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.
Cooper Tire & Rubber Company has announced a quarterly dividend of 10.5 cents per share on common stock, payable 30 September, 2010, to stockholders of record at the close of business 2 September, 2010. This will mark the 154th consecutive quarterly dividend paid by Cooper Tire & Rubber Company.
On August 1 the German tyre component manufacturer Gumasol-Werke Dr. Mayer GmbH & Co. KG became a subsidiary of India’s Ruia Group. The firm will continue operation at its site in the Rhineland-Palatinate town of Germersheim under the name Gumasol Rubber-Tec GmbH and all 110 jobs at the plant have been retained. Gumasol describes its acquisition by the Ruia Group as “a new chapter” for a company “rich in tradition”, and comments that the incorporation of a previously medium-sized firm into an international enterprise “offers very good perspectives for Gumasol-Werke.”
During the first quarter of the 2010 financial year, Toyo Rubber received net sales of 72,162 million yen (£528.2 million), a 15.7 per cent increase on the same period last year. This increase in sales was matched by a 13 per cent increase in global tyre sales by volume, with a total of 43,700 tonnes of tyres produced in the three months to June 30, 2010. The bulk of this, 37,500 tonnes, was destined for the Japanese market. Operating income for the quarter was 2,612 million yen (£19.1 million), compared with an operating loss of 3,054 million yen a year earlier, and net income amounted to 743 million yen (£5.4 million) compared with a net loss of 2,620 million yen in the same period of 2009.
Tyres, conveyor belts and latterly sensors and drive train components – all products Continental AG is well known for. But did you know that the European market leader in the car tyre segment is supplying Adidas with the latest rubber compounds for sports shoes? The two companies, both Official Sponsors of the recent 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa and the forthcoming 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil recently signed a co-operation agreement to solidify the deal.
Farmers today are harvesting crops during the short peak maturity period in an effort to increase yield per hectare, and harvester productivity plays a key role in this. This is increasingly common practice as farms increase in size and farmers come under pressure to carry on in less than optimal weather conditions. During wheat harvests, today’s machinery covers six hectares an hour, compared with just one in 1965.
Toyo Tire & Rubber Co., Ltd., has reported that it has returned to first quarter profitability with an operating income of 2,612 million yen compared with an operating loss of 3,054 million yen in the first quarter of 2009. Net income faired less well but showed the company returned to the black by this measurement too, with 743 million yen in the first quarter of 2010 compared with a net loss of 2,620 million yen for the same period in 2009. Period net sales totalled 72,162 million yen, up 9,789 million yen or 15.7 per cent over the first quarter of 2009. The tyre business unit posted net sales of 53,097 million yen and operating income of 1,995 million yen.
Marangoni Retreading Systems has announced that it will implement its third price increase this year on the tread rubber tyre retreading materials (and related products) it sell to the tyre retreading industry. According to an official statement published on 3 August, the prices will be increased by up to 12 per cent with immediate effect in Europe. Marangoni’s management said the increase is due to “sharp rises in the prices of raw materials.”
The latest generation Porsche Cayenne went on sale at the end of May, and Yokohama Rubber reports its Advan Sport has been approved by Dr. Ing. H.c.F. Porsche AG as an original equipment tyre on the luxury 4×4. The Advan Sport will be supplied in sizes 275/45R20 110Y XL and 295/35R21 107Y XL. Versions of the Advan Sport destined for the Cayenne were jointly developed by Porsche and Yokohama Rubber and bear "N-0" and "N-1" markings on the sidewalls indicating Porsche's approval. This latest homologation joins OE approvals for the Porsche 911 Carrera 4, Audi S8 and Bentley Continental as well as various models from Mercedes-AMG.
South China Tyre and Rubber Company travels to Brityrex with the mission of continuing its expansion into the international market with its two brands, Wanli and Sunny. Established in 1988, SCTR is located in China’s Pearl River Delta, owning two Guangzhou facilities, which are able to offer a production capacity of approximately 10 million sets of tyres annually.
Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd., has posted net income of 1.6 billion yen (£11.775 million; 14.160 million euros; US$18.455 million) in the first quarter compared with a net loss of 1.8 billion yen in the same period of the previous fiscal year. That result is for the three months from April to June, the first quarter of the company’s fiscal 2011 (1 April 2010 to 31 March 2011). Yokohama's net sales climbed 23.4 per cent over the same quarter of the previous fiscal year, to 117.4 billion yen.
In this final category only two companies – Credential Environmental and DME Tyres – survive from last year's finalists and they are joined by previous winners Kingpin Tyres, Envirotyre and Hardings Vans, a company providing a localised service. I said final category, however, it is worth noting that the NTDA's "Innovation Award" will be presented on awards night too. But seeing as the nominations for this haven't been published yet, the Environment Awards counts for the last category in our coverage. Click more for the nominations.
The construction of Bridgestone Americas’ new $100 million Akron Technical Center is progressing as planned, with a targeted finish date of 1 January, 2012, reports Tire Review.
This is always a hard-fought category and four of last year's nominees are in the running for the 2010 award. The question is whether the four will be shaken or stirred by new kid on the block (at least as far as the TAFF Awards are concerned) Bond International?
Michelin reports that East Riding Sacks has clocked up over 700,000km on a set of Michelin XDE2 drive axle tyres – the equivalent of over 535 journeys from Land’s End to John O’Groats. The tyres were fitted as original equipment to a Volvo FM9-300 in May 2003 and regrooved for the first time in May last year. When they were removed in April 2010 – to be replaced with a set of Michelin Remix tyres – they had covered 752,827 km.
In the words of Continental AG’s Executive Board chairman Dr. Elmar Degenhart, the German tyre and automotive systems manufacturer “is well on its way to emerging from the crisis stronger than before.” In particular, the company’s EBIT has developed positively and the EBIT margin exceeded pre-crisis levels during the first half of 2010. “This is also however obvious from our balance sheet, which we have improved substantially since the beginning of the year with the capital increase and the equally successful placement of an initial bond, as announced,” Degenhart added. “With this basis, we are tackling the upcoming tasks brimming with confidence.”
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.
