Tag: Manufacturing
Camso to open new track manufacturing plant
A new track manufacturing plant is being set up in the USA to meet growing demand from agricultural and construction segment customers for Camso’s tracks and track systems. The 139,000 square foot (12,900 square metre) facility, located in Junction City, Kansas, is expected to open in January 2020. The increase in production capacity that will accompany the plant’s opening will enable Camso to shorten its delivery lead times.
US tyre cord makers could close due to steel tariffs
In mid-June US president Donald Trump announced plans to impose 25 per cent tariffs on US$50 billion worth of Chinese goods. However, the above round of tariffs was actually an additional wave that followed as part of the Trump administration’s ongoing trade war with China. Steel is at the centre of this dispute, with President Trump suggesting that China is dumping steel in America. But now US tyre cord makers could close due to steel tariffs.
Bekaert closing Figline-Valdarno factory
Bekaert Group is closing its rubber reinforcement entity in Figline e Incisa Valdarno, Italy and cease all activities there.
Kordsa presents lightweighting concepts at Movin’On
At the Movin'On conference on future mobility held last month in Montreal, tyre cord and composite technology company Kordsa made a presentation that emphasized the need to lighten vehicles for efficient and sustainable mobility.
Cimcorp doubles building footprint in Finland production and office expansion
In May Cimcorp, the Finland-based manufacturer and integrator of turnkey robotic gantry-based order fulfilment and tire-handling solutions, shared construction plans to expand its production and office facilities at its headquarters in Ulvila, Finland. The new facilities will be built on 8,500 square metres of land, bought by Cimcorp in August 2017, nearly doubling the footprint of its current 9,500-square-metre space. The expansion will enable the company to accommodate its continuing business growth with greater capacity and efficiency, as well as incorporate new space for research and development.
ExxonMobil opens Singapore butyl and resins plants
On 21 June 2018 ExxonMobil announced it had started production of hydrogenated hydrocarbon resin and halobutyl rubber at its integrated manufacturing complex in Singapore, the company’s largest integrated refining and petrochemical complex in the world. ExxonMobil’s new Escorez hydrogenated hydrocarbon resins plant will be the world’s largest with a capacity of 90,000 tonnes per year, and will meet long-term demand growth for hot-melt adhesives used in packaging or baby diapers. The new 140,000-tonnes-per-year butyl plant will produce premium halobutyl rubber used by manufacturers for tyres to better maintain inflation to improve fuel economy.
VMI adds pallet lift to range
Tyre manufacturing equipment maker VMI has added a vertical pallet lift with high handling capacity to its product portfolio. The lift is for large batch-offs, mainly for the tyre industry.
GKN Wheels invests in Danish plant
GKN Wheels and Structures is commissioning a brand new manufacturing cell at its plant in Nagbøl, Denmark. The programme will see the introduction of robotic technology, with the largest and fastest robot in Denmark being installed to improve both the company’s speed of manufacture and flexibility of production. On completion, the new manufacturing cell will be capable of producing very small batch sizes efficiently and cost-effectively, with changeover times brought down to an absolute minimum. Depending on customer’s specific requirements, the new production cell can also weld different valve guards and make a high spot mark.
Falken 2017/2018 UHP test successes a result of manufacturing improvements
Sumitomo Rubber Industries’ Falken brand has reached new levels of performance over the past few years, evinced by its latest range of high performance car tyres picking up magazine test plaudits against premium brand competition.
Fischer-owner sells majority stake in tyre manufacturing machinery maker
Funds managed by Equistone Partners Europe have agreed to sell a majority stake in Karl Eugen Fischer, the world’s leading manufacturer of cord-cutting machines for the tyre industry. Equistone acquired Karl Eugen Fischer in August 2013 and is now selling its stake to DBAG Fund VII, managed by Deutsche Beteiligungs AG. Management will retain a shareholding in the company. The financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed.
Linglong to become first Chinese global Top 10 car tyre manufacturer by 2019 – analyst
New research by London based independent research company Astutus Research suggests that a domestic Chinese company could be about to join the top 10 global manufacturers of passenger car and light truck (PCLT) tyres. Linglong Tyre, currently ranked 12th globally in the segment by unit sales, is forecast to take tenth place by 2019, replacing South Korea’s Kumho Tyre. The move would make the manufacturer the first from China to enter the PCLT top 10.
TBR tariffs: Giti displays two commercial tyres ‘Made in Indonesia’ at The Tire Cologne
Giti Tire has given its first indication of the measures it is taking to shore up its European position in light of the EU tariffs introduced on commercial vehicle tyre produced in China. Presenting two of its most popular tyres, including the Giti GTR955 Combi Road, with “Made in Indonesia” highlighted on their sidewalls, the manufacturer is showing it is capable of shifting European truck tyre production to its Tangerang manufacturing complex in Jakarta, following a development completed in late 2016.
Motor manufacturers urged to ‘get houses in order’ to capitalise on electric vehicle interest
Motor manufacturers are being urged to ‘get their houses in order’ and learn from past mistakes if they are to capitalise on the anticipated surge of electric vehicle (EV) sales.
Michelin Ballymena site to be turned into business park following factory closure
Michelin has announced plans to convert part of the site of its closing Northern Ireland manufacturing plant to a business park following its sale to Silverwood Property Developments. The tyre manufacturer will complete the closure of its Ballymena plant in June, after the last tyre rolls off its production line in April, ending 50 years of manufacturing. Some of the site – reportedly around 10 acres – has been earmarked for Mid and East Antrim Borough Council, as it attempts to win its bid to host a regional Heathrow Logistics Hub, supporting proposed construction work at the West London airport.
Moody’s stabilises auto manufacturing outlook as economic recovery fuels demand
Increased consumer car demand due to improving global economic prospects and a lowering of the rating agency's sales growth requirements for the sector have changed the outlook on the global auto manufacturing industry over the next 12 to 18 months to stable from negative, says Moody's Investors Service in a report ("Automotive manufacturing -- Global, Outlook update: Changing outlook to stable amid improving business environment") published 14 March.