OTR tyre manufacturer BKT has appointed Roberto Locati as OEM sales manager at its European headquarters. The new role comprises the management of all aspects of tyre supply related business relations with the major manufacturers of machinery and equipment in European agricultural, industrial and earthmoving sectors. BKT says Locati will seek to create new business […]
New year, new leadership. At the start of January, Sangkyu Lee took over at Kumho Tire Europe GmbH as president of the Korean tyre maker’s European business.
Korea Investment & Securities anticipates that a continually improving financial position at Kumho Tire makes the company good value for investors. In comments published by English-language Korean ICT publication IT Times, analyst Kim Jin-woo said the tyre maker’s debt burden is falling rapidly, and he opines that this financial turnaround isn’t yet reflected in the current Kumho Tire share price. Kumho Tire thus has been given a “buy” recommendation by Korea Investment & Securities and the target share price has been set at KRW 16,000.
Vacu-Lug Traction Tyres Limited has appointed David Fowler as Business Development Manager for the South East region. Covering an area including Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and southwards from there to Hampshire and areas east of that line, Fowler is responsible for increasing Vacu-Lug’s market share of the region’s major fleets.
India’s automotive sector has slowed of late and this has impacted on the original equipment tyre business. One manufacturer says it is responding to this by investing more strongly in the replacement business.
GfK has been carrying out research on car tyres in India since January 2013 and says that, although demand for passenger cars in India has fallen somewhat short of expectations this year, the replacement passenger car tyre market is thriving with robust sales reported for car and SUV tyres in the last three quarters. Car owners in the top 43 cities in India bought more than 5.5 million tyres in first nine months of the year; with the third quarter sales volume having surged by a substantial 11 per cent over the previous quarter.
Five years into a partnership with Tatko Otomotiv Group, rubber and retreading material supplier Kraiburg is celebrating increased market share in Turkey. According to the company, the Turkish market for HGV retreads is of paritcular strategic importance to Kraiburg Austria, with an annual volume of around 9,000 tonnes of material.
Financial analysts have described Nokian’s latest third quarter financial results as “better than expected”, however they also pointed out that any optimism will be have to be balanced against the details of a recent profit warning. The profit warning referred to forthcoming fourth quarter figures, which are expected to be “weak”, with pre-tax profits (EBIT) estimates projecting a -13 per cent decline.
As part of its efforts to build up its online presence, Giti Tire has appointed Neil Hendry to the newly created role of Internet Strategy and E-Commerce manager – Europe. Hendry is based at the company’s UK headquarters in Cheshire and responsible for the development of a coherent web and social media strategy to maximise internet presence throughout the continent
Bosch Automotive Service Solutions has entered into a US market distribution partnership with Myers Tire Supply. Under the agreement, Myers Tire Supply will carry the Bosch Wheel Service equipment range, including a full line of wheel balancers, tyre changers and brake lathes, through its national distribution network.
GT Radial has added the Champiro WinterPro HP tyre to its portfolio, with sizes ranging from 16 to 20-inch wheel diameters, including dedicated SUV fitments.
Designed specifically for the UK and European markets, the tyre’s development has focused on mid-to-large high-performance cars. According to the company, it has been produced using a sunflower oil-enriched compound that maintains the elasticity of the rubber at low temperatures and utilising an asymmetrical tread design. The outer blocks are designed to provide good dry and cornering properties while the inner block area has been developed to provide extra grip in wet and snow conditions.
New light commercial vehicle figures show overall sales were down 0.6 per cent in July but up 6.5 per cent year-to-date. Van sales dipped 2.6 per cent last month but remained 9.3 per cent ahead year-to-date. "It is positive to see that the commercial vehicle market remained stable during July, with a healthy increase in the truck sector of 10.3 per cent" said Sue Robinson, Director of the NFDA, commenting on the SMMT's van and truck registration figures.
The UK tyre industry has been taking deliberate steps to develop its winter tyre market for over a decade. As a result winter tyre sales constitute an increasingly important market position (see Related News in the subscriber section of this article). At the same time, the evidence Tyrepress.com has seen suggests all-season tyre sales have been growing at an even faster rate and could even be outperforming winter tyres when measured across complete 12 month periods. Back in May (see Tyres & Accessories May, page 18) we reported on the latest relevant research produced by market analysts GfK, which suggested winter tyre sales were accelerating faster than ever. This month, in keeping with our winter versus all-season theme, we expand on this data to include a number of all-season details and compare it with the conclusion drawn by our other sources.
Korean tyre manufacturers have outperformed the Korean Kospi index year-to-date. According to an investor’s note published by financial analyst at Deutsche Bank, the strong showing has come thanks to “a sharp decline in raw material costs, strong earnings delivery and expectations of demand recovery in in the second half of 2013”, with the latter point welcome news for everyone.
Current estimates place the global container trade at around 600 million teu, or 20 foot container equivalents, per annum. And if the experts’ predictions pan out, this business will grow significantly in the coming years. Continental has thus identified harbour and port users as an interesting segment and has developed a completely new product range catering to their requirements. At this week’s TOC Container Supply Chain Europe exhibition in Rotterdam, the company launched its new harbour tyre portfolio, and explained the technology it hopes will optimise end-user total cost of ownership.
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