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Michelin OE on New Komatsu 860E-1K Dump Truck

Michelin has announced that its XDR earthmover tyre will be standard to Komatsu’s new 860E-1K ultra-class dump truck, which was unveiled at the MineExpo 2008 trade show in Las Vegas. The 860E is a rigid frame dump truck capable of operating on the most demanding surfaces and carrying payloads of up to 280 tonnes. It is fitted with a 2,700 hp, diesel-electric hybrid drive system and includes a factory-installed trolley option.

Michelin also produces the only radial tyres in the world designed specifically for the Komatsu 960E electric drive dump truck, which was introduced in May 2008. Michelin worked closely with Komatsu at the proving grounds in Arizona to evaluate the Michelin XDR in the 56/80R63 size that equips the 960E.

4th November 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

CV Fleets Face Tough 2009

At the beginning of 2008, before talk of the economic slowdown was headline news, truck fleets were suffering from high fuel prices, increased regulation and low-cost competition from abroad. In retrospect, when some of these fleets called in the administrators during the first quarter of the year it was a sign that harder times were coming. But now that it is widely accepted that we are entering a recession, what does this mean for the tyre businesses supplying fleets?

The latest new truck registration data makes fairly miserable reading, but sources within the tyre business are predicting that fleet sales will ultimately be insulated from the worst effects of a recession. According the SMMT data, new commercial vehicle registrations were down 19.2 per cent in September and 0.7 per cent to 377,531 for the year-to-date. When this is broken down, it is clear that the van market has born the immediate brunt of the credit crunch (down 22.1 per cent for the more and 4.6 per cent year to date), with truck registrations actually growing 3.6 per cent for the rolling year. Despite this, some sources have predicted that OEM production could be down by as much as 20 per cent in 2009. The main European tyre manufacturers are taking this trend seriously enough to have cut European truck tyre production by around 10 per cent on average.

4th November 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Conti to Implement Cost Reduction Programmes

In light of slowing world markets, as highlighted by the company’s latest quarterly financial figures, Continental is cutting back production at a number of its facilities. Amongst the measures to be introduced to this effect are a shortening of the working week, a prolonged end of year shutdown period, and a reduction in the number of temporary employees on the company’s payroll.

“Continental is well prepared for the difficult challenges ahead,” said Executive Board chairman Dr. Karl-Thomas Neumann. “Nonetheless, we have initiated additional programmes to cut costs. For instance, in the Automotive Group we will reduce the number of temporary workers, greatly lengthen the plant holiday shutdown period at the end of the year by using the existing work time accounts, and, depending on the location and the order situation, deviate downwards from the five-day-week until further notice. Furthermore, we are putting investments that are not urgent on hold,”

3rd November 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

CITExpo 2008 Focuses on Trade

Official figures now put attendance at this year’s CITExpo at 6860 visitors and 311 exhibitors. With at least three main tyre exhibitions operating in China, not to mention a tyre recycling and retreading fair, other related rubber conferences, and other exhibitions in the Far East T&A asked if there will be a kind of consolidation in the show sector, with the more provincial exhibitions ceasing to be international scale events. Wilko Fong, director of CITExpo organisers, Reliable Exhibitions, shied away from commenting on the relative success of other exhibitions. Instead he preferred to quantify CITExpo’s success on its own merits: “CITExpo is now a mature show and while it is still growing now, after 6 years future growth is likely to level off and mature. The show is likely to become a more regular established show for tyres.”

CITExpo has a character of its own. There may not have been a full complement of the top 10 Chinese tyre manufacturers present at the 2008 show, but large scale manufacturers such as Triangle and Sibur took very significant sized stands. Sibur’s reasoning for its involvement with CITExpo was particularly telling. Bearing in mind the fact that, at present, the large Russian manufacturer generally exports economy-orientated truck tyres, China (home to probably the largest manufacturing base for this level of products in the world) is unlikely to be the end destination the company was aiming to reach. In stead Sibur invested in exhibiting at CITExpo in order to meet European buyers sent east to procure next year’s stocks.

3rd November 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Nokian Tyres Reports Positive Third Quarter Results

Despite announcing the need to idle workers at its Finland factory to adjust production, the latest financial figures for Nokian Tyres shows a company doing well in 2008. Results for the quarter ending September 30 show net sales, operating profit and net profit have increased both during the three-month period and during 2008 as a whole.

31st October 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Truck Tyre Dumping Probe Begins in India

India’s Commerce Department has, according to national media, commenced an investigation into alleged dumping of Chinese and Thai made truck and bus radials in the Indian market. The decision to launch this investigation follows a complaint lodged by national tyre industry representative body, the Automotive Tyre Manufacturers Association (ATMA).

30th October 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Michelin Revises Full Year Targets

Michelin’s financial results for the quarter ending September 30, 2008 show a slight increase in sales during the three month period. However, upon releasing its figures the company also warned that a drop in European and North American demand makes it unlikely that previously set targets will be reached. In July, the Michelin Group based its estimated result of around 8.6 per cent for the full year on the assumption that “second half markets do not worsen beyond estimated levels” forecasted at the time. It now reports the different trends recorded since early October point to a sharper deterioration of demand in most European and North American countries. If this trend is confirmed in November and December, Michelin should post 7 to 7.5 per cent operating margin before non-recurring items for fiscal 2008. The company’s 2007 operating margin stood at 9.8 per cent.

