A company in Nigeria has reported tyre theft on an eye-watering scale. The Dangote Group of Companies says that 285 truck drivers have stolen around 3.5 million customised tyres belonging to the company. Local news sources report that the salaries of the 285 drivers have been stopped and the Dangote Group is now searching for them.
Sameer Africa Ltd., is planning to enter the Rwandan tyre market in the next two years, company executives told Bloomberg recently. At the same time, the company is said to be exploring the possibility of setting up a subsidiary in Nigeria. However, in light of ongoing share sale talks since last summer, this could be […]
Executives are moving to re-open the former General Tyres and Tubes factory in Nigeria, according to local news sources. The bid to reopen General Tyres and Tubes Company, Emene, Enugu, a subsidiary of Innoson Group, the Bank of Industry (BOI) sees executives promise to meet the relevant stakeholders with a view towards resolving lingering problems between the company and the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA).
OK so the fact that China is the world’s largest tyre producer, the largest car maker, has the largest population and is likely to be the largest economy soon means that it is massively premature to write off the People’s Republic. Rapid growth and the huge scale of Brazil, Russia and India means these markets are still should be the focus of much attention. However, many international businesses have already latched onto this. So if everyone is competing for what they perceive as the same low-hanging fruit other opportunities could be going missing…or at least that is the question that is being raised in banking circles.
Apollo Tyres South Africa intends to reintroduce the Dunlop tyre brand into Nigeria. The country’s Guardian newspaper reports Apollo Tyres South Africa CEO Riaz Haffejee as saying the brand will return due to its long history in Nigeria. Distribution will be handled by Somotex Nigeria Limited; Haffejee commented that Somotex has the requisite distribution channels for the job.
Apollo Tyres has rolled out its product range in the Nigerian market and the tyre maker has appointed the Stallion Group, a conglomerate that already boasts partnerships with several global vehicle manufacturers, as its representative within the country.
Infinity Tyres has helped to organise a tyre identification awareness training programme with Nigeria’s Custom Service in Lagos. Infinity said it had identified the Nigeria Customs Service as a suitable gateway for checking the authenticity and quality of tyres brought into the country in the interest of “improving safety” on the country’s roads.
Infinity Tyres has completed its tenth annual December promotion in Nigeria. Themed as “Value Drive”, the company distributed scratch-cards after any tyre or battery purchase from its 11 nationwide outlets. Vikas Bahl, Infinity Tyres’ head of Marketing, said that in previous years: “we have organized successful promos and we have seen their effect on our customers, their countenance, and consequently, their loyalty to the brand. We believe that our customers are highly valuable and for this reason, their loyalty to Infinity Tyres should be appreciated at the end of every year, through programmes like this”.
Nigeria’s official body in charge of standards, certification and inspection says it hopes that the seizure and destruction of used and substandard tyres will encourage major manufacturers to resume tyre production within the country. Benin City-based newspaper the Sunday Observer reported on November 6 that the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) had destroyed more than 60 truckloads of these tyres, and SON director of enforcement Louis Njoku told the newspaper the action was taken to encourage companies such as Dunlop and Michelin to relocate their industries back to Nigeria.
One brand Tyres & Accessories met for the first time in Shanghai (at the recent Reifen China exhibition) was Suntrac, which is produced by Dubai-based Sun Global Fzco at partner factories in China and a joint venture in Sri Lanka. The company also produces Nison brand truck and bus tyres which, a brand that was established nearly six years ago.
Currently the business focuses on the manufacturing and international distribution of bias and radial light truck, truck and bus, and off-the-road tyres distributed globally under the Suntrac name. However executive director Nitesh Shewakramani told T&A that the company plans to launch a comprehensive range of PCR & SUV as well as solid and implement tyres by mid 2011. Product wise the company currently offers over 20 different truck fitments across 16 different tread patterns.
Following the importation of 500 million naira (£2.1 million) worth of raw materials, Dunlop Nigeria looks set to re-open its Ikeja facility, which ceased production in April. A report in Nigeria’s Business Day newspaper indicates that the paperwork needed to clear the imported materials through customers is currently being dealt with by the country’s minister of state for commerce and industry, Humphrey Enemakwu Abah, who is apparently enthusiastic about the prospects of local manufacture recommencing.
Lawmakers in Nigeria are acting to ban the importation of ‘tokunbo’, or used tyres, into the country. A committee attached to Nigeria’s House of Representatives is said to be working on legislation that would prohibit the entry of tyres more than three years old – a move intended to ensure that tyres sold and used in Nigeria meet international standards.
Tokunbo tyres are typically sold with around 40 per cent of their original thread remaining. Initiator of the legislation, Ekperikpe Ekpo, noted that 80 per cent of road accidents were caused by burst tyres and not less than 60 per cent of vehicles, especially commercial vehicles, use either sub-standard or tokunbo tyres.
DN Tyre & Rubber Plc, formerly known as Dunlop Nigeria Plc, has taken delivery of the first consignment of tyres imported from South Africa. The company’s external communications manager Olusola Adebanjo said in a press statement that dealers in various regions have been “delighted” to receive the imported Dunlop brand tyres and that their delivery will end the tyre scarcity in the Nigerian market that followed the recent ending of local production.
“Our accredited dealers, who are placing orders will therefore be stocked with this product so as to satisfy the needs of premium vehicle owners who appreciate the superior quality of the brand,” said Adebanjo.
Chris Logan has been appointed to the role of commercial director for Michelin’s earthmover and industrial operations in the UK and Republic of Ireland. Logan, 44, a 21 year Michelin veteran, has held a number of positions within the company, most recently as sales manager in the replacement car tyre market. Prior to this, Logan spent four years as commercial director of Michelin’s operations in Nigeria. Other roles during his career with Michelin have included three years as a regional earthmover manager in the early 1990s, with responsibility for a territory spanning the East and South East of England.
At Dunlop Nigeria’s Annual General Meeting on December 2 the company formally announced it will end local tyre production. This announcement comes half a year after production was cut back, and operating conditions within Nigeria, including an unreliable power supply, are said to be key factors behind the decision.
