rubber Archives - Page 106 of 347 - Tyrepress

Tyres can’t function without this critical raw material. Whether its natural or synthetic rubber you are interested in, articles bearing this tag feature this indispensable polymer.

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Status of Yokohama Rubber factories in Japan

Yokohama Rubber has provided information on the status of its factories in Japan following last Friday’s earthquake. Tyre production has been largely unaffected, with its Shinshiro, Mie and Onomichi factories operating as normal. The tyre maker comments that it is “addressing the issue of procurement of raw materials” for these plants. Operations at the company’s Mishima plant, where passenger car and light commercial vehicle tyres are produced, was suspended following the earthquake. Yokohama has found no serious damage to buildings or equipment, and operations were partially resumed after it confirmation was given it was safe to do so. Yokohama says it is “now working to determine a schedule for returns to full operation.”

15th March 2011/by Tyrepress Editors

Yokohama donates to Japan earthquake relief efforts

Yokohama Rubber has announced it will donate 50,000,000 yen (almost £380,000) to assist with relief efforts following the earthquake and tsunami disaster in Japan on March 11, 2011. In a press statement announcing this donation the company also said: “Yokohama Rubber Group would like to express their sympathy to the families who lost loved ones in the earthquake and tsunami, and truly hope that the area devastated by the earthquake will be reconstructed as soon as possible.”

15th March 2011/by Tyrepress Editors

Falken reports Shirakawa tyre plant suspension after tsunami

Falken has released a statement from its finance and admin director T. Ikeuchi, reporting that its Shirakawa factory has “stopped daily manufacturing operations due to the immediate black out, and because the factory building and equipments installed have been found partly damaged. Ikeuchi also stated that the company is “investigating the extent of the damages”, intending to recommence production as soon as possible. In addition, Ikeuchi said that all “Sumitomo Rubber Industries group employees and their families have been confirmed uninjured”.

14th March 2011/by Tyrepress Editors

Half of Chinese tyre makers recording YTD losses

News of falling rubber prices should be welcomed by Chinese tyre makers; the Shanghai-based Oriental Morning Post reports that 50 per cent of tyre manufacturers in China have recorded losses in the year to date as a result of continued high natural rubber prices. Most manufacturers have responded to recent high raw material costs with price increases – the China Rubber Industry Association notes that since the Chinese New Year holiday period a number of tyre makers, including Michelin, Bridgestone, and Double Coin Holdings, have raised prices by between five and eight per cent. The association adds that those who have not yet increased prices are planning to do so either in March or April.

14th March 2011/by Tyrepress Editors

Aeolus Tyre reports 50.8% drop in 2010 net profits

Aeolus Tyre posted a 50.77 per cent year-on-year drop in 2010 net profit to 153 million yuan, business news wires have reported citing a company filings. Earnings per share are said to have fallen 50.79 per cent to 0.41 yuan per share. The good news was that sales revenue rose 44.45 per cent year-on-year to 8.12 billion yuan, however this also means margins must have narrowed significantly.

14th March 2011/by Tyrepress Editors

Thai Government to prop up rubber prices

According to news published on the The Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries’ website, Thailand’s government intends to intervene in its domestic rubber market and support prices following their recent fall. The country’s deputy prime minister, Suthep Thaugsuban, is quoted as saying “we will meet exporters very soon. We need to do something to support rubber prices; they should not fall below 100 baht (£2.01) per kilogramme.” Prices for USS3 rubber fell to 95 baht per kilogramme on March 14, down from 132 baht on March 11. Since mid-February prices for USS3 rubber have plummeted almost 50 per cent.

14th March 2011/by Tyrepress Editors

Japan earthquake exacerbates rubber price decline

Rubber prices have been in decline of late and the earthquake and tsunami in Japan have added to this downward trend. The trading of rubber futures on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange was suspended following a 30 yen per kilogramme drop in the April-delivery contract (to 378.4 yen) while the August delivery rubber contract declined 4.5 per cent or 17.9 yen to 383.5 yen. This decline was tracked by China's benchmark rubber futures on the Shanghai Futures Exchange, which on March 14 fell by six per cent, the daily limit, to RMB 33,480 per tonne.

