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India’s ATMA Seeks NR Duty Reduction

India’s Automotive Tyre Manufacturers’ Association (ATMA) is seeking to have the customs duty on natural rubber waived in order to help domestic manufacturers compete against imported tyres. The issue was undoubtedly raised when Apollo Tyres chairman and managing director Onkar S Kanwar met with officials from India’s finance ministry on behalf of the ATMA in early June; as part of its pre-budget memorandum, the industry association has requested a reduction in the customs duty on natural rubber to 10 per cent from the current 20 per cent level. Alternatively, it has been suggested that the duty on the import of tyres could be raised to 20 per cent. Tyre imports from China and Korea, which account for nearly 80 per cent of all imports, currently attract 8.6 per cent duty under the Asia Pacific Trade Agreement.

12th June 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Fines Mount Up For Titan’s Bryan Facility

Titan Tire is perhaps smarting a little after being slapped with an additional US$140,000 fine for two wilful violations of workplace safety regulations on top of the $24,500 penalty already mooted by the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration. These violations were discovered following inspections made after a steam explosion at the company’s Bryan giant tyre facility in November 2008, in which one employee was slightly injured.

According to the Toledo Blade, OSHA follow-up inspections found problems related to the factory’s tyre curing equipment. Specifically, four of the units that use 2,900 tonnes of pressure to compress rubber and metal into 63-inch, 5.9 tonne tyres “were not adequately proof-tested and had welds of insufficient quality or strength to handle the exerted pressure.”

11th June 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Conti Promotes ContiCostCalculator at Crewe Roadshow Leg

Continental is spending this week in the grounds of the resplendent Crewe Hall in Cheshire with its European roadshow, promoting the new iteration of its long-haul and regional commercial vehicle tyres (see June’s edition of Tyres & Accessories – soon to arrive at subscribers’ addresses – and Tyrepress.com for more on last month’s launch). The pan-European tour will see Continental’s truck pitch its inflatable display tent in locations including Helsinki, Madrid, Bucharest and most countries in-between. As much as T&A would have liked to take the opportunity to see the display in one of Europe’s cultural capitals, Crewe presented a rather more convenient opportunity to see the interactive displays with which Conti is introducing its series two tyres alongside the innovative ContiCostCalculator, which promises to aid fleet managers in seeing detailed cost comparisons, certified by independent testing organisation Dekra.

11th June 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

New Waste Tyre From Goodyear

Goodyear has launched a new line of waste hauler radials in the USA. New is the Goodyear G289 WHA, which features a deep 24/32nds-inch tread, a special tread compound for tread life and scrub resistance, an “all-season” tread design, sidewall protector ribs, a special shoulder design to equalize tread face pressure, and Goodyear’s DuraSeal technology to seal tread punctures up to ¼-inch.

“Today, we’ve launched a waste-hauling tyre that we believe sets a new standard when it comes to productivity and cost reductions,” said Donn Kramer, Goodyear’s director of commercial tyre marketing. “The G289 WHA was built from the ground up to be a performance leader.” The G289 WHA is available in size 315/80R22.5, in load range L, with a 10,200-pound capacity. (Tire Review/Akron)

11th June 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

OTR Announces Specialist Fitting

OTR, a UK-based earthmover tyre specialist, has added a specialist fitting truck to its fleet. Based in Leicester, the new Iveco 6×4 EuroTrakker has the latest Euro 5 engine and AS Tronic gearbox, an HMF 2220 fully remote crane complete with OTR 2700 tyre handler and screw compressor air management system.

Operations director Darren Flint said, as the new truck went to work, “We have an increased demand for service from customers in the region with larger rigid dump truck tyres so another service vehicle was essential”. OTR operates a fleet of 37 specialist fitting trucks from six regional service hubs and 12 Service Operating Sites located throughout the UK.

Working to its universally “Safe Methods of Work” standards, OTR continues to develop earthmover and off-road products and services.

11th June 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Imported Tyre Manufacturers Association Elects New Officers

At its Annual General Meeting held in Northampton on 4 June, the Imported Tyre Manufacturers Association elected Steve Tidmarsh as its new President. Tidmarsh is sales director of the Kumho UK organization will serve a two year term of office effective immediately. The Association also re-elected its long-standing treasurer, Alfred Graham (Alfred Graham Ltd) for a further two-year period.

New president, Tidmarsh stated, “Just now all of us in the tyre business face very great challenges, both commercial and technical. Effective trade associations are essential in this environment, especially when faced as we are with a seeming endless raft of new legislation from Brussels. The recently-favoured ITMA European Technical Group is specifically designed to give all our members the edge they need to stay ahead of developments. One of my objectives over the next two years will be to persuade those brands who feel they can still survive without this kind of help that they too should join with us”.

