Indonesia
As 2021 drew to a close, Far Eastern tyre retail specialist business B-Quik opened its 200th store and hit an interim growth target. The opening of the new location at Maxxbox Lippo Village brought the chain’s Indonesian total to 9 branches and 200 across Thailand, Indonesia and Cambodia.
Hankook Tire has announced it will provide formic acid, an eco-friendly coagulant, to rubber farmers in West Kalimantan, Indonesia. It says this measure furthers its “commitment to enhance the sustainability across its value chain for natural rubber.”
Pirelli’s latest efforts are quite literally for the birds – and this is by no means a bad thing. Together with the BMW Group, Pirelli is joining with BirdLife International in a three-year project that aims to favour the long-term production of sustainable and deforestation-free natural rubber in Indonesia. Our feathered friends are just one of a whole range of potential beneficiaries.
The vice chairman of Giti Group, Cherie Nursalim, has become the Indonesian government’s special advisor on climate. In addition to her leadership role at Giti Tire, Nuralim is also the vice chairman of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), and board member of Publicis Groupe in France, IMAGINE Collective with Paul Polman, and Partnering for Green Growth (P4G).
On 28 May 2021 growing Thai tyre retail chain, B-Quik opened two new centres on the Tiwanon road in north Bangkok. The addition of the two centres, which are spaced 8 kilometres apart, follows the opening of two more Thai branches at the start of April 2021.
Continental is extending its commitment to sustainability in the natural rubber supply chain. The tyre maker and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) have agreed to significantly expand their project to ensure full traceability within the natural rubber supply chain in the Indonesian province of West Kalimantan (Borneo).
Following the news from the Association of Indonesia Automotive Industries (GAIKINDO) that automotive exports from the country declined by 30.1 per cent, Bakar Sadik Agwan, senior automotive consulting analyst at GlobalData, says: “Indonesia’s automotive output tumbled significantly due to the COVID-19 and troubled economic environment in 2020. Production, domestic sales, exports and imports all were significantly below the initial expected levels. Indonesia, which is the second largest vehicle manufacturer in the Southeast Asia, depends heavily on exports, making it a key variable for the domestic automotive economy.
Toyo Tire Corporation is closing its loss-making wholly-owned Silverstone Berhad Malaysian tyre manufacturing subsidiary in June 2021. Established on 12 July 1986 and purchased by Toyo in 2011, Silverstone currently manufactures tyres for (primarily Malaysian) new vehicles and Silverstone branded tyres for the aftermarket as well as certain Toyo branded tyres. The dissolution of the Silverstone subsidiary (Silverstone Berhad) will commence by 31 December 2021.
There’s no substance to the rumour about a merger with Michelin-owned tyre maker PT Multistrada Arah Sarana Tbk, says PT Gajah Tunggal Tbk. Indonesian financial publication Kontan reports that when asked to confirm or deny the alleged transaction, Gajah Tunggal’s finance and accounting director Kisyuwono responded that the rumour is “not true”.
Campaign group Mighty Earth has published a report alleging that Michelin “covered up industrial-scale deforestation of over 2,500 hectares of rainforest in the run-up to the launch of its flagship ‘eco-friendly’ sustainable natural rubber joint venture project in Sumatra, Indonesia”. The project is currently seeking an additional $120 million in investment from green financiers. Michelin’s joint-venture Indonesia natural rubber project Royal Lestari Utama (RLU) robustly denied the allegations.
Marubeni is well-known for its range of tyre-related investment interests. While the conglomerate began in Japan, recent additions in Russia and US-based Tyrata demonstrate the diversity of its tyre-related portfolio.
Kenda Rubber Industrial has been producing bicycle and motorcycle tyres at its Indonesia plant since 2015. According to local media reports, the Taiwanese manufacturer now wants to move production capacity from China to Indonesia.
Former Maxxis International president Dr Wally Chen is leaving retirement to assume the chairmanship of the company. Dr Chen, who oversaw Maxxis’ rise to the ranks of the world’s top 10 tyre companies, will assume the chairmanship effective immediately following a vote by the company’s board of directors at a recent meeting. He replaces former Maxxis/Cheng Shin chairman Robert Lo (pictured).
Dunlop Aircraft Tyres Ltd (DATL) is planning to invest 1 trillion rupiah (£54.14 million; 64 million euros; US$70.92 million) in an aircraft tyre retreading factory in Karawang, West Java, Indonesia. According to several local news sources, the retreading factory will be followed by a new aircraft tyre production plant as well.
Following a successful public offer, Michelin now holds a 99.64 per cent shareholding in Indonesian tyre maker PT Multistrada Arah Sarana TBK. After acquiring an 87.59 per cent share of Multistrada on 8 March, Michelin launched a public offer for the remaining outstanding shares, at the same price per share as previously offered. The transaction enabled Michelin to acquire an additional 12.05 per cent in the company.
B-Quik
B-Quik
Silverstone
Mighty Earth
B-Quik; Marubeni
Maxxis International