Tire Group International and Kenda are pleased to announce that they have entered into a distribution agreement for TGI to distribute Kenda branded tyres in Puerto Rico. TGI will offer Kenda’s specialty tyre segment which consists of trailer, turf, ATV and industrial tyres as well as its passenger, SUV and light truck tyres. TGI will offer both direct factory shipments as well as fill-ins from its Miami facility.
According to CENS, growing demand for car tyres in China is expected to continue soaring, and Taiwanese tyre-makers are ready to take advantage of the opportunity. For example, Cheng Shin expects to see 10 to 20 per cent revenue growth this year, according to some institutional investors said. Other tyre-makers Kenda Rubber Industrial Co., Nankang Rubber Tire Corp., Hwa Fong Rubber Ind., Ltd. and Federal Tire Corp., are also looking at increased business in China.
Taiwan-based tyre makers including Cheng Shin Rubber Ind. Co. and Kenda Rubber Industrial Co., are expected to see substantial growth in earnings in the first quarter of 2012 due to declines in raw material prices, particularly natural rubber. Furthermore, according to Taiwan Economic News, the European sovereign debt crisis means tyre manufacturers have slashed inventories to get rid of the risk in the prices of stocked goods.
Maxxis has declared its presence at this year's SEMA show, which ran from 1 – 4 November, as “a hit.” According to the company, Maxxis was “a standout among SEMA’s 2,100 plus exhibitors, offering hot new tyres for road racing, crossover vehicles, SUVs and light trucks.” The company hosted at 2,500 square foot indoor booth and in addition visitors to the Maxxis support rig enjoyed a close up view of racing vehicles around, including Johnny Greaves’ Class 1 desert car. Some of Maxxis’ most popular sponsored drivers dropped by as well, including Greaves, Brian Deegan, Steve Barlow, Dan Vanden Heuvel, Randy Eller and Ken Blume.
Kenda’s new passenger car tyre factory, built alongside its existing Yun-Lin plant in Taiwan, has now entered operation. The new plant is said to have a daily capacity of 5,000 tyres per day and according to the Taiwan Economic News it will contribute towards a gradual rise in Kenda’s daily output in Taiwan in China; it says output will begin increasing in the third quarter of 2011 and should reach 30,000 tyres per day by the end of the year – an increase of 50 per cent over current capacity. Most output from the new factory will be shipped to Europe and the US and is expected to contribute an additional NT$1.8 billion (£37 million) to annual revenues.
Kenda USA officials say that despite Kenda Rubber’s decision to sell its ownership stake in Cooper Kenda Tire, the move is a positive for the company. At the start of March, Cooper Tire & Rubber bought out Kenda Rubber’s 50 per cent share in their joint venture passenger tyre production facility in China. According to Kenda, the plant only produced Cooper branded and Cooper associate brand passenger, 4×4 and light commercial tyres, and thus the sale “has no impact to the current supply of Kenda products.”
The Mexico based Corporacion de Occidente joint venture, 58 per cent owned by Cooper Tire & Rubber, has earned the ISO 9001:2008 quality certification, joining six other Cooper Tire facilities – the company’s manufacturing facilities in Melksham plus its Findlay, Texarkana and Tupelo plants in the US plus its Cooper Kenda Tire joint venture in China and the Tall Timbers Mold Operations facility in Findlay – that hold this designation.
Kenda’s Komet Plus tyre in size 175/65R14 will be fitted on the Chinese-manufactured GM Chevrolet Sail on the Chilean and African markets, the manufacturer has announced. The Komet Plus tread design utilises Kenda’s NMA technology, which reduces the sound emission from the tyre. Water channelling grooves enhance wet and dry traction.
Just about a year after Daly Tyres opened a new wholesale distribution centre in Stoke-on-Trent, the Ireland-based firm is to use Brityrex 2010 as a platform to showcase the Kenda brand in the UK.
“Kenda is a very progressive company and we view them as a great partnership for our business. Brityrex will be the perfect platform to market Kenda and our other product ranges and will be the place for UK and Irish retailers to meet suppliers covering all aspects of the tyre business,” Eamon Daly said when confirming his company’s involvement in the show.
Kenda Rubber has begun construction of a passenger car tyre factory alongside its existing Yun-Lin plant in Taiwan. The new factory, reports the China Economic News Service, will enter production in the second quarter of 2011 and reach a daily capacity of approximately 5,000 tyres by the end of 2011. The company also produces passenger car tyres in China and Vietnam.
The controller of Cooper Tire’s Cooper Chengshan Tire joint venture in Rongchen City, China, William Wang, has been named the new controller of Cooper Kenda Tire Co., Cooper's manufacturing joint venture in Kunshan, China. Wang replaces Mark Ehren, who is on medical leave, and in his new position will be responsible for financial planning, preparation of the operation's financial statements, budgeting, internal controls and review and oversight of the general ledger to ensure the integrity and accuracy of accounts. In addition to his new role, Wang will continue responsibility for leading the enterprise resource planning initiative and key information technology projects in Cooper Chengshan to ensure the effective and efficient recording of accounting transactions.
A US$10 million investment is being made to increase capacity at Cooper Tire & Rubber’s Findlay, Ohio factory. The funds, says Cooper, will be directed towards increasing capacity through automation, cost improvements and retooling to support market trends. The investment will also enable up to 100 new people to be hired at Findlay.
The Cooper Kenda Tire joint venture factory in Kunshan, China has become the fourth Cooper Tire & Rubber facility to gain ISO 9001 certification. The plant’s ISO 9001:2008 quality management system certification follows last year’s certification of Cooper’s three US manufacturing facilities, Findlay, Ohio, Texarkana, Arkansas, and Tupelo, Mississippi.
Cooper Tire reports that Smithers Quality Assessments lead auditor Ricker Zoller recently conducted an ISO 9001:2000 stage one audit at its Cooper Kenda Tire facility in Kunshan, China. This stage one audit, the company adds, is comparable to the pre-certification audits that North American plants underwent in spring 2008 in preparation for their actual certification audits. The certification audit at Cooper Kenda Tire is scheduled for July.
Following the four-day inspection, the auditor commented that he found “no issues that would prevent Cooper Kenda Tire from obtaining its certification.” This positive feedback comes after half a year of preparation for ISO auditing, a time in which department leaders and employees have been engaged in establishing proper procedure documents. Cooper states that employees have developed all the required systems, such as document control, internal audit, corrective and preventive action and calibration systems.
Starco has announced the launch of its new range of low cost, good quality ATV tyres. The brand, which has been previously established on the US market, will run alongside Starco’s existing Kenda line up, a move that the company says will offer customers greater choice.
The range includes both crossply and radial sizes and is available with a choice of tread designs to suit all applications and conditions. Starco’s warehouse in Rugeley, Staffordshire holds £3 million of stock, comprising comprehensive ranges of wheels, tyres and tubes for not only ATV but also turf, wheelbarrow, high speed trailer, industrial forklift, implement, skid steer and small materials handling applications. In response to customer demand and market trends, the ATV addition to the existing range is designed, says Starco, to maintain the company’s position as a major supplier of ATV tyres from the premium to the budget end of the market.
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