US releases report on Chinese tyre tariffs
The full report on the circumstances and arguments behind the decision to approve antidumping and countervailing duties against passenger car and light commercial vehicles tyres from China has been published by the US International Trade Commission. The report, titled ‘Certain Passenger Vehicle and Light Truck Tires from China’, can be read here.
Continue ReadingTyre makers limbering up for IAA Cars
It’s only a month until the world’s largest motor show begins, and several tyre makers have shared news of the innovations and products they will bring to this year’s IAA Cars.
Continue ReadingStrike affects tyre production at 3 Kumho plants
Some 3,300 workers at Kumho Tire’s three South Korean factories went on strike yesterday to protest planned changes to the company’s wage structure. The eight-hour strike affected production at the Gwangju, Gokseong and Pyeongtaek plants and is said to have costed the tyre maker an estimated KRW 5.2 billion (£2.8 million) in lost sales.
Continue ReadingFalken Tyre expands European football involvement in 2015/16
Japanese tyre maker Falken Tyre is intensifying its strategic use of football as a platform for sales and marketing, and for the new season has secured perimeter advertising packages at various clubs playing in the German Bundesliga, Spain’s Primera División, the Italian Serie A and France’s Ligue 1.
Continue ReadingNexen to grow US tech centre
Nexen Tire will soon start work on a larger tech centre in the USA. The Akron Beacon Journal writes that the tyre maker has outgrown its 2008-opened, current centre in Richfield, Ohio, and will break ground on a new facility nearby either before the end of 2015 or early next year.
Continue ReadingHankook sponsoring Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund for 2 more years
German football club Borussia Dortmund (BVB) and Hankook Tire have extended their ‘champion partner’ contract until 2018. The partners’ continued collaboration was announced following BVB’s first home game of the season on 15 August.
Continue ReadingKama tyres win ‘Stan’ award
Tyres manufactured by Tatneft factories have once again been named winners in the annual ‘Best Goods and Services of the Republic of Tatarstan’ awards contest. Winning products include the Kama NR 202 (size 202 315/70 R22.5) and NF 202 (315/70 R22.5) truck tyres made by the Nizhnekamsk SSC Tire Factory and the Kama Euro 236 (sizes 185/60 R15 and 185/65 R15) passenger car tyres manufactured by Nizhnekamskshina.
Continue ReadingRosava installs new equipment, raising agri tyre production
Ukrainian tyre maker JSC Rosava says it has installed a new tyre building machine and universal stickers at its heavy tyre production facility. The company says the machine’s presence will enable it to raise its agricultural tyre production and expand its range by adding new, high-demand sizes. These additions include the sizes 420/70R24TL, 420/70R28 TL, 520/70R38 TL, 18,4R34, 14,9R24 and 600/65R30 TL.
Continue ReadingMitas acquires Australian distributor, opens local sales office
Mitas will have its own physical sales presence in Australia before the end of this year following the company’s acquisition of local Mitas tyre importer and distributor, Mityre Australia Pty Ltd. The deal will come into effect in the fourth quarter of 2015.
Continue ReadingDandelion rubber to feed ‘aggressive’ expansion of Sumitomo’s global production footprint
A number of tyre makers have recently shown interest in Taraxicum kok-saghya (TKS), or Russian dandelion, as an alternative source of natural rubber – one manufacturer is even looking to launch tyres containing this raw material within the next five to ten years. Now Sumitomo Rubber Industries has added its name to the list of tyre firms examining the potential of TKS as a replacement for rubber from the Hevea tree; the Japanese manufacturer has commenced joint research with emerging US-based biotech company Kultevat and is working to find practical applications for natural rubber derived from the yellow-flowered plant.
Continue ReadingEven cheaper Chinese tyres?
While ChemChina’s deal with Camfin to take over Pirelli officially got under way this month, not everyone connected to the economy in the People’s Republic was looking so positive. The stock market has been in freefall and industrial production looks to have taken a big hit. The Chinese state’s answer? To devalue the national currency (the yuan renminbi or RMB) three times in a week and make already cheap Chinese exports even cheaper.
Continue ReadingFirst workers hired for Continental’s ‘high tech’ tyre plant
Continental has begun hiring employees for its HPTC (High Performance Technology Center), the “factory within a factory” built over the past year at its Korbach plant in Germany. Although construction work is not yet complete, the tyre maker expects to fill 24 job vacancies by the end of this year.
Continue ReadingNew automated compounder for Cooper Tire’s Tupelo plant
According to local media reports, Cooper Tire & Rubber will invest US$1.89 million in new equipment for its Tupelo tyre factory in the USA. The investment covers the purchase and installation of a new automatic compounder, along with a 1,300 square metre (14,000 square foot) extension of the facility in order to house the new equipment.
Continue ReadingBridgestone sponsoring New Zealand ‘road transport hero’ award
Bridgestone New Zealand Ltd. has agreed to sponsor the ‘NZ Road Transport Hero’ award, a new honour to be given by the body representing the nation’s commercial freight industry, the Road Transport Forum. The award recognises the actions of truck drivers and other industry members who attempt to save others from harm during the course of their work, and Bridgestone will serve as sponsor for a three-year period.
Continue ReadingShearography mooted as solution to Ghana’s used tyre problem
Shearography is often used to inspect tyre casings for damage prior to retreading, and this technology may soon be employed to check the quality of used tyres imported into Ghana. Official news agency the GNA reports that the Ministry of Transport in Ghana is considering shearographic screening of part-worns as a means of weeding out sub-standard tyres.
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