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Price rises are affecting auto parts too

After months and months of price increases from tyre manufacturers, owing to the fact that demand for raw materials such as natural rubber has gone through the roof, it is now clear that the same pressures are affecting those purchase automotive parts too. Asking the question, what is driving current price increases? Dave Cheetham, exhaust maker Klarius Group’s chief financial officer, has warned that further price rises are inevitable in the aftermarket auto parts supply chain as well.

5th April 2011/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone Bandag pursuing a “fair share” approach to price increases

Last year Bridgestone Bandag – one of the largest competitors in the European retreading market – only announced minor price increases. In February this year, however, the manufacturer and franchisor needed to raise its prices by an average of six per cent. As Harald Van Ooteghem, Brussels based senior manager for TBR/Retread Business Planning at Bridgestone Europe, explains to Tyres & Accessories, in the event of price increases an attempt is made to implement a “fair share” approach by which both partners – the supplier and customer – share the extra burden.

1st April 2011/by Tyrepress Editors

Yokohama Rubber increases export tyre prices up to 15%

The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd., announced today that it will increase the prices of its export tyre products starting from April 2011, due to sharply rising raw material costs. The price increases will apply to all tyre products for passenger cars, light trucks, trucks and buses, and vehicles for construction and industry, for all markets outside Japan. The company said it will “endeavour to hold the increase within a maximum of 15 per cent, but higher prices may be necessary for specific regions or products.”

1st April 2011/by Tyrepress Editors

'We are here to stay': Hangzhou Zhongce invests in R&D expansion and new HQ

Already purportedly the largest tyre manufacturer based in China (with annual turnover equating to around US$3.38 billion in 2010) and currently number 11 in the world, Hangzhou Zhongce reports that it expects to climb up the rankings following the opening of a new factory during the middle of next year.

In the medium term the ambition (something that Chinese manufacturers are seldom short of) is for the company to maintain a top 10, perhaps ninth, and beyond. Although this could mean leap-frogging other fast-growing Far Eastern competitors (including the increasingly influential Korean set), during a recent meeting in London with executives and research and development heads Hanzhou Zhongce representatives reiterated their intentions of becoming world-class players, inviting partners to “craft a better future” through the Chinese tyre maker's Westlake brand. The CEO of the Westlake brand, who reports directly to the president of Hangzhou Zhongce and who was introduced as Mr. Ge, was in attendance.

30th March 2011/by Tyrepress Editors

Price increase for Conti’s Asia-Pacific replacement business

The second quarter of 2011 will begin with price increases for a number of Continental Tires’ products in the Asia-Pacific replacement market. Prices of Continental branded passenger and light truck tyres will rise by up to five per cent, while truck and bus radials will be subject to price increases of up to six per cent. Other Continental owned brands face increases of up to nine per cent. The tyre maker says specific details of percentage increases and the timing of their introduction will be “communicated locally across the region.” In announcing the increases, Continental points to the rising costs of raw materials as the primary reason behind its need to review prices.

29th March 2011/by Tyrepress Editors

Tyre shipments restart at Toyo’s Sendai plant

A further step towards normality was achieved at Toyo Tire & Rubber’s Sendai factory in Japan’s Miyagi Prefecture yesterday with the resumption of limited shipments of tyres from the plant a day after production was restarted. Toyo reiterates that production and deliveries will continue to be “on a restricted basis” for the time being due to the limited availability of electricity, fuel and raw materials, and the disruptions from the still-recovering transportation system. Production at Sendai will continue to rise, Toyo assures its customers, and will return to the correct level “at the earliest possible date.”

25th March 2011/by Tyrepress Editors

Yokohama team acknowledged for cashew nut shell innovation

Back in the late 1980s and early 1990s, a group of four men working for Yokohama Rubber developed a bead filler compound for high performance tyres based on polymerised cardanol, a chemical derived from liquid extracted out of cashew nut shells. Cashew based products were already in use to improve bleeding on the surface of green rubber, but the cardanol based product developed by Shineru Shinoda, Masayoshi Daio, Hideki Ishida and Tetsuji Kawazura providing an extremely high hardness after vulcanisation while at the same time keeping the viscosity of the compound low during processing. Some two decades later, on February 4, 2011, the Yokohama Rubber team’s efforts were acknowledged with their receipt of the “Mortimer T. Harvey Award 2010” from Cardolite Corporation, a leading manufacturer of cashew nutshell liquid products.