11th June 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Brisa 2008 Results Show Sales Increase but Profits Down

Turkish manufacturer Brisa achieved net sales of 772,203,901 Turkish liras (£306.1 million) in the year ended December 31, 2008. This result disclosed in the company’s audited statement of income, represents a 2.9 per cent increase on the previous year. Operating income, at 48,709,571 liras (£19.3 million), was down 26.1 per cent on the 2007 financial year, and although profits of 31,795,956 (£12.6 million) liras were 49.1 per cent lower than the previous year, Brisa remained in the black during the year. The company’s domestic sales came to 610,590,748 liras (£242.0 million), a rise of 5.8 per cent. Exports declined 1.2 per cent during the year to 247,181,348 liras (£98.0 million).

11th June 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Toyo Driver Gordon Wins Baja 500

Victory in the 41st Baja 500 has gone to Toyo supported US driver Robby Gordon. Gordon, driving a Chevrolet truck fitted with Toyo 37 x 13.50 R17 Open Country M/T-R race tyres, covered the 700 kilometre Mexican race at an average of around 80 km/h, enough to give him wins in two of the season’s three races.

“I am really excited with the way that the Toyo tyres performed in the Baja 500,” commented Gordon. “We had zero flat tyres and very good management. With a tyre that performs like this, it is going to make it tough for the competition to beat us.”

11th June 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Lanxess China Sales Improving

Despite improving sales in recent months, the 2009 outlook for Lanxess in the Greater China region is said to remain “murky”. At the sidelines of a company event on June 11, Martin Kraemer, chief executive of the company’s Greater China operations told Reuters “we have seen a pick-up in demand and also in sales in China over the last couple of months…What we currently see is nice, but will that be sustainable till the end of the year? We don’t know.”

11th June 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

MAG Shows Continued Interest in Clairoix Factory

More than a month’s silence over future plans for Continental’s Clairoix factory in France has been broken – a June 10 Reuters report indicates continued interest from the Dubai based Moaffaq Al Gaddah (MAG) Group. The news provider states that MAG plans to purchase the facility and employ around half the current workforce to produce three million tyres per annum.

According to a MAG Group representative, the company submitted a letter of intent to Continental AG on June 9, thereby commencing the due diligence process for acquiring the Clairoix factory. “We have yesterday sent a letter of intent to Continental,” MAG vice-chairman Fawaz Sabri told Reuters. “The objective is to regulate the relationship until we reach a final agreement.”

11th June 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Titan International Announces Q2 Dividend

Titan International’s Board of Directors has approved a quarterly cash dividend of US$.005 (one half cent) per common share for the second quarter of 2009. The cash dividend is payable July 15, 2009, to stockholders of record on June 30, 2009.

11th June 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Continental, Schaeffler to Avoid State Assistance?

According to Reuters and other German media outlets, sources with “direct knowledge of the matter” report that Continental and owner Schaeffler intend to avoid any requests for government financial aid. The finance minister of Germany’s Lower Saxony region, where Continental has its headquarters, said the state has not been received any requests for aid. “We have not even been approached with a preliminary enquiry,” said finance minister Hartmut Möllring. Neither Continental nor Schaeffler have commented about their intentions.

10th June 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Brisa to Suspend Production

According to Forbes, Turkish tyre manufacturer Brisa has given word it will suspend production between July 27 and August 6 due to weak demand.

10th June 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Yantai Produces World’s Largest Solid Tyre

A 1.78 metre diameter two-ton solid tyre produced by China’s Yantai C.S.I. Rubber Co. Ltd is being promoted as the world’s largest. The Chinese language website shm.com.cn reports that the Yantai tyre, produced after three years of research and development, beats the previous world record for diameter by 16 centimetres.

The production process for the tyre is said to have taken 22 hours to complete. These large tyres will reportedly be purchased by Caterpillar for fitment on its equipment.

10th June 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Goodyear Gets Buyout Deal in Akron

USW workers at Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.’s race tyre plant in Akron have accepted a buyout scheme. The company has offered buyouts to 120 workers at the plant, about 30 per cent of total employment there, citing reduced demand due to cutbacks made in various race series. USW Local 2, which covers some 440 employees in Akron, passed the offer “overwhelmingly,” according to reports. The deal also preserves some 250 jobs through 2012 at Goodyear’s tech center in the city.

However, the agreement allows Goodyear to move rubber mixing from Akron to its Dunlop plant in Buffalo within the next two years. The one-time buyout offer covers the first 120 employees who elect to take it, and gives $2,000 per year of service up to a maximum of $40,000. If fewer than 120 employees take the offer, Goodyear will have the right to layoff workers to reach that level. (Tire Review/Akron)

10th June 2009/by Tyrepress Editors