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.
Trelleborg Wheel Systems has agreed to to acquire Maine Industrial Tire, a US-based solid tyres manufacturer. Maine Industrial Tire’s headquarters is in Massachusetts, US, while its production facilities are located in Pennsylvania, U.S., and Xingtai (Hebei), China. Annual sales amount to approximately 600 million Swedish Krone and approximately 650 people are employed in the company. The acquisition is expected to be completed by the end of 2012.
At its Capital Markets Day earlier this month, Swedish firm Trelleborg outlined a new organisational structure. As of 1 January 2013, the Trelleborg Group will be divided into five business areas; Trelleborg Coated Systems, Trelleborg Industrial Solutions, Trelleborg Offshore & Construction, Trelleborg Sealing Solutions and Trelleborg Wheel Systems. The company says the new arrangement makes for a “more focused” organisational structure.
Maxxis reports that it “remains at the forefront of ATV tyre development” with its range of utility, ATV and specialist sports quad tyres, renowned for delivering superb all-round performance across a variety of applications. And, of course, all these are useful in farming and agricultural applications. With all this in mind, it probably won’t come as a surprise that Maxxis is an accredited OE supplier to all the top ATV manufacturers, including Yamaha, Honda, Kawasaki, KTM, Polaris and Suzuki.
“People in this world will always eat bread and rice,“ an agricultural tyre supplier said some years ago while participating in a panel of experts. However, it isn’t just the passenger car and truck tyre businesses that are vulnerable to negative conditions; the year following the Lehman collapse, 2009, showed that the agricultural tyre business was by no means recession proof. Investments in farming equipment and in tyres for these machines collapsed, however even back then it was clear that the market must bounce back at some stage as people will always need to eat. And that applies around the world, not just here. Because global populations are on the rise – we’ve already passed the seven billion mark – there is a corresponding increasing need for foodstuffs to be grown. Agriculture is a growth industry.
The influence of non-premium brand tyre manufacturers and of non-European produced tyres has markedly increased in the wider European agricultural tyre market. Something else that the data suggests is that a degree of desegmentation has occurred because all this has been set against a series of financial crises in Europe and its respective national markets. Not only are there opportunities for those entering the right niche at the right time, it would seem that there are opportunities for those entering the market at a different position to the historically dominant players.
The e-paper version of December's Tyres & Accessories is now available online. This issue contains in-depth features reviewing 2012, reporting on Garage Consumables, a review of Reifen China and much more. All subscribers have to do to view the latest issue is click more.
Hankook Tire is tweaking its global management team. Soo Il Lee, who is currently president of Hankook Tire America, will as of 1 January take on the position of president and COO of Hankook’s China regional headquarters. The person he’s replacing, Byeong Jin Lee, has been appointed Soo Il Lee’s successor in the US-based position.
Dunlop Aircraft Tyres’ joint venture facility in Jinjiang, China has secured a three-year deal to support China Eastern Airlines’ fleet of ten Embraer 145LI regional jets with new and retreaded tyres. The agreement will see the Shanghai-based airline receive new tyres made at Dunlop Aircraft Tyres’ factory in Birmingham; these will be distributed from and retreaded at the manufacturer’s joint venture company, Dunlop Taikoo (Jinjiang) Aircraft Tyres.
China’s Qingdao Mesnac Co., Ltd, the company said to be the world’s second largest supplier of tyre and rubber manufacturing equipment, has set up a new global sales and service network. Mesnac says rapid growth in China, Asia and internationally since the firm’s founding in 2000 made the establishment of the new Mesnac Global Sales and Marketing Company (SMC) necessary. Zheng Jiangjia, executive vice-president of Mesnac, has been appointed president of the new operation; Zheng will lead five regional sales and marketing teams, which will be located in China, Southeast Asia, India, Europe and North/Latin America.
Techking Tires has announced the completion of the greenfield factory that it, along with an unnamed partner, erected in China’s Shandong province. The plant is located in the city of Heze and will produce passenger car and light commercial vehicle tyres. Techking says the plant will have an end annual capacity of ten million tyres, an output that will be reached in two phases over a period of five to seven years. The Heze plant began trial operations in November 2012.
A consumer website aimed at improving awareness of energy saving products has begun listing tyre models with AA EU labels. Comprising Pirelli’s Cinturato P7 Blue in three XL sizes – the first AA tyre on the market, launched at Reifen 2012 – and Bridgestone’s October-launched AA-rated Ecopia EP001S, www.toptensverige.se (Topten Sweden) has begun to list tyres among what it believes to be benchmark products. The Topten online service, present in 17 countries in Europe as well as in China and the United States, aims to make transparent and independent assessments of goods and services, and has included the four tyre sizes as its first foray into the product area.
Apollo Tyres has disclosed further details about its global expansion plans. Speaking with news agency Press Trust of India, vice-chairman and managing director Neeraj Kanwar referred to projects amounting to $US1 million. This investment will take place over the next half decade.
With a technical background that includes a stint as a motorsport technician working in the UK 30 years ago, Yokohama’s president went on to share further details of exactly how the new tyre surpasses its predecessor. To improve steering stability, a new "Matrix Body Ply Structure" was developed employing technology fostered through participation in world motorsports. According to the company, weight was reduced while rigidity was maintained, producing more agile handling and more comfortable ride, although this upgrade is not available on all sizes in the range. Meanwhile the asymmetrical, non-directional tread pattern – inside for enhanced performance on wet surfaces, outside for dry – features a new compound created to provide “exceptional” grip.
Three decades after Japanese tyre manufacturer Yokohama began supplying tyres to the Macau Grand Prix, the company returned to the glitz and glamour of what is the Chinese equivalent of Las Vegas to celebrate 30 years of partnership with the event. In order to mark the occasion, Tyres & Accessories was there to smell the rubber and witness the racing action as well as report on the race-to-road developments of the tyre supplier (see separate article in December's magazine for more on this).
Continental’s tyre business – the German automotive supplier’s most important division – aims to intensify its competition with the top three global players over the coming decade or so. According to an article published yesterday by German financial daily Handelsblatt, growth in international markets as part of its ‘expansion strategy 2025’ will fortify the European market leader’s position in other regions.
If you would like the latest news from the Chinese tyre industry in Chinese, visit our partner site TyrepressChina.com. Or click below to continue on Tyrepress.
