SA Tyres and manufacturer Federal have hosted a riding experience for its clients and salesmen at Gerotek Testing Facility near Johannesburg, where business partners participating in the 2011 One Day Test Drive programme from all over the country. The event was designed to give dealers the opportunity to see how Federal tyres are evaluated in a test in hazardous driving conditions.
Persistence may soon pay off for South Africa’s tyre manufacturers. In early September the Supreme Court in the city of Bloemfontein will hold the final hearing on an appeal regarding the dumping of Chinese tyres in South Africa. If the decision goes its way, the local industry will be given the means of resisting something said to be injuring its viability.
Gareth Passmore has been appointed as marketing head for Apollo Tyres South Africa (Pty) Ltd, which manufactures the Dunlop brand in Southern Africa. The rapid expansion of Apollo Tyres internationally, with the acquisition of the European tyre manufacturer Vredestein Banden being the latest example, has necessitated the restructure and realignment of key positions and departments within the Apollo Tyres Group and the appointment of new personnel in order to achieve the company vision of dynamic growth into new markets.
Shropshire couple Keith and Norah Ashworth, owners of Avon Tyres fleet customer Burnt Tree Vehicle Rental, are to tackle the Classic Safari Challenge 2011. The pair will contest a classic 1964 Mercedes-Benz 190 Fintail, shod with Avon rubber, in the event, which runs from August to September. The event, organised by the Endurance Rally Association, covers more than 3,500 miles of stunning African landscape as it crosses Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland and South Africa on its mammoth journey.
Reporting its performance during the first quarter of India’s financial year, Apollo Tyres says net sales during the period were “robust”, increasing 55 per cent year-on-year to Rs 28.22 billion (£382.60 million). Despite this, factors such as all-time high natural rubber prices and “sluggish” growth in some markets dampened the company’s profitability in the three months between April 1 and June 30, 2011. Operating profit rose 20 per cent to Rs 2.42 billion (£32.81 million) while net profit was up 3.9 per cent in the quarter to Rs 771.28 million (£10.46 million).
To secure its own supply of natural rubber, Apollo Tyres has leased approximately 10,000 hectares of land in the Southeast Asian country of Laos. Company chairman and managing director Onkar S Kanwar announced at Apollo Tyres’ Annual General Meeting on August 11 that the tyre maker has “actively entered the area of rubber plantations to try and secure future supplies.” Kanwar later noted that the yield from this rubber plantation would be ready for tapping in within two to seven years and that within five years Apollo plans to meet 25 per cent of its total natural rubber requirements from leased plantations. Reaching this level of self-sufficiency is viewed as a form of insurance – Kanwar opined that a crisis situation currently exists in India in regards to increasing raw material prices and natural rubber shortages.
The first staging of Tyrexpo India 2011 in Chennai was said to have been so successful that organisers ECI International have announced the dates for the next show in 2013. Managing director Paul Farrant said: “Our original intention was to review the show for several months before reaching a decision on a follow up, but we’ve already seen enough to make the decision with confidence that the show will be back in Chennai from 9-11 July 2013.”
Infrastructure and tyre usage in the Middle East is very similar to that in India, says Apollo Tyres, and this is the accepted reason why its products have enjoyed a high level of acceptance throughout the region. In total, the Middle East accounts for some 30 per cent of the Indian tyre maker’s export revenues, and in the last years it has built up a 23-partner distribution network there spanning 14 countries. Now, Apollo Tyres has extended its Middle East presence with the opening of its first office outside the company’s operations in India, the Netherlands and South Africa. This new Dubai-based office will serve as a hub for distributing Apollo’s India-manufactured tyres.
Logistics firm Kuehne + Nagel has assumed management of warehouse operations at Continental’s Port Elizabeth tyre making facility in South Africa. Within the scope of the new contract, Kuehne + Nagel will support Continental Tyre S.A. (Pty) Ltd’s original equipment and aftermarket dealer business in the South African market through receiving tyres from production, carrying out quality control checks, storage, inbound and outbound handling, picking and packing, inventory management as well as management of empty containers. In addition, Kuehne + Nagel will provide an external warehousing solution for overflow volumes in Port Elizabeth.
The top job at Continental Tire the Americas, vacant since Matthias Schönberg’s July 1 transfer to the company’s ContiTech division was confirmed, has been filled by Jochen Etzel. In a statement, Etzel declared his appointment as CEO of Continental Tire the Americas “an excellent opportunity,” and added: “I am excited to take this next step with the CTA team. Matthias Schoenberg guided CTA to a strong and successful business model in manufacturing, product and sales. I look forward to the challenge of continuing to lead CTA to further volume growth, as well as significant new product launches."
Apollo Tyres Ltd has approved the company’s audited financial results for the fourth quarter (January to March) and the financial year 2010 – 2011. Consolidated annual revenues, taking into account manufacturing bases in India, South Africa and the Netherlands, grew 9 per cent to reach net sales of 88.6 billion rupees (£1.205 billion; 1.386 billion euros; US$1.983 billion). Net profit fell to 4.4 billion rupees from 6.5 billion rupees the previous year.
Apollo Tyres’ managing director Neeraj Kanwar is expecting European aftermarket sales of its Apollo-branded tyres to grow to between 60,000 and 65,000 units a month by the winter season. According to an interview published in the India’s Hindu Business Line, the company is currently selling around 50,000 of these tyres a month in Germany, the Netherlands, the UK and Italy, meaning the proposed uptick in sales will be in the order of 20 – 30 per cent. According to the reports these figures are “over and above the sales of Vredestein branded tyres manufactured in Europe.”
Apollo Tyres South Africa, formerly known as Dunlop Tyres South Africa, has invested in a specialist budgeting solution from Synergy Business Intelligence. Urekha Venketas, associate manager business Analysis at Apollo Tyres South Africa explained why the company sought such a system and her comments also give a flavour of the now Indian-owned firm’s approach: “In a global business, of which the South African operations are a part…means being able to very closely track performance in a highly unpredictable market.”
The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa, the 260,000 member union that represents tyre and metal industry workers, states it will engage in collective bargaining with employers this year to gain a number of benefits for its members, including a 20 per cent across the board wage increase. Other benefits it seeks include agreement contracts with a minimum one-year’s duration and a ban on labour brokers.
A lockout is reported to have begun at two Bridgestone factories in South Africa on March 22. The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) states the lockout at the Brits and Port Elizabeth plants was instigated “in response to wage increases achieved by workers in September 2010” – and the union refers to the lockout as “a declaration of war.”
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