Across the Atlantic they are called tires, while over here we use a “Y” and say tyres. This tag provides the latest tyre business news emanating from the United States of America (USA), whichever way you spell it.
(Tire Review) Malaysia apparently sees an opportunity from the tyre tariff tiff between the US and China. According to Bernama new service, the country’s Chamber of Commerce is encouraging Chinese tiremakers to set up plants in Malaysia in a move to avoid the new 35 per cent tariff on exports to the US.
Yokohama Rubber has announced the expansion of the power steering business operated by it US affiliate YH America, Inc. In making the announcement, Yokohama states “in the changing US automotive market environment, no company can survive the power steering hose market without high product quality and cost competitiveness.” The company notes that, recognising this situation as an opportunity for improving its position in the market, YH America increased its production capacity in May by leasing a plant in South Carolina. This move should propel YH America into the top position on the US power steering hose market.
September's magazine covers the truck tyre market and developments in the battery sector. Also, look out for the latest edition of our Retreading Special supplement, which was published alongside the magazine.
US based automotive component supplier Tenneco Inc. reports it will close its original equipment ride control plant in Cozad, Nebraska as the company continues to restructure its operations globally. The company expects to begin transferring current customer business to other ride control operations later this year, including Hartwell, Georgia, Paragould, Arkansas, and Celaya, Mexico. Tenneco expects to complete the closure in the fourth quarter 2010. Currently 460 hourly and 40 salaried workers are employed at the Cozad plant; Tenneco states that Impacted employees will receive transitional assistance.
In the US, Goodyear has rescheduled an investor conference call to discuss its new, four-year master labour contract with the United Steelworkers union. The conference call, originally set for 28 September as was reported previously on Tyrepress.com, has been moved to 14:00 (GMT-5) on Tuesday, 29 September due to a scheduling conflict. Investors, members of the media and other interested persons may access the conference call on the company’s investor relations website: www.goodyear.com/investor or via telephone by calling (706) 634-5954 before 13:55 that day.
Cooper Tire & Rubber has embarked on a number of measures to boost its competitive edge in the North American market. As part of this the company intends to expand its Tupelo, Mississippi facility, and the groundbreaking ceremony for this project took place on September 22. According to Cooper, the US$7 million expansion work will increase the size of the 1.6 million square foot facility by an additional 32,000 square feet and include the installation of mixing equipment.
Sentaida Group, a distributor of Chinese-manufactured tyres in the USA, has reacted to President Obama’s Chinese tyre tariffs by increasing its prices across the board by 10 per cent. The Tire Business website reports that the company’s general manager, Brian Chung said that the Miami-based distributor would implement the price increase in two weeks. The company distributes brands such as Sentaida, Linglong, Triangle and Sonny, as well as many other Chinese brands. It operates a factory in Qingdao, which opened as Chenchelyn Tire Co in the summer.
Seeking to establish the name in the USA, Continental has awarded exclusive West Coast, Hawaii and Alaska distribution rights of its racing motorcycle tyres to California-based dealer, Superbike Tires.
Continental AG, Hanover, has hired Credit Suisse to act as an independent consultant for “the upcoming financing topics within the corporation.” The move is widely seen as preparation for a refinancing project that could be worth as much as 1.5 billion euros. According to a statement reporting the news, the key task of the advisor is to evaluate options for future sustainable financing and capital structures as well as to enable an optimal refinancing of the company.
“For the upcoming tasks and meetings regarding various interrelated financing topics, we wanted to ensure that we also have the support of an independent consultant without prior or existing connections to any of the stakeholders of Continental,” said Continental CEO Dr. Elmar Degenhart on 17 September. “Our goal is to create a sound financial structure that continues to give us the flexibility to fully realize our strategic goals.”
In the US, Ascot Supply Corp. has added Haweka balancer adapters to its line of tyre and wheel service equipment. "Haweka is a world-renowned innovator of specialty tooling for the wheel balancing industry," said Ascot's Danny Spencer. "We are very optimistic about growth opportunities that this premium product brand will offer our members."
With an ever-growing awareness of the ecological climate, as well as a new precedent currently being set for economical measures introduced specifically for levies on manufacturers of tyres in the Far East, those wishing to import tyres to Europe and the USA need show an awareness of current regulations governing the properties of their products. This has not passed Federal Corporation by: “In an effort to contribute to the conservation of the environment and demonstrate our ongoing commitment to a safer and greener society,” Federal announces it is “to phase out use of the PAH rich extender oils by shifting all categories of tire segments to HA oil free tires following the REACH regulations.” The implementation of the environmental initiative, the company continues, is in compliance with EU directives concerning the tyre industry and is clearly designed to show how the Far East is by no means standing still when it comes to the use of new technologies to meet EU regulations.
Kumho Tire USA officially unveiled its new Ecsta XS KU36, an ultra-high performance radial designed for both track and street performance. The tyre was introduced to select media yesterday at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio.
Apollo has won an OE fitment with Mitsubishi in India. Mitsubishi’s Pajero SUV will now come with Apollo’s Hawkz AT (265/70R15) as standard. The Hawkz range is available in five applications. The HL for highway luxury, AT for all terrain, HT for highway terrain, RT for rough terrain and RTs for off-road maximum traction. An off-road winter version is also available in the Hawkz Ice. Apollo’s Hawkz is already a standard fitment for a number of Indian utility vehicle manufacturers.
Satish Sharma, Chief, India Operations, Apollo Tyres Ltd, said, “Our partnership with Mitsubishi for its Pajero is as much about a product fit, as a personality match. Much like the Hawkz, Pajero has a global appeal because of its performance and customer connect. This is a beginning for both of us, and going forward we are looking to work closely with Mitsubishi India.”
Tyre inflation equipment maker, PCL, will be showing its brand new Accura compact nitrogen analyzer – a rugged piece of equipment which can read the actual percentage of nitrogen in tyres. According to the company, other products on the market read only the amount of oxygen and therefore the PCL analyzer removes the need to convert the oxygen percentage into the figure for nitrogen.
As with all PCL products, the new Nitrogen Analyzer provides the highest levels of accuracy and is made for ease of use, with a simple to operate, one button operation, auto diagnostic with error code to simplify troubleshooting, and a replaceable battery and sensor. The battery life is extended by an automatic power off function.
The Accura Mobile features a Nitrogen “convert and purge” of air inflated tyres and a “top-up” of Nitrogen inflated tyres. It can be used with either a Nitrogen bottle or generator. With six hose outlets for multi tyre inflation it can provide high speed on or off site inflation and is especially designed for US applications.
Meanwhile, the company points out that anyone concerned about California Tyre Pressure should “make a pitstop at PCL booth to find out” more about compliance to these new guidelines.
The Obama administration’s announcement that it is to impose tariffs of up to 35 per cent on Chinese-manufactured imports had a large impact on daily trading in the USA and Seoul, as Goodyear and Cooper shares bumped, and Hankook stock floundered.
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