Yokohama Tire Corporation will open a new 430,000sqft distribution centre in Wilmer, Texas in summer 2021. The company will first distribute Yokohama’s OE tyres from the facility, about 15 miles southeast of Dallas, followed by passenger car/light truck and commercial truck/bus products in 2022. Yokohama operates three other distribution centres in the US: Chino, California; Groveport, Ohio; and Auburn, Georgia.
Jeff Barna, president of Yokohama Tire Corporation (YTC), has been promoted to president and CEO of YTC. Shinichi Takimoto, a senior managing officer of The Yokohama Rubber Co. Ltd. (YRC), and current CEO of YTC, will retain his role as chairman of YTC, as well as president and CEO of Yokohama Corporation of North America (YCNA), chairman of Yokohama Tire Canada Inc. (YTV), and chairman of Yokohama Tire Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V. (YTMX).
The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd. has appointed Koji Watanabe to the position of Associate Officer, Deputy Head of Tire Development Div., Head of Tire Designing Dept. No.3. Previously he was Associate Officer, Deputy Head of Tire Development Div., Head of TBR Tire Design Dept.
Yokohama’s Geolandar CV G058, a grand touring tyre for crossover SUVs, was among the winners at the recent Chicago Athenaeum 2020 Good Design Awards. The award-winning tyre is part of Yokohama’s Geolandar range of tyres for 4x4s, SUVs and crossover vehicles.
Established in 1950, The Chicago Athenaeum Good Design Award, is the world’s oldest and most prestigious worldwide design award. Organised by the Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design, candidate products are judged by experts who evaluate them from diverse perspectives, including design, use of new technologies, materials and function.
Following last month’s preview of the 2021 report, Brand Finance has released its full Tyres 10 ranking. According to the 2021 table, the tyre sector has taken a hit over the last year, with all 10 brands losing brand value. Brand Finance unsurprisingly puts this decline down to the pandemic-related behavioural changes: “Owing to the lack of travel due to lockdowns, car sales are declining, which means tyre brands are selling less units, resulting in a drop in market equity across the industry. Furthermore, since the economy has been riskier in general over the past year, investor risk has increased, triggering a rise in the cost of capital.”
Yokohama Off-Highway Tires Europe Middle East and Africa (YOHT EMEA) has announced across-the-board price increases of 4.5 to 5.5 per cent. An official statement specified that the first price increase of 4.5 to 5.5 per cent was implemented on 1 Jan 2021. The new pricing will apply to the entire portfolio of Yokohama Off-Highway Tires EMEA (including the Alliance and Galaxy brands) and will take effect from 1 April 2021.
Urban planners anticipate a decline in individual car ownership and commensurate increase in use of infrastructure-type vehicles to move people and goods in years to come, and Yokohama Rubber is now planning for this in its newly-announced medium-term management plan, Yokohama Transformation 2023. The company intends this successor to the 2018-launched Grand Design 2020 (GD2020) three-year plan to “serve as the platform” for its growth over the next three years.
Three Japanese firms are jointly conducting pilot testing that involves joining data gained from an internet-capable tyre with a road surface sensing system to map data. The trio – tyre maker The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd.; map and navigation technology specialist Zenrin Co., Ltd.; and technology company Alps Alpine Co., Ltd. – have now also begun studying ways to monetise this technology.
The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd. has expressed pride in its inclusion in two stock indices that focus on companies with strong Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) practices – the FTSE4Good Index Series and the FTSE Blossom Japan Index. This is the 16th consecutive year that Yokohama Rubber has been included in the global FTSE4Good Index Series, and the company considers its continued selection further confirmation that its ESG activities and disclosure practices “meet the highest global standards.” It is also the fourth year in a row that Yokohama Rubber has appeared on the FTSE Blossom Japan Index.
Yokohama Rubber reports it has developed a system that utilises artificial intelligence to predict the physical properties of rubber compounds, and from this breakthrough that it achieved last December has produced a proprietary system that is already being used to design rubber compounds for Yokohama tyres. The manufacturer expects that the system’s ability to conduct a large number of virtual experiments will accelerate compound development, reduce development costs and lead to the development of better-performing products. In addition, the system will simplify the compound-creation process for less-experienced engineers.
Yokohama Mold Co., Ltd. (YMC), the tyre mould production subsidiary of Yokohama Rubber, is expanding production capacity at its Yokohama Mold (Thailand) Co., Ltd. (YMTC) facility in order to strengthen the company’s supply chain in the ASEAN region. Construction of new facilities at the Thailand site began in January and are scheduled to be completed at the end of this year.
Vietnamese officials have interpreted the US Department of Commerce (DOC) anti-dumping investigation preliminary conclusions as “very positive” for Vietnam-produced car tyres. There was even hope that cooperative Vietnam-based tyre manufacturers Local newspapers read this mean Vietnamese tyre factories had been “cleared” by the investigation.
Yokohama Rubber’s off-highway tyre business, Yokohama Off-Highway Tires (YOHT), has unveiled a new corporate identity and corporate logo. The tyre maker says this new identity draws on the company’s century-old legacy while underlining YOHT’s own distinct space in the off-highway segment. As a result, the ATG trademark was phased out around the world as of 1 January 2021.
A new all-Porsche racing series commences in the USA and Canada next year, and Yokohama will serve as control tyre. The Porsche Sprint Challenge North America is a three-class series contested by the current and previous generations of Porsche 991 GT3 as well as the 718 Cayman Clubsport. All cars will race on Yokohama Advan racing tyres, with the Advan A005 slick the rubber of choice on dry tracks and the Advan A006 serving as wet weather tyre.
Aeolus Tyre Co Ltd and its controlling shareholder, China National Tire & Rubber Co. Ltd (CNRC, which is itself owned by Chinese petrochemical giant ChemChina) executed a “share entrustment agreement” on 30 November 2020. According to the agreement, CNRC will “entrust” its 52 per cent shareholding in Prometeon Tyre Group Srl to Aeolus for three years. But the three-year term will be automatically renewed upon expiry.
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Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam [MoIT