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.
Guizhou Tyre’s board of directors has approved a plan to build a semi-steel radial tyre production line with an annual output of 6 million units at its Vietnam factory. This move means that the tyre manufacturer, which focuses on the production of TBR and OTR, is beginning to enter the PCR market.
Shouguang-based tyre manufacturer Firemax plans to invest in a Cambodian factory in 2024, according to local media reports. The project has been registered with the project department. According to filing information, the total investment in the project is US$190 million, with a designed annual production capacity of 1.2 million all-steel radial tyres and 8 million semi-steel radial tyres.
Bridgestone is celebrating the 50th anniversary of its Bulldog retread factory in Bourne, Lincolnshire with a multi-million-pound investment designed to “mark the beginning of an exciting new chapter in the site’s history”. Specifically, executives said the investment equates to “close to £5 million”.
Fulda-based UTH GmbH will showcase its latest machine generation at Tire Technology Expo 2024, taking place from 19-21 March in Hannover. The company will present its current product line-up, offering solutions that have “established themselves worldwide as the standard for gentle and clean processing of rubber compounds”.
In 2023, Chinese tyre companies invested in a number of new projects. Tyrepress China’s analysis found that the once popular all-steel radial tyres (generally truck tyre products) have gradually experienced overcapacity, and the new projects increasingly focus on the production capacity of semi-steel radial tyres (car and light truck products). At the same time, Chinese tyre companies pay more attention to overseas projects. In addition, consistent with the trend in 2022, OTR tyres have become an essential focus of the Chinese tyre industry.
The “2023 Green Manufacturing List” announced by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of China commends companies with outstanding performance in the field of green manufacturing. Tyrepress China notes that several companies related to the tyre industry were selected as “Green Factories” and “Green Supply Chain Management Companies”.
The tyre-cutting machine market is expected to attain a valuation of US$1,316.7 million in 2024. In addition, the market is set to demonstrate a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 2.5 per cent between 2024 and 2034. Anticipating a total valuation of approximately US$ 1,735.5 million by 2034, the market indicates growth and encouraging opportunities within its evolving landscape, according to a new report published by Future Market Insights.
On 12 January, Jiangsu General held an expansion ceremony for its Cambodian factory expansion project. If we look at the time, the tyre manufacturer just held its shareholders’ meeting on January 12 and approved the proposal to expand the production capacity of its Cambodian production base. Jiangsu General has previously disclosed that the Cambodian factory expansion project is expected to be put into production in the fourth quarter of 2024.
The “Guidance Catalog for Industrial Structural Adjustment (2024 Edition)” issued by the Chinese authorities has a guiding role in how China’s tyre industry will develop in the next year. The new guidance document will be effective from February 1, 2024, covering three categories: encouragement, restriction, and elimination.
Witnessed by chairman and president Wang Feng, Linglong’s Jilin Factory has rolled out its first 27.00 R49 giant engineering radial tyre and hence Linglong can now produce larger volumes 49-inch tyres. The tyre manufacturer said that the 49-inch tyre product “further improves the OTR tyre product system and marks that its OTR tyre development has entered a period of rapid development”.
In less than two months, Prinx Chengshan has signed strategic cooperation agreements with two steel cord manufacturers, Xingda and Shougang Century. Jiang Xizhou, executive vice president of Prinx Chengshan, and Yin Nengbo, purchasing director, both attended the two signing ceremonies.
On 28 December 2023, the core workshop (BO 006PCR) of the semi-steel radial tyre production line of Linglong’s Serbian factory passed the trial operation acceptance. In other words, Linglong has taken another big step towards producing passenger car tyres at its Serbia factory.
ZC Rubber’s newly-built factory has held a ceremony for the first PCR to roll off the production line. The tyre manufacturer positions the new project as a “green 5G digital factory for high-performance radial tyres”. The factory will produce ZC Rubber’s high-end series products, including high-end flagship series, high-end new energy-specific tyres EV Pro, high-end OE products, high-end export products, as well as self-repairing tyres and silent cotton tyres.
The Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology recently released its 2023 Green Manufacturing List, and Prinx Chengshan (Shandong) Tire Co. Ltd. was once again awarded the national-level “Green Factory” title. Prinx Chengshan was awarded the first batch of “National Green Factories” in China in 2017. The company reports that it has successively won the national “Green Supply Chain Management Enterprise” and “Industrial Product Green Design Demonstration Enterprise” titles and has participated in several national standards related to the intelligent manufacturing of green tyres in China.
Recently, Chinese tyre manufacturer ZC Rubber said it would adjust the product structure of its factory in Qiantang District, Hangzhou. The factory is a new 5G digital factory built by ZC Rubber.
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