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.
In answer to questions from Tyres & Accessories, Chinese manufacturer Triangle has verified that it is in a “long-term cooperation” with Goodyear, confirming earlier suggestions of business connections between the two companies.
Trinseo, a materials company that supplies latex and synthetic rubber products to tyre manufacturers, has announced a number of leadership changes. All changes are effective 1 November 2015.
Martin Pugh, currently senior vice president and Business President for Performance Materials, has been named executive vice president and chief operating officer (COO) of Trinseo. He will report to Chris Pappas, president and CEO of Trinseo. In this newly created interim role, Pugh will elevate his focus to stimulate and support cross-business optimization initiatives; lead, mentor and partner with the new Business Presidents on key strategic business issues; and support strategic efforts across the company.
Exol Lubricants has upgraded many new pieces of equipment at its Wednesbury and Rotherham laboratories, to further strengthen the company’s quality control, research and development processes. The Mini Rotary Viscometer, Houillon VH1 Viscometer Bath, Brookfield Viscometer and Automated TBN have all been added to the company’s laboratories.
Growing global demand for Landsail car, high performance and van tyres has prompted Sentury to open a new factory in Thailand and the first Landsail tyres rolled off the production line earlier this week. The new plant will mean a significant increase in the capacity and output of Landsail tyres. A completely automated production line has been introduced, with Sentury investing in the VMI Exxium building machines, which are capable of producing a tyre every 38 seconds.
Goodyear South Africa has announced plans to invest 670 million South African rand (£32.216 million; 43.847 million euros; US$49.557 million) in increasing production of so-called high-value-added (HVA) consumer tyres at its Uitenhage manufacturing plant. Meanwhile, medium radial production currently at the location is to be relocated across the EMEA region.
Business minister Anna Soubry visited Dunlop Aircraft Tyres’ Birmingham plant to hear how the manufacturer’s further investment plans will help it expand its product range and increase international sales. The world’s only specialist manufacturer and retreader of aircraft tyres was one of four companies in the West Midlands that the minister visited during a fact-finding day in the region.
On 1 September, Orion Engineered Carbons S.A. announced the appointment of Erik Thiry as senior vice president, Rubber Carbon Black, effective immediately. Thiry has been the senior vice president, Business Development and a member of the executive management team since May 2012.
Apollo secured 300 million euros financing for its Greenfield plant in Hungary, on which construction started in April 2015, bringing total investment to 475 million euros. The first product is expected to roll out in early 2017 and the facility will create approximately 1,000 jobs in the country. Commenting on the closure of the financing, K. Prabhakar, managing director of Apollo Tyres, Hungary said, “We thank our consortium partners who provided appropriate solutions to the specific financing needs for the project and facilitated a smooth execution.”
Retreaders in the developed European and North American markets often perform a balancing act – production levels must be high enough to ensure acceptable profits, but at the same time logistics need to remain manageable. The greater the distance between a retreader and its customer base, the more demanding and expensive the delivery of casings and finished tyres becomes. And while retreaders in non-mature markets face other issues, these must also be kept in check in order for retreading to be worthwhile. VMI, a market leader in the development, manufacture and supply of production machinery for the tyre and retreading industries, wants to tip the balance in favour of retreaders both here and around the world. This summer it is introducing a new product programme that may just do that.
Following Goodyear Dunlop Tyres UK’s proposal to close its Wolverhampton mixing and retreading facility, Tyrepress spoke to the managing director of Goodyear Dunlop UK, Erich Fric, who explained the business reasons for the decision. “We’ve taken the decision to put this proposal forward based on the economic environment, and in order to keep our companies competitive in the long term,” Fric said.
Solvay has begun production of Highly Dispersible Silica (HDS) at its new plant in Wloclawek, Poland. HDS production has been increases in order to address “strong and growing regional demand for energy saving tyres”, according to the company.
Another of Goodyear Dunlop’s European plants has today announced plans to cease a portion of its production in addition to the planned withdrawal from Wolverhampton. Tyrepress sister site Reifenpresse.de reports that Goodyear Dunlop Tires Germany informed its employees of its intention to relocate remaining car tyre production from Wittlich to other plants within the region EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa). PCR production has been shifted away from the plant gradually for several years, with the latest announcement completing cessation of Wittlich’s production of these products.
Following the news of Goodyear’s planned closure of its Wolverhampton mixing and retreading operations, Express & Star journalist, Peter Madeley has quoted “a union spokesman” on Twitter, saying that the closure proposal was “out of the blue”.
Latest figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) reveal a steady growth in UK car manufacturing in May, with 119,338 cars built – a rise of 2.3 per cent. The strong domestic market once again played a significant part with a 13.3 per cent increase outweighing a small dip (-0.2 per cent) in production for export.
The proposed closure of Goodyear Dunlop’s Wolverhampton retread plant will bring to an end 90 years of tyre production in the city. The factory was part of the first Goodyear factory outside USA, when the manufacturer first started producing new tyres in the city in response to post-World War One import tariffs designed to boost British industry. At its peak, the manufacturer’s operations in Wolverhampton were estimated to have provided more than 7,000 jobs, making it one of the most significant players in the local economy. This role diminished throughout the 2000s, as Wolverhampton job losses became a regular occurrence.
If you would like the latest news from the Chinese tyre industry in Chinese, visit our partner site TyrepressChina.com. Or click below to continue on Tyrepress.