Point S growth continues in China and the Far East
Following on from openings in mainland China and Singapore earlier in 2022, the Point S master franchisees in Hong Kong and mainland China have opened more Point S locations.
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BKT-made chain-ready OTR tyres get world debut in Australia
BKT Tyres, as well as Australian businesses Tradefaire International and Macmahon, have developed chain-ready underground mining tyres in what the three companies describe as a world first. The new OTR tyres will be launched in September 2022.
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Bolder Industries & Liberty Tire formalise partnership
Last November, US-based sustainable materials firm Bolder Industries announced that it had entered into a partnership with major recycler Liberty Tire Recycling. The two companies have now completed a formal agreement outlining their North American partnership.
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BKT looking to further increase capacity
With capacity expansion projects now completed and being ramped up, BKT anticipates achieving a total capacity of 360,000 tonnes per annum by the end of March 2023. But further growth is necessary if the company is to keep pace with demand for its off-highway tyres. During a conference call with investors on 5 August, the tyre maker confirmed that plans are already “on the drawing board” for additional expansion beyond the current projects.
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Prometeon first to use Rockwell Plex QMS
Commercial and industrial tyre specialist Promoteon became the first customer of Rockwell Automation’s to take on the company’s Plex QMS system during the last three months. The system will be rolled out across Prometeon’s global operations.
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Kenda USA gets $35 million of funding from Huntington Business Credit
On 28 June 2022, Huntington Business Credit announced it closed $35 million of new credit facilities with American Kenda Rubber Industrial Co. Ltd. (Kenda USA). According to Huntington Business Credit, the funds were used to “refinance existing indebtedness and provide ongoing working capital growth financing.
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Norgesdekk buys 67% of Valla Däck AB
Norwegian tyre business Norgesdekk has bought 67 per cent of the shares of Valla Dack AB as part of a move into the Swedish market. The Swedish business, which turns 40 this year, had a turnover of more than SEK 190 million in 2021 (£15.444 million; 18.330 million euros).
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Goodyear’s Cooper integration: Almost 500 jobs to go
During the second quarter of 2022, The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company approved a plan related to the integration of Cooper Tire. This plan aims to streamline the company’s global administrative structure by reducing duplicated positions, and it will also result in the closure of “redundant” Cooper Tire warehouse locations in the Americas. According to Goodyear, the plan will result in “approximately 490 job reductions.”
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Nankang and Federal’s cumulative operating revenue declined
In the first week of August, Taiwanese tyre manufacturers Nankang and Federal successively released operating data for July 2022. Nankang’s operating revenue in July was NT$660 million (about £18.22 million; 21.58 million euros), down 10.8 per cent from NT$740 million (about £20.42 million; 24.2 million euros) in the same period last year. From January to July, the tyre maker’s operating revenue was about NT$4.72 billion (about £130 million; 115 million euros), down 3.08 per cent year-on-year.
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Bridgestone expanding motorcycle tyre capacity
Bridgestone Corporation is investing to increase production capacity for motorcycle tyres at its Nasu plant in Japan, its sole motorcycle tyre production facility worldwide. The tyre maker will invest approximately 1.7 billion yen (£10.4 million) to gradually expand output potential from 2026, with capacity rising by approximately 90,000 units.
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Martin Winter appointed ZC Rubber technical director EMEA & Americas
Zhongce Rubber (ZC Rubber) has appointed Martin Winter technical director tire development EMEA & Americas. Winter took up the position on 1 August 2022. He brings with him more than 20 years’ experience of working in original equipment tyre development with Continental, Goodyear, Hankook, and most recently Sentury Tire, where he was global technical director OE. ZC Rubber opened its Europe Technical Center (ETC) in Hannover Germany in 2021. It will use the ETC to support the global development of its original equipment business and to work with key OE accounts in the region. In his new role, Winter will report to Martin Wells, vice president ZC Technical Center & global OE.
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Bridgestone takes guayule tyres racing
Today is a big day for the Bridgestone team tasked with developing tyres containing natural rubber derived from the guayule desert shrub. An all-new Firestone race tyre with a sidewall made with this rubber makes its competition debut at this weekend’s IndyCar Series racing in Nashville, USA.
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Xingda investing £200 million expanding Thailand tyre cord factory
At the end of July, Chinese tyre cord manufacturer Xingda announced that it is investing 1.6 billion yuan (£200 million; 232.432 million euros; $237 million) adding 200,000 tons of steel cord annual production capacity to its Thailand factory. The planned construction period is 24 months and the project has been officially approved by China’s National Development and Reform Commission.
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ZC Rubber plans to add 2.5 million tyres production capacity
ZC Rubber’s subsidiary in Xindeng Town, Fuyang District, Hangzhou City, is planning to add 2.5 million all-steel radial tyres to its production capacity. ZC Rubber stated that the company plans to build a new production workshop and auxiliary facilities shared by the Xindeng Town plant in the reserved space inside the factory. The total construction investment is expected to be 700 million yuan (about £85.14 million, 102 million euros).
Continue Reading Shandong, China tyre production picks up
First half 2022 data released by several Shandong Province institutions shows that manufacturing output within China’s best-known province for tyre production is picking up.
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