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.
A formal opening ceremony for Goodyear Tire & Rubber’s Pulandian plant in China was held on 15 August. Around 700 guests attended the celebration, including government officials and president of Goodyear’s Asia Pacific business, Dan Smytka. During a speech, company chairman and CEO Richard Kramer declared the factory’s commissioning to be of “extraordinary significance” to Goodyear.
India’s Govind Rubber Ltd has reported net sales of Rs 782.3 million (£8.9 million) for the three months to 30 June, a 35.6 per cent year-on-year increase. Net profit, at Rs 10.1 million (£), was up 248 per cent on the corresponding quarter of 2011. The tyre maker recently announced an Rs 8.5 billion (£115,500) expansion project at its Alwar plant in India, and the company also intends to set up a new greenfield facility in Dahej. According to company chairman and managing director Vinod Poddar, the new facility will have a daily capacity of 225 tonnes.
From 1 November 2012, every new tyre manufactured since July will be legally required have a tyre label. And what’s more the information contained on the label must be presented – physically or electronically – to the consumer at the point of sale. So what better place to start this month’s in-depth labelling special than to take a look at the much vaunted itself and introduce its main features and some of the discussions relating to it?
A statement on the International Tripartite Rubber Council’s website shows that the organisation, set up in 2001 to represent the interests of the world’s three largest natural rubber producing countries – Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia – doesn’t intend to sit back and accept the lower prices the commodity has received of late.
In a move that recognises Spanish’s status as the second most widely spoken language in the United States, Goodyear Tire & Rubber has introduced a Spanish language website targeted at North American consumers. Through this site, Goodyear hopes to “provide better appeal to a growing Hispanic tyre-buying population.”
Cooper Tire & Rubber Company Europe Ltd. has appointed Jeff Schumaker as sales and marketing director. Schumaker will be based in Melksham, UK, and will report to Cooper Tire Europe vice president and general manager Julian Baldwin.
The Firenza truck tyre range has been specifically produced to provide a high quality alternatively in the mid-market sector, according to company representatives. And the brands position in the UK has been developed through the “strong partnership [that] has been forged in the UK between Firenza and International Tyres & Trading based in the West Midlands.” International Tyres are the exclusive distributor of the brand and the company reportedly provides “swift and efficient delivery throughout the UK.”
Goodyear Tire & Rubber shares that its role as official tyre supplier to the US-based World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series will end after the 2012 season. Announcing the decision on 14 August, GoodyearRacing marketing manager Justin Fantozzi said “for three years, Goodyear’s high quality tyres have helped to maintain the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series as the most exciting and competitive series on dirt. We wish the World of Outlaws continued success in the future.”
On 13 August Polish tyre maker TC Dębica informed the Warsaw Stock Exchange of further reductions to its planned 2012 production of passenger car, truck and agricultural tyres. These changes approved by the company’s Board of Directors come on top of cuts announced in March and May, and reduce Dębica’s planned 2012 passenger car tyre production by an additional four per cent, truck tyre production by one per cent and agricultural tyre production by nine per cent.
Bridgestone will supply its MotoGP tyres to teams in USA for the second of two consecutive races in the country. This weekend’s action is held at the revered Indianapolis Motor Speedway, whose distinctive layout places significant demands on Bridgestone’s rubber. The circuit comprises three distinct parts; the renowned oval which forms the main straight, the opening complex and turns seven and eight built specifically for MotoGP, and the rest of the infield which was constructed for when the circuit held Formula One races. Large sections of the circuit were resurfaced last year, resulting in more consistent grip levels, while some undulations on the tarmac that caused the bikes to behave erratically in corners were also removed. Bridgestone will supply special construction asymmetric rear slick tyres in the medium and hard compounds to manage the very high tyre temperatures expected around this circuit.
A large proportion of tyre buyers now begin their pre-purchase research with a browse online, and when doing so they increasingly use phones and other mobile devices rather than the trusty desktop computer. Recognising these two changes in consumer behaviour, Cooper Tire & Rubber has launched a mobile-optimised version of its website. The new site is currently only accessible by users in the US – by entering the usual coopertire.com address into the browser – and it offers advice on service, replacement tyres, retail locations and safety information.
The penultimate round of the MSA British Rally Championship will move to Northern Ireland this week for the second all-asphalt round of the series, the Todds Leap Rally Northern Ireland on 17-18 August. Pirelli will bring a mixture of 15” to 17” RX7, RX5 and RE7 asphalt tyres; the RX7 is a medium compound tyre for dry conditions, while the RE7 is for dry and damp conditions and can be used as a full wet. The N3 will also be available in one 15” size for wet conditions. The tyre supplier also boasts the involvement of its 2012 Pirelli Star Driver, Jukka Korhonen, who will travel from his native Finland where he was competing on Rally Finland, round eight of the World Rally Championship. Korhonen made his competitive debut on asphalt in May when he finished second in class on the Jim Clark International Rally at the wheel of a TEG prepared Skoda Fabia R2.
Toyo Tire & Rubber has reported net sales of 120,474 million yen (£980.8 million) for the first quarter of its current financial year, the three months to 30 June 2012. The company’s tyre business unit accounted for 96,448 million yen (£785.2 million) of these sales, 80.1 per cent of the total. Company operating income amounted to 3,529 million yen (£28.7 million), while tyre business operating income was 2,428 million yen (£19.8 million). Total net income came to 1,252 million yen (£10.2 million).
Yokohama Rubber reports a strong increase in both sales and earnings during the first half of 2012. As a result, it says the company is on track to post record sales and earnings for the full fiscal year. Yokohama Rubber has also upwardly revised the fiscal projections it released in February. In releasing its half-year figures, Yokohama also notes that the company shifted from an April to March financial year to a January to December reporting period this year, and therefore formal comparisons of first-half results are impossible. The percent-change figures the company gives are in reference to arbitrary, six-month sums for the same period last year.
Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. reported net income of $86.6 million for the first half of 2012, against total sales of $2.04 billion for the period, Tire Review reports. The first half sales were up compared to $1.82 billion for the same period in 2011, and net income surpassed last year’s $32.9 million.
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