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.
SMMT figures reveal that UK commercial vehicle (CV) manufacturing fell
-5.2 per cent in July. The decline shows a marked difference to last year’s figures, when a remarkably strong performance in July 2015 saw production rise by almost 50 per cent.
TVS Srichakra reports that it is planning to increase total tyre production capacity from 2.3 million tyres per month to 2.5 million. The Madurai, India-based firm told local news sources that it do so by the second quarter of the current financial year.
Pelmar Group’s board of directors has appointed Tal Dekel as president. Dekel, who holds an MBA, was previously CEO of TGL SP Industries, a fully-owned subsidiary of the Pelmar Group.
San Francisco-based 3D printing and consulting company Emerging Objects is using waste tyres as a source material.
According to local news reports, the firm says the same characteristics that make waste tyres problematic (namely, their cheap availability, bulk and resilience) make them attractive.
According to the IHS Markit/CIPS Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), UK manufacturing fell to its lowest level since February 2013 in July. At 48.2 in July, the metric was down from 52.4 in June. This is only the second time since early 2013 that the PMI has fell to a sub-50.0 level. The move was reportedly the steepest decline since October 2012.
UK car makers reported their 11th consecutive month of growth in June, according to figures released by SMMT. Production grew 10.4 per cent to 158,641 units – the highest level for the month since 1998, when volumes reached 172,232.
The production of the 200 millionth tyre pressure sensor took place at the start of July. Continental´s locations in France (Toulouse), Korea (Icheon) and Mexico (Guadalajara) supply a large number of automobile manufacturers in Europe, Asia and America.
Specialists chemicals firm Biesterfeld Group has established Performance Rubber GmbH, which commenced operations on 1 July 2016. The new division combines all international business activities of the rubber processing industry. The aim is to further develop the rubber business strategically, while strengthening the Group’s role as a leading European distributor in this industrial segment.
New data produced by Smithers Rapra suggests the carbon black market has grown at an average of 5.4 per cent during the period between 2011 and 2015. As a results demand reached 13 million tons in 2015. To put this figure into context, global demand for carbon black was estimated at 10.7 million tons in 2011 – and this figure is said to represent “a good recovery” from the 15 per cent contraction between 2008 and 2009.
Chem-Trend, the release agents, purging compounds and other ancillary moulding products supplier, and its parent company Freudenberg Chemical Specialities (FCS) have broked ground on the construction and expansion of its facilities in the Maisach Gernlinden area outside Munich, Germany. Chem-Trend’s European headquarters, already located at the site, will expand as part of the project to create an approximately $45 million complex that will also encompass facilities and services for two additional FCS business units, Klüber Lubrication Munich and OKS Specialty Lubricants. FCS is a member of the Freudenberg Group, a technology company active throughout the world.
Maxxis exhibited at Reifen from a prominent Hall 3 stand commensurate with the brand’s global positioning, and increasingly with its focus on Europe. Robert Lo, chairman of Maxxis manufacturer Cheng Shin Rubber Ind Co and Derek McMartin, managing director of Maxxis International UK explained to Tyres & Accessories that the stand included a portfolio containing the brand’s first “dedicated European products”. The new M36+, launched at Reifen, is perhaps the most prominent example of this.
The small village of Cookely, near Kidderminster, in the rolling Worcestershire countryside isn’t necessarily where you would expect to find a leading manufacturer, but this is exactly where leading OTR wheel supplier to the yellow goods market, Titan Steel Wheels, is based. The subsidiary of Titan International distributes its niche products mainly into Europe, meeting the specifications of end-users in the construction, industrial, mining and agricultural sectors with a wide variety of part numbers, largely comprising three- and five-piece wheels. Tyres & Accessories visited the facility, where Titan Europe managing director, wheels division, Chris Akers talked us through the history of the site, Titan’s current activities and future plans.
Tyre cord manufacturer Kordsa Global has been recognized as a “great place to work” in Bahia, Brazil, the company announced. According to a survey conducted by the Great Place to Work Institute that included nearly 40 companies, Kordsa Global ranked 7th in the list of best employers.
Local news reports suggest Marangoni is investing $75 million in expanding industrial tyre manufacturing in Sri Lanka. The reports add detail to official announcements about increased Eltor EVO for the forklift tyre production capacity made in May.
A coroner has connected the death of a former worker at Goodyear’s Wolverhampton factory to years of employment in tyre production. Fred Spruce died in November 2015, just weeks after he was diagnosed with bladder cancer. His 71-year-old widow Valerie has now instructed industrial disease lawyers at Irwin Mitchell to investigate how this happened.
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