Tag: Manufacturing
Kordsa continues PolynSPIRE cooperation
The third meeting of the PolynSPIRE project was hosted by Istanbul Chemicals and Chemical Products Exporters' Association (IKMIB) and supported by the reinforcement leader Kordsa, one of the project partners. The General Project Meeting and Information Sharing Workshop of the PolynSPIRE project was held at the Izmit facilities of Kordsa in last May.
Kordsa welcomes Pirelli Supplier Award
Kordsa recently received 2019 Pirelli Supplier Award. Having put sustainability at the heart of its activities since 2014, and seeing self-sustainability as the first step to sustainability, Kordsa requires its suppliers and business partners to operate in accordance with the principles in its Statement on Code of Business Ethics and assess their environmental and societal effects.
Pirelli awards recognize nine suppliers from around the world
Pirelli has given supplier awards to the top nine companies from its more than 10,000 suppliers at the global level. According to the company, the Pirelli Supplier Awards acknowledge companies that have “distinguished themselves by making Pirelli’s supply chain more sustainable, innovative and qualitatively excellent, thus contributing to making Pirelli’s products always more High Value, in line with the company’s strategy”.
Serbia to become PCLT tyre production hub
When Toyo recently announced its intention to build a new tyre plant in Serbia it consolidated the country’s position as the leading location for new passenger car and light truck (PCLT) tyre manufacturing capacity in Europe. Toyo’s proposal follows Linglong’s decision to build its new European plant in the country and Cooper Tire’s plan to double the size of its facility there. Based on analysis of all announced capacity actions by Astutus Research (plant opening and expansion net of closures and downsizing), the Czech Republic is a distant second in terms of planned capacity additions between 2018 and 2026.
JK Tyre gains five-star safety audit
JK Tyre & Industries has successfully completed a best practice five star occupational health and safety audit conducted by the British Safety Council. JK Tyre’s four manufacturing facilities in Chennai, Mysore, Banmore and Laksar all received the certification.
Marangoni Meccanica “restarts”, appoints new CEO, broadens board
Two months have passed since Marangoni Meccanica changed hands, exiting the Marangoni Group with 10 million euros of recapitalization from new local partners: The Finanziaria Trentina, Alpenring, the South Tyrol-based financial firm Caran and now Marangoni Meccani has appointed a new CEO and broadened its board make-up. All this amounts to a “restart”, according to […]
Eastman celebrates Crystex insoluble sulphur 75th anniversary
This year Eastman Crystex celebrates its 75th year. The Crystex story began in 1944 when Stauffer Chemical Company filed a patent for its insoluble sulphur product. The name Crystex evolved from “No Crystals” and “Crystals-X” as a literal explanation of the product function and benefit to tyre makers. The brand grew, and high thermal stability grades were introduced. In a short time, Crystex became known for providing robust properties that tyremakers needed as they innovated and operated in more challenging production environments.
UK automotive production drops again as investment dries up
Another blow on the automotive industry’s chin as we inch closer towards a no-deal Brexit. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has released its latest UK manufacturing figures, and they make a depressing read. British car manufacturing output fell by more than a fifth in the first half of 2019, while commercial vehicle production was down more than 16 per cent and engine production almost 11 per cent. KPMG considers these numbers “worrying.”
Toyo investing 390 million euros in Serbia tyre factory
Toyo Tire Corporation has announced that it is investing 390.5 million euros in the construction of a new tyre manufacturing facility in Indijia City, Republic of Serbia. Construction of the Serbia plant will start in May 2020, with a view to initiating tyre manufacturing operations in January 2022.
Cooper investing US$4 million in Tupelo mixing
Cooper Tire & Rubber is investing a further $4 million into its plant in Tupelo, Mississippi. Local news sources, citing documents filed with the city said the money will be invested in upgrading the Tupelo plant’s mixing facilities.
Kobe Steel makes Germany-based Kobelco Europe its European HQ
Kobe Steel, Ltd. established Kobelco Europe GmbH (KEU) earlier this month to serve as the European headquarters for the Kobe Steel Group. Tsuyoshi Uesugi, will serve as managing director. According to the company, KEU has grown out of the existing Kobelco Machinery Europe GmbH (KME) which is based in Munich, Germany. KME was established in 2012 as a base for Kobe Steel’s Machinery Business in Europe, mainly the marketing of nonstandard compressors and tyre and rubber machinery.
Bridgestone invests €36 million commitment in smart factory project
Bridgestone is investing 36 million euros into the digitisation of its manufacturing operations. The company states this smart factory project will enable Bridgestone to respond faster and more flexibly to evolving customer demands, while enabling production to use less energy and produce less waste. The investment will also fund training fo4r Bridgestone employees to operate industry-leading digital technologies. The tyre manufacturer says this will subsequently help to improve resource efficiency and job satisfaction.
Comau and Leclanché developing automated lithium-ion battery production line
Comau, which specialises in automation products and solutions, has been commissioned to build one of the world’s first automated manufacturing lines for lithium-ion battery modules for transport applications by Leclanché, a leading provider of energy storage solutions.
Digital transformation in the tyre sector
At the start of May, Zivojin Sekulic of GAJ d.o.o. gave a presentation on the digital transformation of the tyre industry at Guangrao Tyre Conference and Expo 2019. Shortly afterwards, he shared details of the presentation with Tyres & Accessories, which shows how digital data is affecting all parts of the distribution chain.
New chapter in politics parallels new chapter in UK automotive manufacturing
As we all now know, Boris Johnson became the United Kingdom’s new Prime Minister on 24 July. The first thing he did was replace almost the entire cabinet, with a reshuffle of unprecedented proportions. Next, he gave his maiden speech on the steps of 10 Downing Street, with an address that sought to build a platform for economic and political optimism against the recent backdrop of Brexit stagnation. Not only will we leave the EU by 31 October, we are going to do it in style, he effectively said. In doing so, Boris – as he is affectionately known – revealed as much about the changing nature of the automotive manufacturing industry and its suppliers as he did about British politics.
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