Middle East
The Apollo tyre brand is being repositioned in order to, manufacturer Apollo Tyres shares, move the humble tyre from being a commodity and “grudge purchase” to a lifestyle product. In a handbook outlining its rebranding strategy, Apollo Tyres says its core brand idea centres on two things, namely “go the distance” and “safety.”
Japan’s Nikkei newspaper and various Turkish media sources report Sumitomo Rubber Industries intends to invest 40 billion yen (£315 million) in building a tyre factory in Çankiri, about 90 miles from Turkey’s capital Ankara. Construction on the plant is set to start next year and the first phase will be ready in 2014, with further work completed in 2015. Output from the plant will be sold in Europe and the Middle East. No information on planned production capacity has been given.
Beijing based Best Choice International Trade Co., Ltd. launched the Mazzini radial truck tyre brand in August. Labelling tests have already taken place and the 315/80 R22.5 MZ266 product is said to be rated C in fuel efficiency and D in wet grip.
Concirrus Ltd has announced that it will add PressurePro’s Tyre Pressure Monitoring System technology to its Mobile Devices Telematics Market Place. The company is the developer of the open telematics OS and telematics hardware, and under the agreement, facilitated by Concirrus, Mobile Devices will integrate PressurePro’s tyre pressure information into the Morpheus embedded framework, allowing users easy access to the pressure data through a new set of standard APIs. The company says the agreement was prompted by the increasing need for reducing costs and risks related to under-inflated tyres, and to respond to legislation in Europe and the US promoting pressure checks and penalising those running on under-inflated tyres.
Advantage PressureProTM, LLC and Concirrus Ltd. are partnering to bring PressurePro’s TPMS options to the European commercial vehicle markets. According to the companies, the partnership agreement was prompted by the rapid increase in interest and need for reliable tyre pressure monitoring solutions in the commercial vehicle markets. The deal will draw on the value of the PressurePro products and the expertise of Concirrus' founders in the commercial vehicle telematics market.
The US edition of CIO magazine, a publication aimed at senior IT executives, has named Goodyear Tire & Rubber one of its 2012 CIO 100 winners. Upon receiving the accolade, Goodyear vice-president and chief information officer Jim McKinnon said “winning the CIO 100 award is tremendous recognition for the success of our multi-year project, which has aligned all of the company’s operations in Europe, the Middle East and Africa on a common business platform.”
Toyo Tire & Rubber has reported net sales of 120,474 million yen (£980.8 million) for the first quarter of its current financial year, the three months to 30 June 2012. The company’s tyre business unit accounted for 96,448 million yen (£785.2 million) of these sales, 80.1 per cent of the total. Company operating income amounted to 3,529 million yen (£28.7 million), while tyre business operating income was 2,428 million yen (£19.8 million). Total net income came to 1,252 million yen (£10.2 million).
Specialty chemicals Group Lanxess reports continued growth in the second quarter of 2012, with EBITDA pre-exceptionals rising 6.8 per cent year-on-year to 362 million euros. Sales increased 8.1 per cent to 2.42 billion euros. Commenting on the results, company CEO Axel C. Heitmann said “we believe these results confirm our view of the seasonal development, and we are therefore adhering to our target of raising EBITDA pre exceptionals by five to ten per cent for the full year. Our focus on megatrends and growth regions, combined with our technological expertise, provide stability in an increasingly challenging environment.”
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.
Although overall sales, volumes and operating income all decreased year-on-year, Goodyear Tire & Rubber nevertheless managed to increase its revenue per tyre in the second quarter of 2012. The US tyre maker reports sales of $5.2 billion during the three months to 30 June, eight per cent lower than in the second quarter of 2011 and reflecting weaker economic conditions and unfavourable foreign currency translation. Operating income decreased $46 million year-on-year to $336 million. Tyre unit volumes totalled 39.2 million in the quarter, down nine per cent from 2011 and reflecting weaker replacement sector volumes, most notably in Europe. Revenue per tyre increased eight per cent, while net income amounted to $85 million (33 cents per share), up from $40 million (16 cents per share) in the 2011 quarter.
Dunlop has increased the speed rating of its popular mobile crane tyre due to customer demand. The new version of the SP ER50 sees the permissible speed increased to 80 km/h. The Dunlop 445/95R25 SP ER50 tyre is specifically designed for all-terrain cranes.
Amongst a raft of personnel changes announced by Bridgestone on 20 July is one affecting former Bridgestone Europe CEO and president Makio Ohasi. The ex-Bridgestone Europe boss has held the post of vice-president and officer of the company’s Asia Pacific, China, Middle East, Africa and Russia Tire Business Operations division since the start of the year, and concurrently served as a director within the division. Effective 1 September, Ohasi will relinquish these roles and take on the position of vice-president, officer and chief quality officer Specialty Tire Business.
Recent restructuring to Apollo Tyres’ Research and Development team is aimed at creating “synergy and greater alignment to the company’s growth aspirations, and to generate speed and relevance while entering new markets,” the tyre maker states. Apollo has restructured its team across the three key regions where it operates and established a structure in which the development of commercial vehicle tyres will be directed from India and passenger car tyres from Europe. The heads of both operations will report directly to Neeraj Kanwar, vice-chairman and managing director of Apollo Tyres.
The Goodyear Lastikleri Board announces the appointment of Emin Ozkan as managing director Goodyear Lastikleri TAS, Turkey, effective 30 July 2012, reporting to the board of Goodyear Lastikleri TAS.
Maxxis has shared details of the latest meeting of its Asian and African subsidiary companies’ representatives and distributors, who assembled in Pattaya, Thailand between 25 and 27 June. The meeting was the inaugural Maxxis Asian & African Distributor Conference, and Maxxis says it aimed to generate and share ideas to drive the tyre manufacturer’s business forward. Maxxis titled the conference, “Rev It Up – Beyond All Limits” to highlight the need for its partners to play a vital role in “creating momentum, overcoming current limits and achieving greater goals”.
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