Four People Critically Injured in Tyre Recycling Blast
Irish Health & Safety Authority officials are investigating an explosion at Crumb Rubber Ireland, the only collector and processor of scrap tyres in the Republic of Ireland.
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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Apollo Tyre’s Kerala Plant Crosses 16 Million Unit Mark
Product News(India/Rubber Asia) After almost 30 years of manufacturing, Apollo Tyres’ first production plant has produced more than 16 million units. The factory at Perambra in Kerala, south India, has grown into one of India’s leading tyre manufacturing sites with the capacity to role out 9 billion rupees (£130 million) worth of tyres each year, according to Onkar S Kanwar, chairman and managing director.
New Cars Come to India from US Producers
Product News(India/Rubber Asia) There has been a flurry of new car launches in the Indian market thanks to the apparent growth of Indian consumer purchasing power. General Motors, the world’s largest car maker for example, has even come out with a new strategy specific to the Indian market, the main component of which is to launch two new cars every year in the country between 2006 and 2008, local media sources report.
Indian Truck and Bus Tyre Exports Rise
Product News(India/Rubber Asia) Indian truck and bus tyre exports grew 16 per cent in March 2005 compared with the same time last year (222,527 in March 2004 compared with 258,727 March 2005).
The Automotive & Tyre Manufacturers Association (ATMA) figures also show that passenger car tyre exports grew, rising from 98,327 units to 107,559 – a 9 per cent increase. LCV tyre export shipments rose 8 per cent to 118,337 units in March 2005 from 109,272 the previous year. Tractor tyre exports were also significantly higher than the previous year, growing 29 per cent (front), 11 per cent (rear) and 46 per cent (trailer) while OTR tyre shipments jumped 37 per cent. Scooter and motorcycle tyre exports shot up 45 and 44 per cent respectively.
Firestone’s Launches World’s Widest Agricultural Tyre
Product NewsFirestone has launched what it claims it the world’s widest agricultural tyre. At 1250 millimetres wide, the company reports that the agricultural tyre is a full 200 millimetres wider than the nearest competitor.
Lanxess Increase Production
Product NewsLanxess has concluded the first stage of a program to increase production of neodymium polybutadiene rubber, or Nd-PBR in response to growing demand for high performance rubber.
The program will modify existing manufacturing lines so that multiple grades of material can be produced on the same line, including Nd-catalyzed PBR as well as lithium-PBR and solution styrene butadiene rubber SSBR.
Cooper Names Sawyer Director Customer Marketing
Product NewsThe Cooper Tire & Rubber Co has appointed Steve D Sawyer director of customer marketing. In this role, Sawyer will be responsible for Cooper’s customer service, program pricing and price operations, according to the manufacturer.
Indian truck and bus tyre export rises
Product News(India/Rubber Asia) Indian truck and bus tyre exports registered a 16 per cent growth in March 2005 compared with the same month last year (YAM). While 222,527 units of these tyres were exported in March 2004, the number for March 2005 reads 258,727.
As for passenger car tyre exports, they rose from 98,327 units to 107,559, a growth of nine per cent. LCV tyres shipped out from India rose eight per cent to 118337 units in March 2005 from 109,272 units in the YAM, according to a media release from Automotive & Tyre Manufacturers Association (ATMA).
New Cars to Roll Out of GM Stable
Product News(India/Rubber Asia) There has been a flurry of new car launches in the Indian market thanks to the apparent growth in the Indian consumers purchasing power. General Motors, the world’s largest car maker, for example, has even come out with a new strategy specific to the Indian market, the main component of which to launch two new cars every year in the country, from 2006 to 2008, local media sources report.
Mr. Rajiv Chaba, president of GM India, has said it would be a “mix of local production/assembly for voulume cars and CBU imports in the case of some lifestyle products”.
Supreme Court Rules for Checkoff Programs
Product News(Akron/Tire Review) The Associated Press has reported that the US Supreme Court ruled that the government was within its rights to force beef producers to pay for a multimillion-dollar “Beef: It’s what’s for dinner” marketing program, despite disagreement by some individual cattle producers who disagreed with the direction of the campaign.
The court’s 6-3 decision stated that such checkoff campaigns are a form of “government speech” immune to First Amendment challenge.
There is no immediate word yet as to how the Supreme Court decision will impact efforts by TIA to formulate a similar program to support the tyre industry and tyre dealers, but it is expected that this will clear major legal concerns voiced by the Rubber Manufacturers Association and tyre makers and importers.
Ford Issues Tyre Aging Warning
Product News(Akron/Tire Review – Courtesy of Detroit News, By Jeff Plungis)
Ford Motor Co has become the first US vehicle manufacturer to warn customers that they should replace older tyres, even if the tread is not worn out.
Ford officials said the move comes in response to a growing body of research that suggests tyres deteriorate as they age and can experience tread separations and other failures, even if they look robust.
Toyo Increasing UHP, LT/SUV Production
Product News(Akron/Tire Review) Toyo Tire & Rubber said it will boost production at its Kuwana, Japan, plant by the end of 2005, adding capacity for 1.12 million additional ultra-high performance and light truck/SUV tyres. Toyo said it is investing some 2.8 billion yen in the project, targeting overseas markets.
Toyo said the move is part of its efforts to increase global capacity, including building a manufacturing base in North America, raising production capacity of it joint venture plant in China, and launching another joint venture plant for truck and bus tyres in China.
Second Hand Tyre Waste
Product NewsSecond hand car dealers in Scotland may have to hold a license to handle waste tyres, under a new crackdown on fly-tipping reports The Herald.
A report will be presented to Glasgow council’s licensing committee next week, seeking approval to add a condition on tyres to the licences which second-hand dealers must hold to trade. The move coincides with 22,000 tyres being cleared from a mountain of waste rubber in the city. It cost the city council £39,500 to collect and dispose of the tyres, which weighed 156 tonnes.
The condition is aimed at cutting off the supply chain to fly-tippers who dispose of tyres illegally and will target second-hand car dealers in particular, with worn tyres often replaced to make vehicles more attractive to prospective buyers.
Goodyear India: Annual Results
Product NewsFor the year-ended December 2004, Goodyear India recorded a turnover increase of 26 per cent to 7.031 billion rupees (£88.3 million), while the operating profit margin dropped to 3.6 per cent from 4.7 per cent. Helped by the sharp drop in the interest costs, the post-tax earnings rose to 52 million rupees from 10 million rupees the year before. The company repaid high-cost debt by borrowing from its parent Goodyear Tire, US. As a result, the interest cost dropped to 75 million to 133 million rupees.
Bandag Retreading Material Prices
Product News(Akron/Tire Review) Bandag Inc is increasing prices on “most of its retreading materials” for North America, the company has announced. According to Bandag, all tread rubber products in the US will increase by a per-pound weighted average of 12 cents (US). In Canada, the increase will be 17 cents (Canada). Both increases take effect on 1 May. Bandag officials said that increasing raw material costs cannot be offset by increased efficiencies or productivity.
