Whether its raw materials, machinery, research and development or the latest manufacturing trends, this tag provides up-to-the-minute insights into the upstream part of the tyre industry.
Costs are rising and demand is falling. The consequence for the Apollo Vredestein plant in Enschede, the Netherlands, is a structural reorganization: around sixty fixed-term contracts will not be renewed and the plant’s shifts, which currently operate 24/7, will be revised.
Shandong New Continent Tire (SNCTIRE)’s investment plan in Malaysia was registered in March. Specifically, the Shandong-based tyre manufacturer plans to establish Jiafu Industrial Co., Ltd. in Malaysia and build a radial tyre production plant.
Yokohama is in the process of buying Romanian off-highway tyre manufacturing business Euro Tires Manufacturing SRL. Euro Tires Manufacturing reportedly went bankrupt at the end of January 2025 after almost 7 years of an insolvency and reorganisation process that began back in 2018. Yokohama Rubber sent a letter of intent regarding the acquisition of assets belonging to Euro Tires Manufacturing at the end of 2024, according to various Romanian news sources. The big question is: do these developments suggest that Romania will be the location of Yokohama’s long-previewed European car and/or truck tyre factory?
Part of Linglong’s Lu’an tyre factory project commenced construction on 7 March. According to the project’s builder, Anhui Zhongqing Construction Group, the part that started construction is the living area and related supporting projects. Zhongqing Construction Group said, “This highly anticipated project has officially entered the construction stage”.
The Firemax Cambodia factory is scheduled to start production in May 2025, an employee of Zhongqi Overseas Group, which is responsible for developing the Kratie Special Economic Zone in Cambodia, revealed in an interview.
Topower Tyre, headquartered in Jiangsu, China, said it will invest $7 million to build a manufacturing base in Cambodia with an annual output of 200,000 solid tyres. The primary construction entity of the project is Topower (Cambodia), a wholly owned subsidiary of Topower Tyre.
During the annual award ceremony at the Tire Technology Expo on 4 March, VMI was presented with the Tire Manufacturing Innovation of the Year award for its MAXX and MILEXX platforms. The award was received by Mike Norman, CCO of VMI Group. Each year, the Tire Technology International Awards for Innovation and Excellence are presented to reward the successful companies in the tyre design and manufacturing industry. The shortlist of nominees is compiled based on input from the readers of Tire Technology International and the magazine’s editorial team. Voted for by a judging panel of more than 25 leading tyre industry professionals, the Tire Technology International Awards for Innovation and Excellence recognizes the latest advances and developments from across the industry.
Three years ago, Black Arrow Tire Co. (Blatco) announced its plans for a tyre factory in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Shortly afterward, Kumho confirmed it was in talks with Blatco. In March 2024, Kumho and Blatco signed a technology license agreement, which is purportedly a 20-year deal. The latest news is that, in mid-February 2025, under the auspices of the Saudi government’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) summit, Blatco signed a “strategic partnership” with both Kumho and another Korean company, Misong Tech.
Hankook has broken ground on a new 540 million euro truck and bus tyre production line at its European plant in Rácalmás, Hungary. Construction is scheduled for completion in 2027 and will mean an increase in TBR capacity of up to 800,000 units per year. Hankook adds that it will create 450 new jobs with the expansion of its European tyre production operations to TBR. The addition of TBR tyres to the output of the plant has been discussed since operations began in Rácalmás in 2007. The company postponed a planned expansion in 2019, but has since increased its investment and planned capacity, which was then to be 550,000 units.
Rising input material prices in Asia are said to be significantly impacting the tyre industry and shifting market dynamics, according to a recent report from ChemAnalyst. The reason? Carbon black has seen a notable price surge due to a combination of supply chain disruptions, increased demand, and rising production costs.
From 4-6 March 2025, UTH GmbH from Fulda, Germany will present its state-of-the-art rubber processing technologies at the renowned international Tire Technology Expo in Hannover. With a focus on sustainability and efficiency, UTH reports that it is “setting new standards in the tyre industry by combining high quality with cost efficiency”.
Bridgestone Americas (Bridgestone) has decided to close its LaVergne, Tennessee, truck and bus tyre factory effective 31 July 2025. According to Bridgestone, “this decision is part of the company’s strategic initiatives to optimize its business footprint, strengthen its competitiveness and enhance the quality of the company’s U.S. operations. Bridgestone remains committed to contributing to society, economy, and mobility of people and goods across the U.S.”
Kenyan president William Samoei Ruto PhD announced that leading Chinese tyremaker Linglong “plans to set up factory in Kenya to serve the African market” in a statement published online on 17 January 2025.
President Ruto’s remarks follow talks with Linglong executives at State House, Nairobi, where Linglong Tyres chairman Wang Feng reportedly shared plans relating to the tyre factory.
While publishing the details of its final decision relating to import tariffs on Chinese-produced truck tyres, the European Commission (EC) also revealed some fascinating details relating to how the market has changed in light of previous investigations. The official documents also give insight into the degree to which some firms in the supply chain of Chinese tyremakers are connected to state ownership and how the EC defines brand segmentation. And finally, the reveal how the EC tiers the different brand segments.
Around the time Goodyear announced that it had sold the Dunlop brand rights to Sumitomo Rubber Industries across the American, European and Oceania regions, in the USA Goodyear announced plans to refocus its Danville, Virginia tyre factory away from truck tyre production and onto ‘mixing and the aviation sector’. Commercial tyre production will instead be moved to other factories within Goodyear’s existing estate.
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Hankook
