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.
Goodyear lost $19 million in the EMEA region in the second quarter of 2023, with segment operating income down $71 million or 136.5 per cent compared with the $52 million operating income achieved at the same point in 2022.
Recently, the United States Department of Commerce’s anti-dumping review investigation on PCR tyres produced in Thailand has a preliminary result. Tyrepress China notes that the new developments are positive for Thailand’s tyre factories.
Tyrepress China has learned that Chinese tyre manufacturer Haohua is preparing to invest US$500 million to build a tyre factory in Binh Phuoc, Vietnam. The products produced will cover semi-steel radial tyres and all-steel radial tyres.
The UK’s last remaining wheel manufacturer, Rimstock Limited, has entered administration. Chris Pole and Ryan Grant from Interpath Advisory were appointed Joint Administrators of Rimstock Limited on 5 July 2023. There have been no redundancies amongst the company’s 74 staff while options are explored.
Recently, Chinese listed companies have released their 2022 annual reports. Tyrepress China conducted a statistical analysis of the annual report data of 10 tyre companies. Among the companies included in the analysis list, Sailun, Linglong, Triangle, Huayi (the parent company of Double Coin), Aeolus, and Jiangsu General are listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange. Guizhou Tyre, Doublestar, and Sentury are listed companies on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. The data of Prinx Chengshan comes from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
At the end of May, Sentury published details relating to the development of its overseas factories. The tyremaker said data for April and May 2023 showed that its production capacity was temporarily unable to meet orders. Therefore, the company believes there is an urgent need to increase production capacity in order to meet customer demand. According to Sentury’s statement, the overseas tyre traders and retailers they cooperate with include Discount Tire, OAK Tyres, Inter-Sprint, American Omni and Turbo Wholesale.
Qingdao Sentury Tire Co. Ltd. has received the regulatory approval to invest US$296.78 million in the construction of its previously announced Morocco tyre manufacturing project. The “Certificate of Overseas Investment of Enterprises” was issued by the Qingdao Municipal Bureau of Commerce on 5 June 2023 and is valid for two years.
On 13 June, Qingdao-based tyre manufacturer Sentury announced that it had supplied products to Nokian Tyres in the first quarter of 2023. Writing in a stock exchange filing, Sentury representatives specified that the company has delivered Nokian-branded winter tyres. Sentury said that “the supply will continue in the second quarter” and the current cooperation with Nokian is “good”.
Michelins plans to invest 200 million yuan (including 7.515 million yuan in environmental protection investment) to expand car tyre production capacity at its Shenyang, China factory by 1.3 million tyres. Tyrepress China learned that this project would expand the production capacity of passenger car tyres on the dismantled truck and bus tyre production line. In other words, the expansion plans won’t add workshop area. Rather, new production equipment will be installed in the original workshop to realise the increase.
Goodyear is cutting up to 50 per cent of the jobs at its tyre factory in Fulda, Germany, which will result in “a similar sized” cut in tyre production, the tyre manufacturer announced today. Since around 1100 people are employed at the Fulda tyre factory, that means around 550 jobs will be cut. The news comes as a result of Goodyear’s review of its manufacturing footprint.
Nexen Tire is considering eight southeastern US states as the possible location for a new $1.3-billion tyre factory project. According to stock market filing published on 18 May, Nexen is set to make a decision on the project by the end of 2023, with a view to getting the factory operational by 2028-2029.
Petlas will invest $360 million in the construction of a new light vehicle tyre production facility adjacent to the Turkish company’s existing plant in Kırşehir. The new production line will produce 100,000 tons of tyres for passenger cars and light commercial vehicles, increasing the manufacturer’s total capacity by 42 per cent, reaching 340,000 tons. It will create around 1,850 new roles. Petlas expects to break ground on the new factory in 2023, with completion slated for 2024-25.
Nokian Tyres has initiated work on its Oradea, Romania passenger car tyre factory, billed as the tyre industry’s first zero CO2 emission plant. An event marking the groundbreaking was attended by the Prime Minister of Romania, Nicolae Ciucă. The President of the Bihor County Council, Ilie Bolojan, and other high-level Romanian and Finnish officials also participated along with the chair of Nokian Tyres’s board of directors Jukka Hienonen. The first tyres are estimated to be produced in the second half of 2024. Commercial tyre production is expected to start in early 2025.
In March Goodyear Slovenia concluded a 90-million-euro project to increase tyre production capacity at its Kranj plant by 25 per cent, a project that has created 160 jobs. The project commenced in January 2019 with a planned completion date of late 2021, however measures related to Covid-19 delayed work on the project.
On 29 March, the Arab Organization for Industrialization strengthened its international partnership with “major Chinese companies”. Major General, Engineer Mokhtar Abdel Latif, Chairman of the Arab Organization for Industrialization, said followed President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi directive to “strengthen partnerships with international expertise, increase local manufacturing rates, localize modern technology, increase added value, and open new areas for investment, in light of Egypt’s vision of sustainable development 2030.”
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Scott Graham; Unsplash
NASA; Unsplash
Jorono; Pixabay
Nokian Tyres
Goodyear Dunlop
Petlas
Valokuvaaja/Nokian Tyres
Arab Organisation for Industrialisation