On 13 May Michelin North America, Inc. filed suit against Atturo Tire Corporation and Svizz-One Corporation Ltd. alleging the companies infringed a design patent covering the Michelin Latitude tyre tread design.
During a visit to China last week, Thailand’s Minister of Industry, Atchaka Sibunruang, and representatives from the Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand visited the Zhaoyuan headquarters of Shangdong Linglong Tire and the tyre maker’s exhibition space at the China Qingdao International Tire Fair. A meeting also took place on 8 April between the Authority and Shandong Linglong chairman Wang Feng; this resulted in the signing of a letter of intent that will see the tyre maker increase its investment in Thailand through initiating the third phase of its Linglong International Tire (Thailand) plant project, the installation of a rubber compounding facility at the Rayong province site.
There is strong evidence Indonesia will eventually replace Thailand as the main automotive production hub in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), according to Markus Scherer, global automotive sector leader at Ipsos Business Consulting. This could have major implications for automotive manufacturers and suppliers as well as policy planners in both countries, Scherer said.
The first truck and bus radial tyre ran off ZC Rubber’s (also known as Hangzhou Zhongce) newly installed product line at its Thai factory – ZC Thailand – just before Christmas.
The chief executive officer and chairman of the board at Bridgestone Corporation, Masaaki Tsuya, has been appointed honorary investment advisor to the Thailand Board of Investment (BOI). The role was established last month with the purpose of assisting the BOI in promoting Thailand as an attractive investment destination both in Southeast Asia and throughout the world.
The third edition of GRTE 2016 (the Global Rubber, Latex & Tire Expo) will be held at the Bangkok International Trade and Exhibition Centre between 9 and 11 March 2016 in Thailand in association with China United Rubber Corporation (CURC). According to the event’s organisers TechnoBiz, GRTE aims to be “a special meeting point for rubber, latex and tyre industries around the world”.
Sumitomo Rubber Industries is set to raise car tyre production capacity in Thailand by 9 per cent in response to strong exports to the US and anticipated sales growth in Southeast Asia, according to a Nikkei report.
The Apollo tyre brand currently holds an approximate five per cent share in Thailand’s passenger car radial replacement market (excluding the one-ton pickup segment), but Apollo Tyres Thailand is expecting “high double-digit growth” going forward. To facilitate further sales, the company now offers a two year unconditional warranty on its entire passenger car tyre range sold in Thailand.
Growing global demand for Landsail car, high performance and van tyres has prompted Sentury to open a new factory in Thailand and the first Landsail tyres rolled off the production line earlier this week. The new plant will mean a significant increase in the capacity and output of Landsail tyres. A completely automated production line has been introduced, with Sentury investing in the VMI Exxium building machines, which are capable of producing a tyre every 38 seconds.
On 29 June ZC Rubber Group hosted the grand opening ceremony of ZC Rubber Thailand, the leading Chinese manufacturers’ first overseas manufacturing subsidiary, located in Rayong, Thailand. At the same time the company’s top executives took the opportunity to announce the foundation of new TBR production line in order to meet ”the quickly increasing demand on medium and heavy truck tyres from Southeast Asia and South Asia. ZC Rubber will keep on the globalization strategy for a better future.”
Cimcorp, which specialises in intralogistics automation reports that Qingdao Sentury Tire Co Ltd. has made the firm’s biggest ever order. According to Cimcorp Sentury has ordered a turnkey material handling solution for its new factory in Thailand.
Ge Guorong, vice president of Zhongce Rubber Group (known as ZC Rubber), visited Thailand for an update on construction progress of ZC Rubber Thailand factory in March.
Linglong reports that the first truck and bus radials produced at the firm’s Rayong, Thailand production plant rolled off the manufacturing line at 9:28 on 28 May 2015. Construction of the truck tyre production line began in June 2014.
Last week, Bridgestone Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd. officially opened its new Asia Pacific Technical Center (APTC) facility in Thailand’s Pathum Thani Province. The APTC team relocated to this new, larger facility in late March from a site north of Bangkok, where it had operated since its inauguration in 2013. Bridgestone says the new facility will help the APTC to “strengthen its functions and better develop products suited to the region’s customers’ needs and requirements.”
Dubai-based importer-exporter Zafco is to expand the reach of the Thai commercial vehicle tyre brand, Otani. The manufacturer was incorporated three decades ago with the aim of becoming a leading manufacturer of agricultural, off-the-road, and commercial bias tyres in Southeast Asia. Otani has since expanded its TBR range, and now has an eye on Europe, having displayed its 14-size Expero TBR range at Reifen 2014 on Zafco’s stand.
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