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.
Prices for Yokohama consumer tyres will rise by up to eight per cent in the US as of 1 March 2012. Yokohama Tire Corporation says the increases apply to all passenger car, performance and light truck lines, and some in-line adjustments will also be announced at a later date.
Trelleborg Wheel Systems will unveil a new solid industrial tyre, the Monarch M2, at next week’s Modex 2012 manufacturing, distribution and supply chain show in the US city of Atlanta. The Monarch M2 is designed for use in industrial applications such as material handling and ground support equipment.
This week the millionth truck-bus radial came off the production line at Apollo Tyres’ Chennai manufacturing facility. The TBR unit entered service in April 2010 with an initial production of 250 tyres a day; following a series of gradual ramp-ups a total of 4,000 tyres are now produced there each day. TBR tyres now account for 19 per cent of Apollo’s total commercial vehicle tyre production, a figure that mirrors India’s overall 20 per cent commercial sector radialisation level.
A world first has been claimed by Denmark’s Starco. The company reports it has begun coating the steel wheels it produces, both pressed and spun, with the ‘e-coat’ nanotechnology treatment. The application of e-coat during the steel wheel production process began at Starco’s Beli Manastir, Croatia wheel plant at the start of this year, following the installation and commissioning of equipment there in the final quarter of 2011. Starco says it is currently the only press wheel manufacturer using e-coat.
The name Heidenau may be new to some Tyres & Accessories readers, yet the firm behind the name has produced motorcycle tyres for more than 60 years. Today Heidenau produces a broad range of tyres for various motorcycle and scooter segments – the company manufactures around 400,000 motorcycle tyres per annum in total – and the company claims a very good European dealer network, with sales in most European countries. In the past five years Heidenau has also taken on a more international flavour and now boasts strong partners in the US, South Africa and Australia. Last year it also began with a new Canadian partner and intends to further develop new markets.
At next month’s Tire Technology Expo show in Germany, rubber and tyre machinery supplier the VMI Group will introduce its latest car and light commercial vehicle tyre building machine, the Exxium. The new machine is based on VMI’s patented Maxx technology and can handle 12 to 24-inch rim diameter tyres. VMI says the Exxium combines high production efficiency and tyre quality with the flexibility to handle a wide range of tyre designs, and the unit can produce in both hands-off mode or with the assistance of an operator; an operator is typically required for more complex tyre designs such as those with additional full rubber components, steel and/or fabric chafer strips. Typical Exxium cycle time with a regular tyre is 44 seconds.
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders has released its annual report; 2011 figures show that the UK’s car manufacturing sector rose 5.8 per cent on 2010’s full year. Meanwhile commercial vehicle manufacturing fell by 1.4 per cent to 121,312 in 2011. In December figures, car output rose 1.6 per cent, which CV figures were down 2.7 per cent. UK engine production rose by 4.9 per cent to 2,504,054 in 2011, despite a 1.3 per cent decline in December.
Tyre changer, wheel balancer and lift manufacturer, Hennessy Industries has formed a partnership with Hockman-Lewis Ltd., an international export management company, to handle sales and marketing of its Coats, Ammco and Bada branded products throughout Southeast Asia and the Pacific Rim, Tire Review reports.The new partnership represents a commitment to capitalising on the increasing demand for automotive service equipment in those markets, said Hennessy.
Tyre manufacturers, transporters, dealers and processers in South Africa have until January 31 to register for the Recycling and Economic Development Initiative (REDISA) Waste Tyre Management Plan, which was approved by the country’s Department of Water and Environmental Affairs in November 2011. Registration is compulsory and is required for calculating a new levy intended to cover the cost of end of life tyres. The levy will take effect as of 1 February 2012.
On 17 January Cooper Tire & Rubber completed its acquisition of the former Trayal manufacturing plant assets in Kruševac, Serbia. A formal signing ceremony was held to mark the official start of Cooper Tire Serbia; this was attended by Serbian President Boris Tadić, Serbian Prime Minister Mirko Cvetković, US Ambassador Mary Warlick, along with Roy Armes, Chairman, President and CEO of Cooper Tire. During the ceremony Armes stated that Cooper elected to invest in Serbia not only because of its significant economic potential, but also for its quality workforce, geographical advantages and Serbian government support.
Michelin North America has opened registrations for the 2013 Michelin Challenge Design competition and announced that this latest round will address weight reduction through design – a subject the tyre maker says is “becoming a new battleground in the struggle for increasing fuel efficiency.” Participants in the 2013 Michelin Challenge Design, which is titled ‘Half! Lightweight with a Passion’, have been set the task of exploring lightweight vehicle development by designing a family vehicle.
Thorite has expanded its sales territory into the West Midlands with the opening of a new sales and service centre in Brierley Hill, near Dudley. Trading under the name LL Fluid Power – a wholly owned division of Thorite, the new centre reportedly provides full service and support facilities. Thorite prides itself on being the UK’s only complete compressed air, pneumatics and process specialist and is an official distributor for well over 200 major fluid power manufacturers, including Norgren, SMC, Festo, Parker, Burkert, Aro and Piab, the bulk of whose products are available on next day delivery.
Russia is currently a growth market for specialty chemicals group Lanxess. In the first nine months of 2011 the company enjoyed sales of close to 50 million euros there, more than twice what it earned in the whole of 2009. To capitalise on the expanding Russian automotive and tyre industries, Lanxess has now decided to invest in a new facility in Lipetsk, some 300 miles southeast of Moscow. Construction of the plant, which will be operated by Lanxess’ Rhein Chemie subsidiary, is set to start early this year and production is scheduled to commence during the first half of 2013. The site will be built at a cost of five million euros and will employ around 40 people in the medium term.
Although six of the world’s top 20 largest tyre manufacturers are located in China and/or Taiwan, and despite the fact that all of these have global ambitions, for the most part these companies are still developing their positions in international markets. Likewise while reams have been written about the top names and more recently there has been increased coverage of the activities of the Korean bloc (Hankook, Kumho and Nexen), far less detail is reported about the leading Chinese players. It has to be said that this is partly because of the media’s gravitation towards well-known names but is also because – and this is something of a generalisation – Chinese manufacturers don’t have the best reputation when it comes to international communications.
Brand representatives report that since its launch in 2005, Zeetex has developed a strong reputation for quality assurance, safety and compliance with environmental requirements, and holds an impressive range of certifications. However, manufacturing body ETRMA found at least one Zeetex branded tyre that was non-REACH compliant was found on the European market in March this year. However, speaking in a recent interview with Tyres & Accessories, the global product manager of Zeetex at Zafco, Zafar Jafri, explained explained the company’s perspective on this issue: “ETRMA found a so-called ‘dirty’ tyre. At that time we were running two production lines (one for international sales and one for Europe).” Explaining that the tyre question was certainly not intended for the European market, Jafri continued by pointing out that the mishandling that led to the aforementioned tyre’s arrival in the European Union could only have come as a result of the mishandling at the factory’s warehouse, similarly unintentional mishandling at Zafco’s distribution centre or via grey-imports.
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