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Ekoprena production gearing up for commercial sales

News, Product News

It’s now been six years since Sumitomo Rubber introduced its first eco-oriented tyre containing a form of epoxidised natural rubber called Ekoprena. Yet despite Sumitomo’s success with this product, Ekoprena remains an unknown quantity in much of the wider tyre world. The rubber’s developers, the Malaysian Rubber Board, intends to change this. Last year it appointed two companies to produce Ekoprena in quantities sufficient for its commercialization. Tyres & Accessories recently spoke to Paul Brown, head of the Advanced Materials and Product Design Unit at the Tun Abdul Razak Research Centre, the UK-based research centre run by the Malaysian Rubber Board, and he confirmed that commercial production of Ekoprena will get under way this year.

18th May 2012/by Tyrepress Editors

Growth in quality, rather than scale, needed for China’s tyre industry

If you were to look back on the rising presence of Chinese tyres in recent times, you’d be mistaken for thinking manufacturers in the People’s Republic view the world as their oyster and the future as all good. Yet tyre makers in China are not insulated from the economic troubles we’ve experienced since 2008. Last year, China’s economic growth slowed and imports are currently increasing at a greater rate than exports. On top of all this, China is now home to more than 500 tyre manufacturers. And while the top ten Chinese tyre makers together hold 30 per cent of the domestic market, most companies are small and many have product mix and quality issues. In light of these economic conditions and a crowded playing field, a number of larger Chinese firms realise they need to adapt in order to continue prospering. Specifically, they recognise the necessity of investing in quality.

18th May 2012/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone says Russian Dandelions may be sustainable source of Natural Rubber

Bridgestone Corporation reports that recent research conducted by its Bridgestone Americas operations may indicate that the Russian Dandelion can become a commercially viable, renewable source of high-quality, tyre-grade rubber.

17th May 2012/by Tyrepress Editors

Pirelli pumps up profitability in 1Q, but shares down 10% after announcement

Pirelli & C. SpA has announced first quarter revenues of 1.556.5 billion euros, up 11.1 per cent compared with 1,400.9 million euros in 31 March 2011. Pre-tax profits (EBIT) after restructuring charges grew by almost half to 209.4 million euros (up 46.1 per cent compared with 143.3 million in the first quarter 2011).

11th May 2012/by Tyrepress Editors

Emrald supplier Totrax announces new web address, seeks network extension

Leading independent supplier of specialist wheels, tyres, axles and components for the OEM industrial and agricutural market, Totrax Ltd supplies the UK market with exclusive products from Emrald Greckster and Italmatic Comfort. The distributor recently announced a new website, having relaunched at www.totrax.com recently. Company representative Simon Tidmarsh told Tyres & Accessories: “We moved away from .co.uk to .com as a result of our increasing international sales for our off-road axle, springs and suspension customers.”

10th May 2012/by Tyrepress Editors

Kraiburg reports record sales of 108 million euros in 2011

Rubber and retreading materials manufacturer Kraiburg Austria posted sales of over 108 million euros in 2011, the highest sales figures in the 50 years since the company’s foundation. According to the Kraiburg, the retreading business accounted for a good 65 per cent of the sales. As a result Kraiburg Austria has returned to pre-crisis levels it was achieving in 2008.

9th May 2012/by Tyrepress Editors

B&J Rocket launching its Quality campaign at Reifen 2012

The Reifen 2012 show gets underway in just over a month’s time, and B&J Rocket will be there. The Switzerland-based firm reports that it will present its new hallmark ‘Quality Plus’ to trade visitors from all over the world during the exhibition. The programme was initiated by Andreas Müller, managing director of B&J Rocket, to demonstrate to partners and customers how the company achieves and maintains quality at the highest level. This process begins with the careful selection of raw materials and its suppliers.

