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.
Since being founded in 1990, Goodway Rubber Industries Sdn Bhd has made deep inroads into the highly established rubber industry. Company spokesman Raymond Lee described Goodway’s recent appearance at the Reifen 06 exhibition as the company “standing tall among the biggest industry names at the internationally acclaimed fair,” adding: “we made quite an impact with our various brands and offerings”.
If ever there was a competition for a company whose name tells you exactly what the company does, then Vintage Tyre Supplies would surely be in with a shout. Even the location of its head office – a few seconds' stroll from the Beaulieu Motor Museum – underlines what the company is about.
Vintage Tyre Supplies is, quite simply, a leader in what could be described as "a global niche", sourcing and selling vintage and classic tyres around the world. "Our business is growing and our overseas markets are developing steadily," says VTS managing director Chris Marchant.
Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company is taking steps towards closing a New Zealand tyre plant. The news is part of a series of cost-cutting measures (including European job cuts) that Goodyear is enforcing around the world. Goodyear said the move was “part of its strategy to reduce high-cost manufacturing capacity globally.”
“For over 50 years our Group has believed in tyres and has educated its people and developed new technologies to be able to handle every aspect and every phase of a tyre’s life cycle,” Mario Marangoni president of the Italian Marangoni group points out. Today Marangoni belongs to the few companies that are covering all the different aspects of tyres. In the future this is going to be communicated even more. Marangoni now wants to harmonise and internationalise its own brand appearance, says Massimo De Alessandri, managing director of the Marangoni Holding company in an interview with Tyres & Accessories.
When asked to sum up his company’s year “business is going well,” is the response given by Deldo sales manager, Stani Delcroix. By this he means that the company has once again broken its own sales records with turnover growing 10 per cent to 235 million euros. Delcroix said he believed this was impossible to beat, that was until the company achieved a further 8 per cent growth (year-on-year) in the first quarter of 2006.
(Akron/Tire Review) Cooper Tire & Rubber Co.’s manufacturing facility in Texarkana, Arkansas, will shut down production for two weeks, according to a report in the Texarkana Gazette.
(Akron/Tire Review) Stamford Tyres Corp. announced record net profit of 15.6 million Singapore dollars for the financial year ended 30 April, an 80.8 per cent growth over the S$8.6 million (£2.957 million) recorded in 2005. Revenue grew 32.4 per cent, to S$253.2 million (£87 million), the company said.
A story in the Business Standard in India, and mentioned on this website yesterday, has provoked a reply from Mr. Sunam Sarkar Chief, Corporate Strategy & Marketing for Apollo Tyres. The headline was “Apollo Tyres to Stop Making Radials in India” and Mr. Sarkar has written to the publication, saying he was “quite disappointed” in the story, which he describes as “misleading in the way it represents the facts” and with a headline that is “completely erroneous.” Mr Sarkar goes on: “There is no plan to stop making radials in India, rather we are increasing capacity. The specific fact that we discussed was the possible sourcing of low volume products from our South African facilities, so that our plant in Baroda can produce more of the high volume sizes. “The quote that ‘Apollo currently manufactures 200 radial tyres a month’ is completely untrue. We are currently manufacturing more than 7,000 radials per day, with plans to increase to 10,000 radials per day very shortly. While it is correct that we are exploring the replacement of South African manufactured cross-ply tyres with Indian ones, the important aspect of that strategy that does not come through in the story is that this production in South Africa will be replaced with increased production of truck radial tyres.”
(Akron/Tire Review) Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. announced that it is withdrawing from certain segments of the private label tyre business in North America. Approximately 10 private label brands currently manufactured by Goodyear and sold by wholesale customers to tyre retailers will be affected by the decision. In 2005, this segment represented approximately $300 million in sales and about 8 million units manufactured in five North American plants, or approximately one-third of the company’s overall private label business.
2006 has seen ArvinMeritor Light Vehicle Aftermarket embark on a major new parts development programme. During the first quarter of the year 55 exhaust and 30 catalytic converter references were added to an already market leading range, providing a further 100 model applications. With plans in place to accelerate the development programme, by year end the company aim to have added a total of 400 new references.
Apollo Tyres is planning to import radial tyres for luxury cars like Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Volkswagen from the company’s manufacturing facility in South Africa, rediff.com has reported. The local business news source reports that Indian radial production could halt at some point in the coming months.
Ram-Rod Manufacturing Ltd has launched its new ‘Trakta’ bead breaker, designed for agricultural, earthmover and small plant applications, it is Ram-rod’s fourth product, all of which answer specific problems associated with tyre and wheel handling. At the same time the company also announced it is looking for companies to distribute its products across Europe.
Following Indian manufacturer, Apollo Tyres’ announcement that it has officially completed its acquisition of Dunlop International (DI) Tyres & Acccessories’ Southern African editorial partner, SA Treads, flew to DI’s headquarters in Durban to interview CE Mike Hankinson, MD Pierre Dreyer and Apollo joint managing director and CEO, Neeraj Kanwar.
Eldan Recycling A/S Denmark has been recognised as a leading supplier of Tyre Recycling Plant and Equipment for over 30 years. The company first manufactured a Rasper model 800 in 1970 to process car tyres into 20 mm chips to feed into a boiler to heat a commercial Greenhouse in Denmark.
Since that time the company has expanded from a small family run business into a large manufacturing company employing over 100 people, however, it has still managed to retain the personal touch often lacking with larger companies.
Bandag, Incorporated announced that it has closed its pension plans to new hires in the U S and Canada, and will freeze the existing pension plans for US employees and for salaried Canadian employees effective 31 December 2006. The cost-cutting programme includes an early retirement programme and voluntary and involuntary redundancies for some US employees.
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