Thailand Archives - Page 29 of 36 - Tyrepress

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Maxxis to Supply OE for New GM Thailand Models

Starting in May, Maxxis will supply original equipment tyres for two General Motors 2008 models manufactured in Thailand. Tyres produced at the Maxxis International-Thailand plant will be OE for the Korean GM Daewoo designed Chevrolet Captiva SUV and Optra passenger car, both built at the General Motors Thailand assembly centre in Rayong Province, about 120 km south of Bangkok.

For the Captiva, Maxxis will supply sizes 215/70R16 MA-707 and 235/60R17 MA-707, with 255/55R18 MA-S2 as an optional size. For the Optra, Maxxis will supply size 195/55R15 MA-P1.

The Maxxis tyremaking facility is also located in Rayong Province. The relatively new plant, completed only three years ago, produces passenger car and light truck tyres for both the domestic and export markets.

13th April 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Positive Feedback from Automechanika Asia

Major Southeast Asian automotive parts and equipment exhibition Automechanika Asia has been staged for the fifth time, and has been praised as a great success. At least 5,480 buyers from 60 countries and regions visited the exhibition, held at the new Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre between 29 March and 1 April 2007. While the majority of the visitors were from Malaysia, the exhibition also attracted many attendees from other Asian countries, most notably China, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand. The organisers of the exhibition report that attendee feedback was very favourable, with most exhibitors responding positively to the high quality and professionalism of the buyers onsite.

As part of the Automechanika global group of trade fairs, Automechanika Asia offers a professional forum where automotive industry suppliers and buyers can meet, create partnerships and build their business in the booming ASEAN region. A total of 151 exhibitors from 18 countries & regions joined the show, including those from Australia, Canada, China, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, Singapore, Spain, Taiwan, Thailand and the UK.

12th April 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Stamford Sport Wheels: Swift Growth in Asia

Stamford Sport Wheels (SSW) is gaining popularity as a provider of quality aluminium wheels courtesy of its TÜV certified manufacturing complex near the Thai capital Bangkok. A division of Stamford Tyres, SSW was established in 1995 and today produces more than 30,000 wheels each month, with 80 per cent of these destined for export markets.

SSW describe their facility in Thailand as ‘state-of-the-art’, and all equipment in use is fully automated and computerised, with each level of production closely monitored and controlled. All wheels are cast using the tilting gravity casting technique, complete with automatic robotic feeding which results in less air turbulence during the pouring process. This results in ensure stronger and more durable wheels with reduced porosity and fewer pinholes.

26th March 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Rubber Supply Tight for Five More Years

The International Rubber Study Group has warned that supplies of natural rubber will remain constrained until at least 2012 as current levels of production are not keeping pace with rising demand from China and India. The group’s secretary-general, Hidde Smit, even warned that output in Malaysia, the world’s third largest rubber producer, is expected to fall below 1 million metric tonnes by 2020 from its current annual level of 1.2 million tonnes due to farmers cutting down rubber trees and replacing them with oil palms.

The price of natural rubber has more than doubled since 2002, prompting farmers in Thailand and Vietnam, the world’s largest and fifth-largest producers, to plant more trees,. These will take about five years to reach commercial production. “It’s been a very tight market that we’ve been experiencing since 2002,” Smit said. He added that this situation would continue until about 2012, when current new planting in other countries enter production.

22nd March 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Michelin Thailand Urges the Use of Radials

The Thailand division of radial tyre pioneer Michelin has urged local truck and bus business operators to switch to radial tyres in the interest of safety, cost effectiveness and environmental benefits. The president of Michelin Siam Co. Ltd, Prayong Hirunyawanich said that although the company has sold radials in Thailand for 16 years, their sales are still overshadowed by those of conventional bias tyres. Statistics show that about 1.8 million tyres are fitted to trucks and buses every year, but only half a million – 28 per cent – of these are radials.

The use of radial tyres is low because consumers are not aware of the products and they are turned off by the initial 30-50 per cent higher price compared with bias tyres, says Netiphand Hutasingh, Michelin’s truck and bus marketing manager. “Most consumers first think about their spending if they switch to radial tyres but they do not really know the benefits they will receive from the products in the long run,” he commented.

20th March 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone Plans New Thailand Proving Ground

Thai Bridgestone Co. Ltd has been granted official approval from the Thailand Board of Investment to establish a new proving ground. The company intends to construct a facility for the purpose of enhancing Bridgestone’s research and development capabilities in Thailand, and it is hoped this new centre will improve the speed and efficiency of testing for both the OE and aftermarket sectors. Additionally, the proving ground will also be used for both internal and external sales promotion and training and safety education activities.

