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.
A new report published by research and markets suggest that tyre demand is increasing in emerging markets. It points out that global automotive production has a direct impact on the demand for tyres and tyre cords in the OEM segment. Higher number of cars produced translates into increased use of tyre cords in tyre production and vice versa. Therefore disruptions in vehicle production tend to distort opportunities in the market.
Uth is promoting its Roll-ex gear extruders, highlighting that they are specially beneficial for sensitive process steps. According to the company, the use of a gear extruder lends itself to economical fine mesh straining of rubber compounds in a manner that is also gentle on the materials and also to the precision extrusion of tyre components.
Retreaders – whether small or large, industrial scale operations – can use the best processes, machinery and materials, but if the used casing isn’t good, then the finished retread won’t be any good either. The failure of a retreaded tyre when fitted to a customer’s vehicle is a worst case scenario for retreaders. Therefore, experts such as Stefan Dengler recommend that efforts be made to ensure high-end and comprehensive casing entry control. Visually inspecting casings is of course beneficial, however the SDS Systemtechnik managing director notes that even the most experienced casing inspector cannot see within a tyre. The most important technical aid in this area is shearography, something that every retreader can and should invest in.
The fact that Matteuzzi Srl has always been focused on international markets means that the company has no fear of the current financial crisis. While many Italian companies have pursued internationalisation in recent years as a lifeline out of the difficulties of the internal and European markets, Matteuzzi has been working this way since the early 1970s, making it a key part of its business. Today, with communications even easier thanks to the internet, the Bologna-based company exports 95 per cent of its production and offers customers an English-language website.
Following approval by the antitrust authorities, Bosch completed its acquisition of SPX Service Solutions, a US automotive diagnostics specialist at the beginning of December 2012. The agreement to purchase the company was signed the preceding January. SPX Service Solutions develops, manufactures, and sells service equipment, repair-shop accessories, and software for the global automotive market. Based in Canton, MI (USA), SPX Service Solutions generated sales of some US$920 million (some 660 million euros) in 2011. The diagnostics specialist employs 2,800 associates in 17 countries, and has manufacturing sites in the US, Germany, France, and China. The purchase price was $1.15 billion (885 million euros).
Yokohama HPT Ltd, the UK distributor for the Japanese tyre brand, as well as TSW replacement alloy wheels and marque-specific alloy wheels for BMW, Mercedes and Porsche, will exhibit at this week's Autosport International show at the Birmingham NEC. The company says the focal point of its stand will be the race-specification Aerial Atom, designed for the one-make Atom Cup race series and using Yokohama control tyres.
Continental has opened the first fully-automated tyre testing facility in the world at Contidrom, near Hanover. In addition to the ability to perform braking tests without drivers, helping to test consistently for longer hours, Conti has built a 300x30m air conditioned hall to house the Automated Indoor Braking Analyzer (AIBA), reducing the influence of atmospheric conditions on test results. The manufacturer will also be able to control the friction coefficient, as the hall enables the company to switch the 75m surfaces used as a braking area, in addition to using a low temperature hall for testing on ice. The main hall is also fitted with a sprinkler system for wet testing. Conti estimates that the AIBA will perform around 100,000 braking procedures, on passenger car, van, and 4×4 summer and winter tyres, when fully operational.
Goodyear launched its line of specialist coach tyres at an event hosted by Mira in the Autumn of 2012, and designed to present the brand’s commercial vehicle tyre activities over the course of the year. In addition to providing a look at the Marathon Coach and the Ultra Grip Coach winter tyre, Adam Stanton, commercial marketing manager, Goodyear Dunlop Tyres UK, showed the benefits of specialist winter products on other commercial vehicles, advising fleet managers to “look beyond the label” when selecting seasonal products. The company also announced its distribution partnership with Zafety Lug Locks, a Canadian innovation developed to prevent wheel loss accidents. Zafety Lug Locks secure adjacent wheel nuts to each other, creating resistance between two wheel nuts to minimise their ability to rotate and reduce the risk of wheel loss. The product is offered as part of a bespoke fleet proposal to customers of TruckForce.
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Dutch tyre manufacturing equipment maker VMI Group has announced plans to launch a new “Flexx” belt builder in February. According to the company, this technology offers the ability to produce OE quality belts for products up to UHP tyres in “a flexible and cost effective way.” VMI reports that one way it does this is by utilizing an extrusion process rather than calendaring.
Italy’s Marangoni has given its Marangoni Tread North America subsidiary the company’s ‘President’s Award’ for 2012; the North American operation gained this distinction due to its strong sales performance plus manufacturing and marketing development.
Thailand, currently the world’s largest rubber producer with an output of 3 million tonnes/year, is seeking to attract investment from international tyre producers in an effort to promote its domestic market and simultaneously contain its rubber export volume. Deputy Agriculture Minister Yutthapong Charasathian invited tyre makers to come and construction manufacturing plants in the South East Asian country, saying the Thai government has already sounded out “leading tyre manufacturers in the US, China and Japan” to expand tyre manufacturing operations in the country.
Trelleborg Wheel Systems has agreed to to acquire Maine Industrial Tire, a US-based solid tyres manufacturer. Maine Industrial Tire’s headquarters is in Massachusetts, US, while its production facilities are located in Pennsylvania, U.S., and Xingtai (Hebei), China. Annual sales amount to approximately 600 million Swedish Krone and approximately 650 people are employed in the company. The acquisition is expected to be completed by the end of 2012.
At its Capital Markets Day earlier this month, Swedish firm Trelleborg outlined a new organisational structure. As of 1 January 2013, the Trelleborg Group will be divided into five business areas; Trelleborg Coated Systems, Trelleborg Industrial Solutions, Trelleborg Offshore & Construction, Trelleborg Sealing Solutions and Trelleborg Wheel Systems. The company says the new arrangement makes for a “more focused” organisational structure.
The 2nd Congress of Russian Ecologists, which took place in Moscow recently, hosted the presentation of the “Leader of Environmental Activity in Russia – 2012” awards. This was the 8th time the awards had been held and amongst the companies honoured this year was tyre maker Nizhnekamskshina. The company reports the award was given for its introduction and implementation of a systemised pollution control measures and the practical implementation of an effective programme improve the environment both at the Nizhnekamskshina plant and throughout the wider Nizhnekamsk industrial region.
The influence of non-premium brand tyre manufacturers and of non-European produced tyres has markedly increased in the wider European agricultural tyre market. Something else that the data suggests is that a degree of desegmentation has occurred because all this has been set against a series of financial crises in Europe and its respective national markets. Not only are there opportunities for those entering the right niche at the right time, it would seem that there are opportunities for those entering the market at a different position to the historically dominant players.
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