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.
Dunlop Aircraft Tyres has appointed Stephen Ray as its new financial director. He replaces Oliver Burns who worked at the company for six years. Before moving to Dunlop, Stephen Ray spent 13 years at LINPAC Group, a producer of plastic packaging for the retail, catering, manufacturing, packing and food sectors.
The lawsuit brought against Goodyear Tire & Rubber by the Works Council at the company’s Amiens Nord factory in France and the factory’s union representative, Michael Wamen, has been dismissed by the United States District Court in Ohio. Referring to a host of precedent cases, Judge Sara Lioi determined that Goodyear neither breached agreements made with the Amiens plant workers nor did it fraudulently represent reductions in plant output as temporary measures.
In January, the Imported Tyre Manufacturers’ Association has welcomed two new members. Kenda has become the latest tyre maker to come on board, and is joined in the ITMA ranks by the Madrid-based National Association of Tyre Importers and Distributors (ADINE).
In order to consolidate its operations in the USA, UK, Slovakia and China into one single business unit, Mesnac has created a new global business, the Mesnac Tooling Division (MTD). This division will provide tooling support to Mesnac’s Tire Building machine divisions in China and Slovakia and to its subsidiary Beijing Jingyie. The division’s technology platform will be based on the established Wyko brand but will also control Mesnac’s other tooling brands, which are primarily sold in Asian markets.
Cooper Tire & Rubber Company is suggesting that production of Cooper branded tyres is set to restart at the company’s Cooper Chengshan (Shandong) Tire (CCT) joint venture facility in Rongcheng, China. Production was halted when the workers at the Chinese joint venture company became embroiled in a significant industrial dispute with the US firm linked to the erstwhile Apollo Tyres takeover bid.
Under an exclusive partnership with Porsche, the research and development team at Apollo Tyres has developed a new, variable front spoiler for the recently introduced Porsche 911 Turbo and 911 Turbo S. The patented spoiler, branded as ‘Air Master by Vredestein’, is an integrated part of the Porsche Active Aerodynamics system.
Dunlop Motorsport has confirmed it will close its Fort Dunlop tyre production factory in Castle Bromwich, Birmingham. The news follows the announcement last May that the company’s lease would not be renewed and that site was being sold to Jaguar Land Rover. Goodyear Dunlop representatives told Tyres & Accessories that the firm remains committed to the production of motorsport tyres and is still in talks with Birmingham City Council with regards to the possibility of finding another suitable site in the region.
The US mandated TPMS installation in new cars some time ago and we and we all know that the same will happen in Europe in November this year, but what about the emerging markets? Ask any market analyst and you will learn that China in particular is set to overtake the US and become the world’s largest economy in the next few years. Many sources suggest the People’s Republic is already there in terms of car production and – as a consequence – tyre manufacturing. So what about TPMS take-up and manufacturing infrastructure in this market in particular?
Motorsport’s popularity as a conduit for tyre manufacturers’ marketing spend continues to thrive as aspirational brands from the far east seek to increase brand recognition and the perception of quality. The Evergreen brand, a relative newcomer to the tyre scene having gone into production at the Jinyu PCR factory in 2009, has become the latest to announce a move into the UK motorsport scene, tying up a sponsorship deal with car racing debutant Dan Zelos in the Ginetta Junior Championship. Evergreen says it is seeking to accelerate its expansion by following in the wheel tracks of some of its commercial rivals by taking its first steps into the high-octane world of motorsport through the partnership with promising Norfolk-based teenager.
Just after the summer of 2013 PanAridus reported that it had broke an industry milestone, becoming the first bio-agricultural company to produce sufficient quality and quantity of guayule rubber samples in-house for commercial testing and use.
On 1 January 2014, Gary L. Cowger joined Titan International’s Board of Directors, replacing Mitchell Quain, who retired from the board on 31 December 2013 following a tenure of 17 years. Cowger is the chairman and CEO of GLC Ventures, LLC, a management consultancy on business, manufacturing and technology strategy and global organisational structures and implementation. He is also immediate past chairman of the Board of Trustees at KetteringUniversity (formally General Motors Institute) and he serves on the Board of Directors of Delphi Automotive and Tecumseh Products, as well as the Detroit Symphony and the College for Creative Studies.
The latest batch of UK vehicle production statistics covering the month of November 2013 was released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) just before Christmas.
Genetic bioscience firm ParAridus has joined Cooper Tire & Rubber Company in the consortium sharing a US$6.9 million Biomass Research and Development Initiative (BRDI) grant toward development of guayule plant-based polymers for use in tyre manufacturing. According to the companies, he BRDI is a joint effort between the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the US Department of Energy (DOE) to promote development and analysis of feed stocks, biofuels and bio-based products. PanAridus replaces Yulex Corporation on the grant team, assuming Yulex’s responsibilities as the primary manufacturer of the material.
The UK distributor of Spanish 4×4 retread tyre brand Insa Turbo has reported “extremely strong” growth for the product, having increased year-on-year sales by more than a third in 2013. Micheldever (MTS)’s 4×4 specialist division Southam Tyres said unit sales have risen by 36 per cent, as sales director Alan Baldwin suggested several reasons for the brand’s strong performance.
The curtain has come down on a saga that made tyre industry headlines last year. On 30 December, Cooper Tire & Rubber announced its termination of the merger/acquisition agreement between it and India’s Apollo Tyres. The US tyre maker gave word of its action a day before the agreement was due to expire.
“It is time to move our business forward,” wrote Cooper chairman, chief executive officer and president Roy Armes in a statement. “While the strategic rationale for a business combination with Apollo is compelling, it is clear that the merger agreement both companies signed on June 12 will not be consummated by Apollo and we have been notified that financing for the transaction is no longer available. The right thing for Cooper now is to focus on continuing to build our business.”
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.
