Double accolade for Brigade Electronics
Global leader in road safety technology Brigade Electronics has been named on two prestigious business lists.
Global leader in road safety technology Brigade Electronics has been named on two prestigious business lists.
A groundbreaking ceremony took place on 1 August for the joint venture tyre plant that Indonesian tyre maker PT Gajah Tunggal is setting up with Inoue Rubber Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Japan’s Inoac Corporation. The joint venture, known as IGM, is located in Tangerang, Indonesia and will manufacture motorcycle tyres sold under the IRC Tire brand name.
Titan International, Inc. has reported net sales of US$428.9 million for the second quarter of 2018, a 17.7 per cent improvement on last year’s result. Net income applicable to common shareholders for the quarter was $1.0 million, as compared to a loss of $10.3 million in the second quarter of 2017.
When Magna Tyres Group officially commenced production at its Obo Tyres plant in Hardenberg, the Netherlands on 11 January, Obo general manager Peter Schrijver told us that high levels of efficiency, lower transport costs and lower import duties make it “very cost effective” for Magna Tyres to manufacture in Europe. He also said that Magna had placed a further order for 23-, 26- and 29-inch presses and would undertake measures to effectively double capacity. Just over half a year on, the company has completed its first expansion in Hardenberg. According to Magna Tyres, OTR tyre production capacity is almost twice what it was at the start of the year.
Production of truck and bus tyres began at the Sumitomo Rubber Industries Ltd. factory in Ladysmith, South Africa on 19 July. The tyre maker invested 970 million rand (£55.8 million) to add commercial tyre capacity to the plant, thereby ending Sumitomo Rubber South Africa’s reliance upon imports to satisfy demand for its truck and bus tyres in Africa.
Whether in smartphones or televisions, OLEDs (Organic Light-Emitting Diodes) have already entered the mass market. In cooperation with the lighting and electronics expert Hella, vehicle manufacturer (VM) Audi, has recently integrated OLED technology into the rear combination lamps of its new A8.
The UK new light commercial vehicle (LCV) market declined -5.9 per cent in July, with 23,309 vans and pick-ups registered, according to figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
The UK new car market remained stable in July, with year-on-year demand growing by 1.2 per cent, according to the latest figures released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). 163,898 new cars were registered in the month as the market stabilised following a turbulent first six months.
Responding to statistics showing that a third of all tyre related incidents occur during the summer months, released as part of TyreSafe’s summer motoring guide, Absolute Alignment advises all motorists holidaying by car to check tyre pressures and wheel alignment before taking to the road. According to the Department for Transport’s data, despite the UK’s cold weather and difficult road conditions from October through to March, it is actually July and August when tyre related accidents are at their most frequent.
Worldwide Olympic Partner Bridgestone and its campaign ambassador, double Olympic gold medallist, Daley Thompson, will open a pop-up gym on London’s Southbank to mark the decathlete’s 60th birthday. The gym, which will open for one day only, will be located on Riverside Grass, Southbank, London on Tuesday 14 August and is part of Bridgestone’s Olympic partnership campaign, Chase Your Dream, No Matter What. The motivational campaign aims to inspire people of all ages, abilities and passions.
Reigning British Touring Car Champion, Ash Sutton, made his debut in the TCR UK Series this weekend at Oulton Park, taking victory in both races and heaping praise on his Yokohama tyres in the process.
Birmingham headquartered OTR, industrial, construction, and agricultural tyre supplier, Maxam has created what it calls a “first of its kind”, the MS708 solid OTR tyre. The MS708 features “zero maintenance” solid construction, long tread life, high heat resistance, superior wear and cut resistance, softer ride, self-cleaning tread and mounts on standard multi-piece earthmover rims.
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.
At KRW 1.67 trillion (£1.14 billion), sales were up 2.3 per cent year-on-year for Hankook Tire in the second quarter of 2018, however this didn’t stop operating profit slipping 10.4 per cent to KRW 183.2 billion (£125.3 million). According to the tyre maker, operating profit was reduced compared with the same period of last year due to initial operating costs in its tyre plant in Tennessee, USA as well as increasing competition in the Korean market. The operating margin decreased from 12.3 per cent to 10.7 per cent.
Approximately £145 million will be invested in the Bridgestone tyre plant in Poznań, Poland over the next half a decade in order to boost production capacity by around 30 per cent. Quoted in a Bridgestone press release, Roman Staszewski, plant manager and managing director of Bridgestone Poznan, said close to PLN 700 million would be invested and, by 2022, new technology would be added and current production lines upgraded in order to increase daily production capacity from 31,000 to more than 40,000 tyres.
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