Dirk Reurslag Appointed VMI Vice President Sales & Projects
Dirk Reurslag was appointed as the new vice president sales and projects of VMI effective 16 August 2010. He succeeds Harm Voortman, who has recently been appointed as CEO of the VMI Group.
Middle East
Posts
Alcoa Increases Ma’aden, Saudi Arabia Investment
NewsAlcoa is increasing its investment in a partnership it operates with Saudi Arabian mining company Ma’aden. The cooperation is focussed on the development of “the largest, most efficient vertically integrated aluminium complex in the world,” according to the two companies.
Continental Supplies Adidas With Sole Rubber
NewsTyres, conveyor belts and latterly sensors and drive train components – all products Continental AG is well known for. But did you know that the European market leader in the car tyre segment is supplying Adidas with the latest rubber compounds for sports shoes? The two companies, both Official Sponsors of the recent 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa and the forthcoming 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil recently signed a co-operation agreement to solidify the deal.
NZG Technology Key to Michelin’s Aircraft Tyre Segment Success
NewsAs Tyres & Accessories has reported on its tyrepress.com website, Michelin has recently secured a number of aircraft tyre supply deals. The French manufacturer was named the sole tire supplier for the Bombardier CSeries family and was chosen by Air France and KLM to equip their commercial aircraft. It has also been selected by Turkish Airlines, as well as by Russia’s Sukhoi to supply original equipment tyres exclusively for its SSJ100 Regional Jet. In addition, Michelin has been awarded an exclusive contract to provide original equipment tyres for the Gulfstream IAI G250, due to be launched in late 2010, and its tyres are in the process of being certified by Embraer for its E-170/175 family of airliners.
Toyo Reports 53 billion yen of Net Sales, Profits Back in Black
Career TracksToyo Tire & Rubber Co., Ltd., has reported that it has returned to first quarter profitability with an operating income of 2,612 million yen compared with an operating loss of 3,054 million yen in the first quarter of 2009. Net income faired less well but showed the company returned to the black by this measurement too, with 743 million yen in the first quarter of 2010 compared with a net loss of 2,620 million yen for the same period in 2009. Period net sales totalled 72,162 million yen, up 9,789 million yen or 15.7 per cent over the first quarter of 2009. The tyre business unit posted net sales of 53,097 million yen and operating income of 1,995 million yen.
Bridgestone & Towell Open Oman Bandag Retreading Plant
RetreadingBridgestone and its exclusive distributor in Oman, Towell Auto Centre LLC, have jointly opened a Bandag retreading facility near the capital city Muscat. The plant, located in Mabella, has the capacity to retread 26,000 tyres per annum. Bridgestone Middle East & Africa FZE president Shoichi Sakuma indicates that approximately $1.5 million has been invested in the facility. “This is our fifth retread facility in the region,” Sakuma commented. Bandag also operates plants in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. The new factory will, in accordance with local regulations, restrict its retreading activities to commercial vehicle tyres for 20-inch and larger rim sizes.
Goodyear “On the Right Path” in Second Quarter
Company NewsAccording to company president and chief executive officer Richard J. Kramer, Goodyear “pulled the right levers” during the economic downturn and is thus well positioned for growth opportunities presented by the recovery. “During the second quarter, we achieved significant progress across all our businesses, driven by a combination of sales growth and cost actions,” said Kramer during a conference call on July 29. “Versus the comparable prior year period, sales were up 15 per cent, units up 10 per cent and segment operating income was $219 million, an improvement of more than $190 million from the second quarter 2009.”
Reasonable First Half Growth for Goodyear in EMEA, North America
Career TracksGoodyear has experienced a reasonable second quarter of this financial year in the Europe, Middle East and Africa segment, where second quarter sales increased 5 per cent to $1.5 billion. This was primarily due to a 6 per cent increase in tyre unit volume and strong price/mix performance, according to the company. In worldwide results, the company’s sales were $4.5 billion, up 15 per cent from 2009. Second quarter sales reflect the $304 million impact of a 10 per cent increase in tyre unit volume in response to improved global demand.
