Michelin, unions sign “quality of working life” agreement
In order to offer a “comprehensive response to evolving employee expectations” about their working environment and conditions, Michelin has entered into a new four-year agreement with the four labour unions representing its workforce in France. The tyre maker and the CFDT, CFE-CGC, CGT and SUD unions signed the ‘People and their Working Environment’ agreement on 5 January 2023.
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Austria: Goodyear renewed as Mercedes-Benz tyre partner
Mercedes-Benz has awarded Goodyear its ‘Preferred Partner of Tires’ status in Austria for a second consecutive time. The vehicle manufacturer performs a comprehensive evaluation of its partners every two years, and after granting Goodyear this distinction in 2021/22, it has confirmed its preferred status for 2023/24.
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JK Tyre returns as ICOTY presenting sponsor
Promoted by JK Tyre since its inception, the Indian Car of the Year (ICOTY) and Indian Motorcycle of the Year (IMOTY) awards took place for the 18th time in New Delhi on 12 January. Dr Raghupati Singhania, chairman and managing director of JK Tyre & Industries Limited, was on hand to present accolades to this year’s winners, a list of worthies that includes the KIA Carens as ‘Indian Car of the Year 2023’ and the Royal Enfield Hunter as ‘Indian Motorcycle of the Year 2023’.
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Falken showing tyres at Automässan in Sweden
Falken is set to show its range of car, SUV, light truck and truck tyres at the Automässan industry trade show, which will take place in Gothenburg from 18 to 21 January 2023 in Hall A02, Stand 62.
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Agustin Pedroni appointed Bridgestone China general manager
As of January 2023, Agustin Pedroni has become general manager of Bridgestone (China) Investment Co. Ltd. Pedroni joined Bridgestone in Argentina in 1996 and worked in administration, sales and marketing roles in Argentina, Latin America and South America. Pedroni came to Bridgestone Asia Pacific in 2019 is the vice president of marketing and sales and was later promoted to the chief operating officer of the Asia Pacific region.
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Guizhou Tyre terminates ‘all-steel tyre project’
On 11 January 2023, Guizhou Tyre (also known as Advance Tyre) stated that it has terminated one of its recent tyre manufacturing projects before it got to the construction stage. Guizhou Tyre said its “3 million sets of high-performance all-steel radial tyres” a year construction project was closed down effective 31 December 2022.
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Finnish Pride: Nokian Heavy Tyres granted use of ‘Key Flag’ symbol
The Association for Finnish Work, a Helsinki-based organisation tasked with raising the profile of Finnish-made products and ensuring their success, has granted Nokian Heavy Tyres the right to use its Key Flag symbol on tyres, wheels and retreading materials. The Key Flag denotes that these products are produced in Finland and contain at least 50% domestic content.
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Kumho adds Australian series to TCR supply portfolio
Kumho has replaced Michelin as control tyre supplier to TCR Australia, adding the race series down under to a touring car championship portfolio that already sees it providing tyres for TCR Europe, TCR South America, TCR Brazil, TCR Spain, TCR Eastern Europe and TCR Denmark. The tyre maker will also supply control tyres for the new in 2023 TCR World Tour.
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Williams heading Hankook Tire America – 4 promoted
Rob Williams is heading Hankook Tire’s business in North America as the new President of Hankook Tire America Corp. His colleague Jong Jin (JJ) Park has been promoted to the role of Vice-President of USA PC/LT Sales, while Intae (Ted) Choi has become Vice President of North American Marketing Strategy, and Byoungjoe (Joe) Park has been named Vice President of Corporate Management.
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EC provisionally reduces Chinese truck tyre tariffs to €38.87 for most manufacturers
The European Commission has provisionally recalculated anti-Chinese-produced truck tyre import tariffs to between €21.12 and €61.76 per tyre, equating to a reduction of between 0 and 51 per cent, depending on the manufacturer. Consultation on the provisional recalculation is now open until 23 January, before the final determination will be made on 25 January 2023.
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Toyo Tires: We were proud to partner with Ken Block
This year began with the sad news that Ken Block passed away after a snowmobile accident on 2 January. The world-renowned rally driver served as brand ambassador for Toyo Tire Group for the past seven years, and the tyre maker has published a memorial message paying tribute to Block and his accomplishments.
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GRI optimistic about future following resilient 2022
Reflecting on the year that was 2022, GRI’s Dr Mahesha Ranasoma comments that the company “made significant strides in building its GreenLeadership credentials” during the year. The chief executive officer adds that the off-highway tyre specialist “weathered the storms and the impact of the global economic downturn” during 2022, continuing to “remain resilient throughout the year.”
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$174 million investment: Nokian Tyres boosting USA production, warehousing
Nokian Tyres is investing approximately US$174 million to double tyre capacity at its factory in the USA and to expand warehousing capabilities at the Dayton, Tennessee site. This project will lead to the creation of 75 new jobs at the Dayton facility this year, and the expansion will also enable Nokian to add light truck tyres to the plant’s product mix in 2023.
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China’s tyre industry under the wave of infections
With the relaxation of epidemic prevention and control policies, China has experienced a large-scale infection wave since early December. Many tyre factories have experienced or are experiencing worker shortages. The Lunar New Year in China is likely to see hundreds of millions of people to move around the country, leading to a more rapid spread of Covid-19. It is difficult to predict when China will shake off the epidemic’s impact; for the Chinese tyre industry, the current wave of infections is both a challenge and an opportunity.
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ZC Rubber offers IPO update, Thailand factory supports profit in 1H 2022
Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber Co. Ltd (ZC Rubber) recently issued an update on the progress of its initial public offering (IPO). According to the data, Zhongce Haichao (a company established by four local Hangzhou enterprises in 2019 in order to invest in ZC Rubber, namely Hangzhou Great Star Industrial Co., Ltd., Hangcha Group Co., Ltd., Juxing United Holding Group Co., Ltd., and Hangzhou Haichao Enterprise Management Partnership (Limited Partnership) holds 41.08 per cent of the tyre manufacturer’s shares and is the company’s controlling shareholder. Qiu Jianping and his daughter Qiu Fei hold 46.95 per cent of the shares and corresponding voting rights of ZC Rubber through Zhongce Haichao and several other companies and therefore control ZC Rubber.
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