South Africa Archives - Page 16 of 30 - Tyrepress

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Wheelquip – Supplying the Industry for More than a Quarter Century

Wheelquip was established in 1984 as a distributor of wheel service equipment, tyre and tube repair material, tyre valves and tyre tools. Initially known as Tyre Maintenance Suppliers, the company’s management saw the need for supplying the tyre industry with the most technically advanced equipment, consumables and tools and providing the industry with service excellence. Today the firm supplies many international brands and boasts the sole South Africa agency for Corghi automotive equipment from Italy. Corghi recently celebrated its 50th anniversary, and Wheelquip was awarded a 20-year service excellence award from the Italian manufacturer.

8th February 2010/by Tyrepress Editors

Stamford Launching Falken Brand in Africa

Stamford Tyres is an established exhibitor at Tyrexpo Africa and has supported the show since being launched in 2004. In March the Singapore based company will once again be using the show to further endorse the group’s growing presence in the South African tyre and wheel market.

5th February 2010/by Tyrepress Editors

Apollo Q3 Performance “Remarkable” – Kanwar

Apollo Tyres’ Onkar S Kanwar has called the company’s performance in the third quarter of the 2009-10 financial year a “remarkable performance”. The company chairman had ample ground for such praise – year-on-year net profit ballooned from Rs 89 million (₤1.2 million) to Rs 1.8 billion (₤24.4 million) on the back of a Rs 22.96 billion (₤311.0 million) net profit, an increase of 108 per cent from the third quarter of the 2008-09 financial year.

1st February 2010/by Tyrepress Editors

South African ‘Tyresaver’ Launch Planned for Tyrexpo Africa

Nitralife states with pride it was the first company in the world to actively promote the use of nitrogen inflation gas in car and truck tyres. It held the first field tests with the substance in early 1995 and the success of these led to the formation of Nitralife "Nitrogen in Tyres" in mid 1996.

26th January 2010/by Tyrepress Editors

Lawlyn Offering a Full Range of Repair Systems

Lawlyn Vulcanising Systems manufactures a complete range of Lawlyn brand truck, tractor, grader and OTR repair systems. These items, manufactured at the South African company’s site in Alberton, south of Johannesburg, are used daily in the repair of tyres at the company’s Hlanganani Tyres subsidiary, an operation that has a number work stations working to the newly gazetted South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) approved OTR Repair and Retreading Standard.

25th January 2010/by Tyrepress Editors

Dunlop Zimbabwe Extends Factory Shutdown

Botswana based publication The Business Diary reports that a shortage of raw materials has prompted Dunlop Zimbabwe to extend its annual shutdown period, and this decision has led to unrest amongst the company’s workforce. The Apollo Tyres South Africa owned company was scheduled to re-open its factory on January 11, however company officials say production will now commence on February 11 – provided it has obtained the necessary raw materials by that time.

22nd January 2010/by Tyrepress Editors

Conti Attempts to Score ‘Goal of the Season’ With Prospective New Talent

Continental wants to spread word of its attractiveness to potential employees, and in its German home market the tyre and automotive technology supplier is using the beautiful game to meet this end. It has brought a programme called “Kick it with Continental” into play, and as part of this invited some 400 German students to a day focusing on the upcoming Conti-sponsored World Cup in South Africa. On the agenda, among other things, are presentations, contests and panel discussions with German football personalities Karl-Heinz Körbel, Mirko Slomka and Thomas Schneider.

19th January 2010/by Tyrepress Editors

Alliance Shows Strength in Europe, North America

It is now three years since Warburg Pincus and its partner, former Balkrishna Industries executive director Yogesh Mahansaria, announced an intention to acquire Alliance Tire. In the time since the Mahansaria family and their global private equity backer took possession of Alliance for approximately US$150 million, plans to develop the business have progressed steadily. Not only has the goal of taking advantage of India’s cheaper production costs been realised – the company’s $100 million cross-ply agricultural tyre factory in Tirunelveli has been readied for the start of commercial production – during 2009 acquisitions and further inroads into new markets boosted the Alliance brand’s profile considerably.

