International News
US association welcomes Nokian Tyres as country’s newest tyre maker
The U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association (USTMA) shares that Nokian Tyres has signed up as its 13th member. The company, which opened its factory in Dayton, Tennessee in October 2019 and is currently preparing to start commercial production, joins an association that represents more than four-fifths of the national tyre manufacturing industry.
H&H Industries invests in 51-inch buffer
H&H Industries of Ohio, USA has invested in a TRM Eagle 51 buffer and tread grooving machine as part of its strategy to be a leader in the large OTR tyre market segment. Installation is planned for the third quarter of 2020.
Coronavirus threatens Geneva, but Motor Show will go on
The so-called coronavirus (Covid-19) is threatening Europe’s largest motoring events, with some sources suggesting that March’s Geneva Motor Show won’t be able to take place. However, a statement published by Palexpo (the Geneva Motor Show’s organising company) said the show will go on and that the exhibition is taking all recommended steps.
New European tyre label confirmed, extended to include retreads
Following the news that there will be a new EU tyre label in 2021, the Council of the European Union has announced that it will officially adopt its position relating to the new label on 25 February 2020. In short the new tyre label has been confirmed and will in time be extended to include retreads. At the same time, the rescaling of fuel efficiency and wet grip measures has been halted.
Production reaches 70% at ZC Rubber following coronavirus break
ZC Rubber reported today that production at its plant in Hangzhou, China resumed on 10 February following a pause taken in response to concerns regarding coronavirus (COVID-19). The manufacturer of the Westlake, Goodride, Arisun and Chaoyang tyre brands says production is now at 70 per cent capacity and is expected to return to normal levels soon. Triangle Tyre says its production also restarted on 10 February.
Search for Fintyre investor begins as employees receive insolvency benefits
It’s still early days for Fintyre’s insolvency proceedings in Germany, but some progress has been made. The insolvency administrator appointed to the preliminary insolvency proceedings for 16 Fintyre Group companies reports the appointment of a committee of creditors. This committee will work with a “leading international transaction consultant” to find a new investor for Fintyre. At the same time, some of the Fintyre employees who weren’t paid salaries or wages for January have now received insolvency benefit payments.
Linglong Tire passes MAN supplier audit
This year got off to a good start, says Linglong Tire. Between 7 and 9 January, a team from Man Truck & Bus visited the Linglong International Tire (Thailand) Co., Ltd facility in Rayong, Thailand. The MAN team, responsible for auditing potential suppliers, spent three days at the truck and bus tyre plant. After it passed the MAN potential supplier audit, the team entered the facility into the MAN supplier system.
Davanti appoints MEA sales director to establish new regional office
Davanti Tyres has appointed Najib Chakhtoura sales director for the Middle East and Africa, in order to establish a “permanent presence” in the region. Chakhtoura is tasked with developing relationships with new and existing distributors to increase the brand’s global reach and sales volume. He previously held senior roles developing premium brands across the UAE, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Kuwait and North and East Africa. Chakhtoura will establish a new regional office for Davanti to introduce the brand into new territories across North, East and West Africa, the Gulf States and the wider Middle East.
CEAT inaugurates Tamil Nadu Factory
In mid-February CEAT inaugurated its new Sriperumbudur, Chennai factory in Tamil Nadu region of India.
Aeolus producing 57-inch OTR tyres
At the end of January 2020, Aeolus Tyres announced that the company successfully broke the 57-inch radial OTR tyre barrier. The Aeolus 46/90R57 AG01 earthmover tyre is now the “largest engineering radial tyre” that the company has ever produced.
New Petlas industrial tyre focuses on traction and life
Petlas has released a new industrial tyre that focuses on traction and life time. According to the company, the PtxND33 is designed and developed at Petlas’s R&D base to offer “perfect traction and long life for compact industrial vehicles such as compact loaders, backhoe loaders and telehandlers”.
Reinventing the simulated wheel
For the generations raised in the late 20th century, the idea of travel simulators raises images of a capsule for eight people moved around with hydraulics to match a film, or perhaps contestants tasked with landing a plane on The Krypton Factor. Since those heady days, exponential increases in computer processing power and the ability to model a rapidly increasing range of sensory outputs from a highly complex web of inputs. Compared to the relatively broad strokes of retro aeronautical simulation, the convincingly realistic representation of the driving environment has become a legitimate source of automotive research and development. The latest simulation technology is increasingly making its way into tyre development as a means of increasing the efficiency of product development. With Michelin’s announcement that it would install a new Driver-in-the-Loop (DIL) simulator at its North America Research & Development centre in Greenville, South Carolina, USA, Tyres & Accessories got in touch with its manufacturer Ansible Motion and its international manager for the company’s commercial group, Phil Morse to talk about the increasing prevalence of human-in-the-loop simulation within tyre and vehicle development, and the opportunities it offers.
Fintyre Group employee pay ‘coming’, restarting business operations a priority
All 16 companies in the German Fintyre Group have now applied to open insolvency proceedings. But what lies ahead for the 1300-plus employees awaiting wages and salaries, the affected companies’ creditors, and the companies themselves? Sebastian Brunner, spokesman for Miguel Grosser, the provisional insolvency administrator at law firm Jaffé, told our sister website in Germany, Reifenpresse.de, that approximately 200 Reifen Krieg employees will receive their outstanding January wages and salaries in the coming days. Business at the group’s wholesalers and retailers is largely at a standstill, though the office of the provisional insolvency administrator has some more positive news on this too.
Anger amongst Fintyre Group’s workforce in Germany: “They’re dealing with people, not numbers”
They are resigned, angry and desperate. But above all, they’re disappointed. Disappointed that they weren’t informed about the bankruptcy by their employer Fintyre, but by the media. Our sister publication in Germany, Neue Reifenzeitung, has spoken with staff at TyreXpert outlets in the north of the country to gain an insight into the mood of the workforce.
Ceat begins production at newest plant
Commercial production at Ceat Ltd.’s new production facility near Chennai, India began yesterday, reports the tyre maker. Ceat says production capacity at the plant in Sriperumbudur Taluka will now be “ramped up progressively in a phased manner” up to a daily capacity of 28,500 car tyres and 2,500 motorcycle tyres.