Yamamoto to head Yokohama’s US plant
Prior to breaking ground on its new US factory, over the weekend Yokohama Tire Corporation formally introduced Tadaharu Yamamoto as president of Yokohama Tire Manufacturing Mississippi.
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Prior to breaking ground on its new US factory, over the weekend Yokohama Tire Corporation formally introduced Tadaharu Yamamoto as president of Yokohama Tire Manufacturing Mississippi.
Mitas has entered the motorcycle radial business with the global launch of the Sport Force. The new tyre is manufactured in Slovenia by Savatech, the former Sava rubber manufacturing division acquired by Mitas’ parent company CGS Holdings in October 2012. Sport Force is a sport and touring range that is initially available in three front and five rear sizes.
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Michelin’s new plant in Thiruvallur, India has been described as the world’s largest tyre factory. While we can’t confirm the veracity of this superlative, one thing that appears to be true is that the facility is preparing for an imminent production start.
On 23 September, a total of 350 guests joined executives from Yokohama Tire Corporation, including Yokohama Rubber representative director Hikomitsu Noji, and state and local officials in West Point, Mississippi to break ground on Yokohama’s first greenfield manufacturing facility in the United States. During the official groundbreaking ceremony, the first sod was turned on a plant that is scheduled to enter production in October 2015 and manufacture up to one million tyres a year, mostly for the domestic market.
At present, Cooper Tire & Rubber operates eight plants in the Americas, Asia and Europe, and production from all three regions is sold on the European market. However the company believes its value proposition can be strengthened by increasing the proportion of European-made tyres sold here.
Could JK Tyre & Industries be the next Indian tyre maker to broaden its geographic footprint? Speaking with The Economic Times, company chairman and managing director Dr. Raghupati Singhania said that following the integration of Mexican tyre maker Tornel into the company, JK Tyres has “encountered some interesting propositions for possible opportunities of acquisition to catapult into a global entity.”
Brisa Bridgestone Sabancı Lastik Sanayi ve Ticaret A.Ş. (Brisa), the joint venture company run by Bridgestone Corporation and Turkey’s Sabancı Holding, is evaluating potential sites within the country for a second factory. Brisa intends to construct a passenger car radial factory to complement the company’s existing passenger car, bus and truck radial plant in İzmit, which entered volume production in 1990.
When it comes to B2B selling online, automotive organisations are struggling to provide the online buying experience that their customers have come to expect. That’s the view published in the 2013 E-commerce Report from Intershop, which also reveals that smartphone usage, social media and the so-called “consumerisation of IT” are driving up B2B customer expectations. The reports advice? Automotive firms have to adapt to changing customer expectations, driven by trends such as smartphone usage and social media.
In the latest installment in the on-going Apollo/Cooper merger saga, a Chinese court has postponed a hearing on a case brought against the combination by Chinese manufacturing business Cooper Chengshan.
The Al Dobowi Group, UK importer of Linglong TBR tyres, has announced a new distribution partnership with Essex’s G&S Tyre Services. Al Dobowi says G&S has developed a reputation for providing an exemplary level of service to the UK fleet market and demanding vehicle operators, while G&S identified Linglong as a brand with UK market potential.
Perhaps more renowned for its car and bike ranges, Maxxis provides a solution for a wide variety of long and medium haul applications, manufactured with a tread compound intended to increase durability and shoulders designed using Virtual Intelligent Prototyping (VIP) technology to reduce wear. Maxxis explains that its VIP technology combines a series of computer-aided analysis programs that lay out a framework for each tyre’s design. The system factors in pressure points at varying inflation levels and contact points to simulate cornering, acceleration, braking and the effects of strain and wear.
Sailun says the last three years have seen it establish a stronger truck tyre presence in Europe, from what it describes as “a relatively very low” base. The company states that its approach has been through research and development, epitomised by the creation and growth of a 400-strong Technical Quality and Research Centre at its company-owned manufacturing plant in Qingdao.
At the Frankfurt Motor Show, Jaguar Land Rover announced an investment approaching £1.5 billion to introduce an all-new technically-advanced aluminium vehicle architecture in forthcoming models. To support this strengthening of the Jaguar product portfolio 1,700 new jobs will be created in the UK at the company's advanced manufacturing facility in Solihull.
Cooper Tire & Rubber shareholders will vote on the company’s acquisition by Apollo Tyres at a meeting scheduled for 30 September. Cooper stockholders of record as of the close of business 30 August 2013 are entitled to vote at the special meeting, which will take place in the US city of Cleveland.
A report in the Financial times says that Hankook will shortly begin work on building its first plant in the USA as part of its plan to increase its presence in North America. The move is seen as a key part of Hankook's ambition to become one of the world's top five tyre manufacturers.
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