Tag: Manufacturing
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.
Supply flexibility Mark Aluminium Die Casting keep its place
The UK automotive industry is rich and diverse, from stripped out track day monsters and mind-bending supercars to civilised luxury vehicles and new generation EVs. All need components on short lead times, despite great variance in vehicle production volumes. These OEMs require suppliers who can be flexible and deliver low or high volumes quickly with added cost-effectiveness. This is a flexibility that Mark Water Pumps Limited (MWPL) has brought to the fore of its die casting operations.
Marangoni spins off Meccanica business
Marangoni has spun off its Meccanica, which designs and manufactures tyre-making equipment. According to a company statement received on 14 June 2019, Marangoni Meccanica has now, therefore, been separated from the main body of the Marangoni Group.
UK economy in reverse after drop in automotive manufacturing
The UK economy contracted 0.4 per cent compared with the month before, following a sharp decline in automotive manufacturing, according to data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). As a result of the contraction, growth for the three months to April slowed to 0.3 per cent.
UK commercial vehicle production falls in April
Commercial vehicle manufacturing in the UK declined rapidly as a result of planned shutdowns in April. Just 2,162 units were produced, -70.9 per cent down on the previous month. The year to date figure remains positive, with volumes up 10.3 per cent as a result of domestic demand, though exports are still the majority, making up nearly 60 per cent of production in the first four months.
Goodyear announces $36M investment in OTR production
Goodyear highlighted its latest off-the-road (OTR) products and solutions for the construction machinery industry at BAUMA, including the public debut of its recently launched OMNITRAC ranges of steer and drive tyres for mixed service trucks. At BAUMA, Goodyear highlighted its EMTrack OTR tyre performance monitoring system and the TL-4A OTR tyre for articulated dump trucks and scrapers. The company also announced that it will make a $36 million investment at its manufacturing plant in Colmar-Berg, Luxembourg.
Nokian’s US staff travelling to Europe for training
Nokian Tyres is sending the first group of US employees from its Dayton, Tennessee factory to Europe for training. After a month of orientation, Nokian reports that it is sending the staff group on a six-week training trip to its facilities in Russia and Finland.
Eastman scientist’s dispersion insights feature in Europe Rubber Industry Forum 2019
At the Europe Rubber Industry Forum 2019, May 7–9 in Vienna, Austria, Eastman technology fellow Dr. Fred Ignatz-Hoover will challenge industry paradigms about dispersion with his comparison of Eastman Crystex Cure Pro insoluble sulphur to sulphur masterbatch (SMB).
Kobe Steel buys out L&T Kobelco Machinery
Kobe Steel has bought all the shares of its Indian tyre and rubber machinery joint venture, L&T Kobelco Machinery (LTKM), making it a wholly owned subsidiary. LTKM manufactures, designs and sells rubber machinery used in tyre manufacturing.
Sumitomo Rubber starts Brazil truck tyre production
On 1 March 2019 Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd. began manufacturing truck and bus tyres at its new Brazil manufacturing site.
SK Innovation investing 1 trillion won in Hungary car battery factory
SK Innovation reports that it is planning to invest just under 1 trillion won (a little less than US$1 billion) in its second car battery plant, this time in Hungary. The company has selected Komaron City in northern Hungary for the investment of 945.2 billion won.
Will new battery production capacity replace car production in the UK?
While the UK new car manufacturing business has taken something of a battering in recent months, The Sunday Times reports that government ministers are considering offering state support for a huge shared electric vehicle battery “giga factory” modelled on Tesla’s enormous US battery manufacturing plant in the Nevada desert. That plant, which is known as Gigafactory 1, is set to have the biggest factory footprint in the world and already employees 3000 people. The UK project has so far been valued at around £1.7 billion.
Tyre makers in the battery manufacturing space
As leading well-known tyre manufacturers transition into automotive suppliers, and mobility providers and as the vehicle parc become increasingly electrified, the value of entering the battery manufacturing space is obvious.
February 2019 supplement – European Passenger Car and Light Truck Tyre Manufacturing
Click on the CONTINUE READING button to view the February 2019 Tyres & Accessories Supplement
Can artificial intelligence reduce warranty claims?
At the start of April 2019, Bridgestone formally completed its billion-dollar acquisition of TomTom Telematics. The goal – as ever – is to capitalise on the benefits of big data, leveraging its usefulness in the cause of better tyres and greater efficiency for all stakeholders. Of course, Bridgestone is not the only tyremaker seeking to make the most of tyre data. Many have invested significantly in developing cyber tyres over the course of the last 10 to 15 years, harnessing the fact that tyres are a vehicles’ only point of contact with the road and therefore the only means of generating real-time road surface:vehicle contact data. This same approach also yields tyre condition and performance data, which can be used for everything from motorsport to commercial fleet applications. But what about in the manufacturing process itself?
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