rubber Archives - Page 108 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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Cooper quarter operating profit down, despite record sales

Reporting financial results for the quarter ending 31 December, 2010, Cooper Tire & Rubber Co saw its operating profit diminish to $55 million, $5 million down on the same quarter in 2009, though it also achieved record net sales of $920 million, $147 million, or 19 per cent, up on 2009. Roy Armes, CEO, commented that while demand for the company’s products was strong and manufacturing facilities were run “efficiently”, raw materials prices and the available inventory had limited progress in terms of operating profit. Operating profit was $55 million, or 5.9 percent of net sales.

25th February 2011/by Tyrepress Editors

Dandelion rubber “of great interest” to Continental

Continental says it has “latched onto” results of a university study into the latex properties inherent in dandelions. A research team at the University of Münster subjected the Asteraceae family flower to a number of lab tests and observed they produce a gum elastic equal in quality to rubber tree latex. Since learning of this discovery Continental reports working hard to promote the idea, and today is a member of a consortium of research institutes and research partners who intend to transform the research results into market products.

25th February 2011/by Tyrepress Editors

Sky-high raw material costs put pressure on tyre suppliers

With relative shortages in supply and increased demand from the rapidly expanding emerging markets of the East pushing natural rubber and other raw material costs higher and higher, most tyre manufacturers are again raising their prices in response. But what do the latest raw material hikes mean for the world’s tyre manufacturers? And how much longer will this price boom continue?

24th February 2011/by Tyrepress Editors

Nexen increasing North American prices

On April 1, Nexen Tire America will implement price increases of up to eight per cent on its tyre ranges in the US and Canada. In announcing the price adjustment in a letter to customers, John E. Aben, the company’s vice president sales and marketing referred to rising raw material costs and particularly the “uncertainty in the cost of natural rubber.”

24th February 2011/by Tyrepress Editors

Bioscience boosted rubber production the aim of Bridgestone joint research

Indonesia is the world’s second largest natural rubber producer, with figures from the Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries putting the number of hectares under cultivation at 3,445,000 and those under tapping at 2,773,000. With an aim of further enhancing this production, Bridgestone Corporation has entered into a cooperative research project agreement with two other parties. News of the project between Bridgestone and the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) and the Indonesian Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (Badan Pengkajian dan Penerapan Teknologi, or BPPT) was announced on February 24 at a press conference held at the BPPT office in Jakarta.

24th February 2011/by Tyrepress Editors

Trelleborg launches the TM Blue sustainability concept

After the recent announcement relating to the acquisition of Watts Industrial Tyres and of new production capacity in Hebei, China, Trelleborg Wheel Systems launched a new agricultural tyre concept centring on sustainability, productivity and lower fuel consumption. The TM Blue concept reportedly results from “advanced tyre engineering and enhanced production processes to decrease the use of natural resources and environmental impact while boosting the farm productivity.” But for purposes of the press conference at the SIMA agricultural equipment show in Paris on 22 February, Trelleborg presented a tyre that was literally blue to emphasise its point.

But the concept is nothing to do with the colour of the rubber (which may have been green if the company wanted to convey the same message to UK public). Instead it is all about improving the efficiency of land machinery, which reduces emissions and has the dual effect of cutting fuel costs, and protecting soil from unnecessary compaction, which increases crop yields and in turn helps farmers’ bottom lines.

23rd February 2011/by Tyrepress Editors

Low Barca temperatures led to different F1 tyre characteristics: Hembery

Pirelli’s motorsport director Paul Hembery has noted the different characteristics of the company’s Formula One PZero tyres in unusually cold Barcelona testing last weekend, admitting that “ambient temperatures were not what we hoped to see”. Tests started in temperatures as low as only 6 degrees centigrade, and Hembery made the point that Grands Prix will be run in temperatures “of at least 15 degrees”. Nevertheless, Hembery was pleased with the attention being paid to the tyres, as Pirelli makes its debut in Formula One’s modern era.

22nd February 2011/by Tyrepress Editors

New Apollo factories: First Eastern Europe, then Indonesia

In the last year or so conflicting reports on Apollo Tyres’ plans to set up a factory in Eastern Europe have circulated; in March 2010 it was said plans for a new plant there had been dropped in favour of a focus on expanding the former Vredestein facility in the Netherlands, while later in the year talk from Apollo management turned again to international investments. Recent news from Chennai, India based newspaper the Economic Times indicates a new factory in Eastern Europe is indeed still on the cards.

