Raw Materials
Tyre maker Continental says a machine it has co-developed offers a new approach to recycling the rubberised steel cord scrap that arises during the manufacturing process. The unit, which has been named the ‘Hurricane Machine’, separates uncured rubber compound and steel cord by a process Continental that claims is a tyre industry world first.
Bridgestone Americas’ project to evaluate the guayule plant’s suitability as a source of natural rubber for tyre applications has taken a step forward with the completion of the Agro Operations Guayule Research Farm. The facility in Eloy, Arizona has been set up to supply guayule biomass for rubber production at the company’s BioRubberProcessResearchCenter, which is currently under construction in Mesa, Arizona.
According to a statement released by German tyre maker Continental on 14 October, the joint venture project it operates with and the Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology (IME) is “on the verge of a breakthrough.” Recently, work began on the construction of a pilot facility at IME’s Münster site in Germany, and when finished this will be able to produce larger volumes of dandelion-derived natural rubber.
Marangoni Commercial & Industrial Tyres has announced the development of a new programme within its Marix range of retreaded truck tyres. The retread product manufacturer says the Energeco brand has the objective of improving the performance of rolling resistance, which the company identifies as a decisive factor in the decision-making process for professional users and fleets operating over long distances. It will also become more prominent when EU tyre labelling’s second phase encompasses retread truck tyre products, the manufacturer says.
Continental will pursue the principle of making commercial vehicle tyres go further for customers with its synergetic TBR retreading facility named the ContiLifeCycle Plant. Announced in 2012 and due to open in Hannover-Stöcken later in 2013, the 10 million euro-plus plant is set to become the world’s first plant to integrate rubber recycling with hot and cold retreading, and will create more than 100 new jobs at Conti’s headquarters. Tyrepress got in touch with Christian Saas, Conti’s director Retread Business Commercial Vehicle Tires, to get the latest information on the plant prior to it coming on line.
Compared with producing a new tyre, retreading saves up to 30 per cent in energy and 70 per cent in raw materials. Retreading also lowers overall cost per kilometre, but despite these benefits the European retreading market has been hampered by a scarcity of the industry’s main raw material – good quality, retreadable casings – and by the availability of new imported tyres whose casing quality is not sufficient for retreading.
Six Michelin suppliers have been awarded for their “exceptional contribution” in 2011 and 2012. At an awards ceremony held on 25 September, the French firm saluted these companies’ contribution towards its growth and development, a contribution they said to be with a respect for Michelin’s values.
Aeolus has a new distributor for its passenger car tyre range in the German, Austrian and Swiss markets. German wholesaler and tyre service provider Reifen Straub GmbH now handles imports in these three territories and in mid-September began delivery of Aeolus AW02 and AW03 winter tyres for the coming ‘changeover’ period, which traditionally takes place in October.
While Lanxess says it is “pursuing strategic options for specific non-core businesses” and aims to reduce its global workforce by around 1,000 people by the end of 2015, the specialty chemicals firm’s reduced 2013 capex is being invested in areas serving the tyre and automotive industries. The company says work on its three key projects, including the new neodymium polybutadiene rubber (Nd-PBR) plant in Singapore is progressing according to plan.
The London-based Royal Society of Chemistry writes that scientists in Spain have reported the first self-healing polymer that spontaneously repairs itself without any intervention. Although the material – dubbed the ‘Terminator’ after the shape-shifting terminator seen in the franchise’s second film – is some time away from commercial release, it may be suited to a wide array of applications, including in tyres.
Jiangxi Black Cat Carbon Black (Black Cat Inc.) reports that exports are growing fast after the firm redoubled efforts to improve “product quality, technology innovation” as well as expanding cooperation with certain leading international companies such as Bridgestone and Michelin.
No dinosaurs went into the production of a tyre Sumitomo Rubber Industries will launch at the Tokyo Motor Show – some 12 years after it began working to reduce fossil fuel content in its products, the Japanese company is now ready to roll out its first 100 per cent fossil fuel-free tyre. And when the show begins on 23 November, visitors won’t just be looking at another concept tyre – Sumitomo says it is gearing up to introduce this milestone in its Enasave programme into the domestic market. The new tyre will be sold under the Dunlop brand name.
Nokian sales and profits are down 5.7 and 18.4 per cent respectively for the first half of 2013, the company has reported. However the second quarter has been increasingly strong for the company, with net sales totalling 419.1 million euros 1.3 per cent up on the second quarter of 2012. President and CEO Kim Gran said that the company had been strong in the Nordic countries and Russia particularly during this period, and Nokian expects growing winter tyre demand – playing to the company’s strengths – in these countries and in central Europe during the rest of the year.
Cooper Tire & Rubber’s second quarter 2013 results – most likely the last it will post before its incorporation into Apollo Tyres – showed a year-on-year drop in net sales, operating profit and net income. Net sales amounted to US$884 million, a decrease of $174 million compared with the same period a year ago, and operating profit for the second quarter was $69 million, $26 million lower year-on-year and 7.8 per cent of net sales. Net income was $35 million, or $0.55 per share, down from $52 million, or $0.82 per share, for the same period last year.
Announcing its results for the first half of 2013, Pirelli has shown a year on year 6.1 per cent reduction in earnings before interest and taxes compared with the first half of 2012. This occurred in spite of a second quarter in which the manufacturer saw signs of improvement, with revenues climbing 8.8 per cent on 2Q 2012 following a 1.3 per cent YoY reduction in the first three months of the year. However, net profit for the quarter was also some way off that of the 94.9 million euro achieved in 2012, at 78 million euro.
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