(Douglasdale, South Africa/S.A. Treads) Renault Trucks is Europe’s first truck maker to offer Goodyear Duraseal Technology. Customers ordering vehicles from the brand-new Renault Kerax of construction range, which were launched at the IAA Truck Show in Hanover recently, will have the choice of Goodyear Omnitrac mixed-service tyres featuring Duraseal Technology. This means less downtime and reduced tyre costs.
Apollo Tyres is considering sourcing OTR tyres from its acquired South African production facilities in order to meet increased demand from the construction and mining sectors. These tyres will most likely come from the 252,000 sq ft Dunlop plant in Durban, which Apollo acquired in April 2006 along with another facility in South Africa and two in Zimbabwe. Ten thousand tyres are produced every day at the Durban site.
Apollo Tyres is reportedly planning to open a retreading tyre plant in Haryana, India. The company will invest 50 million rupees in the satellite plant, according to Business Line. Apollo intends to have 2-3 such satellite plants strategically located in the country. The company has invested in imported machinery for the new plant though it will run a retreading process that was designed in-house.
Sun lovers at a secluded naturist beach have been forced to share their sandy haven with a large mysterious visitor that, like them, seems happy to flaunt what others may prefer to keep discretely tucked away. And while regulars at Cape Town’s Sandy Bay inlet may be used to seeing all manner of sagging and rubbery apparitions during the course of a day at the beach, this particular one is turning heads, as it is a tyre from an airliner.
MRF Ltd. has been India’s most important tyre manufacturer since the industry’s earliest days in the subcontinent. The company was founded in the city of Chennai, previously known as Madras – hence the abbreviation MRF, which is short for “Madras Rubber Factory”. Today the manufacturer can proudly look back at its 60 years of history, and also show pride in its current annual turnover of 42.5 billion rupees (£486 million). According to analysts, MRF today holds a 24 per cent slice of the Indian tyre market and is also very active in export business as well as motorsports. Company sources state that MRF currently exports its products to 75 countries.
(Akron/Tire Review) India’s Apollo Tyres Ltd. unveiled the first of its new Indian made Regal brand radial truck and bus tyres. The line was launched with the Regal Transport RS (steer axle) and the Regal Transport RD (drive axle) at the Bus World exposition taking place in Mumbai, India.
Research analysts in India have given Apollo Tyres their stamp of approval as a good investment due to the tyremaker’s focus on product development, expansion plans and increasing international presence.
At the end of January, Apollo Tyres Ltd, published un-audited financial results for the 2006/07 financial year that show net sales grew by 26 per cent year-on-year to 8.575 billion rupees (£100 million). At the same time net profit as a percentage of sales increased to 4.1 per cent from 2.4 per cent.
Bridgestone South Africa’s Firestone range scooped the coveted ‘Best Tyre’ award at the inaugural FOCUS on Excellence awards evening, held in Johannesburg in November. Candidates for this top honour were chosen by four hundred owners and managers of road transport fleets operating more than 10 vehicles, selected at random from 22,000 records on a fleet owners’ database.
Only a day after reports slamming the endemic practice of re-selling worn out tyres in South Africa comes news of a potential remedy to this life threatening state of affairs.
The sale of unsafe second-hand tyres has become a major contributor towards road fatalities in South Africa, according to the body representing South Africa’s tyre manufacturers, the South African Tyre Manufacturing Conference (SATMC).
UK and international Novex dealers were recently given first-hand insight into the production of and technical knowledge behind the tyres they sell. In a visit to the Dunlop Tyres International facility in Durban, South Africa, a selected group of retailers were taken through the stages of manufacture that go into each Novex car and light commercial tyre.
Established in 2002, Lawlyn Vulcanising Systems are a growing company that specialise in the manufacture of vulcanising systems for the repair of radial and cross ply earth mover tyres in sizes between 24 and 63 inches.
Netherlands-based international wholesaler, Van den Ban, prides itself on being able to provide a comprehensive range of competitively priced tyres and, furthermore, describes itself as a leading player within the highly competitive UK market. In November VDB launched a new e-commerce site which is said to provide clients with an even more user friendly system that constantly updates prices.
A weaker rand in recent months and price increases in raw material has put pressure on the South African (SA) tyre industry, according to the chief executive at Continental Tyres SA. Claudio Boezio told journalists the last 18 months had been expensive for the manufacturing industry.
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