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.
Escalating raw material costs, particularly those for that most necessary of commodities, natural rubber, has prompted Bridgestone Europe to increase prices on all tyre products. The new pricing takes effect April 1 and while the increases will vary according to product category and market, tyres will on the most part become between three and five per cent more expensive.
“We respect the Environment…” is a new slogan in use at Yokohama Rubber, and the Japanese manufacturer will be showing this respect in tyre form at the Geneva International Motor Show with the European premiere of its “C.drive2” high performance eco tyre. This new product will be presented alongside the company’s flagship eco tyre, the “dB super E-spec”, which was released in Europe during summer 2009.
On April 13 Richard J. Kramer will slide into the pilot’s seat at Goodyear and take the controls from Robert J. Keegan. The company’s Board of Directors announced Kramer’s upcoming appointment as Goodyear Tire & Rubber chief executive officer and president on February 24, and further stated his election to the board. Keegan, who has served as CEO and president since 2003, will remain executive chairman of the board.
Goodyear Dunlop Tyres UK has reinstated the “Guaranteed Working Week” at its Bushbury, Wolverhampton tyre retreading and compounding plant. The company reportedly met with Unions and employee representatives in the few days and says the decision will result in all full-time employees being guaranteed a full 42 hour week with immediate effect.
Goodyear Wolverhampton changed shift patterns and moved to reduced hours, dropping the Guaranteed Working Week in December 2008, during the early stages of the economic downturn. At the time this was said to be in response to severely reduced demand for car and truck tyres.
Despite an overall upbeat tone, the word “crisis” has featured strongly during Continental AG’s reportage of its 2009 financial performance on February 23, a likely indication of the extent to which the German automotive supplier was affected by last year’s market downturn.
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Pirelli has announced a four to six per cent price increase for all passenger car, SUV, light commercial vehicle, motorcycle and industrial vehicle tyres in European markets. The company says the increase, effective from 1 April, 2010, follows the growth of raw materials costs, especially that of natural rubber, which more than doubled in the last 12 months.
The Press Trust of India writes that the country’s government is “likely” to implement an anti-dumping duty on bus and truck radials imported from China and Thailand. The Commerce Ministry’s Directorate General of Anti-dumping and Allied Duties (DGAD), it reports, has recommended a US$90 duty per tyre.
The Da Nang Rubber Joint Stock Company, a subsidiary of the Viet Nam Chemical Group, reports its Board of Directors has approved a project to build a radial truck tyre factory capable of producing 600,000 tyres per annum. The plant, located on a 106,600 square metre site in the Lien Chieu Industrial Zone near Da Nang City, will be competed in stages – the factory is anticipated to enter operation in 2011, with work on the second stage being carried out in 2012 and 2013.
The Pelmar Group has bought some rubber mixing and industrial tyre-making equipment from Trelleborg former Hartville, Ohio factory. The list of purchased machinery includes two K7 mixing lines and solid tyre production machinery. Accoridng to Pelmar, with this acquisition the company has positioned itself as the largest supplier of pre-owned rubber machinery in the tyre and technical rubber industry after finalizing the purchase of Continental Semperit plant in Traiskirchen earlier this year.
Pirelli’s Sottozero winter tyre has been used to show the advantages of fitting seasonal rubber in cold conditions in tests conducted by EVO magazine. The high performance cold weather tyre made an excellent case for fitting winter tyres when the temperature drops below 7 degrees Celsius; EVO journalist Ollie Marriage's test which was conducted using two Jaguar XFRs, one with non-specialist tyres (Dunlop’s SP Sport Maxx, original equipment on the XFR, was used), the other with Sottozeros. The West Circuit at Bedford Autodrome was used as a testing track, with conditions including snow, slush and wet. The results published by EVO show that Pirelli’s Sottozero surpassed the standard summer rubber tyre in all comparisons of lap time, accelerative traction and 60-0mph braking.
Eco-mineral recycling technology firm RockTron revealed new research results at the recent Tire Technology EXPO in Cologne highlighting the possibility of reducing costs through the use of an eco-friendly, recycled filler. The company believes the results of this research, carried out by ARTIS on RockTron’s Advanced Products, will assist the tyre industry through showing that its 100 per cent recycled fillers can reduce CO2 emissions, cut costs and improve tyre performance – factors that will manufacturers’ margins and protect their bottom line.
Bridgestone Corporation reports that 2009 presented the company with a “challenging” operating environment due to weakened consumer spending and declines in private sector capital investment which counteracted signs of recovery among some exports. However, the Japanese manufacturer states that although the economic recession in Europe and the US continued, some sectors showed signs of stabilisation. A recovery in business climate was observed in China and despite challenging conditions, the business climate in other regions began to show slight signs of recovery. Against such a backdrop, the tyre major achieved net sales of 2,597.0 billion yen (₤18.3 billion), a 20 per cent decrease on the 2008 fiscal year. Operating income, at 75.7 billion yen (₤532.2 million) was 42 per cent down on the previous year and net income, at 1.0 billion yen (₤7.0 million), dropped 90 per cent from 2008. Additionally, during the year Bridgestone recognised as an extraordinary loss 10.6 billion yen (₤74.5 million) in costs linked to its plant closures in Oceania.
Describing the company’s fourth quarter 2009 results as “solid”, Goodyear Tire & Rubber chairman and CEO Robert J. Keegan described the improved gross margins, segment operating income and net income achieved as a “reflection of the success we had in strengthening our business despite a challenging economy and operating environment.” However this chirpy final quarter was not enough to deliver sales above those achieved in 2008, and an annual net loss of $375 million was recorded, as opposed to a loss of $75 million a year earlier.
According to Lanxess, life “just wouldn’t be the same without synthetic rubber.” Such a claim may be expected from one of the world’s largest synthetic rubber producers, but the German firm does make a good point – the areas of application for this material are extremely diverse, ranging from automotive engineering, the tyre industry and energy generation to medicine, sports and aerospace. To celebrate a centenary of synthetic rubber, between February 18 and September 30 Lanxess is partnering with the Auto & Technik Museum Sinsheim in Southwest Germany and devoting an exhibition to this elastic all-rounder.
A memorandum sent by India’s Automotive Tyre Manufacturers Association (ATMA) to the nation’s finance ministry outlines the tyre industry’s hopes for a reduction in natural rubber duties. Reuters reports that the memorandum, sent in advance of the national budget, states “the customs duty on natural rubber should be reduced from 20 per cent to 7.5 per cent, lower than the duty on tyres.” At present natural rubber attracts a customs duty twice that of tyres, making imports more competitive than locally produced tyres.
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