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.
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.”
On 22 March, Shen Jinrong, chairman of ZC Rubber, summarised the Chinese tyre industry after the epidemic at the China Rubber Conference 2023. He said that during the three years of the epidemic (2020-2022), China’s tyre industry’s business environment and ecological chain had undergone significant changes.
On 30 March, Giti began construction of its new tyre factory in Anhui Province, China. The specific location of the project is Changfeng County, Hefei, Anhui. On the 31st, Yu Aihua, secretary of the Hefei Municipal Party Committee, went to the construction site to investigate and stressed that it would be completed and put into operation within 12 months.
While Sentury recently confirmed it is investing in a factory across the Mediterranean in Morocco, on 27 March 2023 officials once again confirmed that the Spain factory is set to begin construction this year. In addition, at the same time, executives agreed to prioritise the employment of ex-Endesa workers when the local power station closes. Indeed, the mayor of Las Pontes, Valentín González Formoso, and Qin Long, president of Sentury Tire, signed an agreement to that effect.
On 23 March, the 100 millionth Yokohama tyre – Geolandar A/T G015 – rolled off the production line at the company’s Salem, Virginia factory.
Goodyear reported that fourth-quarter 2022 tyre production levels were 3.5 million units below 2021 when executives published the firm’s full-year 2022 figures in February. That move was enacted in order to “control working capital given the weaker volume environment.” Now officials have confirmed that they decided to extend the pre-planned winter production shutdown into the first quarter of 2023 in the Europe Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region in order to rebalance inventories.
VMI has launched its new VMI UNIXX Belt Maker, describing it as “a game-changer in steel belt making”. According to the company, the VMI UNIXX Belt Maker produces high quality endless steel belts via a special extrusion process that can handle a wide range of compounds.
LEVC (London Electric Vehicle Company) is celebrating the significant milestone of producing its 10,000th vehicle at its state-of-the-art factory in Ansty, Coventry, UK. LEVC has manufactured the TX – described by the company as “the world’s most advanced electric taxi” – at its groundbreaking facility since 2017. Since the first TX taxi was delivered in January 2018 in London, 10,000 vehicles have now been built and sold throughout multiple global markets, from Paris to Madrid, Cairo to Tokyo.
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Nokian Tyres
Goodyear Dunlop
Petlas
Valokuvaaja/Nokian Tyres
Arab Organisation for Industrialisation
China Rubber Conference 2023
Li Yu; Hefei Daily
Las Pontes Council
Yokohama
VMI
LEVC