$4 million TGL Compounding Plant Starts Production in Israel
NewsTGL S.P. Industries Ltd. (TGL), a subsidiary of equipment firm Pelmar Group, has announced the start of product at its new custom compounding plant in Yokneam, Israel. The official opening ceremony has been schedule to be held on site, on 27 July in the presence of Israel’s Minister of Industry & Commerce, Israel’s former Defence Minister and General (Res) in the Israel Defense Forces. The new plant was built at a cost of around $4 million and is designed to allow TGL to be “completely independent to supply rubber compounds for its own production lines and also to distribute the extra capacity to rubber manufacturers in Israel and abroad.”
According to the company, the compounding line features a high capacity Farrel 200 litre mixer and automatic discharging, cooling and stacking line. This combined with fully automatic weighing and charging systems for carbon black, silica, oil and small chemical ingredients is designed to enable TGL to meet the continuing and “extremely high technological requirements” of its customers.
VMI to Supply Belshina with Giant Tyre Machinery
NewsBelarusian media reports that tyre maker Belshina has signed a contract with VMI Holland for the supply of equipment to be used in the construction of giant tyres. Some 33.5 million euros has apparently already been invested for the production of mining tyres, and the company is intends to produce 21.00R35, 27.00R35, 33.00R51, 36.00R57 tyres for CIS and international customers.
BKT Continues Off-Highway Market Growth
NewsIn the off-highway tyre sector, Balkrishna Industries Limited – better known as BKT – is going from strength to strength. When Tyres & Accessories met with senior BKT management at the Reifen 2010 show, we learned the Indian manufacturer holds the ambition of attaining segment leadership within five years and a ten per cent market share. And as the top men at BKT outlined, this goal is no idle dream.
Atturo Tire Targets Affordable SUV Market
NewsOccupying a booth in Hall 2, Atturo Tire’s Michael Mathis was enthusiastic about the opportunity provided by Reifen to make contact with the company’s European dealers (Micheldever in the UK), while also gaining new distributors. Mathis mentioned Spain, Italy, Eastern Europe and the Middle East as the territories from which much of the traffic for the stand came. Though the company had expected “a higher quantity of visitors,” said Mathis, “the quality of the traffic has been good. In a month from now, I think we will be pretty satisfied,” he concluded.
F1 Tyre Supply to Have “Zero” Impact on Pirelli’s Budget
NewsThe cat’s been out of the bag for a couple of weeks, but now it is official – as of next year, Pirelli will serve as official exclusive tyre supplier to the Formula One championship. The Italian manufacturer will supply all F1 teams from 2011 to 2013, and no additional funds are required in order to do so.
Confirmed – Pirelli to Supply F1
NewsThe cat’s been out of the bag for a couple of weeks, but now it is official – as of next year, Pirelli will serve as official exclusive tyre supplier to the Formula One championship. The Italian manufacturer will supply all F1 teams from 2011 to 2013 and supply six types of tyre: four for dry weather, one for rain and one intermediate tyre.
Goodyear’s LHT II – Low Rolling Resistance Without the Drawbacks?
NewsNewton’s First Law of Motion states that ‘every object in a state of uniform motion tends to remain in that state of motion unless an external force is applied to it’. For tyres, this external force is seen in rolling resistance, and it is primarily caused by the repeated deformation and recovery of the tyre as it comes into contact with the road surface. Reducing rolling resistance is, in theory anyway, relatively simple – yet achieving a reduction in rolling resistance without compromising on other essential tyre qualities is another matter entirely. In designing its latest generation trailer tyre, the Marathon LHT II, Goodyear referred to this as “mission impossible”. Yet through much research and development work the tyre maker believes it has achieved this seemingly unreachable goal.
