Now one of the largest tyre-producing countries in the world, China has an indisputable influence on the direction of global tyre trade. The home of both fast-growing up-and-coming brands as well as a burgeoning domestic market, this tag chronicles China’s involvement with the tyre business.
Shanghai played host to China’s 11th Philanthropy Festival on 13 and 14 January, and Linglong Tire shares that it was well represented at this event. In addition to the company winning the 2021 Philanthropy Driving Force Award, its chairman and president, Wang Feng, was named Philanthropy Person of 2021.
The Sumitomo Rubber Group’s two tyre factories in the People’s Republic of China are now operating on 100 per cent renewably sourced energy. The transition to renewable was completed this month, and Sumitomo Rubber Industries says additional measures will further increase the Changshu and Hunan plants’ sustainability credentials.
Hyundai Commercial Vehicle has worked with ZC Rubber in China for some time now, and the tyre maker now reports supplying new patterns and sizes from its truck tyre ranges for various Hyundai long-haul truck models in this market. Models receiving original equipment ZC Rubber tyres include the Hyundai Hongtu EV, a fully electric light truck, and the Hyundai Xcient.
As 2021 draws to a close, Sailun reports that it has sold 7 million tyres in Europe “and counting”. Sailun is the 16th largest tyremaker by turnover according to our 2021 ranking of leading manufacturers. The company’s newest production base, which is located in Cambodia, started making tyres on 21 November 2021.
A ceremony was held on Tuesday to mark the production of the first TBR tyre at the Jilin Linglong plant in Changchun, China, an event concluding the initial phase of work to set up truck and bus tyre manufacturing capacity in Linglong’s fifth local factory and seventh plant worldwide. Local officials and industry leaders, including management from major vehicle manufacturer China FAW, were on hand to witness this important milestone.
When the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation announced its list of most energy efficient companies within the petrochemical industry (for 2020) in October, it recognised tyre maker Prinx Chengshan as a leading ‘Energy Efficiency Benchmark Company’ for the sixth year in a row. Prinx Chengshan attributes these half-dozen consecutive accolades to its focus on sustainability in recent years, including energy and materials conservation as well as efforts to promote a circular economy.
As part of the global footprint restructuring announced as part of its Mid Term Business Plan (2021-2023), Bridgestone Corporation is shutting one of the two truck tyre plants it currently operates in China. It will close the Bridgestone (Huizhou) Tire Co., Ltd. (BSHZ) facility by the end of 2021, consolidating its manufacturing footprint into the Bridgestone (Shenyang) Tire Co., Ltd. (BSSY) plant.
As of 1 December, Bridgestone Corporation has completed selling all shares in its Bridgestone (Huizhou) Synthetic Rubber Co., Ltd. subsidiary. The new owner of the business, which manufactures synthetic rubber for passenger car tyres, is Taiwan’s LCY Chemical Corporation. Bridgestone announced the planned sale on 15 June 2021.
The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd., announced today that it has succeeded in removing fake Yokohama aluminium wheels from the market in China. Authorities in Foshan, Guangdong Province aided this most recent victory against counterfeiters.
Often when we see the words ‘VMI’ and ‘China’ used in the same sentence, the context is a court ruling or copyright infringement. But although such issues are significant, they tell by no means the entire story of VMI in China. The company is now looking back at its 25 years in this market, a period it describes as one of “extraordinary change in the Chinese tyre industry” – change that “VMI has been at the heart of it.”
Cabot Corporation has agreed to buy Tokai Carbon (Tianjin) Co. Ltd. from Tokai Carbon Group for US$9 million. The carbon black manufacturing facility was commissioned in 2006 and is located in close proximity to Cabot’s current carbon black and speciality compounds facility in Tianjin, China. Cabot will run the plant and intends to continue to supply current customers while conducting technology upgrades. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2022.
2021 has been a year of significant strategic developments for the fast-growing Linglong Tire business. On 10 June 2021, Linglong announced plans to invest in a huge tyre manufacturing facility in Tongchuan City, Shaanxi Province, China, which will output a wide range of products including 15.2 million high-performance radial tyres and 500,000 retreaded tyres. That three-phrase project will see construction commence in April 2022 and will be completed in March 2028.
VMI Holland says it “strongly welcomes” the decisions made by the Higher People’s Court of Jiangsu Province in its favour in two final judgements, delivered on 3 November 2021. The court has not only refused Safe-Run’s application to set aside the first instance judgements that a lower court made against the company; it has also maintained the damages for Safe-Run’s continued infringement of one of VMI’s patents in China.
Hindsight is said to be 20/20, yet this isn’t a faculty that helped the tyre industry this year. Early optimism driven by vaccine rollouts quickly turned to despair as sideways-parked container ships, skyrocketing sea freight prices, rising material costs and supply shortages delivered blow after blow. As we enter the final quarter of the year we have a much clearer view of what’s going on, and what we see is that tyres will be pricier in the coming months – assuming we can get our hands on them.
A number of European industry associations, including vehicle manufacturers’ association the ACEA and wheel manufacturers’ association EUWA, have issued an “urgent call for action against the imminent risk of Europe-wide production shutdowns as a consequence of a critical shortage in the supply of magnesium from China.”
Sailun
Tokai Carbon