4th May 2012/by Tyrepress Editors

Pilot plants at Lanxess butyl rubber site to test new technology

Although expansion work at Lanxess’ butyl rubber facility in Zwijndrecht, Belgium has been complete for some time now, today the company officially opened the upgraded plant. Reporting on the improvements at Zwijndrecht, Lanxess shares that capacity is now up ten per cent to 150,000 tonnes of butyl rubber per annum. The expansion, carried out at a cost of 20 million euros, was completed several months ahead of schedule at the end of 2011. Work involved expanding the existing plant’s production capacity and building two new pilot plants for developing butyl rubber production technology.

3rd May 2012/by Tyrepress Editors

Apollo Vredestein participating in rubber-alternative research

Apollo Vredestein has announced its involvement in research into sources of natural rubber as a partner in the EU-PEARLS project. The objective of the project is to find a European alternative to Hevea brasiliensis-derived natural rubber. The tyre maker notes that replacing natural rubber with a synthetic variant is not always a practical consideration for tyre makers, and with demand for natural rubber continuing to rise, other sources are becoming increasingly attractive. The threat to rubber trees posed by diseases such as South American Leaf Blight provides additional incentive to find an alternative.

3rd May 2012/by Tyrepress Editors

It’s all good: Titan reports a record start to 2012

Titan International is very pleased with its first quarter 2012 results. The company recorded sales of US$463.1 million for the three-month period, compared to first quarter 2011 sales of $280.8 million; these higher sales levels are attributed to the April 2011 acquisition of Goodyear’s Latin American agricultural tyre business, which recorded sales of $90.3 million for the first quarter 2012 and continued to benefit from strong demand in the agriculture and earthmoving/construction segment, combined with price/mix improvements.

30th April 2012/by Tyrepress Editors

Moody’s upgrades Michelin

Moody’s Investor Service has upgraded Compagnie Générale des Etablissements Michelin's long-term credit rating to Baa1 from Baa2, with a stable outlook. Michelin’s P-2 short-term rating remains unchanged.

26th April 2012/by Tyrepress Editors

Michelin sales up, volumes down in Q1

Michelin reports having achieved Group net sales of 5.304 billion euros in the first quarter of 2012, an increase of 5.1 per cent on the same quarter last year. This growth was propelled by a 23.8 per cent rise in net sales in the company’s specialty businesses; sales of earthmover, agricultural, two-wheel and aircraft tyres, along with Michelin Travel Partner and Michelin Lifestyle, amounted to 940 million euros during the quarter. A more modest 2.9 per cent growth in net sales to 2.760 billion was witnessed in Michelin’s passenger car and light truck tyres division, while truck tyre division sales decreased 0.1 per cent year-on-year to 1.604 billion euros.

25th April 2012/by Tyrepress Editors

SEIR liner technology offers improved air retention

The greatest environmental impact associated with the tyre life cycle occurs during the tyre’s on-road use, and therefore rolling resistance and the role it plays in fuel consumption is an increasing focus for tyre makers and consumers. Yet important as it may be, rolling resistance is only one of a number of factors that require consideration during the development of a ‘green’ tyre.

17th April 2012/by Tyrepress Editors

Nexen to supply Fiat OE tyres

Nexen Tire has announced that it has been selected as original equipment (OE) manufacturer by Fiat. Under the agreement, Nexen will supply tyres for Fiat's Multipla model range, scheduled for production from March 2013, as well as Fiat's Doblo light commercial vehicle (from 2014).

10th April 2012/by Tyrepress Editors

JSR breaks ground on Thailand S-SBR plant

On 19 March, Japan’s JSR Corporation and its joint-venture partner Bangkok Synthetics Co., Ltd. held a groundbreaking ceremony for the Solution Polymerization Styrene-Butadiene Rubber (S-SBR) plant to be constructed by their company, JSR BST Elastomer Co., Ltd. (JBE). The Muang, Rayong Province-based plant is scheduled to enter operation in June 2013; the facility will be the first S-SBR manufacturing plant in Thailand.

3rd April 2012/by Tyrepress Editors