Raw Materials
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.
At present the Italian retreading market, following years of crisis, is experiencing a new birth. “From this and the coming years we expect that industry will recognise retreading in terms of its quality and its utility to the market,” comments Brenno Benaglia, vice-president of the Italian retreading association AIRP (Associazione Italiana Ricostruttori Pneumatici) and the European association Bipaver.
Danish firm Starco wears several hats. The company was once best known for specialising in tyres for wheelbarrows and hand-powered vehicles, and during its 50 years in the business it has also gained a reputation as a manufacturer – initially of steel wheels and small tyres, and very recently as an industrial tyre maker – the company’s Solid tyre factory in Sri Lanka is now in operation. And another, very important hat Starco wears is that of wholesaler.
The owner of a Devon recycling firm will have to pay £2,590 in costs after illegally exporting used car tyres to Vietnam. Paul Avery was also ordered to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work in the case which was brought by the Environment Agency (EA). EA officers visited Hill Barton Business Park near Exeter on 12 May 2011 and reportedly discovered thousands of waste tyres at a premises trading as Avery Tyre Recycling. Some had already been made up into bales whiles others were in loose piles.
Almost a year ago, PT Multistrada Arah Sarana Tbk announced plans to ensure a reliable supply of raw materials through the acquisition of up to around 30,000 hectares of rubber plantation land. In the end the tyre maker purchased 33,800 hectares in Kalimantan, Indonesia for around Rp3 trillion (£209 million) through its subsidiary PT Multistrada Agro Internasional. During a press conference held in Jakarta on 11 March, company president Pieter Tanuri shared details of this acquisition, stating that this year Multistrada aims to plant up to 1,000 hectares of rubber trees there, a project the firm has budgeted Rp398 billion (£27.7 million) for; 26 per cent of this will come from the proceeds of a recent rights issue. This is expected to be ready for harvest in the next five years.
Only a week after Cooper Tire & Rubber stated it will partner with Yulex Corporation on the development and evaluation of guayule as a source of natural rubber, Bridgestone Corporation has announced plans of its own to develop the plant into a commercially viable alternative to the hevea tree. The research project will be conducted in the United States as a joint collaboration between Bridgestone Corporation and Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations; the Japanese parent company will provide funding and strategic input, while the American subsidiary will be responsible for finding the suitable location and operating the pilot farm and process research facility. Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations will also leverage the resources of the Bridgestone Americas Center for Research and Technology and its Akron Technical Center to provide technical and research expertise.
Sino Legend (Zhangjiagang) Chemical Co., Ltd., purportedly the largest Asian manufacturer of resins for the tyre and rubber industries, has begun showcasing its state-of-the-art production facility as it looks to establish a greater presence in North American and European markets.
The company broke ground on its Zhangjiagang City plant in mid-2007, located approximately 80 miles from Shanghai. Built with future global expansion in mind, the facility has already doubled its production volume owing to increased demand.
Indian agricultural, off-road, speciality tyre and pre-cured tread manufacturer, Malhotra Rubbers Ltd has announced plans to launch a radial agricultural tyre product range this year.
“2012 shall be an exciting year from us as our whole team is gearing up to launch of our radial agricultural tyres for the European and US markets”, said company director, Monit Malhotra. According to Malhotra these will be marketed through their exclusive customers In Europe and USA.
A date for groundbreaking on Lanxess’ new neodymium polybutadiene rubber (Nd-PBR) plant in Singapore has been set. It is scheduled to take place on 11 September; following the signing of contracts with key suppliers, company Board of Management chairman Axel C. Heitmann announced that with these supplier agreements in place, the project executive can now commence and infrastructure for construction set up.
Even as it tries to resolve a three-month lock out at its hometown Findlay, Ohio, plant, Cooper Tire & Rubber Co reported full-year 2011 net profit of $269.6 million against sales of $3.9 billion, Tire Review reports. The sales results were an improvement of $566 million, or 17 per cent, from 2010, while the net profit mark was up significantly from 2010’s $163.9 million.
It’s now more than two years since the Kal Tire Mining Tire Group acquired a majority shareholding in Derbyshire-based OTR Tyres, and the company says retreading at its Alfreton facility shows that despite increasing raw material costs and a major shortage of good, retreadable casings, demand for a quality product still exists. In the past 12 months Kal Tire’s UK retreading plant utilised in excess of 1.3 million pounds (590,000 kilogrammes) of rubber compound in the retreading of more than 3,000 off-road tyres.
A new report published by TechSci Research suggests that economies of scale will benefit tyre manufacturers working in Russia, with cheaper raw materials, lower energy costs and the availability of cheaper labour factors over the next five years. In addition the country has a developing domestic market for premium tyres as its car parc increases. Karan Chechi, research director at TechSci Research argues: “Economies of scale would benefit the major global tyre manufacturers in Russia by limiting their restraints. The exponentially increasing demand from OEM and aftermarket will continue to drive the Russian tyre industry landscape in coming years.”
With EU tyre labelling legislation due to come into effect on 1 November, silica supplier Rhodia believes its Zeosil branded ranges of highly dispersible silica (HDS) will continue to develop as key components in providing better performing, safer and fuel-efficient tyres worldwide. “The new tyre labelling [legislation] draws attention to three basic criteria, two of which are directly linked and influenced by silica,” says Christian Léger, silica global business director for Rhodia.
Indonesia's government plans to invest US$5.6 billion consolidating 15 state-owned businesses into a large single rubber and palm oil company. The Jakarta Globe reports that the 15 businesses, which last year generated combined sales of some $4.5 billion, will be consolidated under parent company PT Perkebunan Nusantara III. The planned Indonesian merger echoes the plantation merger that occurred in Malaysia in 2008, when the government there combined three state-owned planters to form Sime Darby.
Michelin announced its full financial year report for 2011 today, its board claiming a vindication of its strategy in the process. The company produced “extraordinary results” according to chief financial officer Marc Henry, who presented the results in a conference call with managing partners, Michel Rollier and Jean-Dominique Senard. Alongside increased sales volume (up 6.7 per cent) and a 39 per cent increase in net income, the manufacturer’s management set its sights on a 2.5 billion euro profit goal by 2015. Michelin said it would capitalise on its competitive strength in speciality tyres, including “world leadership” of the earthmover segment and European leader in Agricultural tyres, with a new 40,000-tonne EMOTR plant in the near future, though a location has yet to be decided. Rollier also announced details of the completion of Senard’s succession, announced last year and due to be completed at the Annual Meeting on 11 May.
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