ascendancy as a major global player. SMMT’s 16th annual Sustainability Report confirms the sector is breaking new records, with turnover hitting an all-time high of £69.5 billion in 2014. Manufacturing output, vehicle sales, jobs and export values also grew, while the environmental impact from vehicle production has been reduced dramatically.
Ren Jianxin, chairman of China National Chemical Corporation (ChemChina) and Igor Sechin, President of Rosneft, signed an equity investment and crude oil supply deal on 20 June 2015 during the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.
Production capacity for high performance light truck and SUV tyres at Michelin’s Dothan factory in the US will increase by ten per cent when upgrades now being installed in the plant are completed in the summer of 2016. Michelin says it is investing US$22 million to upgrade the 35 year old plant, which currently employs 560 people. Approximately 40 new jobs will be created by the investment.
Michelin chief operating officer, Florent Menegaux told Tyres & Accessories that the manufacturer would promote synergies with ATS Euromaster following its acquisition of Blackcircles.com. Speaking to Tyrepress following the announcement of its £50 million purchase, Michelin’s chief operating officer said that the UK’s biggest online tyre retail operation would gain “access to ATS Euromaster branches in the UK”, which numbered 343 in the recent T&A survey of the retail landscape.
Michelin has bought Blackcircles.com, the number one internet tyre sales company in the United Kingdom, for £50 million. Based in Edinburgh, Blackcircles.com generated £28 million in revenue in 2013. Run by Mike Welch, its founder, Blackcircles.com has enjoyed growth of around 20 per cent per annum since 2008. The company reports that the first quarter of 2015 saw the company achieve revenues 34 per cent higher than Q1 2014.
Export Development Canada (EDC) has announced financing of 400 million euros to Germany-based Volkswagen Group. The corporate financing is focused upon Volkswagen’s expansion of their operations in the Southern United States (US) and Mexico.
Kraiburg Austria has revealed plans to invest 4 million euros mainly in upgrading its buffing machinery this year. The retreading specialist says the aim is “to maintain quality at the highest possible level and to keep the production processes as flexible and as efficient as possible”.
As the deadline approaches for a possible extension of the labelling requirements already in force for new tyres to also include retreads, the retreaded truck tyre segment is rapidly evolving both in regards to performance and the level of uniformity and efficiency that must be guaranteed in order to comply with an evolving legislative situation. With its constant commitment to innovation and development of new product and process technologies for truck and earthmoving tyre retreading, the Marangoni Group has recently introduced and started implementing a multi-year investment plan worth around 8 million euros aimed at modernising the various production departments at its Rovereto plant.
Britain’s booming car manufacturing industry has received a huge boost with three major manufacturers announcing UK investments worth more than £1 billion in the past six days.
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