Dunlop India is planning to set up an industrial rubber products plant at its existing truck and bus tyre manufacturing facility at Ambattur in Chennai. The company currently has an industrial products division at Sahagunj facility in West Bengal, the Indian Hindu Business Line Newspaper has reported.
BMW achieved strong vehicle sales in the UK during the month of March. With 21,605 vehicles registered during the month, BMW has recorded an increase of 24 per cent on this time last year and an overall rise in volume of 16 per cent year to date. One of the key influencing factors in BMW’s success has been the introduction of the new 3 Series Saloon and Touring models. Overall 3 Series has shown an increase of 63 per cent when compared to this time last year. Other strong performers in the BMW range are the 7 Series, 5 Series and 1 Series models, all of which have shown a sharp increase in registrations when compared year on year.
Union members at the Charlotte factory of Continental Tire North America Inc. have authorised the group’s leaders to call a strike, Mark Cieslikowski, president of the plant’s United Steelworkers Local 850, was reported as saying in the Charlotte Observer. But union leaders have “a long way to go” before calling a strike, as they are still trying to negotiate a new labour contract with the company’s managers, Cieslikowski said.
Bosch has reached a production milestone by announcing that it has produced 20 million Electronic Stability Program (ESP) systems since the technology was developed just over a decade ago. The company makes braking control systems at seven plants in Europe, the Americas and Asia. The active safety system detects the onset of skidding in a vehicle and works to counter it without any action by the driver. Recently published studies prove that car driver whose vehicle are fitted cause accidents much more rarely. If every new car were to be fitted with ESP, the number of “single vehicle accidents” resulting in serious injury could be reduced by up to 50 percent.
Toyota Motor Europe has presented its Supplier Award for Superior Performance in Project Management for 2005 to the Continental Automotive Systems Division. In doing so, Toyota paid tribute to the supplier’s performance in the development, production preparation and delivery of the brake system of the new Yaris subcompact car. This was the first time that Toyota transferred the system responsibility for a complete brake system to Continental Automotive Systems.
Industry figures show that, in 2004, there were 239 million tyres manufactured in China, with sales of 79 billion yuan (US$ 983 billion). Estimates for 2005’s production figures are in excess of 300 million tyres.
The outlook for global tyre manufacturers looks like being “a bumpy ride”, says Business Week. With the global tyre business worth an estimated US$70 billion, the major players are facing pressure from increased raw material prices and the growing burden of employee benefit costs.
(Akron/Tire Review) Craig Marks was promoted by Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. to be its new platform launch manager, responsible for leading and overseeing the development, launch and production of new products. Marks joined Cooper in 1993 and has worked as a senior corporate industrial engineer and, most recently, as lead industrial engineer.
Hyundai is to build a plant in the Czech Republic, investing 1 billion euros in a factory with the capacity to produce 300,000 units annually. The factory is expected to start production of the B segment Getz in the fouth quarter of 2008. The announcement follows the news that Kia’s Slovakia plant will be production later this year.
(Akron/Tire Review) Pirelli SpA’s new $50 million truck tyre plant in Gravatai, Brazil, has been officially opened. Located inside Pirelli’s motorcycle tyre development and production facility, the new plant covers 573,000 square metres and will produce some 12,000 tonnes of tyres per year at full capacity. Some 80 per cent of the new plant’s truck tyre production will be for the Brazilian market, and the other 20 per cent will be exported primarily to other Latin America countries, according to Pirelli.
(Akron/Tire Review) Continental AG CFO and Continental Tire North America President and CEO Alan Hippe told media sources in Germany that the company has not yet made a decision on its tyre production plans in China. Hippe did, however, tell AFX News that the company favours setting up a Greenfield plant in the country, allowing the company to take advantage of growing market opportunities in China as well as export to other Asian markets.
Dunlop has launched its first new generation 17.5” and 19.5” regional haul tyres: the Dunlop SP344 steer tyre and SP444 drive tyre. The new tyres provide optimum wet braking, traction and handling throughout their life. In addition, high mileage, improved fuel consumption and a greater resistance to damage are all benefits, which increase fleet efficiency, says Dunlop.
Featuring new construction, compounds and tread designs, the new tyre range is designed specifically to meet the demands of today’s hauliers and fleet operators.
At the beginning of March 2006 Amsterdam-based Granuband BV Finalised its takeover of Dash Recycled Rubber Inc. (DRRI) in Macon, Missouri, USA. The new company will be named Granuband Macon, LLC. The company will continue the same activities with the personnel who are already employed at DRRI. Following the takeover Granuband will increase production to 24 hours a day. The Missouri factory will produce several sizes of rubber for use things like artificial pitches and as rubber mulch.
January 2006 saw total tyre production in India rise 9 per cent to 5,623,048 tyres compared with January 2005. The figures calculated by the Indian Tyre Manufacturer’s association (ATMA) show that motorcycle tyre sales were up 15 per cent totalling 1,801,839 units. This particularly rapid growth is largely explained by the reclassification of moped tyres under the motorcycle heading, but also signifies production growth in the segment.
Passenger car tyre production increased to 1,230,869 units up 16 per cent from the same time last year. Truck and bus and light truck production increased to 946,730 (up 8 per cent) and 352,967 (up 14 per cent) respectively. Perhaps unsurprisingly in light of the current global shortage, OTR tyre production increased 37 per cent to 10,811 units in January.
Indian tyre manufacturers will have to import 25,000 tonnes of natural rubber in the six months between April and September, the Hindu Business Line has reported. The imports come after a six month lull, when shipments into the country came to a halt.
“Tyre companies are importing basically since we anticipate shortage of rubber. Contracts have been signed and consignments will begin arriving from April onwards,” said Mr D Ravindran, director-general, Automotive Tyre Manufacturers Association, the apex body of tyre makers in the country.
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