30th October 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Dekk Partner Develops New Structure and Marketing Strategy

While there are a few retail chains such as Dekkman and Vianor operating in Nordic markets, the majority of tyre sales are down to a considerable number of independent operators with one or two depots. For most of these as much as 60 per cent of annual tyre sales are compressed into the four month period leading up to the onset of winter. This figure is higher in the North, where the winter season is both longer and harder. High transport costs, extreme seasonal business and little chance of same day deliveries means that high stock levels are usually required at each retail outlet. Despite these difficulties the independents are generally faring better than the equity chains.

Increasingly, independent tyre retailers in Nordic countries are joining what is now recognised as the leading buying group in the region and one of the most progressive international tyre buying groups; Dekk Partner, founded in 1994.

30th October 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Delticom Consolidates Car Fleet with Online Portal

The leading e-Commerce tyre retailer in Europe, Delticom, has announced that it is to merge its current car fleet business with the company’s buff new online portal. The change means that trader fleet owners can now purchase tyres through user-customised settings at the e-tailer’s online presence, www.flotten24.de.

The site will allow any user wishing to buy tyres from Flotten24.de to register free; following which visitors will be able to access the site’s comprehensive web-based catalogue of tyres and accessories. In this way, car tyres, lorry tyres, light truck tyres, motorbike tyres and high-quality motor oils will be offered in the fleet shop, while a personal sales contact will give advice to fleet customers and negotiate individual fleet solutions. In addition to these services, Delticom states that a network of professional service partners – which currently numbers over 5,700 in Germany alone – is available to fit online purchases. The average delivery time, the company adds, is between 48 and 72 working hours.

29th October 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Rema Tip Top Offers New Mobile Truck Tyre Changer

Rema Tip Top is promoting a new solution for mobile truck tyre changing. The Unimont system features a newly developed telescopic slide, enabling the user to work outside a service truck or trailer, and mount and demount 16.5-to 24.5-inch tyres on 15 degree drop centre rims quickly.

All rims are generally clamped with their short section showing outwards. For bead breaking the wheel is turned with an electric motor, while the bead is demounted through the bead breaking cylinder in a one-step-operation.

27th October 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Conti Renews Business Relationship with VW and Audi Canada

Continental Tire Canada has renewed its business relationship with Volkswagen Canada and Audi Canada. As of October 1, the Volkswagen and Audi sales and service network, which includes 170 Volkswagen and Audi dealerships across Canada, is able to offer customers a comprehensive line of Continental and General passenger and light truck tyres as well as Gislaved winter products. As part of the new agreement, all dealers will be able to offer their customers tyres for any Volkswagen or Audi model and can choose from among the three tyre brands.

24th October 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

More Goodyear Plant Shutdowns Imminent

News of further shutdowns at Goodyear truck tyre division factories is circulating in the US media. The latest, reported by the Topeka Capital Journal and local television stations, concerns the company’s Topeka, Kansas factory, most recently closed for the week starting October 13. Goodyear says that two further week-long closures await the plant this year.

According to Goodyear spokeswoman Amy Brei, the shutdowns are to take place the weeks of November 3 and December 1. Goodyear officials blame the shutdown on Hurricane Ike and reduced demand for truck tyres. Raw material and fuel costs, along with a flaccid economy were also factors, said Brei.

23rd October 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

For Yinbao Tyre, imitation is the highest form of flattery

International News, News

Western European manufacturers’ complaints that their products have been copied in the Far East are well reported. However, Shandong Yinbao Group is one of a select few Chinese tyre manufacturers that have suffered product piracy too.

According to international marketing manager Gavin Liu, the Shouguang-based Yinbao Group recently discovered that its growing off-the-road (OTR) product range was being copied, with the pirates making use of the company’s Goodtyre name: “We have found some faked tyres recently in the market copying the Goodtyre brand name of OTR products – which is both damaging and illegal.” Fighting back in a letter to customers, Yinbao representatives wrote: “Companies and people who undermine the interests of clients and reputation of our group will be investigated for legal responsibility according to law.”

23rd October 2008/by Chris

Indian Production Rises as Exports Fall in August

Indian tyre manufacturers have seen production across all segments rise five per cent (6,990,767) on August 2007 (6,674,269), while the numbers for the first five months of the new financial year yielded an eight per cent gain on the average monthly production (7,059,732) against the same period in 2007, say figures released by the Automotive Tyre Manufacturers’ Association. The same could not be said for exports, where the cross-segment figure for August ’08 dropped considerably by 12 per cent from 535,325 to 473,444.

A particular highlight of the collected statistics is the action of the Tractor segment in August. Exports fell by 71 and 41 per cent respectively in front and rear categories compared to the monthly figures for 2007, though at the same time production in these sections rose 18 and 103 per cent. As these proportions suggest, the numbers for rear Tractor tyre production are particularly striking, going from 100,676 to 204,118 for August YOY. In terms of average monthly production between April and August 2008, front and rear Tractor tyres have increased in numbers by 10 and 30 per cent compared to the same five months in 2007. Looking at export figures, these segments have also witnessed an average month-on-month decrease of 41 and 17 per cent respectively in the same period.

20th October 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Pirelli Russia Factory Work to Begin March 2009

According to Russia’s Interfax news service, construction work on Pirelli’s tyre factory in Togliatti will begin in March 2009. This announcement was apparently made by Vladislav Kapustin, head of the Samara region’s Industry, Energy and Technology Ministry, at a press conference during the opening of an automotive industry trade show in Togliatti.

“The talks with Pirelli are proceeding successfully,” said Kapustin. “An entire Pirelli delegation visited the future site of the plant in Togliatti. Pirelli’s plans are to begin work at the site in March. Practical plans are not being revised.”

15th October 2008/by Tyrepress Editors