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.
Hankook Tire Manufacturing Co. will be supplying Ford with tires for the F-150. “Supply to the world’s top auto maker should enhance the brand recognition of Hankook Tire in the global market,” said Cho Choong-Hwan, Hankook’s top executive. Hankook Tire America Corp. is expected to release more details on this domestic OE contract with Ford soon.
Auto Shanghai 2003, the 10th International Automobile and Manufacturing Exhibition, proved to be a great success, with 730 exhibitors from 23 countries and a show area of 81,000 square metres. The event ran from 21st to 25th April and attracted almost 200,000 visitors to the Shanghai New International Expo Centre. The 200 or so exhibitors from the automotive supply industry included a group of 50 companies from Germany. The show was held against a background of rising numbers of cases of SARS and in view of this problem, the organisers took a number of precautionary measures. Shanghai’s municipal authorities took the decision to close the show three days early in order to avoid the expected floods of visitors from other regions of China over the weekend. In general, this was welcomed by exhibitors, many of whom said that the visitor response had been so positive that they had achieved their trade fair objectives, despite the early closure.
Goodyear’s Eagle F1 GS-D3 “world tire” won praise just outside the company’s hometown last week, when company representatives accepted a NorTech Innovation Award for the unique, global tire.
Reports in the Indian press suggest that Michelin has embarked on a tyre market analysis to determine whether it is worthwhile investing in a manufacturing facility in India. In 2000, Michelin was said to be considering an investment of Rupees 500 crore (around 90.5 million Euros) in a manufacturing facility, but the scheme fell through due to the low level of radialisation in the market.
Bridgestone Corporation announced that it has concluded its first-ever contract to supply tyres to Airbus S.A.S. The contract pertains to tyres for the ultra-advanced A380, a next-generation super jumbo airliner. Bridgestone will begin supplying tyres to Airbus for the nose and main landing gear of the A380 on the fourth quarter of 2005. The A380 Airbus, which will carry 555 passengers, is in the early stages of manufacturing. Airbus’s plans call for the plane to go into commercial service in early 2006.
Bridgestone is to invest 12.6 billion Thai Baht (256.79 m Euros) to raise output in Thailand of tyres, cord and carbon black, in order to meet expected rising global demand. Steel cord production at the Chon Buri factory will triple to 28,000 tonnes by 2005 and work will start on building a tyre factory there next April, producing 900,000 radial truck and bus tyres in the second half of the year. The Bridgestone group in Thailand consists of seven companies and the latest investments will see the local workforce grow from the present 3,600 to 5,500.
Sumitomo Rubber Industries has revealed details of its new tyre production system, called Taiyo (“the sun”). It is a fully automatic system, integrating all the production process, from component preparation to tyre curing, into one cell. The process is very flexible and, says SRI, produces a more uniform tyre. The Taiyo system is in production at SRI’s Nagoya plant and 1,000 tyres of eight different sizes can be produced daily.
Up until now, Nokian Tyres’ contract manufacturing has mainly been focused on Nordman branded winter tyres. The Finnish tyre maker now plans to increase summer tyre production as well in the Russian joint venture factory of Voronez, attaining an annual capacity of two million tyres in 2004 and also plans to introduce a new summer tyre brand at the year-end.
Every professional truck driver or motorist knows about the problem arising from wet roads. Especially overtaking a truck in the wet, which can be compared to a leap in the dark with a high level of risk when the rainwater is being splashed aside by the steer axle tyres. It’s this dangerous splash Michelin aims to counteract with a world-first: the patented Anti-Splash tread pattern. With the introduction of a deflector into the tyre’s design, comprising a small horizontal rib on the shoulder between the sidewall and the tread of the tyre, the splash will be deflected back down towards the road surface. The bow wave effect, which is responsible for the visibility, and thus the safety, of the truck and the car drivers, will be minimised.
Nokian Tyres has released its figures for the first quarter of the year. Turnover rose 13.2 per cent to 95.7 million Euros (1Q 2002: 84.5 m). Group operating profit was 3.2 million Euros (1Q 2002: – 1.0 m) and the manufacturing operating profit was 11 million Euros, with the Vianor tyre chain making a loss of 5.2 million Euros. This latter figure was an improvement of 1.5 million Euros over 1Q 2002. Group profit before taxes was 1.6 million Euros, compared with a deficit of 4 million Euros for the same period last year.
Yokohama Tire Philippines Inc. (YTP), a car tyre manufacturing and marketing subsidiary of Yokohama Rubber, is to upgrade its facilities to boost production by 25 per cent by the end of the year. The upgrade, which will cost around two billion Yen (15.1 million Euros), will boost annual capacity from two million tyres to 2.5 million. Most of the increase will be in 16 inch and larger sizes and, by the year end, it is anticipated that these sizes will account for 30 per cent of production. YTP began produc tion in 1998 and has been profitable since year one. 90 per cent of production is exported to Europe, the Middle East and ASEAN countries.
Goodyear Dunlop UK Limited has begun a consultation process with the unions and public authorities regarding the restructuring of its UK Sales Operations at Tyrefort, Birmingham. Andreas Niegsch, General Manager, said the move was necessary “to become a more flexible, dynamic and responsive organisation in a highly competitive marketplace.” He added that the restructuring would mean job losses, with up to 116 associates affected at Tyrefort and 100 in field operations. The consultation process is scheduled to run for 90 days.
Chinese government departments plan to curb the rising price of rubber on the domestic market in an effort to ease the pressure on manufacturing enterprises. The measures include proposed include; directly selling large quantities of the country’s natural rubber reserve to tyre producers, seeking possible increase of the import quota of natural rubber and avoiding the possibility of an increased import quota entering the futures market for speculation.
Goodyear and TRW Automotive have signed a five-year agreement for a joint study of tyres, braking, suspension and steering systems. Goodyear will share its design and manufacturing expertise in conventional and EMT run-flat tyres, while TRW is a leader in the design of braking, steering and suspension systems. Both companies said they were excited about the potential for product improvement and development which the agreement would bring.
South African Tiger Wheels is planning to realign its investments in wheel manufacturing, which might lead ultimately to an overseas listing for the company. This was announced by CO, Eddie Keizan, as he unveiled an impressive set of financial results for the six months to December.
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