Tyre industry professionals need to know what the latest product developments are. Look no further than the Tyrepress.com product news tag,
A newly released report into China’s tyre industry – states that the country, the world’s largest tyre producer since 2004, manufactured a total of 330 million tyres in 2007; of this number, 70 per cent were radials. Some 40 to 45 per cent of total output is exported, with 140 million units leaving China in 2007.
The Board of Directors of the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA), has elected Carlos Ghosn as its new president. Ghosn, CEO of Renault, will take over from Christian Streiff, CEO of PSA Peugeot Citroën, on 1 January 2009. Ghosn, whose extensive experience in the industry includes some two decades with Michelin, has held in current position as president and CEO of Renault since 2005.
“The global automotive industry is facing two significant challenges with a severe financial meltdown twinned with an economic recession, and a major transition to low-emission vehicles. In this context, an effective dialogue with EU institutions and governments is more important than ever”, said Ghosn, reflecting on the expected priorities of his term as ACEA president. He reiterated the automotive industry’s call for normalisation of credits markets, financial support to strategic investments and a range of national incentives to boost the market. “It is vital that our industry can keep fulfilling its key role in Europe in terms of growth, investments, employment and technological leadership.”
Special chemicals group Lanxess AG has announced the formation of an alliance with Japan-based Tokyo Zairyo to sell rubber chemicals to Japanese companies engaged in the industrial rubber product sector within China. This cooperative agreement took effect on December 1, and the German company expects that the partnership will also help its sales in Japan and other Asian countries.
An Arkansas, US warehouse containing 100,000 tyres and used by Cooper Tire has caught fire. The frame of the 200,000 square foot warehouse is said to have collapsed and fire spread throughout the building. The fire is believed not to have spread to other buildings or a nearby forested area.
PCL has launched a new digital tyre tread depth gauge designed to offer “simplicity at its best, in a robust yet lightweight design with 3 different read settings.” The DTDG1D04 Gauge’s toggle allows the user to set to metric, decimal inch or faction inch according to their preference, with results displayed on a large, easy to read LCD display.
The fraction inch setting operates to a display accuracy of 1/64” and for those who are still not used to metric. It allows easy calibration (0-25mm / 0-1″) for zero reset and features a zero setting in any position.
The International Tyre Club Ltd is aiming to beat the recession blues when it meets in Prague next February. “The best opportunities usually come early so make sure you are one of next year’s early birds in these difficult times,” ITC said announcing the dates. The next member summit will take place at Prague’s Radisson Alcron Hotel from 18 – 20 February 2009.
Lloyd Fraser Supply Chain has renewed its three-year contract for Vacu-Lug to supply tyres for tis Focus DIY distribution contract. The agreement covers a total of 162 items of equipment and features a combination of fixed-price and pence-per-kilometre pricing.
A total of 59 Scania tractor units, 76 Don-Bur double-deck trailers and 27 Lawrence David trailers are included within the agreement, which will see new Yokohama tyres fitted to all steer axles and Vacu-Lug Duramold retreaded tyres on the trailers. Reflecting the nature of the operation, the tractor units are on a pence-per-kilometre tariff while the trailers are charged for at a fixed monthly rate.
On December 3 Continental AG was removed from the Frankfurt stock exchange’s DAX index. The Deutsche Börse relegated Conti from the DAX to the MDAX mid-cap index because the company’s market capitalisation no longer fulfilled DAX criteria. The decision was taken regarding Continental’s market capitalisation on the evening of December 2, and the company will appear in the MDAX as of December 22.
A Canadian family in Gravenhurst, Ontario is making ready to build a new family home with a distinctive new twist; it will be made from recycled tyres. “Tyres absorb the heat all day long, then release it at night as it gets cooler on the outside,” an excited Paul Punshon told local news sources. The architect of the scheme says that the used rubber has been easily sourced – people have paid him to get rid of them.
The tyres will be stacked and covered in concrete, which should allow them to provide the heating Punshon suggests they can. The entire home will be made from recycled objects and will attempt to reach self-sustainability. As for the building work, Paulson appears to have a willing and eager pool of potential helpers: “We are getting e-mails from all over Canada, the East Coast, (and) West Coast that say they will work for free, they just want to learn how to do it.”
Goodyear and NASA have, in the US tyre major’s own words “taken one small step backward to make one giant leap forward” in their preparation for future missions to the moon and to Mars. A project jointly funded by Goodyear and the NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) has recently been completed. This project called for the development and production of twelve exact copies of the original wire-mesh moon tyre used on the Apollo Lunar Roving Vehicle in the early 1970s. The creation of these replicates was, says Goodyear, the first step toward understanding this unique non-pneumatic tyre technology, and its applications on both the moon and Earth.
A tentative agreement between Cooper Tire & Rubber and the United Steelworkers Local 207 regarding the company’s Findlay, Ohio facility has been reached. If this agreement is ratified, a new three-year contract may be implemented.
The Findlay plant manager has said the agreement places the facility in a position to be more competitive, something seen as a major step towards maintaining operations at the site in light of Cooper’s plans to close one of the company’s four US factories.
Pro-Align has seen an increase in the sales of its Hunter Tyre Changer and Balancer combinations over the course of 2008. The company believes that these increases can be attributed to the systems’ new SmartWeight software, which represents the implementation of a different balancing methodology, illustrated by a video on the product’s website (www.smartweight.com). Added to that is the reputation that Hunter is continuing to build in the UK for well-built, reliable equipment, features that Pro-Align are happy to point towards. The Towcester-based supplier was recently nominated for the 2008 Aftermarket Supplier of the Year at the TAFF awards; this sort of recognition is helping the company to develop business and interest in the new machine.
Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services said it has affirmed Giti Tire’s “B+” long-term corporate credit rating with a “negative” outlook, based upon the company’s weak financials going into 2009. It also affirmed Giti’s “B-” foreign-currency issue rating on the company’s unsecured notes. Furthermore, Standard & Poor’s says all Giti’s ratings have been removed from CreditWatch, where they had been placed with “negative implications” in September.
Production output at Continental’s Timisoara factory in Romania will be reduced due to falling orders from OE customers. Numerous vehicle manufacturers, including Dacia and Volkswagen have temporarily suspended production in recent weeks, and Michelin has already announced a planned two-week pause in production at its Romanian facilities during December.
Conti has not specified the extent of its changes to production output, but company representatives indicate that production will not be halted. While original equipment sales are down, the replacement tyre market has been more resilient. “Moreover, Romanians have started becoming more interested in acquiring winter tyres,” reported Continental Romania market manager Martin Zaloudek. “This has also been felt on the market and, according to Continental estimates, the winter tyre market will hit 800,000 units this season, up 40 per cent year-on-year.”
The organisers of the Shanghai based Reifen China 2008 exhibition have reported a successful first day. On December 4 more than three thousand trade visitors attended the show at the Shanghai New International Expo Center, an increase of 25 per cent on the previous year. Show hosts CURC (China United Rubber (Group) Company) and Messe Essen, along with major sponsor BRV (Bundesverband Reifenhandel und Vulkanisieur-Handwerk – the “Federal Association of the Tyre Trade and the Vulcanisers’ Skilled Trade”) expressed their satisfaction with this result, particularly against the background of current global economic unease.
If you would like the latest news from the Chinese tyre industry in Chinese, visit our partner site TyrepressChina.com. Or click below to continue on Tyrepress.
