Linglong Tire hosted its dealer meeting in Turin recently. The event focused on global cooperation and Linglong distributors and suppliers from all over the world were reportedly present. Dialogue with local partners was a specific talking point.
On 9 December 2018, the fifth China Industrial Award Ceremony was held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Shandong Linglong Tire Co., Ltd. won China Industrial Award, the first tyre enterprise in China to win this award. Wang Feng, chairman and president of Linglong Tire, accepted the award at the Great Hall of the People.
When you look at Tire+’s deliberate proximity to a premium car show such as Auto Guangzhou, the first thing that comes to mind is original equipment (OE). If we take a comparable European equivalent event such as the Geneva Motor Show as an example, most of the leading global tyre players as well as some of the larger up-and-coming brands use Geneva as a way of showcasing new technologies and products in order to generate additional OE tyre sales as well as the benefit of the enhanced ongoing tyre replacement sales that come with the so-called OE pull-through effect. While it is not as linear and transactional an equation as investment in a motor show equals OE contracts, it clearly is an important part of the corporate courtship ritual. Surprisingly, things are a little different in China.
Talks were held last week between Linglong Tire and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). Linglong Tire chairman Wang Feng met with key EBRD representatives, including Jurgen Rigterink, first vice-president, Betsy Nelson, vice-president and chief risk officer, and Jean-Marc Peterschmitt, managing director of industry, commerce and agribusiness, in London on 16 October to discuss cooperation on the construction of Linglong’s tyre plant in Serbia.
Linglong Tire confirms the signing of a US$300 million deal with Paraguay-based tyre distributor Sunset Tires. Wang Feng, chairman of Linglong Tire, put his signature on a strategic cooperation agreement along with Nabil Chamseddine, chief executive officer and president of Sunset, on 12 October.
Shandong Linglong Tire has signed a tyre distribution cooperation agreement with distributor Sunset to expand its market share in Brazil and Paraguay.
Shandong Linglong will ship original equipment tyres to Volkswagen and Renault from its planned factory in Serbia. This is the news shared by Serbia’s president, Aleksandar Vučić on his website today. Vučić writes that Wang Feng shared news that the factory would supply the two vehicle manufacturers once production begins in 2020.
On 1 September 2018, Chinese vehicle manufacturer FAW Group Corporation signed a product technical cooperation framework agreement with Shandong Linglong Tire. The two parties intend to collaborate on the development of tyres for new models produced by FAW.
Several days after its Board of Directors approved plans to build a factory in Serbia, Shandong Linglong Tire Co., Ltd. signed an investment memorandum with regional and national officials. Company chairman and president Wang Feng signed the agreement together with Goran Knežević, Serbia’s Minister of Economy, at a ceremony held in Zrenjanin, Serbia on 23 August. Aleksandar Vučić, president of Serbia, and Li Manchang, China’s ambassador to the country, also attended the ceremony.
The tyre plant built in Uzbekistan by Uzkimyosanoat State Joint Stock Company and partners, with technical assistance from Linglong Tire is complete, and Linglong says it is now focused on appointing a product technical team and working towards helping the plant achieve its production goal of 3 million passenger car radials and 200,000 cross-ply agricultural tyres per annum.
Linglong Tire is examining tyre pyrolysis technology and its application to waste tyre recycling. The tyre maker shares that it organised a conference on the subject at its headquarters in Zhaoyuan, China on 24 July, an event attended by 13 academics and experts from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Sichuan University, Zhejiang University and Beijing University of Technology.
Shandong Linglong Tyre Co., Ltd. has selected Cimcorp as its strategic partner for tyre plant automation, and the Finnish manufacturer and integrator of turnkey robotic tyre-handling and order fulfilment solutions is currently working on two projects for Linglong. In addition, Cimcorp will provide solutions for Linglong Tire’s new greenfield facility in Jingmen, China.
Shandong Linglong Tire Co. Ltd. has laid the foundation stone for its fourth Chinese factory. The event, held 6 July ran in parallel with Linglong Tire’s “global partners” conference.
The new plant is in addition to Linglong’s existing Zhaoyuan, Dezhou and Liuzhou factories. Linglong is building the fourth plant at a 223-acre site in the city of Jingmen in Hubei province.
At the end of May, anti-Chinese truck tyre tariffs were implemented. They included nominal (as opposed to percentage) tariffs at levels that surprised many. As a result, supply shortages and challenges at distributors were predicted. Shuttering of some of the lowest cost Chinese tyremakers is also expected. However, speaking to affected firms during the recent Tire Cologne reveals that many are already prepared to source tyres elsewhere. Indeed, the largest manufacturers have been off-shoring for some time. As a result, virtually all the leading Chinese tyre manufacturers already have non-Chinese tyre production in place. Let’s take a look at who’s got what.
New research by London based independent research company Astutus Research suggests that a domestic Chinese company could be about to join the top 10 global manufacturers of passenger car and light truck (PCLT) tyres. Linglong Tyre, currently ranked 12th globally in the segment by unit sales, is forecast to take tenth place by 2019, replacing South Korea’s Kumho Tyre. The move would make the manufacturer the first from China to enter the PCLT top 10.
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.