14th March 2011/by Tyrepress Editors

Japanese tyre makers respond to earthquake disaster

The Bridgestone Group has responded to the widespread earthquake and tsunami damage in Japan with a pledge to contribute donations of 300 million yen (approximately US$3.5 million) to assist with relief efforts. Bridgestone Corporation will donate 200 million yen and Bridgestone Group will donate bicycles and bedclothes worth 100 million yen.

14th March 2011/by Tyrepress Editors

Cooper Tire Europe announces Sales and Marketing director

Cooper Tire & Rubber Company Europe has announced the appointment of Nigel Hampson as its new sales and marketing director, which took effect at the beginning of this year. He had previously held the post of European major account manager, having worked for Cooper Tire since 1996, as an export sales executive. He became marketing services manager in 2004, before switching to subsidiary sales manager for France, Germany and Switzerland in 2006.

11th March 2011/by Tyrepress Editors

Raw material costs declining: DB report

A March 11 report from DB Equity Research Automotive observes that the cost of “certain key raw materials” used by tyre manufacturers have begun to decline. The Deutsche Bank equity research team states: “Most notably, we estimate that natural rubber prices have declined by nine per cent since last Friday…and rubber has declined by approx. 15 per cent (from the $2.45-$2.50/lb level) since US tyre companies reported their Q4 results. If this decline in natural rubber costs is sustained, total raw material costs could decline by 4.0 per cent compared with Deutsche Bank estimates.”

11th March 2011/by Tyrepress Editors

Goodyear announces Optitrac H+ harvester tyre

Goodyear has announced a new farm tyre in its Optitrac range specifically developed for harvester machines: the Optitrac H+. The H+ range will include tyres designed to operate at higher deflection levels, signified by the addition of the letters IF as a prefix to the size and CFO as a suffix. Goodyear says these tyres have been designed in line with a four-year 2009 ETRTO experimental standard which allows a “load bonus of up to 55 per cent for cyclic field operations without the need to increase the inflation pressure”. This new range was shown on Goodyear’s stand at the 2011 SIMA show held in Paris with the introduction of the first two sizes: IF800/70R32 CFO and IF800/75R32 CFO. It was developed by the Goodyear Innovation Centre – Luxembourg (GIC*L) and has been tested and approved by harvester manufacturers in Europe.

10th March 2011/by Tyrepress Editors

Kumho scores third rally victory in three weeks

Kumho achieved its third rally victory in as many weeks on Saturday when Andy Burton and Robin Kellard won the Malcolm Wilson Rally in their Peugeot Cosworth. The Subaru Impreza of Roger Chilman and Andrew Sankey finished second overall and the Mitsubishi Evo IX of Stephen Petch and John Richardson finished eighth, meaning Kumho-shod cars filled three of the top 10 places on this popular event. Kumho’s European Motorsport manager Steve Thompson said: “Andy is clearly on a roll and our gravel tyres once again proved to be the best rubber for the job. We will continue to look after our growing number of runners to the best of our ability and hope the season continues as successfully as it has started.”

9th March 2011/by Tyrepress Editors

SEC filing sheds light on Goodyear exec compensation

A Securities and Exchange Commission filing submitted by Goodyear Tire & Rubber reveals the tyre maker’s top executives received considerable compensation increases last year, despite the company posting another annual loss.

9th March 2011/by Tyrepress Editors

Indonesian petrochemical firm gearing up for butadiene production

Indonesia’s PT Chandra Asri Petrochemical has outlined plans to diversify its production portfolio and enter the synthetic rubber sector through the construction of a new butadiene production facility – Indonesia’s first – in Banten Province. According to Mr. Suryandi, the company’s corporate secretary and investor relations director, the US$100 million facility will have a production capacity of up to 100,000 tons per annum and is expected to commence operations in the third quarter of 2013. Construction of the plant is anticipated to begin in the second quarter of this year.

8th March 2011/by Tyrepress Editors

CKT sale to have “no impact” on Kenda product supply

Company News, International News

Kenda USA officials say that despite Kenda Rubber’s decision to sell its ownership stake in Cooper Kenda Tire, the move is a positive for the company. At the start of March, Cooper Tire & Rubber bought out Kenda Rubber’s 50 per cent share in their joint venture passenger tyre production facility in China. According to Kenda, the plant only produced Cooper branded and Cooper associate brand passenger, 4×4 and light commercial tyres, and thus the sale “has no impact to the current supply of Kenda products.”

8th March 2011/by Tyrepress Editors