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.
Cooper Tire & Rubber Europe Ltd says “difficult market conditions in Europe” are behind the recently-announced redundancies at its Melksham site. The tyre maker has confirmed some 50 redundancies in the plant’s manufacturing operations area.
Trelleborg is supporting its collaboration with Challenger Tractors with a new marketing campaign entitled “Trelleborg and Challenger: Power Needs Power”.
On 16 July, Ford presented Hofmann Power Weight with its Q1 Award in recognition of the quality of the balance weights supplied to Ford and the reliability of Hofmann’s delivery. The Q1 Award is the highest designation Ford gives its suppliers, and is awarded solely to suppliers who satisfy the car manufacturer’s strict requirements in terms of quality, on-time delivery and material management, whilst at the same time achieving a high technical standard.
The latest edition is now available to read in e-paper format. As well as all our regular features, August's Tyres & Accessories includes additional coverage previewing the forthcoming TAFF Awards, OTR tyres and of course Tyre Labelling. As well as this there is our annual Brake feature and the conclusion of our Reifen Essen reoport to look forward to. Subscribers can simply click more to see the digitalized edition.
Bridgestone has begun manufacturing its Blizzak winter range in China. The tyre maker celebrated the start of Blizzak production in its Tianjin plant this month. The factory, which opened in 2000, recently benefitted from a capacity expansion programme that saw output increased from 16,500 units per day to 25,300; it is not clear what proportion of total output will be dedicated to winter tyres.
Pirelli Tire North America has celebrated its 10th anniversary as a resident of Rome, Georgia, and although some of the company’s business operations have moved to New York in recent years, the facility still serves as the company’s manufacturing base, one of five global R&D centres and as headquarters for Pirelli’s NAFTA Region.
Up till now, SD International has primarily concentrated on providing a PCR and UHP-based product portfolio, but now the company is looking to further enhance its position in the global industry as a growing provider of truck brands. A Shanghai-based Contract tyre manufacturer, SD International specialises in offering Zeta and Pace branded products in the truck tyre market.
Cooper Tire & Rubber Company Europe Ltd. has appointed Jeff Schumaker as sales and marketing director. Schumaker will be based in Melksham, UK, and will report to Cooper Tire Europe vice president and general manager Julian Baldwin.
The Firenza truck tyre range has been specifically produced to provide a high quality alternatively in the mid-market sector, according to company representatives. And the brands position in the UK has been developed through the “strong partnership [that] has been forged in the UK between Firenza and International Tyres & Trading based in the West Midlands.” International Tyres are the exclusive distributor of the brand and the company reportedly provides “swift and efficient delivery throughout the UK.”
Kings Road Tyres (KRT) is one of the largest specialist wholesale distributors of truck tyres in the UK. With a track record stretching back 40 years, the company provides a complete commercial tyre service covering premium brands such as Bridgestone, Continental and Goodyear, through mid-range products from Firestone and its exclusive distributorship of the Continental Group brand, Matador. It is also the exclusive distributor of the fast-growing Chinese manufactured Aeolus and Antyre ranges, with retreads from Bulldog completing the portfolio.
According to business association the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), tyre manufacturing in India is one of the sectors most affected by what it calls ‘inverted customs duty structure’. Results of a FICCI survey show the tyre sector, along with several others, are most keenly disadvantaged by the structure of India’s import duties, which charge higher duties for imported raw materials than for imported finished products.
In a speech at Apollo Tyres’ annual general meeting, company chairman Onkar S Kanwar named several regions the company has identified as potential future “home markets” and sites for manufacturing facilities. He shared that Apollo increased its revenues 37 per cent to US$2.5 billion last year and is currently growing at above local industry rates in its current home market regions of India, Europe and South Africa – and therefore the company feels the time is right to expand this base. He cautioned, however, that such plans may squeeze profit margins in the short-term.
Wheel manufacturer Superior Industries International has reported a net income of US$6.4 million for the second quarter of 2012. This result for the three months to 30 June represents a 56.4 per cent year-on-year drop in net income despite a three per cent increase in consolidated net sales to US215.1 million. Unit shipments increased 14 per cent to 3.3 million from 2.9 million in last year’s second quarter, while gross profit was $15.7 million, or seven per cent of net sales, compared with $19.5 million, or nine per cent of net sales, in the comparable period a year ago.
Production at Tanzanian tyre maker General Tyre East Africa will reportedly resume within a year. Last year management of the company – which hasn’t produced a tyre since 2007 – was placed in the hands of Tanzania’s National Development Corporation, and the corporation’s corporate affairs manager now says that investors from China, Malaysia and South Africa have shown interest in the getting the company up and running again.
Michelin Tyre PLC is celebrating 10 years of its Performance and Responsibility Michelin (PRM) programme, the company’s Corporate Social Responsibility charter. In 2002, the company developed the PRM framework to provide a more strategic approach to the efforts it was already making to improve the support it provides to employees, communities and the environment.
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