Several weeks after entering operation, TBR production at the Hubei Linglong Tire Co., Ltd. factory in Jingmen, China was officially commissioned yesterday. Linglong Tire reports that nearly 600 guests, including government and industry representatives, attended a ceremony to mark the occasion.
The relationship between Shandong Linglong Tire and vehicle manufacturer Geely Auto Group has deepened with the signing of a comprehensive strategic cooperation agreement. Guan Yu, vice president of Geely Auto, and Wang Feng, chairman of Linglong Tire, signed the agreement on 26 August.
Less than three months after extending its VfL Wolfsburg partnership, Linglong Tire has taken a further step with the German football club by becoming its sleeve partner. As of this season, the tyre maker’s logo will appear on players’ left shirt sleeves during Bundesliga and DFB Cup matches.
Linglong Tire has signed an extension to its partnership agreement with VfL Wolfsburg, continuing as its “club of Champions” partner. Li Wei, vice present of Linglong Tire, attended the signing ceremony held by VfL Wolfsburg in Foshan China on 23 May, 2019. He said: “as an old friend of VfL Wolfsburg, Linglong is very glad to continue to cooperate with the club and give full play to the brand effect of both sides.”
A ceremony has taken place to mark the start of work on Linglong Tire’s new tyre factory in Serbia. Company chairman and chief executive officer Wang Feng greeted guests at the site of the future plant on 29 and 30 March to launch the new subsidiary, Linglong International Europe D.O.O. Zrenjanin (LLIE), and to hold the tyre maker’s global partner conference.
Talks were held last week between Linglong Tire and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). Linglong Tire chairman Wang Feng met with key EBRD representatives, including Jurgen Rigterink, first vice-president, Betsy Nelson, vice-president and chief risk officer, and Jean-Marc Peterschmitt, managing director of industry, commerce and agribusiness, in London on 16 October to discuss cooperation on the construction of Linglong’s tyre plant in Serbia.
Linglong Tire confirms the signing of a US$300 million deal with Paraguay-based tyre distributor Sunset Tires. Wang Feng, chairman of Linglong Tire, put his signature on a strategic cooperation agreement along with Nabil Chamseddine, chief executive officer and president of Sunset, on 12 October.
Shandong Linglong will ship original equipment tyres to Volkswagen and Renault from its planned factory in Serbia. This is the news shared by Serbia’s president, Aleksandar Vučić on his website today. Vučić writes that Wang Feng shared news that the factory would supply the two vehicle manufacturers once production begins in 2020.
Several days after its Board of Directors approved plans to build a factory in Serbia, Shandong Linglong Tire Co., Ltd. signed an investment memorandum with regional and national officials. Company chairman and president Wang Feng signed the agreement together with Goran Knežević, Serbia’s Minister of Economy, at a ceremony held in Zrenjanin, Serbia on 23 August. Aleksandar Vučić, president of Serbia, and Li Manchang, China’s ambassador to the country, also attended the ceremony.
Starting with its very first loan, Linglong International Tire (Thailand) Co. Ltd. (LLIT) has cooperated closely with Thai banking group Kasikornbank over a number of years. The Linglong Tire subsidiary has now entered into an agreement with Kasikornbank that paves the way for the tyre maker’s continued expansion in Thailand.
The start of a partnership between Linglong Tire and Juventus FC in February has been cemented by an official ceremony at the football club’s home stadium in Turin. The ceremony took place on 22 April and was attended by Wang Feng, chairman of Linglong Tire, and Giorgio Ricci, Juventus’ co-chief revenue officer and head of global partnership and corporate revenues. Antonio Cabrini, former Juventus player and captain, was also in attendance.
India’s Aditya Birla Group is now Linglong Tire’s carbon black supplier. The Chinese tyre maker reports the signing of agreement with Aditya Birla subsidiary Thai Carbon Black Public Co. Ltd. on 4 April at a ceremony attended by Wang Feng, president of Linglong Tire, Sanjeev Sood, president of Thai Carbon Black Public, and Amit Saini, the Birla Group company’s vice-president of sales and marketing.
Linglong Tire has become a Juventus Football Club official partner, having signed an agreement in Zhaoyuan, where the tyre manufacturer is headquartered. The Torinese club is one of Italy’s most prominent, boasting a 120-year history of domestic and international success, demonstrating the increasing ambition of Linglong, now a global top 20 player in the tyre industry.
As Linglong Tire notes, China imports more than 80 per cent of the natural rubber its manufacturers use. The company views rubber sourced from dandelions as a potential strategic raw material in the coming years, and in order to promote the industrialisation of dandelion rubber, it plans to invest RMB 30 million (£3.4 million) to set up a new company. The tentative name for this firm is Linglong Dandelion Science and Technology Development Company.
On 23 June Serbian president Aleksandar Vučić’s inauguration ceremony was held in Belgrade. Wang Feng, chairman and president of Linglong Tire, was invited to attend the inauguration ceremony in a move that suggests communications relating to Linglong’s proposed investment in a European tyre manufacturing plant are still open.