Thai Bridgestone does not intend for the new facility to only serve Thailand’s domestic market. It also plans to utilise the facility for developing and evaluating tyres for the Asia and Pacific markets. The new proving ground is needed to supplement Thai Bridgestone’s current proving ground, opened in 1996 and located adjacent to the company’s Nongkhae factory, as this facility is currently struggling to keep up with future market requirements due to increasing vehicle ownership levels throughout the Asia/Pacific regions. The new and larger-scale proving ground will be suitable for the development of the next generation of high-performance tyres, which will be evaluated at the facility.

19th March 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Fire Damages Goodyear Thailand Facility

A sizeable fire destroyed large sections of a Goodyear factory in Pathum Thani province, Thailand, on March 2. The fire that broke out in a mixing room at about 11.30pm burnt through the factory in about two hours.

6th March 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Marshal Tyres Offer 4-year Warranty in UAE and Iran

The exclusive distributor of Marshal tyres in the UAE and Iran, Varga Trading co. LLC has announced that it will be providing a 4-year warranty. “Most people in this region are shocked to hear that our tyres have such a long-term warranty, our tyres are of the highest quality and we are convinced that they can out-perform many of the very expensive brands. The stated four-year warranty is a message of confidence to end-users about the quality of Marshal tyres and a message to our dealers that we are committed to providing them with superb after sales services,” said Varga’s VP, Alireza Moaref.

2nd March 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Sixth Consecutive Record Year For B-Quik

International News

2006 was the 6th consecutive record year for B-Quik, the Thailand-based tyre and car services retailer. The company serviced 250,000 customers through its total of 45 centres, of which three were new stores opened during 2006.

22nd February 2007/by Peter Gardner

Greater Commercial Vehicle Focus – Bridgestone India

Bridgestone India intends to increase its production capacity by 1,000 tyres a day to a daily capacity of 11,00 tyres at its plant in the central state of Madhya Pradesh and is gearing up to cater for the commercial vehicle market to a greater extent.

19th February 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Thai Recall for Michelin

Following Michelin Australia’s recall of a potentially unsafe light truck tyre sold in the Australian market, Michelin Siam has recalled 55,000 units of this particular tyre and other variants. The recall involves the tyre models 225/70 R15 100S LTX A/T TL and 225/75 R15 102S LTX A/T TL.

A possible weakness in the bead area leading to a rapid loss of air pressure has presented itself in these tyres, which were manufactured at Michelin’s Thailand plant between January 2005 and October 2006 and were sold in Thailand during this period. Details of which markets the tyres were also exported to are not available at present.

19th December 2006/by Tyrepress Editors

Safety Issue Prompts Tyre Recall

Michelin Australia has recalled a potentially unsafe recreational light truck tyre. The company has stated that the tyre’s bead area was less robust than expected and any failure in this area could lead to a rapid loss of air pressure. The tyres, which have the identification number 225/70 R15 100S LTX A/T TL were manufactured in Thailand between January 2005 and October 2006.

Michelin Australia has said that only a small quantity of the tyres were brought to Australia and any such tyre will be replaced free of charge.

18th December 2006/by Tyrepress Editors

Hayes Lemmerz Reports Loss, Continues Restructuring

Wheel and automotive parts manufacturer Hayes Lemmerz International Inc. has reported a third quarter loss of US$59.6 million, up from US$13.3 million a year earlier. The company has been quick to point out, however, that this figure includes the sum of US$39 million paid as an asset impairment charge for their suspension facilities in Indiana and Michigan. Third quarter sales for the company were also down 2.4 per cent to US$589.5 million.

12th December 2006/by Tyrepress Editors

Last NTDA President Dies in Thailand

Tony Cooke, President of the NTDA from 1997 to 1999, died of a heart attack in Thailand last week, the association has reported. Cooke, who was the association’s last president following a complete reorganisation of the officer structure, was also a keen supporter of the NTDA South East Region. He was chairman of the South East Region in the early nineties before taking over the principal role within the NTDA. Together with his brother Derek, Tony Cooke was a co-director of Carterton Tyres in Oxfordshire before moving to Thailand.

8th December 2006/by Tyrepress Editors

Sabanci Purchases Indonesian Tyre Yarn Company

As part of its plans to expand into east Asia, Turkish corporation Sabanci has agreed to purchase a controlling stake in the Indonesian tyre-yarn firm PT Branta Mulia Tbk.

7th December 2006/by Tyrepress Editors