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.
Yokohama Tire Canada has reorganised its internal structure by creating separate commercial and consumer business units to manage the sales and marketing of the two respective product lines. This revised structure is intended to better support dealers and assist is sharpening the focus of both the consumer and commercial businesses.
A logistics firm which has distributed Michelin tyres to retail outlets nationwide for seven years has decided to fit the company’s tyres to vehicles across its fleet. Great Bear Distribution, a 16-year-old Chester-based firm operates from 25 depots across the UK. It has signed a three-year contract with Michelin which will see tyres professionally fitted and serviced by a combination of ATS Euromaster and independent Michelin Business Advantage dealers. Existing fitments across its 65 rigids, 77 tractor units and 250 trailers will gradually be replaced with Michelin rubber over the coming months.
Bedfordshire-based H.E. Payne Transport Limited and its customer, potato merchant Greenvale AP, are trialling a new generation of energy-efficient Duramold retread tyres produced by Vacu-Lug. Unlike other ecologically aware tyres, these products are actually coloured green to reinforce their environmental credentials, the tyres are fitted to a truck and trailer in the Greenvale AP-liveried fleet operated by H. E. Payne Transport on the nationwide distribution of fresh potatoes.
A total of ten of the new tyres have been fitted to the H. E. Payne / Greenvale AP Euro 5 440hp 6×2 Volvo FH13 combination.
In addition to price rises in the US, as of January 1 Nexen has increased tyre prices in Europe. According to Nexen Tire Europe, prices for all product segments, including passenger car, 4×4 and light commercial vehicles, have gone up by at least nine per cent. The company says it was compelled to take this inevitable measure as “in the previous few months raw material costs, above all for natural rubber, have skyrocketed.” The company notes that in addition to natural rubber, prices of all products necessary for tyre production have increased.
Production capacity at Cheng Shin Rubber is anticipated to grow a hefty 70 per cent through the construction of three new facilities. According to the China Economic News Service, the Taiwanese manufacturer of the Maxxis tyre brand has set aside NT$30 billion (₤640 million) to establish plants in China’s Sichuan and Fujian provinces and in Yunlin County, Taiwan. When the three plants are in production alongside the company’s existing Taiwan, Thailand and China factories, daily capacity is expected to rise from 100,000 to 170,000 pieces.
As of January 17 a new president will be at the helm of Cooper Tire & Rubber’s North America Tire Operations. Responsibility for the US$2 million plus operation, which produces passenger car and light truck tyres, primarily for sale in the US replacement market, will be transferred from Cooper Tire & Rubber chairman, CEO and President Roy Armes to Christopher E. Ostrander. In addition to this new post, Ostrander will also serve on the company's Executive Committee and as an officer of Cooper Tire & Rubber Company.
On January 1, Cooper Tire & Rubber increased its level of ownership in its affiliated Mexican operation from 38 to 58 per cent. The tyre maker states this increased ownership in Corporacion de Occidente SA de CV. has been made as part of its long-term strategy to produce high quality yet cost competitive products. As a result of this transaction, the Mexican entity will be fully consolidated in the company’s financial results for this year.
The Bombay Stock Exchange reports that on December 16 the Madras High Court of Judicature passed an order approving a scheme of amalgamation and arrangement between Elgi Rubber Company Limited and Treadsdirect Limited and Elgi Rubber International Limited and Titan Tyrecare Products Limited and Treadsdirect (India) Limited. This order was received by the company on December 29, 2010, and January 12 has been fixed as the record date to determine equity shareholders of the Company entitled to receive one Elgi Rubber International Limited equity share for every five equity shares held in the company.
Audi’s new A7 Sportback, released in Europe in Autumn 2010 and now being introduced into global markets, is to be fitted with Yokohama Advan tyres as original equipment. Yokohama Rubber reports its Advan Sport in size 265/35R20 99Y XL has been selected for the four door coupe, the fourth Audi model to be shipped with Yokohama tyres as original equipment.
Specialist waste transfer contractor Shorten Environmental has recorded a 50 per cent reduction in punctures since it started fitting Michelin new and Remix tyres across its fleet. The haulier has also begun specifying Michelin tyres as original equipment on new vehicles – most recently when it ordered two Scania R440 6×4 tractor units. Before signing an exclusive Michelin contract, the company’s 31-strong fleet of 44-tonne tractor units, ejector and walking floor trailers had been operating on a variety of different tyre brands. It began Michelin trials in 2008.
Prices for JK Tyre and Industries products will increase by up to five per cent in the New Year as the tyre maker seeks to offset climbing raw material costs. India’s The Economic Times reports company vice chairman and managing director Raghupati Singhania as disclosing during the JK Tyre-organised Indian Car and Motorcycle of the Year awards that “we will increase tyre prices by four to five per cent from January to offset surging raw materials costs, especially natural rubber. Singhania added that the price increase applies to both passenger car radial and truck tyres and JK Tyre may implement further price rises should rubber prices continue to increase.
Domestic market prices for Toyo Tire & Rubbers’ commercial and light commercial vehicle tyres are to increase by an average of seven per cent as of March 1, 2011. These Japanese replacement market prices apply to both summer and winter tyres and are being implemented in response to increasing natural rubber prices plus the high price of petrochemical raw materials such as synthetic rubber and carbon black. Toyo notes it has made efforts to minimise raw material prices through product mix and cost rationalization, however these internal measures are not sufficient to not cover the increase in raw material prices.
Toyo Tire & Rubber has announced that it has completed its acquisition of the Malaysian manufacturer Silverstone Berhad. Tyrepress.com reported initial talk of the acquisition back in October (follow the link at the bottom of this story for full details). Toyo has acquired all of Silverstone Berhad’s 203,877,500 shares. Toyo said the acquisition will “have a negligible effect on the company’s consolidated and non-consolidated financial results for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2011 (FY2010).” Silverstone Berhad has 203,877,000 Ringgit (₤41.1 thousand paid in capital).
Based on the principles of the need for quick and efficient tyre servicing, especially in the peak seasons of spring and autumn; the variety of staff experience used in workshops to deal with the high turnover and any customer inquires; and the ability to deal with increasingly popular runflat and ultra high performance tyres, Beissbarth says that the market is now placing increased quality demands on the tyre fitting process. At Automechanika in Frankfurt, the company showcased three new tyre changers and two new balancers for tyre service and contracted workshops, which it says fulfil all of the requirements for quick and easy tyre service. All three changers are certified for fitting RFT and UHP tyres by the Trade Association of the German Rubber Industry (WDK).
Snap-on Equipment has recently introduced new entry-level tyre changers and wheel balancers, which it believes will help workshops access greater wheel service revenue. Available under the Hofmann and John Bean brands, Snap-on offers offer a two-year warranty on the machines, which it says are “robustly built”. Installation and training are also provided as standard. Chris Behan, general manager, Snap-on Equipment, comments: “Our new entry-level tyre changers and wheel balancers are ideal for workshops seeking to expand their business into the tyre market, without compromising on quality or technology.”
If you would like the latest news from the Chinese tyre industry in Chinese, visit our partner site TyrepressChina.com. Or click below to continue on Tyrepress.
