Manufacturing Archives - Page 137 of 257 - Tyrepress

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.

Posts

Goodyear Dunlop Apprentices Celebrate First Year at BTCC

Goodyear Dunlop’s first apprentices in 15 years celebrated the end of their first year with the company and the successful progression onto their B-Tec and NVQ III qualifications with a visit to the HiQ British Touring Car Championship at Rockingham. The electrical and mechanical apprentices and their mentors got to see first hand the work of Dunlop Motorsport, following the steep learning curve of 12 months at the business’ Wolverhampton and Birmingham manufacturing sites. The company says that the scheme is developing highly skilled engineers of the future.

7th October 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Cooper Tire Moving to 24/7 Operations at Texarkana Plant

Production capacity is to be expanded at Cooper Tire & Rubber’s Texarkana, Arkansas facility. The company reports that, in response to growing market demand for its products, operations at the Texarkana passenger car and light commercial vehicle tyre plant will shift to a 24/7 operation as of January 1, 2010. Approximately 200 additional employees will be needed to support this increased production volume, which will be phased in over several months in 2010.

6th October 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Destination Europe: More Chinese Products En Route to Europe?

Company News, International News, News

Now President Barack Obama has stuck 35 per cent import duty on all passenger car and light truck tyres from China for the next three years what happens next? Chinese tyre manufacturers won’t want to sell fewer tyres each year. But US importers, consumers and manufacturers are equally unlikely to want to pay or absorb the additional costs. Tyres & Accessories spoke to a range of US, Far Eastern and Chinese companies and found that manufacturers are having to rely heavily on production flexibility, while traders are now setting their sights on one market in particular – Europe.

Stephen Wu, managing director of Chinese tyre trading operation, Best Choice International, reports that orders from the US stopped came to a virtual standstill in July. Their strategy is now openly towards producing more European market orientated products: “We stopped an SUV/LT project and waited for the decision. And we produced more European UHP tyre sizes, not US sizes.” Companies like Best Choice are now prioritising orders in other markets – especially Europe – where they aim to sell the most popular sizes, UHP and winter tyres. Best Choice is apparently interested in other markets as well, but Wu refused to give further details at this time. As far as Best Choice is concerned there is now zero chance of getting orders in the first year of the tariff, except in the 19-inch and over category. As a result competition is likely to be based on just two factors: price and delivery time.

6th October 2009/by Chris

Continental Ends Talks With MAG Over Clairoix Plant

Talks between Continental AG and MAG, a Dubai-based potential buyer of the company’s tyre technology and passenger/light truck tyre manufacturing facility in Clairoix, France, have ended. According to Continental, the talks “mutually ceased” with no agreement reached. The parties held intensive discussions, but finally concluded that it was not possible to reach common ground on pursuing further negotiations.

“We would have liked to have become involved in the tyre manufacturing business as an extension to our value-chain activities which are strongly focused on the trade sector. Using the knowledge we have at present we shall continue to examine this approach. We specifically thank the French government for its commitment and support while we were deliberating on the matter, and we shall keep France in our minds as a key location for future business plans”, said Dr Fawaz Sabri vice chairman of MAG

Dr Bernhard Trilken, responsible for Continental`s global passenger and light truck tyre production, added: “It was not possible to enter into concrete negotiations on the basis of jointly defined framework conditions. The two parties reached the same conclusion and, at that point, agreed to terminate the sales talks.”

6th October 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Chem-Trend Release Single Application Curing Envelope Treatment

International News, Product News, Retreading

Chem-Trend recently launched a single application curing envelope treatment aimed at the retreading industry. Mono-Lube 2006 is designed to increase curing envelope life, while providing “easy release from the cured tyre.” A typical life for a tyre retread curing envelope is 40 – 60 tyres, however according to the Chem-Trend Mono-Lube 2006 can extend life by between 33 to 100 per cent. In addition to providing good release from a cured tyre, it also provides good slip, enabling accurate positioning over the next, uncured tyre.

5th October 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

North Hants Tyres: Specialist Niche Sees Little Change

Classic car tyre provider, North Hants Tyres says that the past year has yielded a rise in classic radial sizes such as 125×15, 145×15 and 165×15 as the major manufacturers ceased their production. The small niche market for specialist tyres has, according to the company, seen little fluctuation and, in spite of undoubtedly difficult market conditions, there has been an increase in sales over the past year.

5th October 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Marangoni Merges Retreading Businesses

As a response to market changes and the rapid evolution of its manufacturing and distribution arms, Marangoni has decided to merge by incorporation its Marangoni Spa and Marangoni Tread SpA operations into Marangoni Pneumatici SpA. This new company, which came into being on October 1, 2009, will serve as the parent company and will be officially known as Marangoni SpA. This merger, says Marangoni, is part of a medium-term strategic plan aimed at strengthening the group and placing a greater focus on its core retreading business.

