Unexploded WW2 bombs prompt evacuation of Continental tyre plant
A Continental tyre factory in Hannover, Germany was evacuated yesterday as part of a planned action to defuse and remove a number unexploded bombs dating from the Second World War. The plant, adjacent to the company’s current headquarters, was closed along with hospitals and nursing homes in the area. Some 50,000 local residents were required to leave their homes.
Continue ReadingNew headquarters for Toyo Tire
Towards the end of this month, Toyo Tire & Rubber will move into a new headquarters building. The Japanese manufacturer will relocate some ten miles, from Nishi-ku, Osaka to Itami, Hyogo. The move will take place on Sunday 28 May and see Toyo housed in a new six-storey building next to the company’s Tire Technical Center. Operations at the new headquarters will begin the next day.
Continue ReadingRe-globalisation of the international tyre market?
In the last few weeks, Apollo has initiated production at its new Hungary tyre factory and launched a brand new European truck tyre range (see Company News section pages 32 – 24); Doublestar has confirmed that it is the only remaining bidder in the race for 42 per cent of Kumho Tire (see pages 36 - 37); and as we went to press, Finnish tyre maker Nokian announced that it will build its third production plant, this time in the USA. All this points to what we might call a re-globalisation trend. Rather than businesses from the large so-called developed nations expanding around the globe, this second wave of international expansion sees the roles reversing to some extent. While before the Western nations were looking to invest in fast-growing “emerging” economies, now the proverbial shoe is on the other foot and large companies in what used to be called the BRIC nations are investing in more developed tyre markets.
Continue ReadingNokian to invest $360 million in new US tyre factory
Nokian Tyres’ board of directors has authorized its management to sign a letter of intent with the respective authorities to build a new tyre manufacturing facility in America. The new greenfield factory will be located in Dayton (Rhea County), Tennessee, USA. It will concentrate on the production of passenger, SUV and light truck tyres that are sold exclusively or primarily in the North American market. The annual capacity of the factory will be 4 million tyres with an expansion potential in the future. About 400 people are expected to be employed.
Continue ReadingGoodyear providing tyres, support to Istanbul New Airport project
When completed, Istanbul New Airport will be the largest airport in the world. At this point in time, however, the future airport is a 7,650-hectare building site, and Goodyear reports it is supplying tyres and support to more than 3,000 construction vehicles currently at work there.
Continue ReadingApollo truck tyre range ‘fully retreadable’
When Apollo Tyres launched its European truck tyre range at the CV Show last week, the company did so with a pre-planned retreading strategy in mind as well as the headlining “disruptive” digital media strategy.
Continue ReadingTyre makers, Smithers Rapra partner on new test equipment
Six tyre manufacturers – Bridgestone Americas, Continental Tire, Cooper Tire & Rubber, Goodyear Tire & Rubber, Hankook Tire and Michelin North America – and independent, third party laboratory Smithers Rapra have announced a testing partnership to introduce a new MTS Flat-Trac CT Plus tyre test system at the Smithers Tire and Wheel Test Center in Ravenna, Ohio.
Continue ReadingCemb SM1100 to complete range of tyre changes at Autopromotec
Conceived for oversized car and van wheels, SM1100 is a new generation universal leverless tyre changer with central locking system for rims from 12 to 30-inches in diameter, available in both manual or pneumatic versions.
Continue ReadingLiqui Moly lends its name to handball finals
Liqui Moly is back in handball. The German oil and additive specialist is lending its name to the final tournament of the EHF Cup. On May 20 and 21, the four best club teams of the Europe-wide competition will face one another. “As an international tournament, it fits in very well with our strategy of making the Liqui Moly brand even better known outside of Germany,” says Peter Baumann, marketing manager at Liqui Moly.
Continue ReadingNATRE organiser to rethink format, postpones 2018 show
The organiser of the North American Tire & Retread Expo (NATRE) concedes that last month’s event in New Orleans did not meet expectations. As a result, NATRE will not return in its current format, and the next scheduled show has been postponed while the concept is reconsidered.
Continue ReadingGoodyear, union agree terms for closure of Philippsburg factory in Germany
Last October Goodyear Dunlop announced plans to close its Philippsburg tyre plant in southern Germany, and these plans are now official: The tyre maker reports it has agreed to terms for a redundancy plan with the union representing the plant’s 880-strong workforce.
Continue ReadingDoublestar the only bidder left to buy Kumho
Speaking off the record, Chinese executives within Qingdao Doublestar have confirmed the company’s intentions to purchase well-known South Korean tyre manufacturer Kumho Tyre and that it is “now only Doublestar left to buy Kumho”. However, at roughly the same time, Korean newspapers have been reporting that Doublestar probably won’t have the right to use the Kumho brand name post-acquisition. With all this in mind, Tyres & Accessories summaries the story so far.
Continue ReadingZietlow thanks Goodyear for help during record-breaking Dakar to Moscow trip
Three days, four hours and 54 minutes – this is the time Rainer Zietlow and his team took to drive their Goodyear-shod Volkswagen Amarok V6 TDI from Dakar to Moscow. Zietlow, together with Russian blogger Peter Bakanov and journalist Georgy Gloube, arrived in the Russian capital shortly before 10am on 25 April, having passed through ten countries as they covered 7,995 kilometres (4968 miles) in record time.
Continue ReadingSailun Jinyu anticipates RMB 50 million loss in Q1 2017
The bottom line at China’s Sailun Jinyu Group Co Ltd took a hit in the first quarter of 2017. According to preliminary statistics provided by its financial department, the tyre maker anticipates a net loss attributable to shareholders in the vicinity of RMB 50 million (-£5.65 million). In the same three-month period a year earlier, the company reported a net profit of RMB 95.16 million (£10.76 million).
Continue ReadingGuizhou Tyre to set up tyre plant in Vietnam
Guizhou Tyre Co. Ltd. intends to build a truck tyre factory in Vietnam. Chinese industry publication Tireworld writes that the company will invest RMB 1.67 billion (£189.3 million) in the project, which will result in a plant capable of manufacturing 1.2 million all-steel radials per annum. The intention is to set up the factory in the Long Jiang Industrial Park, some 30 miles from Ho Chi Minh City; Tireworld says a 20-hectare site has been selected, with construction commencing in the coming 12 months.
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