22nd February 2011/by Tyrepress Editors

Pirelli increasing US tyre prices

Prices for Pirelli consumer products in the United States are to rise over the coming months. On March 1, 2011, the price of moto tyres will increase three per cent, while a five per cent increase for car and light truck tyres will be implemented on April 1. The tyre maker says increasing raw material costs, particularly natural rubber, are the reason behind this price hike.

22nd February 2011/by Tyrepress Editors

Hyundai develops tyre pressure monitoring system

Hyundai Mobis Co., (the South Korean carmaker’s mobile, system, parts and service arm) reports that it has developed the first locally made tyre pressure monitoring system (TPMS) and plans to supply it to foreign auto firms as well as its local affiliates. The company said the new device demonstrates equal performance with overseas-made rival products and is easier to install due to its use of rubber valves.

The new device reportedly weighs 10 per cent less than rival products due to its smaller battery size, uses 30 per cent less electricity and shows a stronger performance in securing wheel balancing, Hyundai Mobis said.

21st February 2011/by Tyrepress Editors

Yokohama Rubber Announces Senior Management Changes

Three changes within Yokohama Rubber’s senior management were decided upon at the company’s board of directors meeting on February 14. These changes, effective April 1, 2011, include the promotion of Hikomitsu Noji to a director and senior managing corporate officer role. Noji is currently director and managing corporate officer, president of Tire Group and general manager of Tire Global Production Division. As of April Mr. Noji’s more concise job title will be director and senior managing corporate officer and president of Tire Group.

18th February 2011/by Tyrepress Editors

Recyclatech signs first franchise deal for bacteria devulcanisation process

Various news sources have reported the February 15 signing of a franchise deal between Scotland’s Recyclatech Group and Spanish firm Biotyre. According to The Scotsman newspaper, Biotyre will build a pilot tyre recycling plant in Spain utilising Recyclatech’s bacteria driven devulcanisation technology, and in return from licence fees and royalty sales the Scottish firm will provide Biotyre with technical and scientific support, plus the bacteria used in the process. The half million pound pilot plant is being set up with a view to Biotyre establishing a full-scale commercial operation. Recyclatech itself intends to establish a facility of its own in Scotland, and The Scotsman reports company chairman John Pool as saying the company is “close” to raising the £1 million it needs for this. The Recyclatech plant will have the capacity to produce around 1,000 tonnes of recycled rubber per annum and it will be used to supply samples to companies interested in using the technology.

18th February 2011/by Tyrepress Editors

Latest Nokian WR aimed at growing Central European market

According to Nokian Tyres, around 50 million winter passenger car tyres were sold in Central Europe in 2010 – 16 per cent more than the previous year. The Finnish tyre maker’s latest product – the third generation of its ‘WR’ series – is targeted directly at this growing market. This time round two versions of the Nokian WR, each with its own tread pattern, are available: the economy focused WR D3 is intended for medium-sized and small family cars, while the WR A3 is optimised for larger and more powerful vehicles and places a stronger emphasis on driving response at higher speeds.

18th February 2011/by Tyrepress Editors

Yokohama signs site lease for Philippines factory expansion

To fulfil plans to increase tyre making capacity, Yokohama Rubber has signed a contract to lease a 300,000 square metre section of land adjacent to the Yokohama Tire Philippines plant, some sixty kilometres northwest of Manila. The leasing contract for the land at the former US Air Force base was signed between Yokohama and Clark Development Corporation on February 12. The capacity expansion plans were first announced in late January and involve a total investment of 50 billion yen (£371.3 million) in order to increase capacity 143 per cent to 17 million units per annum.

18th February 2011/by Tyrepress Editors

Hankook, Goodyear, Yokohama winners at Tire Technology awards

The products and activities of three tyre makers have been acknowledged at the Tire Technology International Awards for Innovation and Excellence 2011. This year’s awards were presented at a ceremony in Cologne, Germany on February 16 and saw Hankook Tire take the Tire Manufacturer of the Year award and Goodyear the award for Tire Technology of the Year. Last but not least was the Yokohama Rubber Company, whose award was for Environmental Achievement of the Year. Also acknowledged were Oerlikon Saurer and CureSense, who respectively received the Tire Industry Supplier of the Year and Tire Manufacturing Innovation of the Year awards.

17th February 2011/by Tyrepress Editors