It’s not just a logo, it’s a moving logo. Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd. has announced the creation of a moving logo for use in television commercials and online videos. Use of the logo began this month, and can be seen at the end of a video (see below) produced by Yokohama Rubber to document the logo’s development.
A new logo has been created to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Yokohama ‘Advan’ tyre brand. It will be used throughout 2018 as a means for Yokohama Rubber to express its “gratitude to the many people in Japan and abroad who have helped make Advan a hit brand that has been loved for over 40 years.”
A total of US$45.5 million is being invested to expand the Yokohama Group’s global production capacity for off-highway tyres. The investment will cover the production of a new plant in India that will add a further 34,700 tonnes to Yokohama’s capacity by the end of 2019. Work on the plant will commence next month at the site in Dahej operated by ATC Tires Pvt. Ltd., a subsidiary of Yokohama Rubber’s July 2016-acquired off-highway company Alliance Tire Group (ATG).
Three major changes have taken place at Yokohama Tire Corporation (YTC). All promotions are effective immediately.
A new member of the Yokohama BluEarth tyre range specifically aimed at vans will be available from March 2018. The BluEarth-Van RY55 will be produced in a total of 30 sizes for 14- to 17-inch rim diameters. In addition to being sold in European markets, the BluEarth-Van RY55 will be available in Asia (excluding Japan), Oceania, Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa.
Yokohama Rubber has expressed its pride in two awards its UK sales and marketing subsidiary, Yokohama H.P.T. Ltd. (YHPT), has gained this year – the Tyre Manufacturer of the Year award presented by TyreSafe in July and the Industry Marketing Campaign of the Year award gained at the 2017 NTDA Tyre Industry Awards ceremony in October.
Although no specific motorsport activity formed part of the tyre maker’s 100-year celebration at a global level, the centenary year of 2017 proved an incredibly exciting and successful one for Yokohama on race and rally track, with numerous event and championship victories swelling the silverware cabinet.
As of November, Yokohama Rubber has a new global motorsport manager. Minoru Nakayama took on this position earlier this month, succeeding long-time incumbent Naoki Ando.
In addition to developing a new, informatics-based tyre design technology, Yokohama Rubber says it has established a development technology for rubber materials based on materials informatics. The company expects this new technology will “dramatically raise the accuracy and speed of the development of rubber materials with unprecedented high-performance characteristics.”
Some companies celebrate their centenary with a giant birthday cake; Yokohama Rubber has done so by developing a tyre. Although described as a concept, the tyre will come to market this year – albeit just in Japan, in one size (205/55R16 91V) and only on a limited basis. The anniversary tyre is called the BluEarth-air EF21. Yokohama Rubber reports that it is based on the “most advanced technologies and the latest design technique for reducing tyres’ weight and environmental impact.” The BluEarth-air EF21 will be introduced to the world at the 45th Tokyo Motor Show 2017, which opens to the press tomorrow and to the public from 28 October.
Yokohama Rubber is about to release its most quiet tyre to date. It won’t be coming to the UK or Europe any time soon, however – the Yokohama Advan dB V552 is intended for sale in Asian markets, arriving in an initial range of 24 sizes next month. The launch portfolio begins at size 155/65R14 75H and goes up to 265/35R18 97W XL.
There’ll be 100 candles on Yokohama Rubber Company’s cake come 13 October, and as part of its contribution to its parent’s birthday celebrations, Yokohama’s regional head office in Europe has launched a microsite that offers a historical overview of the Japanese firm.
Yokohama Rubber delivered its shareholders good news today upon reporting a 38.7 per cent year-on-year increase in profit attributable to owners of parent in the first half of 2017, with profit amounting to 11.4 billion yen (£79.8 million). Operating income during the six months to 30 June rose 16.8 per cent to 18.4 billion yen (£128.8 million), while net sales increased 15.9 per cent to 310.8 billion yen (£2.2 billion).
Yokohama Rubber stock has been selected for inclusion in two additional indices that focus on the stocks of companies that demonstrate strong Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) practices. In addition to the FTSE Russell FTSE4Good Index, which it has been a component of for 13 consecutive years, Yokohama Rubber has been newly included in FTSE Russell’s FTSE Blossom Japan Index and MSCI Inc.’s MSCI Japan ESG Select Leaders Index.
Yokohama Rubber has revised its projections for interim sales and earnings for the first half of 2017. These latest projections replace those announced on 20 February. The company’s projection for net sales has increased 3.3 per cent to 310.0 billion yen (£2.1 billion), the projection for operating income has been increased 28.6 per cent to 18.0 billion yen (£123.4 million), and the projection for profit attributable to owners has been pushed 46.7 per cent upwards to 11.0 billion yen (£75.4 million).
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.