On 17 January, Sentury said it will adjust its financing plan through the stock market and specifically non-public offering of shares. After the adjustment, the tyre manufacturer will obtain no more than 2.8 billion yuan (about £330 million; 380 million euros), which is far lower than the 4 billion yuan (about £480 million; 540 million euros) proposed in the previous plan.
On 2 January 2023, Warren Rudman left his role as general manager Sentury Tire Spain. Rudman’s departure follows Sentury’s 30 December announcement that the company is planning to invest in a new tyre factory in Morocco. Signing off his departure announcement, Rudman noted “I will start a new journey soon”.
On 30 December 2022, Sentury Tire shared that the company convened a board meeting to approve the “Proposal on Investing in the Construction of High-Performance Car and Light Truck Radial Tire Projects in Morocco”. In other words, the company is planning to build its third overseas factory just outside Morocco, North Africa in what will be the first Chinese tyre factory in Africa. Sentury plans to invest just under US$296.78 million in constructing the Morocco tyre plant, which is set to have a production capacity is 6 million car and light-truck tyres a year.
Continental has announced a voluntary replacement programme for a total of 7,103 tyres worldwide. According to a statement detailing the news published on 7 December 2022, the exchange programme is being offered in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Spain, France and Italy. In the German market, for example, a total of 745 tyres that were sold through the tyre replacement business or are still in the stocks of tyre dealers are eligible for exchange. A Continental Tyre Group spokesperson confirmed that the UK market is not affected by the voluntary exchange programme.
Recacor (Recauchutados Cordoba) recently hosted a meeting of Marangoni’s Retreading Systems’ European sales force in Spain. The event was also marked 25 years of partnership between Marangoni and Recacor.
Greenval Technologies has announced plans to invest 20 million euros in the construction of tyre pyrolysis/energy generation plant in Aspe, Spain. The facility is scheduled to start running in 2023 and will generate more than 100 jobs during construction plus 30 ongoing jobs at the facility. Aspe City Council is said to be already studying the proposal in light of the necessary licenses.
Sales turnover fell 15 per cent during 2020 at Iberian tyre retail and distribution specialists Grupo Soledad. However, figures rose 24 per cent in 2021, resulting in record sales of 353 million euros as well as profits of 13.7 million euros – both numbers suggesting that previous figures were a Covid-related blip and that the company is currently on a “V-shaped” recovery trajectory. Grupo Soledad’s previous sales record was 336 million euros in 2019.
Passenger car and light truck (PCLT) tyre production trends in Western Europe have been scaling down over the long-term. The move to larger production facilities in the comparatively low-cost labour markets in Eastern Europe, or greater reliance on imports from Asia, has seen a steady stream of plant closures and conversions to speciality, short-run production capacity – on in the case of Cooper Tire’s UK plant, for example, one followed by the other – in the region. A new assessment of the most recent three-year period by tyre industry analyst Astutus Research suggests that the overall picture has been of a decline similar to the period following the 2008 financial crisis, which was itself a catalyst for this trend. Yet digging a little deeper into the figures shows several dynamics at play in European PCLT tyre production, including supply chain disruption and spiralling energy costs. For comprehensive analysis of global tyre market trends, a series of reports by Astutus Research are available to buy now in the Tyrepress Reports Shop – click here for more details.
Sentury is in the process of declaring its Spanish factory plans as a strategic industrial project with the government of Garcia, Spain. The tyre maker hopes that its plant in the As Pontes region of Garcia will be able to use this method to obtain fast-track approvals to speed up the entire project’s construction.
Pirelli’s new 18” Formula 1 tyres faced “one of the biggest tests” of their inaugural season in Spain as Red Bull’s Max Verstappen used a three-stop strategy to win and gain the championship lead. He alternated between the P Zero Red soft tyre, with which he started the race, and the P Zero Yellow medium, on which he finished it, handling a high-energy circuit and high temperatures with relatively high degradation. His team mate Sergio Perez and Mercedes driver George Russell, who also finished on the podium, both used a different three-stop strategy: soft-medium-medium-soft.
Grupo Andrés Neumáticos will once again participate in The Tire Cologne when it runs from 24-26 May 2022. Grupo Andrés, which has invested in a significant-sized stand for the event, will be located at stand E038 Hall 8 at the Koelnmesse Exhibition Centre.
Bridgestone has confirmed a second year of partnership with the Hawkers European Talent Cup (HETC). As of this year, the tyre manufacturer is also official partner of the Federation Française de Motocyclisme (FFM) and sole supplier for the Objectif Grand Prix (OGP), the French national championship dedicated to promising young riders. Bridgestone says it shares the passion for competition and performance that are the basis of motorcycle racing.
When the Motortec aftermarket exhibition takes place in Madrid (from 20-23 April), Grupo Alves Bandeira will present its range of Matrax brand tyres. According to the company, this is the first time that Matrax Tires have been displayed in Europe. In addition, Grupo Alves Bandeira will also use its presence at the Madrid event to present its AB and Matrax branded lubricants and batteries.
The evolution of its International Department is behind the recent growth in exports from Iberian Peninsula-based tyre distributor Neumáticos Andrés. Exports accounted for 25 per cent of its 2021 sales, with deliveries reaching customers in more than 30 countries around the world.
Bekaert considers the installation of a solar park within the grounds of its plant in Burgos, Spain a “significant step in progressing on the company’s sustainability ambition to reach Carbon Net Zero by 2050.” The facility at the Industrias del Ubierna SA (Ubisa) site will produce over 14 GWh of electricity per year, equivalent to the annual consumption of more than 4,000 households.
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