2nd October 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

EDIWheel eBusiness Standard Comes to the UK

In the five years Tyres & Accessories/Tyrepress.com has been publishing a dedicated e-Commerce feature, one of the most common themes has been the real need for an integrated approach to selling tyres online. Now this need is being answered with the introduction of the EDIWheel eBusiness standard into the UK, linking and automating the whole approach from stock availability through to invoicing.

The online tyre market is estimated to occupy a 4 per cent market share across Europe, however, the true potential for eBusiness in the UK tyre industry is yet to be fully realised for two main reasons. Firstly the amount of ordering websites that are not integrated with the dealer’s order processing systems or processes. And secondly, the absence of an agreed industry wide eBusiness standard for core business processes such as ordering and invoicing.

According to the group of collaborating tyre manufacturers involved, these issues are being addressed by key members of the tyre industry with EDIWheel (Electronic Data Interchange Wheel – wheel representing the distribution cycle and not a physical wheel) eBusiness standard which enables the automation of stock availability checking, ordering, order confirmation, dispatch advice and invoicing. Specifically, a forum hosted by TIF about EDIWheel for tyre manufacturers, software developers, dealers and wholesalers has been scheduled for mid-November.

2nd October 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Conti Expresses Concerns over MAG Group Clairoix Acquisition

Continental has voiced concerns over MAG Group’s proposed acquisition of the German manufacturer’s beleaguered Clairoix facility following its receipt of the Syrian company’s letter of intent, reports Reuters. Mail-based discussions are ongoing, says the report, with MAG vice-chairman for strategy and finance Fawaz Sabri quoted as saying, “We sent… an amended version of the letter of intent and are awaiting their response. We have put everything down and all our concerns,” he told Reuters. Conti spokesman, Alexander Luehrs said that the main points of contention were the price and the transference of technology. The German manufacturer clearly wishes to protect its technology against producing a potential competitor.

2nd October 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Interstate Tires To Double European Warehouse Capacity

Interstate Tires intends to double the capacity of its European warehouse by November this year. The company says that this will enable Interstate to offer its European customers quicker delivery, better service and good availability for all Interstate tyres. Theo de Vries, Vice President, said fill rates in the first half of 2009 were about 87 per cent. Light truck tyres and winter tyres, the inventory of which is not linked to demand, were instrumental in bringing down the average, he noted.

1st October 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

The Market is Ripe for Korean Tyre Makers

International News, News, UK News

2009 could be a breakthrough year for the Korean tyremakers. A collection of circumstances (some clearly the result of famed Far Eastern forward planning, and others distinctly more fortuitous), mean Kumho, Hankook and Nexen have found themselves poised to sell increasing numbers of replacement tyres in the UK and Europe. In addition, their successful efforts in the OE department – ironically helped along by the shaky macro-economic environment – mean this perfect storm of variables could leave the Korean manufacturers in an even stronger position when the dust settles. In the UK, a market where mid-range and economy tyres make up around 60 per cent of unit sales, official figures show that 4.7 million passenger car tyres of South Korean origin were imported last year. However, this cannot be the complete total because it only includes tyres imported from factories actually situated in South Korea. Owing to the fact that all three have significant manufacturing presences in China, and tyres often enter the market by “indirect routes,” it is likely the true total is a lot more.

30th September 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Goodyear Appoints Fish as Senior VP of Global Operations

Goodyear has announced the appointment of John “Jack” D. Fish as senior vice president of global operations. Fish replaces Christopher W. Clark, senior vice president of global sourcing, who in June announced his intention to retire after 36 years with Goodyear. Fish will be responsible for overseeing manufacturing and related supply chain activities throughout all of the corporation’s global business units. He will begin work at Goodyear on 5 October, 2009.

30th September 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

TSI/SSG Buys Amerac

Tire Service Equipment Mfg. Co., Inc. (TSI/SSG) has bought all inventory, trademarks, equipment and manufacturing rights of Amermac, Inc. of Ellaville, Georgia. Not details of the price have been released. Amermac, Inc. is a leader in tyre vibration equipment and is known in the automotive trucking industry and the motorsport world. President, Wes Sprunk, said the company is committed to providing superior service to all Amermac customers and is looking forward to building lasting relationships with them. The entire Amermac line of tyre vibration equipment will continue to be supported and all service parts will be available through TSI/SSG.

30th September 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Carlisle Pirelli Workers Given Increase in Hours

Workers at Pirelli’s plant in Carlisle have been given increased hours, according to local newspaper, News & Star, continuing that the Italian manufacturer has lifted its suspension of the ‘guaranteed week’ thanks to a “stabilisation” of orders in the European market. The company also sounded a note of caution, saying that the situation could fluctuate in the coming months with the market.

30th September 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Trayal Workers Strike Over Unpaid Wages

Workers at the Serbian Trayal tyre factory have gone on strike over unpaid wages. Production is said to be at a standstill. According to the Sofia News Agency, 700 of the 2100 total work force have gathered at the factory gate, near where the managers’ offices are, and demanded immediate payment. The local union leader stated that this is their last chance to accomplish anything before the busy winter season takes hold.

29th September 2009/by Tyrepress Editors