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.
For its breakthrough Fortera featuring TripleTred Technology tyre, The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company has been chosen to receive the “2006 Manny Award” from Inside Business Magazine, as a winner in the “New Product Development and Innovation” category.
Goodyear will be honoured at the Manny Awards banquet on May 23 in Cleveland.
(Akron/Tire Review) Not surprisingly, the United Steelworkers (USW), which is facing difficult contract and cutback talks with Continental Tire North America (CTNA), publicly “welcomed” news that Titan International is seeking to buy CTNA’s Bryan, Ohio, OTR plant. The union had refrained from making any public statements regarding the plant’s previous suitors – Roesler Group and Pensler Capital – though. And, the USW’s support of Titan comes after the two parties spent the last five years at virtual war, including a 40-plus month strike.
The Nankang Rubber Tire Corp. has been very successful in recent years, notably in developing the NS-2 UHP tyre, which has been favourably received by customers worldwide. One of Nankang’s latest development is in 17-18″ snow tyres that will be displayed on the company’s stand at Reifen 06.
The Marangoni Group will this year share one impressive stand at the Reifen exhibition. This initiative will be called the “Marangoni Village” and will feature all the latest news, products, technology and services offered in the Marangoni Group’s areas of business: For Car Tyres, the Marangoni high and ultra high performance car tyre ranges, together with specialist winter and SUV products, will be on show.
Kara Gostar Eng. Co. will be showing examples from its range of moulds for the tyre industry at this year’s Essen show. The company was established as a tyre mould manufacturer in 1991 and manufactures 400 sets of moulds per year. A team of experienced and skilled engineers, backed up by updated hardware and software, incorporate the most recent developments in tyre mould production into customer tyre moulds.
Apollo Tyres Ltd has formally concluded the process of acquiring Dunlop Tyres International (Pyt) Ltd (Dunlop South Africa) in a £36 million all cash deal. Apollo’s board of directors had approved this acquisition on January 31, 2006, at a board meeting in Mumbai, India. All regulatory approvals in India and South Africa alongside the transfer of shares have already been completed.
Titan Tire Corporation, a subsidiary of Titan International, Inc. has announced that it is in negotiations with Continental Tire North America (CTNA) to acquire the assets of its off-the-road (OTR) tyre manufacturing facility in Bryan, Ohio. It is the goal of the parties to reach a definitive agreement for the asset purchase transaction within the next 30 days. Titan International owns subsidiaries that supply wheels, tyres and assemblies for off-highway equipment used in agricultural, earthmoving/construction and consumer (including all terrain vehicles and trailers) applications.
Brazilian company Borrachas Vipal S.A., a leading worldwide manufacturer of tyre retreading and repair products, will be participating at Reifen 2006—and will be showcasing its complete line of products, particularly its exclusive retreading and repair lines.
GPX International Tire Corporation has appointed Kedar D Murthy as vice president of global OEM sales. Mr Murthy will be based in GPX’s headquarters, in Malden, Massachusetts. Kedar brings 18 years of experience in global sales and marketing, international business development, operations, eBusiness and finance.
Hankook Tire has signed a term loan agreement for 100 million euros to finance its new manufacturing plant in Hungary. The agreement was signed on 4 April at the Intercontinental Hotel in Budapest, Hungary. Taking part in the signing ceremony were president of Hankook Tire European Regional Headquarters Suh Seung-hwa, vice president of finance Lee Jong-cheol, head of Hankook Tire Hungary Lee Eung-yong and representatives from 11 Korean and foreign banks.
(Akron/Tire Review) The power transmission group of the ContiTech division of Continental AG has expanded drive-belt production capacity at its manufacturing plant in Timisoara, Romania.
Summit Wheels and Tyres has a comprehensive range of wheels for the agricultural and industrial market sectors. Wheels for most off road applications, particularly for the construction and agriculture market, can be supplied individually or complete with tyres usually within 72 hours of ordering, unless there is a special requirement.
China Wheel runs four chrome-plating factories with an overall annual capacity of 945,000 units. In Taian (Shandong province) approximately 240 employees produce 240,000 units; in the Donghua chrome-plating factory 120 co-workers make 300,000 units; in Donghui 80 people make 105,000 units; and in Zengcheng 200 produce 300,000 wheels annually (all three locations can be found in Guangdong province).
The market for cast aluminium wheels is reaching saturation point. While the low-volume, image focused brands are defending their territory in a crumbling segment, the mid-price segment has almost disappeared. At the same time, while the low-price segment may continue to move significant volumes of wheels, branding is to a large extent interchangeable.
Alloy wheels may still be most common tuning part, but that’s just it. Being the most frequently upgraded part means that it loses its exclusivity. Cast aluminium wheels have become a commodity and in some cases are already cheaper than steel wheels.
GPX International Tire Corporation (GPX), has purchased Maine Industrial Tire Limited (MITL) of Gorham, Maine. MITL is a leader in the design and manufacture of premium quality solid industrial tyres which are sold under the Maine and ITL brands. In addition, MITL produces and markets a line of solid tires for use on skid steers and loaders under the Brawler brand.
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