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.
Russian rubber and petrochemicals manufacturer Nizhnekamskneftekhim signed an agreement to provide synthetic rubber to Michelin during a meeting held in late June.
A delegation from the Russian company, including Vladimir Busygin, chairman of the board of directors and other senior officials, visited Michelin’s R&D center in Clermont-Ferrand, France to discuss the supply of new brands of synthetic rubber to the tyre maker.
Black Bear’s carbon black has received an official Cradle to Cradle Certified Bronze Certificate, assessed by the Environmental Protection Encouragement Agency (EPEA). This is the first time that a carbon black has received this certification.
“This certification is a clear demonstration of our commitment to accelerating the transition towards a circular economy. We are pleased that we can now offer carbon black users a real and officially certified choice for selecting clean and green materials” said Martijn Lopes Cardozo, CEO Black Bear.
On 23 June Serbian president Aleksandar Vučić’s inauguration ceremony was held in Belgrade. Wang Feng, chairman and president of Linglong Tire, was invited to attend the inauguration ceremony in a move that suggests communications relating to Linglong’s proposed investment in a European tyre manufacturing plant are still open.
Toyo Tire and Rubber has announced that tyre production volume at its subsidiary in Malaysia has exceeded 10 million units. The plant was established in 2013 and is one of the production hubs supporting Toyo’s global tyre supply structure, which covers Europe, Japan and North America in addition to Southeast Asia.
Although Singapore-based contract tyre and wheel Supplier Stamford Tyres has exhibited at the Autopromotec show for many years, at the 2017 event the company broke with tradition and shared a booth with their established Italian partner – MC Wheels who are based in Villorba, Italy.
ZC Rubber has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Bekaert, the global top steel cord supplier. The new arrangement will focus on the development of steel cord on green tyre.
Global premium tyremakers continue to lead Tyres & Accessories annual ranking of the leading tyre manufacturers. Owing to the fact that all five of the top five firms have remained stable in their positions, it is difficult to view the chart very differently. Indeed, stability is the order of the day on this year’s table, with 12 of the 20 keep the same positions as last year.
The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) has recognised Cooper Tire’s Tupelo and Clarksdale, Mississippi plants as members of its environmental stewardship enHance initiative. A voluntary programme consisting of three-year membership terms, the enHance initiative, which stands for “envision heightened awareness nurturing conservation and environmental excellence,” recognises committed environmental leaders in Mississippi that put in place environmental initiatives beyond those that are required.
ZC Rubber Thailand has added a new production line for motorcycle tyres to support the market in Southeast Asian market. The manufacturer also launched its first bias industrial tyre.
The opening of Apollo Tyres’ Gyöngyöshalász plant, 100km east of Budapest, marks a significant event for both the company’s global aspirations and the Indian tyre industry – the 72 hectare greenfield factory, begun in April 2015, is the first inaugurated by an Indian tyre company to come online outside the domestic market. The importance was reflected in the event itself, with some of the plant’s cavernous warehousing housing around 1,300 guests, among whose number was the prime minister of Hungary, Viktor Orban, who declared Apollo’s sixth global tyre manufacturing plant – its second in Europe after the existing Netherlands facility acquired alongside Vredestein – open on 7 April.
In the last few weeks, Apollo has initiated production at its new Hungary tyre factory and launched a brand new European truck tyre range (see Company News section pages 32 – 24); Doublestar has confirmed that it is the only remaining bidder in the race for 42 per cent of Kumho Tire (see pages 36 – 37); and as we went to press, Finnish tyre maker Nokian announced that it will build its third production plant, this time in the USA. All this points to what we might call a re-globalisation trend. Rather than businesses from the large so-called developed nations expanding around the globe, this second wave of international expansion sees the roles reversing to some extent. While before the Western nations were looking to invest in fast-growing “emerging” economies, now the proverbial shoe is on the other foot and large companies in what used to be called the BRIC nations are investing in more developed tyre markets.
Nokian Tyres’ board of directors has authorized its management to sign a letter of intent with the respective authorities to build a new tyre manufacturing facility in America. The new greenfield factory will be located in Dayton (Rhea County), Tennessee, USA. It will concentrate on the production of passenger, SUV and light truck tyres that are sold exclusively or primarily in the North American market. The annual capacity of the factory will be 4 million tyres with an expansion potential in the future. About 400 people are expected to be employed.
The tyre cord and fabric market will be worth over U$6 billion by 2024 on the back of robust growth in the automotive industry is the growth driver in the global tyre cord and tyre fabrics market size, according to a new report published by Global Market Insights. The US, India, Japan, China and South Korea are the prominent countries for the automotive sector and account more than 50 per cent of the global commercial and personal vehicle production in 2015. Growing middle class population along with rising consumer per capita disposable income in China and India will complement the automotive business growth by 2024.
Just three days after buying Trelleborg’s Czech compounding operation, on 3 April Hexpol announced it has signed an agreement to acquire the business of Valley Processing from Ted Ballou and his family. The acquisition price amounts to approximately US$44 million on a cash and debt free basis. There will also be an additional product transfer fee, which will be paid later.
Hexpol has today acquired 100 per cent of Trelleborg Material & Mixing Lesina s.r.o from the Trelleborg Group. The divested operation develops, produces and supplies polymer compounds. The majority of its sales are to external customers and a minor share to a small number of Trelleborg facilities in Europe.
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