On 14 February, Sailun Group Co., Ltd.’s Board of Directors unanimously approved plans to invest RMB 1.43 billion (£165.9 million) to establish a factory in Cambodia with the capacity to produce 1.65 million all-steel truck and bus radials a year. These tyres will primarily be exported to meet demand in European and North American markets.
As 2021 draws to a close, Sailun reports that it has sold 7 million tyres in Europe “and counting”. Sailun is the 16th largest tyremaker by turnover according to our 2021 ranking of leading manufacturers. The company’s newest production base, which is located in Cambodia, started making tyres on 21 November 2021.
Sailun Tire Americas is recalling almost 85,000 tyres that, due to a manufacturing issue, may experience a belt separation. The Sailun, RoadX, Blacklion, Blackhawk and Ironhead brand tyres in question are ST235/80R16 and ST235/85R16 products with DOT codes 2020 through 4120.
Sailun’s Cambodia tyre factory manufactured its first tyre on 1 November 2021. Symbolic launch aside, production proper began the following week with the goal of reaching full speed by 18 November 2021.
Sailun has presented ‘The Smart Experience’ at the NUFAM 2021 commercial vehicle show in Karlsruhe, Germany, in collaboration with German truck tyre distributor Bohnenkamp AG. Sailun said its stand attracted much interest, with visitors enquiring about the Bohnenkamp partnership, as well as enjoying a game of table football on stand.
The past 18 months have been “very challenging and unique”, comments Sailun Tyre Europe. But the company now says it is delighted to announce participation in two forthcoming trade shows. The first is here in the UK: In conjunction with Kirkby Tyres, local distributor of the Sailun truck tyre range, the tyre maker will occupy a 125 square metre stand within Hall 4 of the NEC when the Commercial Vehicle Show comes opens in Birmingham on 31 August.
Sailun Tyre is the new global tyre partner of German club FC Ingolstadt 04, which plays in the 2. Bundesliga. The collaboration between the ‘Schanzer’ and the Qingdao, China-based tyre maker is set to run for at least three years and is Sailun’s first professional football sponsorship deal with a German team.
With the Olympic Games opening ceremony underway, Sailun Tyre has released details of its sponsorship of windsurfing medal hope, Kiran Badloe. The 26-year-old Dutch windsurfer’s collaboration with Sailun and their local Benelux distributor, TTI Tire Trading, was sealed at sea off the coast of Scheveningen and TTI MD Peter-Alexander van ‘t Hof, is also a keen windsurfer.
Chinese tyre maker Sailun Group Co. Ltd. has introduced a new rotational system for appointing the company’s president. Under the format, which takes effect this month, Sailun’s Board of Directors appoint a member of senior management to serve in this role for a maximum period of two years. Wang Jianye has been named the first president of Sailun Group under the system, succeeding Zhongxue Yuan.
Sailun Group has appointed a new chairman for its Supervisory Board. Ji Qing Li, who held the position since 2014, submitted his resignation on 9 July. His successor was named during a meeting three days later; Hao Li has taken on the role.
On 27 June, Sailun Group officially inaugurated the modernised former Anchi Tyres facility in Weifang, Shandong Province. Group subsidiary Sailun (Weifang) Tire Co., Ltd. invested RMB 719.9 million (£81.3 million) to upgrade production at the acquired plant and implemented its improvements within a timeframe of just six months.
Sailun Tire Group is developing the ERange EV, tyre line-up in order to cater for growing demand for electric vehicles. According to Sailun Tire Americas, the new range is expected to reach the (US) market in 2022. At the point of its launch, the ERange EV portfolio will offer 90 per cent coverage of the electric vehicles on sale.
Earlier in the year, Sailun Group announced it was evaluating the feasibility of producing car tyres in Cambodia, but the plans its Board of Directors approved this month are for a larger and costlier plant than originally reported. Planned capacity has risen 80 per cent, and the proposed investment almost doubled.
The growth of the construction and industrial sectors is currently faster than any other part of the private sector economy, says Kirkby Tyres, Speke-based distributor of OTR tyres. In order to support this growth, Kirkby adds that it is positioning itself to supply a comprehensive line-up of tyre patterns and applications to serve its customer base. While this growth is encouraging, wholesalers must contend with the unprecedented challenges currently affecting global supply chains, including long production lead times and increases in raw materials and shipping costs. Kirkby marketing director Michael Rosenthal tells Tyres & Accessories that these challenges are presenting a bottleneck to economic recovery. The wholesaler says it is working to reduce the impact of these challenges and support its customer base by replenishing its stockholding continuously and holding good stocks of the most common OTR tyre sizes.
The Sailun Group is ramping up production at its plants in China and Vietnam. The manufacturer brought its newest truck tyre plant in Shenyang, China onstream in November 2020, giving it an additional 3.3 million units of all-steel truck radial capacity. In addition, Sailun plans to invest RMB 719.9 million (£81.3 million) to upgrade production at recently acquired manufacturer Shandong Anchi Tyres in Weifang, giving it the capacity to produce 1.2 million truck and bus radials and 6 million high performance passenger car and light truck tyres a year. Most recently, Sailun confirmed plans for the third phase of expansion at its Sailun (Vietnam) subsidiary.
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