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January 2012 saw the most cars manufactured in the UK for 16 months, a Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders statement has revealed. While car manufacturing rose 15.6 per cent to 127,382 compared with January 2011, commercial vehicle output fell by 1.2 per cent, reaching 9,844.
In its 13 years of operation, the Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations plant in Aiken County, South Carolina has manufactured a tyre or two. Or 100 million. On 14 February the 100 millionth tyre rolled off the passenger car and light truck factory’s production line, and the arrival at this milestone was celebrated by company management, workers and invited guests. The tyre at the centre of the festivities is a Bridgestone Dueler A/T RH-S; this particular specimen was signed by guests attending the celebration and will be displayed in the plant’s lobby.
The government is aiming to lead garages to make improvements in customer service in “a package of transparency and value-for-money measures” unveiled today by transport secretary Justine Greening. According to a statement released by the department, an evaluation of existing MOT test standards and frequency took account of the views and evidence offered by a wide range of organisations.
Some eighteen months after the Government announced that it would review the MOT System and following the RMI’s numerous meetings with Ministers and officials the government has finally now acknowledged industry advice and accepted that frequency should remain unchanged.
Pro-MOTe, the lobby group set up to campaign to keep annual MOTs, has welcomed news that ministers have dropped plans to reduce testing frequency to 4-2-2.
In a written ministerial statement this morning, Transport secretary Justine Greening announced: “Having listened closely to the very many views put forward and considered the available evidence, I have decided that I am not going to carry out further work in relation to relaxing the first test date or the frequency of testing.”
Government proposals to end annual MOTs would put at risk up to 50,000 jobs in the retail motor trade disproportionately hitting apprenticeships, young employees and independent businesses, according to new research by Pro-MOTe.
It’s been almost two years since Lanxess’ Jhagadia production site in India began supplying antioxidants to tyre industry customers, and now the range of products manufactured there has been expanded. Lanxess subsidiary Rhein Chemie has established a facility in Jhagadia for the production of the pre-dispersed rubber additive Rhenogran and the environmentally-friendly release agent Rhenodiv in Jhagadia. The plant was formerly located in Madurai, in India’s Tamil Nadu state, and is one of three new units being set up in Jhagadia. In total, Lanxess has invested more than 70 million euros there and created 300 new jobs. Jhagadia is Lanxess’ second largest production site in India after its site in Nagda in Madhya Pradesh state, and covers an area of 18-hectares.
Although Michelin reportedly needs to increase output at its Nyiregyhaza plant in Hungary at least 400 per cent to remain competitive, a question mark now hangs over when and if previously planned expansion work will take place. On 25 January business daily Vilaggazdasag quoted the general director of Michelin’s Hungarian unit, John Young, as saying the tyre maker had put its expansion plans on hold due to legal and financial uncertainties in Hungary.
Titan Tire will utilise the former Goodyear plant in Union City, Tennessee to produce and redistribute materials to other company facilities. Tire Review shares that Titan Tire chairman Bill Campbell told local media that the plant’s operation – polyester and blending rubber and steel strands used in tyre belts – will create 300 jobs by the end of 2012.
In his 24 January State of the Union address, US President Barack Obama claimed the country’s trade cases against China have made a difference. Singling out a particular sector, Obama said “over a thousand Americans are working today because we stopped a surge in Chinese tyres.” Words that should, on the face of it, bring cheer to the US tyre industry.
Cooper Tire & Rubber’s fears of concurrent production stoppages at its two major US plants have been allayed with the reaching of a tentative agreement for workers at its Texarkana facility. The tyre maker says it reached the four-year labour agreement with the United Steelworkers union shortly before the current contract expired on 20 January. Details of the agreement are being withheld pending presentation to union members during the course of this week.
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders has released its annual report; 2011 figures show that the UK’s car manufacturing sector rose 5.8 per cent on 2010’s full year. Meanwhile commercial vehicle manufacturing fell by 1.4 per cent to 121,312 in 2011. In December figures, car output rose 1.6 per cent, which CV figures were down 2.7 per cent. UK engine production rose by 4.9 per cent to 2,504,054 in 2011, despite a 1.3 per cent decline in December.
Tyre manufacturers, transporters, dealers and processers in South Africa have until January 31 to register for the Recycling and Economic Development Initiative (REDISA) Waste Tyre Management Plan, which was approved by the country’s Department of Water and Environmental Affairs in November 2011. Registration is compulsory and is required for calculating a new levy intended to cover the cost of end of life tyres. The levy will take effect as of 1 February 2012.
Tyre manufacturer Maxxis says it is one of the top three brands engaged in the amenity market. The manufacturer is currently promoting its Turfmaxx product – the first road legal turf tyre to go on sale in the UK – saying that it is, ahem, “lawns ahead”. Available in a range of sizes and OE accredited by all the major turf machinery suppliers, the Maxxis Turfmaxx is purpose designed to address the safety issues associated with the extra roadwork implements cover between jobs.
South Africa is on the verge of introducing a levy on all tyres manufactured in, or imported into the country in order to finance the creation of a waste tyre collection network. REDISA (Recycling Economic Development Initiative of South Africa) is a government approved scheme to establish a sustainable waste tyre collection infrastructure for South Africa. The financial levy of Rand 2.3 (0.22 Euros) per kilogram of manufactured or imported product, will apply to all tyres, including those fitted to imported equipment, from the beginning of February this year.
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