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Zhongce Rubber enters global top ten tyre manufacturers

China’s largest tyre manufacturer, Zhongce Rubber, has entered the global top ten, research published today by Tyrepress shows. Best known in Europe for its Westlake brand, the company has pushed up in the rankings past Giti Tire – manufacturer of GT Radial – which did not supply 2017 figures before the deadline, Toyo Tires, and Cooper Tire & Rubber, which fell three places. Competition in the lower quarter of the top ten places is fierce, with turnovers for tyres between 2.4 billion euros (Cooper in 13th) and 3.2 billion euros (Maxxis in ninth).

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Saudi Aramco to become 100% owner of Arlanxeo

An agreement was signed today for the sale of Lanxess’ 50 per cent share in the Arlanxeo joint venture to its partner, Saudi Aramco. Should antitrust authorities approve the transaction, Lanxess will receive approximately 1.4 billion euros in cash after deducting debt and other financial liabilities for its 50 per cent share in the business, which is valued at 3.0 billion euros. Lanxess, which at the end of June 2018 had a net financial debt of 2.6 billion euros, says it plans to use the proceeds to strengthen its financial basis and reduce net financial debt.

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M-Sport Wheels aims for full coverage with Fox, Riva, F.X & Novus

The company isn’t a household name, and that is no bad thing – what is much more important for M-Sport Wheels is that its four wheel brands have established a name for themselves in the UK and European alloy rim markets. New additions in 2018 are poised to further extend the ranges’ popularity.

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Why tyre shops don’t have to revolve around men

In March Quantcast published data suggesting the automotive sector is missing the mark when it comes to communicating with motorists. You might think advertising campaigns focussed on themes such as “road”, “speed” and “fast” come with the territory, but the survey revealed that such clichés are actually shutting out up to half of potential customers. Why? Because such concepts are generally designed to appeal to men, despite growing purchasing power among women. Indeed, UK government data shows that car ownership among women increased 75 per cent in the 20 years up to 2014.

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Pirelli acquires 49% in Chinese tyre plant to boost APAC ‘high value’ strategy

With investment of 65 million euros, Pirelli is taking a 49 per cent share in a “technologically advanced” consumer tyre plant in China. Through this joint venture partnership with Hixih Rubber Industry Group, Pirelli says it will gain greater production flexibility in APAC, particularly within the high value segment. The new joint venture company has been named Jining Shenzhou Tyre Co.

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Company News

Toyo Tires’ tyre business improves in H1 2018, results muted by ‘dampner scandal’

For Toyo Tire & Rubber, the first half of 2018 was a period of mixed fortunes. The manufacturer reports that turnover and earnings within its core tyre business increased 3.9 per cent during the six months to 30 June, with sales of 160,046 million yen (£1.1 billion) and operating income of 22,669 million yen (£160.8 million) resulting in a slightly improved profit margin of 14.2 per cent. Overall sales were down 3.3 per cent, to 185,738 million yen (£1.3 billion), due to decreased turnover within the company’s automotive parts business.

UK News

GRI extends First Industrial Tyres partnership

GRI has been in partnership with First Industrial Tyres (FIT) for over 10 years where the two companies have worked together in the aftermarket distribution of GRI material handling tyres in the UK. Now that FIT has expanded into Eire with operations in Dublin, so has the GRI distribution deal.

Product News

Multi-purpose MOT diagnostic tool launched

Launch UK has unveiled the CRP MOT PRO, a multi-purpose vehicle diagnosis tool, set to boost support for professional technicians in light of the recent MOT changes, available with over ten special functions.

International News

Marangoni GRP launches India’s first franchised Ringtread plant

Since late 2015, the Marangoni Ringtread process has been represented in India by Marangoni GRP, a joint venture between the Marangoni Group and India rubber recycler GRP. The joint venture operation has now begun the rollout of a network of franchised retreaders within the country – the first, Autobahn Retreading, has opened its doors in the city of Kochi (Cochin). The Autobahn Retreading plant was officially inaugurated by Giuseppe Marangoni, vice-president of the Marangoni Group, together with GRP’s chief executive officer, Harsh Gandhi.

Career Tracks

MWheels appoints European office coordinator

Earlier this year, MWheels established an operation in Germany to spearhead the company’s push into mainland Europe. MWheels GmbH opened for business on 1 February, with the plan being to build up a team over the following 12 to 18 months. This team has now been strengthened with the appointment of Stefan Kantz as European office coordinator.

Motorsport News

Hankook: Brands Hatch round a “good advertisement for motorsport”

With his win at Brands Hatch last weekend, Paul Di Resta closed the gap with championship leader, fellow Mercedes-Benz driver Garry Paffett, to just 29 points in the overall standings. This was Di Resta's third win in Brands Hatch and the tenth of his DTM career. Gary Paffett crossed the finish line as runner-up after 40 laps of racing.

Retreading News

NTDA: EC anti-subsidy decision ‘no great surprise’

Following decisions on the part of the European Commission (EC) to review its Chinese truck tyre anti-dumping tariffs and to decide against implementing anti-subsidy remedies against Chinese-produced tyres for the time being, the industry itself has been responding to the news. For its part, the UK’s National Tyre Distributors Association (NTDA) was not shocked by the news that the EC is not planning to implement anti-subsidy (otherwise known as counter-veiling duties) and highlighted difficulties associated with their implementation.

Comment

Make tariffs great again

The tyre industry has seen its fair share of import tariffs in recent years. The largest scale of these, across the widest range of products, was initiated by the US against Chinese produced car tyres in 2009. That president has been and gone since then (as have further tariffs on car tyres and OTR tyres), but still tariffs are making a huge impact on the tyre industry in the USA and beyond.