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Qatar: Q-Tire, Raha Offer 15% Discount

In Qatar Q-Tire and roadside recovery service Raha Auto Assistance have partnered to offer a 15 per cent discount on new tyres purchased at Q-Tire’s five Doha service centres. Q-Tire is the authorised representative and distributor in Qatar for Goodyear, Falken, Solideal, MRF, TVS Roadux, Double Coin & Primewell.

Ikram Hamdad, general manager of Raha, commented: “Q-Tire and Raha have a clear focus to improve the motoring experience for the motorists of Qatar. We agree there is a real need to educate drivers about tyre maintenance in order to increase vehicle safety and tyre performance, as well as to extend the life of the tyres.”

26th May 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

MRF Temporarily Relocating Production from Locked Out Plant

India based tyre manufacturer MRF Ltd appears set to circumvent the lockout and worker protests at its Arakonam factory in Tamil Nadu state by temporarily transferring production to its Medak facility. In a press statement, the company made reference to vehicle manufacturers’ dependence on tyres it supplies, commenting that “MRF has made all efforts to ensure regular supply of OE tyres from its factory at Medak in Andhra Pradesh.”

The Business Standard newspaper reports that on May 21 around 800 employees and their families were arrested for continuing their sit-in strike within the company’s premises and were evicted.

22nd May 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

MRF Strikers Plan New Protest Strategies

Striking workers at tyre MRF’s Arakonam and Puducherry plants in India are considering surrendering their important ration and voter identify cards in protest against a wage agreement signed with a rival labour union. The worker’s sit-in strike began on May 9 and led to a lockout being declared at the Arakonam site on May 17. Production at both locations has come to a complete halt as a result of the industrial action.

20th May 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Lockout Declared at MRF Facility

According to a statement lodged with the Bombay Stock Exchange, Indian tyre manufacturer MRF Ltd has declared a lockout at its Arkonam facility in Tamil Nadu “on account of labour unrest in the factory.” The lock out officially commenced at 3.00pm local time on May 17, the statement adds.

18th May 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

JK Tyre Tops Indian OE Survey

JK Tyre has topped the J.D. Power Asia Pacific 2009 India Original Equipment Tire Customer Satisfaction Index. Now in its ninth year, the study analyzes new-vehicle buyer satisfaction with original equipment tyres by examining five key factors – durability, ride, traction and handling. With an overall score of 811 on a 1,000-point scale, JK Tyre performed particularly well in all factors that drive overall satisfaction. MRF came second with 804, followed by Bridgestone (797), Apollo (784) and Goodyear (767). Overall satisfaction has declined by 10 points from 2008 to an average of 798 in 2009. Furthermore, the percentage of customers reporting a problem with their original tyres increased from 19 per cent in 2008 to 22 per cent in 2009.

“The occurrence of even a single problem leads to a strong negative impact on tyre satisfaction, with satisfaction averaging 70 points lower among customers who experience a tyre-related problem, compared with customers who do not,” said Mohit Arora, senior director at J.D. Power Asia Pacific, Singapore. “Problems like excessive tyre noise while driving, poor traction on wet roads and recurring flat tyres not only cause driving inconvenience, but also can be safety hazards, which intensifies the negative impact on customer satisfaction.”

13th May 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

MRF Lands OE Deal with Military Aircraft Manufacturer

MRF, the first Indian tyre manufacturer to produce aviation tyres for military aircraft, has secured an order from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), one of Asia’s largest aerospace companies. The initial supply contract, reports the Financial Chronicle, is for some 400 to 500 tyres for HAL’s Chetak multi-purpose helicopter. India’s defence authorities have also reportedly asked the company to develop tyres for other types of military aircraft.

14th April 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Tire Group International Names Delgado Senior Vice President

Tire Group International (TGI) has announced the hiring of Orlando Delgado as senior vice-president of business development. Delgado re-joins TGI with “over 20 years of international market experience with emphasis on Latin America and the Caribbean.” Prior to joining TGI, he spent several years as director of logistics for a world leader in the design, manufacturing and marketing of toys and family products. According to a company statement, TGI hopes Delgado’s expertise in Latin American and Caribbean markets will allow the tyre wholesaler to reach its strategic objective of continuing to open sales offices throughout the region.

