Stamford Tyres
Stamford Tyres Distributors India Private Limited (Stamford Tyres India) was incorporated on 6 July 2005 with an authorized capital of 500,000 rupees (£5700) and will sell and distribute wheels and tyres to the Indian market.
On the back of record net profits of 15.6 million Singapore dollars, Stamford Tyres plans to further strengthen its position through European expansion plans. As far as products are concerned, Stamford representatives told Tyres & Accessories that the company will continue strong sales of its “major brands,” (Falken, Dunlop and Continental) but also plans to further develop its range of proprietary tyres (Sumo, Firenza etc), while doubling its alloy wheel production capacity.
(Akron/Tire Review) Stamford Tyres Corp. announced record net profit of 15.6 million Singapore dollars for the financial year ended 30 April, an 80.8 per cent growth over the S$8.6 million (£2.957 million) recorded in 2005. Revenue grew 32.4 per cent, to S$253.2 million (£87 million), the company said.
Making an appearance as an exhibitor at Reifen 2006 will be Far-East based Sumo Tyres who will promote their growing range of Firenza radial truck tyres and launch a new Firenza high performance pattern at the same time.
As a thriving division of the Stamford Tyres group of companies, Sumo will be using the show to further enhance the company’s Firenza brand in the European market and an extensive collection of truck tyres will be on display for inspection by both existing and potential new customers.
For Stamford Tyres the Chinese market is not new. There they have a local partner that produces some of Stamford’s private brands such as the Sumo truck tyre. Also, the new PCR private brand “Sumo Akina”, which will be launched by the end of this year, will be manufactured in China. China is becoming more interesting not only as a production base, but also as a potential sales market. China the giant is taking centre-stage for many wholesalers, including Stamford Tyres from Singapore.
Singapore’s Stamford Tyres has published first half 2006 results which show the company is ahead of schedule as far as net profits are concerned. In the six month period ended 31 October the company recorded a 114.3 per cent rise in net profits to S$6.5 million.
Hanksugi Japan has a new distributor for the UK. Following Hanksugi Japan’s decision to release Stamford Tyres from any duties in Europe, North West Tyres (NWT) from Morecambe, Lancashire, has been appointed as a partner for distribution. As NWT’s managing director Andrew Wess explains, his company has just received the first 20 containers full of Hanksugi truck tyres from the company’s factory in China. These tyres, which are first to be supplied to Europe’s central warehouses, are what Mr Wess calls an “initial buffer stock” for the sales operations that are about to commence. When NWT took over the Hanksugi business in the UK itself, the company began looking “for the right people” in other European markets. North West Tyres says it can guarantee on-time supply, even at short notice for customers in the UK or Ireland and for relatively small amounts because it runs its own delivery fleet of 20 vehicles.
(Akron/Tire Review) Former Continental Tire North America executive Jim Seidel has been named vice president and chief operating officer Stamford Tires & Wheels Inc a North American subsidiary of Singapore-based tyremaker Stamford Tyres Corp Ltd.
Oldbury-based tyre wholesaler International Tyres & Trading Ltd. (IT&T) has recently been appointed the sole UK and Ireland distributor for Firenza truck tyres; a brand new to the market.
IT&T was founded in 1991 by directors Mike Bolton and Paul Jackson. Both men had considerable experience of the tyre industry – Bolton in retreading and Jackson in wholesaling – and they set up IT&T to supply retailers, rather than end users, with tyres. From Day 1 the business concentrated on truck tyres and built up a reputation as a supplier of premium, leading brand names. “We were not known as a budget brand provider” said Mr. Bolton. Even today, truck tyres account for around 90 per cent of the company’s business but in the past couple of months, IT&T has taken a different direction by taking on the Firenza franchise.
Next month sees the much anticipated return of Brityrex. After an eight year absence the show is returning to Harrogate as Brityrex International and the organisers, ECI International, are determined to deliver exactly what they promised from the beginning – an exhibition dedicated to the tyre and related industries. Tyres & Accessories caught up with event organisers, Paul Farrant and Rowena Suthers, of ECI international, to discuss the up and coming event, in this, the final countdown to the show.
There hasn’t been a UK tyre trade show for years, so why re-launch the show?
“The UK is an important market and it should have its own tyre show,” enthused Rowena Suthers, when asked about the company’s decision to revive the show. Brityrex dates back to 1979 and was seen as the only opportunity for the UK tyre industry to get together and exhibit its wares. Tyre Exhibitions held the last show in 1997, an exhibition that Paul Farrant and Rowena Suthers, now ECI International, were originally involved with. As well as having first hand experience of the show itself, the organisers also bring with them the knowledge gained from running the successful exhibition, Tyrexpo Asia. Together the pair have 38 years of experience in organising exhibitions and as frequent exhibitors themselves they know what exhibitors want as well as what the tyre trade wants.
“UK legislation is changing and shows like Reifen and SEMA can’t satisfy the needs of companies present in the UK market. Brityrex was never intended to be a Reifen or a Sema but it was meant to be as important to the UK market as they are to their respective markets,” explained Rowena. And what about demand for a UK show? “As the second largest market in Europe there is demand there, it’s an important market, it has always had its own event and it deserves to have its own show.”
Singapore company, Stamford Tyres, has discovered fraudulent acts committed by an employee responsible for its Brunei, Sarawak and Labuan markets, according to a report from Channel News Asia.
No names were given, said the news source, but the company has lodged a police report.
The loss arising from the fraud is estimated at S $500,000 (£159, 950). The company has insurance coverage for fraud and dishonesty by its employees to a limit of S$250,000 says the report.
Falken Tire Corp is to discontinue the marketing and distribution the Ohtsu medium truck tyre. The move will become effective from 1 January 2005.
Rising real income in booming economies like China and Thailand are driving sales of automobiles there, Singapore companies YHI International and Stamford Tyres are poised to ride the strong tide of demand.
Singapore-based Stamford Tyres is entering into a joint venture with Sumitomo Rubber Industries to produce passenger car radials in a new factory in China, being built by SRI. SRI will hold 60 per cent of the JV. The factory should begin production in the first quarter of next year and will eventually have an annual capacity of three million units, destined for both domestic and export markets.
Shares in Singapore-based Stamford Tyres rose by over 13 per cent on news that the company’s net profit had risen from S$ 2.75 million (1.39 m Euros) last year to S$ 8.18 million (4.12 m Euros) for the latest fiscal year. This comes at a time when the Singaporean economy shrank by 11.8 per cent in the second quarter, as tourism was hit by the SARS virus and the war against Iraq led to a decrease in production, said the Government.
If you would like the latest news from the Chinese tyre industry in Chinese, visit our partner site TyrepressChina.com. Or click below to continue on Tyrepress.