22nd December 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Techking Aims for January Launch of Effiplus 'Green' Car Tyre Range

Well-known as an OTR/EM tyre manufacturer, Techking Tires is now seeking to sell a low rolling-resistance passenger car tyre range called Effiplus from January 2010. The Qingdao, China-based tyre manufacturer reports that it has already arranged a substantial off-take agreement with an as-yet unnamed Chinese tyremaker. Marketing manager Ben Zhang refused to reveal exact details of which manufacturer the company would be working with and how many tyres the company is planning to make, but Tyres & Accessories understands it will manufacture with one of China's largest producers. The plan is to sell the tyres direct to wholesalers/dealers in these respective markets, rather than distributing through importers.

While Zhang didn’t explicitly explain the thinking behind this part of the decision, it is likely to be related to the fact that, while the company’s partnerships with local distributors work well with high value items like OTR tyres, margins are slim on low value items such as passenger car tyres – particularly in such a competitive climate for the economy sector. What Zhang did say was that the company is considering offering the right wholesalers brand exclusivity, something that would enable the company and the wholesalers it partners with to share the marketing and business development investment.

15th December 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Alliance Bid for GPX Assets Accepted

Alliance Tire Group has successfully fought off Titan International’s bid for key GPX International Tire Corporation assets. On December 2, Titan submitted a US$44 million bit for GPX International’s US and South African business assets to the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Massachusetts, an offer $5.7 million higher than that previously announced by Alliance. However, on December 8 Alliance announced the court approval of its agreement to acquire key GPX International assets, customer relationships, warehouse footprint and engineering capabilities. The agreement will also give Alliance worldwide rights to the Galaxy and Primex brands, the company’s medium radial truck tyre distribution business and South African subsidiary, GPX Tyre South Africa (Pty.). Exact details of Alliance’s final bid are unknown, however it is said to be in excess of $50 million.

9th December 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Luyten to Lead New Apollo Global Marketing Structure

As of January 1, 2010 a new global marketing structure will become operational at Apollo Tyres Ltd, under the leadership of chief marketing officer Marc Luyten, who currently holds the position of director, Marketing & Sales at Apollo Vredestein B V, in Enschede, the Netherlands. Luyten will spearhead the global marketing of Apollo’s key product brands, assisted by a team of product brand managers responsible for individual brands across all regions.

8th December 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

European Conti Retreading Operation Newest TRIB Member

Continental Commercial Vehicle Tires Retread Europe has become the latest company to join the Tire Retread & Repair Information Bureau (TRIB). Upon announcing the division’s signing up, Christian Beindorff, Head of Operations Retread Europe for Continental, commented: “We are pleased to be a member of TRIB and look forward to a long and mutually beneficial relationship between our organisations.”

13th November 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Dunlop Zimbabwe Ends South Africa Toll Agreement

For several years Dunlop Zimbabwe has operated a toll manufacturing agreement – an arrangement under which foreign firms provide raw material finances so that Zimbabwean companies can manufacture products for them – with the Apollo Tyres subsidiary in South Africa. At the time of the scheme’s launch in 2006 the toll agreement was necessary for the company’s survival, yet since then Dunlop Zimbabwe’s fortunes have improved. Now the company has announced it has sufficient funds to import raw materials on its own and sustain its operations, and thus it has ended its South African toll manufacturing agreement.

11th November 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

TRIB Names Three New Members

TRIB – that’s the Tire Retread & Repair Information Bureau for those of you playing at home – has announced the addition of three new international members. Commenting on their joining, TRIB managing director Harvey Brodsky, said “TRIB continues to add members as more and more companies in the new tyre and retread industries throughout the world realise that TRIB is the only international retread industry association representing new tyre manufacturers, retreaders, suppliers to the retread industry and tyre repair companies.”

9th November 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Conti Kicks Off World Cup Contest

To liven up the journey along the road to next year’s football world cup, sponsor Continental AG has launched a new contest on its www.contisoccerworld.co.uk football website. The ‘ContiFanContest’, which can be tackled in any of four languages, is a video contest in which six of eight tasks on offer must be completed. The main prize for all qualifying participants is one of 11 sets of three day all-inclusive trips for two to the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, including flights, hotel accommodation, a safari and tickets for a match in Johannesburg. The ContiFanContest will close on 04 December 2009, the date on which the groups will be drawn in South Africa for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

9th November 2009/by Tyrepress Editors