14th April 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Wheels India and MRF Supply Nano Wheels and Tyres to Tata

Wheels India, part of the TVS group companies, and leading Indian tyre maker, MRF, are supplying the original equipment wheels and tyres for Tata Motors’ pint-sized ultra-mini the Nano. Wheels India managing director, Srivats Ram, told Hindu Business Line: “The wheel that was developed is lighter than any other passenger car wheel in the country and the first wheel to my knowledge in passenger car wheels to have three bolt-holes instead of the conventional four.”

24th March 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

MRF Launches Wanderer SUV Tyre

Indian manufacturer MRF has announced the launch of its new tyre series for SUVs, the MRF Wanderer. The range is all-terrain with a cut-resistant compound in addition to a reinforced steel-belt package under the tread and a multi-layered carcass and the sidewall, adding up to a tyre designed for longer life. It also boasts heavy, very visible branding on the sidewall, giving it a striking appearance.

The tyre is to be released onto the domestic Indian market, with a specific focus, according to the company’s press release, on such models as the Mahindra Scorpio, the Bolero, the Xylo, the Tata Safari and the Sumo.

26th February 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Indian Tyremakers Pass On Excise Duty Cut

A number of Indian manufacturers have lowered domestic market prices following a lowering of the excise duty charged upon tyres. The Indian government announced on February 24 it would reduce the excise on a range of consumer products from ten per cent to eight per cent in order to stimulate demand and boost the economy.

Apollo Tyres is passing on the benefit of the lower excise duty as of February 25, 2009 on all its replacement market commercial radial and cross ply tyres. “We should all support this proactive move by the government, which will boost the manufacturing as well as other sectors,” said Onkar S Kanwar, Apollo Tyres Ltd chairman and managing director. “We, on our part, will be passing on this reduction to our customers.”

25th February 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Lockout Declared at MRF’s Puducherry Factory

Indian manufacturer MRF has declared a lockout at its Puducherry plant in Southeast India following what has been described as ‘labour unrest’. The company has been facing such problems at its other facilities for more than a year, most dramatically seen when its Tiruvottiyur plant, near Chennai experienced a lockout in late 2007 and early 2008. At this time, the Tamil Nadu state government, its patience tested, beseeched the company to resolve its differences with employees – and threatened to take over the factory if it failed to do so.

Company officials have not yet commented on the latest developments.

23rd February 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Apollo, MRF Lower Indian Market Prices

Indian market prices for Apollo Tyres’ products are set to drop by three to five per cent as of January 15, the company reports. The company has not made clear, however, whether these price reductions will be extended to tyres sold in export markets.

Prices have been revised in keeping with a softening of key raw material prices since September 2008, Apollo says. The company adds that since December the cost of both crude oil and natural rubber have resumed their upward trend, and the benefit of lower raw material prices is yet to be felt in the company’s bottom line. Despite this, Apollo states it has decided to take a proactive step in lowering prices for consumers.

15th January 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Cheaper Rubber Doesn’t Equal Cheaper Tyres – Indian Manufacturers

Despite the prices for natural rubber in India dropping more than 32 per cent in the last two months, tyre manufacturers in this country appear reluctant to follow suit with their own prices. The price of natural rubber fell below the Rs 100 ( ) a kilogram mark on October 7, the first time it has done so this year after rising to a high of Rs 140 ( ) per kilogram in August. The fall in the price is attributed to a decline in crude oil prices and a slide in international rates for latex. Further decreases in the price of natural rubber are also expected in India, the result of peak production season supply and diminished purchasing from industrial users.

10th October 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

MRF Flying High with New Aviation Tyre

Indian tyre manufacturer MRF is preparing to unveil its latest development, becoming the first company in the field from the country to produce an aviation tyre for defence aircraft.

News sources report that MRF chairman and managing director K.K. Mammen stated on Thursday that, “The company’s tyre for Chetak helicopter has got the airworthiness certificate and negotiations are on for rolling out tyres for other defence aircraft.” Mammen also expressed the company’s hope that the government would partly fund the initiative, saying that the company would look to make aviation tyres at its Arokkonam facility near Chennai.

28th August 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

MRF Profits Down in Q3 Despite Increased Sales

Increasing raw material and personnel costs are said to be two of the key factors behind lower net profits for India’s MRF in the financial year’s third quarter. In the three months to June 30, 2008 the Chennai based company experienced a 25 per cent drop in net profits from the corresponding quarter a year earlier, to Rs 318.6 million (£3.74 million). Net profits for the nine months of the current financial year stand at Rs 1.492 billion (£17.5 million), an increase of 39.2 per cent.

25th July 2008/by Tyrepress Editors