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.
(Akron/Tire Review) Continental Tire North America Inc (CTNA) said it has begun negotiations with the United Steelworkers (USW) for a new labour agreement at its Charlotte, NC tyre manufacturing plant.
The current labour agreement, initiated on 20 September 1999, does not expire until 30 April 2006, according to CTNA, but the tyremaker wanted to begin negotiations now to “address high manufacturing costs,” the company said.
Hayes Lemmerz International, Inc is to sell its aftermarket brake controller business to Hayes Brake Controller Company, a limited liability corporation formed by Syncro Corporation of Arab, Alabama. Under the agreement Hayes Brake Controller Company will acquire all inventory, assets and intellectual property necessary to the operation of the aftermarket brake controller business. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
DFDS, the Danish road transport giant, has ordered 1,000 new trailers from German company Bernard Krone GmbH to be delivered over the next 18 months. The trailers will be fitted with 6,000 Bandag retreads as original equipment, manufactured by Bandag dealers in Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, France, the UK, Czech Republic and Hungary.
Accuride Corporation recently announced that it has appointed Richard (Rick) Klein as vice president/general manager Accuride Aluminium Wheels. Klein has served as Accuride’s director of operations based at the companies Erie plant since early 2004.
(Akron/Tire Review) Former Continental Tire North America executive Jim Seidel has been named vice president and chief operating officer Stamford Tires & Wheels Inc a North American subsidiary of Singapore-based tyremaker Stamford Tyres Corp Ltd.
Dunlop Tyres (Pvt) Limited, Zimbabwe’s sole tyre manufacturing firm, has shut down with the loss of 820 jobs, leading to concerns about road safety in the country.
Officials at the tyre manufacturer and exporter said the firm had shut down its plant last week due to shortages of foreign currency, which has resulted in the company failing to procure raw materials, newzimbabwe.com has reported.
(Akron/Tire Review) ArvinMeritor is selling the assets of its off-highway brake business to Carlisle Braking Products, owned by Carlisle Companies Inc. The business, which includes equipment and assets from manufacturing facilities in York, SC, and South Wales, UK, was sold for approximately $39 million.
According to Chip McClure, ArvinMeritor chairman, president and CEO, the sale of the company’s off-highway brakes operation is in line with ArvinMeritor’s strategy to focus on its Light and Commercial Vehicle Systems unit.
(Akron/Tire Review) The merger of Galaxy Tire & Wheel Inc. and Dynamic Tire Corp. has been completed, resulting in the creation of GPX International Tire Corp. The Boston-based Galaxy Tire and Toronto-based Dynamic Tire announced their merger plans this past June.
Combined as GPX, the companies will post some $300 million in sales for 2005, officials said, and will have operations in North America, Europe and Asia. GPX officials said that the new firm will market Galaxy and Primex brands as its “flagship” tyre brands.
BKT is set to embark on ambitious expansion plans designed to increase the company’s tyre production capacity by 66 per cent. The Indian company currently runs three tyre factories located at Waluj (Western India), Bhiwadi (Northern India) and Chopanki (Northern India). In terms of tyre numbers this means BKT will more than double radial tractor tyre capacity to 250,000 tyres a year. Total capacity for heavy earthmover tyres will be raised from 10,000 to 50,000 tyres per annum.
Michelin has bought Apollo Tyres’ stake in the two companies’ joint venture. In addition to the 49 per cent stake Michelin now owns as a result of the acquisition, the French manufacturer will hold onto the 14.9 per cent stake it acquired in Apollo Tyres two years ago. Explaining the reason behind the buy-out, Michelin said: “While the use of radial tyres has gone up in the past two years, it is at a pace that was slower than projected by the partners.”
Tyre manufacturer, Balkrishna Industries Ltd says it will invest 3 billion rupees (£39 million) on expansion plans. The board of directors has reportedly approved the plans which include increasing tyre manufacturing capacities at Bhiwadi, Waluj and Chopanki plants to 100,00 tonnes per annum against 60,000 presently.
Amerityre Corporation has begun the development of a polyurethane tyre compound and manufacturing process for retreading medium commercial truck tyres. Amerityre believes the retreading process, which has been successfully developed and tested in passenger car tyre applications, is a natural fit for the medium commercial truck tyre used by tens of thousands of over-the-road truck fleets worldwide.
“The benefits of polyurethane elastomer as a tyre compound are evident,” said Richard Steinke, president and CEO of Amerityre. “In both endurance and high speed testing our polyurethane compounds have run substantially cooler than rubber. In addition, these compounds have outperformed comparable rubber compounds in both accelerated heat aging and ozone testing,” he added.
Apaseal has announced “a new active partnership” with tyre repair material manufacturer Tech International. The announcement follows Apaseal’s key supply partner model. Other partners include Corghi for equipment, Dionys Hofmann for balancing weights and Schrader for the companies valve needs.
The Tech products will provide the UK tyre trade with a wider choice of methods and repairs for tyre and wheel service products. At a recent meeting at Apaseal’s head office, plans were finalised to introduce the Tech range for distribution alongside Apaseal products nationwide.
Michelin has opened a new passenger car tyre manufacturing facility in the Hungarian city of Nyiregyhaza. The French company has invested 14.5 billion forints (£39.8 million) in the new production unit, which is expected to produce 800,000 tyres annually and will employ 217 people.
Michelin has invested in a wind turbine electricity system at its Dundee facility. Two giant turbines, each 400 ft high will be operational as of next February and will provide around a third of the factory’s annual power demands.
In a company statement the manufacturer announced that contracts are being finalised with the developer, Ecotricity, and installation will begin within the next few months. The new turbines will generate 8 million kwh of power.
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