Tyre recycling and product recovery specialists Scandinavian Enviro Systems (Enviro) is has noted “a sharp increase of interest in purchasing the carbon black and oil that Enviro recovers from end-of-life tyres” since the Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022. Interest has been observed “among old and new customers”, but the company has not commented on what this means in terms of specific orders.
The Michelin Group has announced that is suspending all its “industrial activity” in Russia as well as suspending its exports to Russia.
Michelin’s Davydovo tyre production plant near Moscow employs about 750 people and manufactures passenger car tyres and retreaded truck tyres. According to a statement from Michelin released on 15 March 2022, the Davydovo site’s production is “mainly for the local market”.
The cyberattack on Bridgestone Americas resulted in the perpetrators gaining access to “a limited number of Bridgestone systems and threatening to make this information public.” However, the Bridgestone Americas statement released in answer to Tyres & Accessories questions on 15 March also explained that the company is: “…working around the clock with external security advisors, Accenture Security, to investigate and understand the full scope and nature of the incident.”
As of Friday 18 March 2022, Bridgestone Corporation will suspend its manufacturing activities in Russia until further notice. This production stop will take place after “the necessary preparations” are made. The company has also decided to freeze any new investments and suspend all exports to Russia with immediate effect.
Canadian Tire Corporation (CTC) announced it will temporarily pause its Helly Hansen operations in Russia, which include its retail stores, eCommerce site and product shipments in a 4 March 2022 statement, which said: “The conflict between Russia and Ukraine is tragic and deeply concerning and CTC’s priority will continue to be protecting the safety and well-being of its employees. During this temporary pause in operations, store employees will continue to be paid and supported and the company will continue to honour its commercial obligations.”
The crisis in Ukraine has impacted upon Nokian Tyres’ business in multiple ways, and the company has now activated contingency plans to “mitigate the financial and operational impacts” upon business. At the same time, it has donated 100,000 euros to UNICEF to help children in the war zone.
The conflict in Ukraine has impacted upon operations at Continental’s tyre factory in Kaluga, Russia. A spokesman confirmed to Tyrepress.com that the company has “suspended tyre production intended for export at our plant in Kaluga until further notice.”
As part of our ongoing coverage of the impact of the Russia-Ukraine war, Tyres & Accessories asked one of the world’s leading tyremakers, Bridgestone, a series of questions about its operations in Russia and the Ukraine.
Tyres and poor vehicle maintenance could be contributing to the stalling Russian military effort north of Kyiv. The UK defence ministry has reported that Russia’s 40-mile military convoy in northern Ukraine has made no significant progress for several days, stalled on the roads leading into the Ukranian capital, Kyiv, and hampered by equipment malfunctions and improvised roadblocks. So why does the Russian military not simply forge off-road routes to aid progress? According to military history blogger and retired US Department of Defense civil servant Trent Telenko, the combination of Ukraine’s mud season, or “Rasputitsa” and the poor state of Russian military vehicles’ tyres make such moves extremely difficult to make.
Pirelli is donating 500,000 euros to help Ukranian refugees stricken by the war. In addition, the company will also establish a bank account accessible to its employees to collect their donations.
Volkswagen AG has stopped the production of vehicles in Russia until further notice. This decision applies to the site in Kaluga, which produced the VW Tiguan, Polo and Škoda Rapid and made 118,000 vehicles last year, as well as Nizhny Novgorod, where it built VW and Škoda models under a contract with GAZ Group. Vehicle exports to Russia have also been stopped with immediate effect.
The crisis currently unfolding in Ukraine is placing logistics and transportation in Europe under strain, and like many manufacturers, Michelin Group is facing “major” issues supplying its plants and delivering to customers. The company says it will work to “optimise operations and adapt flow management” by stopping production at some of its European plants for a few days in the coming weeks. Each site will decide specific duration and implementation.
Despite the war in neighbouring Ukraine and the resulting sanctions imposed on Russia by the international community, as of 2 March 2022, company representatives told Tyres & Accessories the Yokohama’s Russian tyre manufacturing operation in Lipetsk, 500 kilometres south of Moscow, is running as normal.
In light of the ongoing war in Ukraine and the resultant sanctions against Russia, Tyres & Accessories asked the well-known automotive supplier and premium tyre manufacturer for its perspective on the situation. In response, an official statement from the Continental Tire Group Sector explained: “We are following the war against the Ukraine with great concern. Our thoughts are with the people affected and we hope that the combat operations end as quickly as possible.”
OTR tyre specialist Titan International, which owns the Voltyre-Prom tyre manufacturing operation in Russia, is bracing itself for “the potential impact of bans, sanction programs, and boycotts…” due to Russia’s recent invasion of Ukraine. However, deep in the detail of Titan’s strong fourth-quarter 2021 reports which were published today (3 March 2022), executives affirm that “the impact of the military conflict between Russia and Ukraine has not had a significant impact on global operations”.
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