Chinese tyre maker Shandong Linglong Tire co. Ltd. has opened new subsidiaries in Luxembourg and Mexico City. According to Linglong Tire the Mexico tyre unit, Elite Faith Mexico, S.A. DE C.V., and Luxembourg investment unit Linglong Luxembourg S.à r.l, will engage in the import and export of tyres and raw materials required for their manufacture.
An announcement made by Shandong Linglong Tire at the Auto Shanghai show marks the introduction of a long-established US tyre brand into the Chinese market. At a press conference held on 22 April, company chairman and president Wang Feng welcomed the Atlas brand to China. The launch portfolio consists of seven passenger car and SUV product lines.
Shandong Linglong Tire Co Ltd has reported increased sales and profits for 2016. In its 2016 Annual Report, the Chinese tyre maker declares net sales of RMB 10.5 billion last year (£1.2 billion), a 20.4 per cent increase from 2015 and a record high. Operating income rose 32.3 per cent to RMB 1.1 billion (£124.7 million) and net income was up 49.0 per cent to RMB 1.0 billion (£113.4 million).
As of 1 January, Shandong Linglong Tire has been elevated to the status of Club of Champions partner with German football club VfL Wolfsburg. The tyre maker had served as a VfL-TopPartner since the start of 2015, and Wang Feng, founder and chief executive officer of Linglong Tire, signed the new, extended deal at the Volkswagen Arena in Wolfsburg on 14 December together with club managers Thomas Röttgermann and Dr Tim Schumacher. The company is one of three Club of Champions partners, holding this status alongside Nike and logistics specialist Grupo Sesé.
Shandong Linglong Tire Co., Ltd. reports that its net profit rose 272 per cent year-on-year in the first nine months of 2016, with the company recording net profit on RMB 776 million (£90.7 million) during the period. Operating revenue rose 15.54 per cent year-on-year to RMB 7.4 billion (£886.9 million).
On 10 and 11 October, a team from Volkswagen Group evaluated Shandong Linglong Tire co. Ltd.’s suitability as an original equipment supplier. The Chinese tyre maker reports that it has passed this audit, and in doing so comes one step closer to having its tyres fitted on Volkswagen vehicles manufactured in China. At present, no tyres produced by domestic Chinese tyre makers come with Volkswagen cars as original equipment.
Shandong Linglong Tyre Co., Ltd reports that it has entered into a strategic partnership with Iranian company Tosse Tabdil Sina (TTS). The latter will act as exclusive agent for the Linglong brand in Iran and provide both original equipment and aftermarket customers with sales, marketing and aftersales service.
When the Shandong Linglong Tire Co., Ltd. IPO went live on 6 July and the tyre maker’s shares became available on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, their value increased by 44 per cent on the first day. The company reports that by 19 July the total market capitalisation in Linglong Tire had reached RMB 50.508 billion (£5.7 billion), giving the company the top ranking from 33 ‘A’ share (mainland China-based) listed companies in Yantai, the number three spot amongst ‘A’ listed companies in Shandong and 128th position in China as a whole.
On 21 June Shandong Linglong Tyre Co Ltd announced it would issue 200 million shares of common stock at 12.98 yuan per share as part of its initial public offering (IPO) on the Shanghai Stock Exchange. At the time, the company said it expected to raise roughly 2.60 billion yuan, which various news sources suggest is intended to fund investment in new tyre production lines.
During a visit to China last week, Thailand’s Minister of Industry, Atchaka Sibunruang, and representatives from the Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand visited the Zhaoyuan headquarters of Shangdong Linglong Tire and the tyre maker’s exhibition space at the China Qingdao International Tire Fair. A meeting also took place on 8 April between the Authority and Shandong Linglong chairman Wang Feng; this resulted in the signing of a letter of intent that will see the tyre maker increase its investment in Thailand through initiating the third phase of its Linglong International Tire (Thailand) plant project, the installation of a rubber compounding facility at the Rayong province site.
In its annual winter tyre performance survey, German motoring publication AutoBild narrows a wide field of 49 winter tyres and two all-season tyres with wet and snow braking measurements before conducting a full test of a range of characteristics. 19 tyres made it through to the 2015/16 season test, conducted using the tyre size 185/60 R15.
This year Linglong Tire marks its 40th anniversary. To this end, the company’s Autopromotec 2015 stand carried suitably celebratory messages, not to mention the “appearance” of two top-flight footballers.
As “Top Partner” to German Bundesliga VfL Wolfsburg, Linglong Tire displayed the life-size full-body photos of Wolfsburg stars Kevin De Bruyne and Bas Dost for visitors to take pictures next to. Linglong Tire also hosted a football shooting game during the exhibition, which was reportedly “warmly welcomed” by visitors.
Linglong reports that the first truck and bus radials produced at the firm’s Rayong, Thailand production plant rolled off the manufacturing line at 9:28 on 28 May 2015. Construction of the truck tyre production line began in June 2014.
Linglong’s Thailand tyre factory is likely to be closed for the next 30 days as authorities investigate the cause of the recent fire. While six warehousing structures reportedly bore the brunt of the 1 February fire (which caused roughly US$40 million of damage), leaving production free to continue, it seems the size and scale of […]
According to local news sources, Shandong Linglong Tyre Co. Ltd’s consumer tyre factory in Thailand has been badly damaged by fire. Six of the 15 warehouses at the LLIT Thailand facility in Chonburi province are said to have been destroyed in the blaze, which began on 1 February have allegedly caused an estimated US$40 million of damage. The manufacturing facility at the site has been temporarily closed.
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