25th March 2011/by Tyrepress Editors

Thailand to implement rubber price guarantees

Thailand’s Natural Rubber Policy Committee has agreed to set minimum and maximum prices for natural rubber as part of a range of measures intended to stabilise the industry and prevent major fluctuations in price. The Bangkok Post reported on July 22 that a task force chaired by the country’s Agriculture and Cooperative Ministry has been appointed to lay out these price guidelines within one month.

22nd March 2011/by Tyrepress Editors

Another Step Forward: Trelleborg explains rationale behind recent acquisitions

Recent months have seen a flurry of expansion and acquisition activity at Trelleborg Wheel Systems. First the company enhanced its position in the European solid tyre market through the acquisition of Watts’ industrial tyre business towards the end of 2010 (it was officially finalised during February 2011). Then came the acquisition of the pneumatic tyre production lines at the former Hebei Starbright plant, which the company bought from Maine Tire in the US. Most recently the company launched its TMBlue eco-concept range at the SIMA show in Paris at the end of February. Tyres & Accessories was on hand to hear further details about the thinking behind the recent developments and noticed a significant nod in the direction of further expansion in the emerging markets.

21st March 2011/by Tyrepress Editors

Emerging market interest in value-generating products key to expansion – Trelleborg

Emerging markets such as the BRIC countries are expected to drive growth for Trelleborg Wheel Systems over the next few years. In the Trelleborg Group’s 2010 annual report, Maurizio Vischi, president of the business area responsible for producing industrial and agricultural tyres, said “emerging markets as Brazil, China and Russia have begun to show more interest in high-tech products and products that generate value. This provides significant expansion potential through greater presence in these markets.” Vischi admitted that that Trelleborg expects only “restricted” growth in Western Europe and North America, where the business area already counts as “one of the principal players.”

21st March 2011/by Tyrepress Editors

Tyre makers, suppliers update operational status in Japan

A number of tyre manufacturers and materials suppliers have updated their progress towards resuming normal operations in Japan.

18th March 2011/by Tyrepress Editors

Global investments set to boost Cabot carbon black capacity 15%

The recently announced joint venture between Cabot Corp. and China’s Risun Chemicals forms just one part of the American company’s plans to expand its global carbon black manufacturing capacity. On March 16 Cabot shared that it will invest more than US$180 million to this end between now and 2013. In addition to its as yet unnamed Chinese joint venture operation the company intends to expand capacity in Indonesia, Brazil and Argentina plus at three European facilities. In total these projects will increase Cabot's annual global carbon black output by about 15 per cent, or more than 300,000 tonnes.

18th March 2011/by Tyrepress Editors

2011 Rewards offer greater choice, says Maxxis

This year, dealers participating in the Maxxis Rewards scheme can look forward to “some extra spice,” promises Maxxis International. The top prize for retailers taking part in the 2011 Maxxis Rewards is still an all expenses paid luxury holiday, however this year quarterly draw winners will be given the opportunity to choose their prizes, while all participants can earn cash to spend with High Street retailers via the new Maxxis rewards card. Adding icing to the cake are Take That concert tickets up for grabs plus new point of sale items and an updated promotional clothing range.

18th March 2011/by Tyrepress Editors

Belarusian steel manufacturer negotiating Michelin supply deal

Byelorussian Steel Works, also known as BMZ, reports that a recent visit from Michelin has resulted in plans for a long-term supply deal between the two companies. A March 14 press release from the Belarus based company refers to the talks held between Michelin and BMZ management on March 1 as providing good opportunities for further enhancing cooperation. Specific details on what form such a deal would take were not given.

16th March 2011/by Tyrepress Editors

Cabot China to build JV carbon black plant

Cabot (China) Ltd. has entered into a joint venture agreement with Risun Chemicals Company, Ltd. The wholly-owned Cabot Corporation subsidiary holds a 60 per cent equity interest in the joint venture, and on March 15 the two companies’ first shared undertaking was announced: Cabot and Risun are to erect a carbon black manufacturing facility in the Chinese city of Xingtai, some 250 miles south of Beijing. The plant is scheduled to be commissioned in early 2013 and will produce approximately 130,000 tonnes of carbon black annually with the potential for expansion to 300,000 tonnes. Advanced emissions control technology and energy recapture will be utilised at the new facility, Cabot notes.

16th March 2011/by Tyrepress Editors