News from Notch Consulting, Inc.

July 24, 2017

China’s Hixih to expand car, truck tire capacity

Filed under: Tires — Tags: — Notch @ 6:36 pm

JINING, China — Hixih Rubber Industry Group is planning to add annual capacity for 12 million passenger tires and 2 million truck/bus tires at its Shenzhou Tire and Tongli Tire Co Ltd. subsidiaries in Jining, Shandong, pending regulatory approval.

The projects are budgeted at $690 million and include the construction of new production areas totaling more than 8 million square feet at the two subsidiary companies.

The car tire expansion at the Shenzhou Tire facilities represent an investment of $410 million and a physical expansion of 5 million square feet.

The truck/bus tire project, budgeted at $280 million, will double the Tongli Tire factory’s capacity to 4 million units a year, Hixih said. The company anticipates adding production areas covering 3 million square feet and equipping the expansion with state-of-the-art equipment sourced from leading international suppliers.

Read the full press release here.

Sourced article here.

July 20, 2017

Sumitomo to expand China production

Filed under: Tires — Tags: — Notch @ 7:30 am

OSAKA — Sumitomo Rubber Industries will increase its Chinese production capacity of passenger vehicle tires by roughly 60% by 2020, anticipating brisk demand for fuel-saving tires.

The Kobe-based rubber company plans to boost capacity in China to 100,000 tires daily. To achieve this, it expects to spend about 30 billion yen ($267 million) to triple output at a plant in inland Hunan Province from around 20,000 to 60,000.

Read more here.

July 19, 2017

Michelin unveils Tweel for mowers

Filed under: Run-flats — Notch @ 3:17 pm

Group Michelin’s Tweel Technologies has launched the airless Michelin X Tweel Turf Caster for select zero-turn commercial mowers.

The airless-radial caster tire-wheel assembly replaces the standard 13×6.5×6 front caster tire and wheel on zero-turn mowers.

“Michelin Tweel Technologies has conducted extensive field testing to optimize the product and validate the customer benefits,” said Olivier Brauen, head of Michelin Tweel Technologies.

The Tweel caster is constructed with high-strength poly-resin spokes that carry the load and create suspension-like characteristics for the front of the mower, the company said. This structure absorbs impact and reduces bounce for improved operator comfort while also maintaining a consistent height for a uniform cut. The caster’s durable, poly-resin tread also provides long wear life, Michelin said.

Read more here.

Double Coin Thai plant cures first tire

Filed under: Tires — Notch @ 2:52 pm

Shanghai Huayi (Group)’s joint venture in Thailand has initiated trial truck tire production at its new plant in Rayong, Thailand, according to information provided by the plant’s contractor.

Located in Rayong’s LK-RICH rubber industrial zone, the new plant is designed with annual capacity for 1.5 million truck and bus tires and 50,000 industrial tires.


Sinohydro Foundation Engineering photo

According to the website of the plant’s contractor Sinohydro Foundation Engineering, the project has been on schedule and the production of the first tire “marks Huayi’s official entrance into the Thailand market.”

Read more here

Omsk Carbon to start production at Belarus plant next year

Filed under: Carbon Black — Notch @ 1:23 pm

Russian carbon black manufacturer Omsk Carbon aims to start production at its Mogilev plant by the second quarter 2018—about 18 months behind the original schedule.

Omsk Carbon Group chairman Valeriy Kaplunat explained that the delay was in order to secure better technology for Omsk Carbon’s third production site.

“We are doing our best to make our Mogilev plant the world’s most advanced facility in terms of process equipment in our industry,” Kapulant said. “Changing the launch date has enabled the company to ensure excellent performance indicators for the future facility and compliance with 100 percent of the environmental requirements.”

The $109.9 million Mogilev site is designed to produce both tread and carcass grades of carbon black with the capacity of 160,000 metric tons per year.

The company plans to comission the first of the plant’s four production lines during the first quarter of 2018. Production is expected by second quarter of 2018 and should reach full capacity by 2020.

Read more here.

July 11, 2017

Conti expanding Chinese tire plant — again

Filed under: Tires — Tags: — Notch @ 3:06 pm

Having only recently inaugurated phase 3 production at its Hefei, China plant, Continental A.G. is moving forward with the phase 4 expansion of the six year old plant. Company officials signed contracts in July with local officials, clearing the way for the $294 million project to begin. Phase 4 will add 6 million units of annual capacity for passenger tires

This is Continental’s fastest-expanding site, Philipp von Hirschheydt, executive vice president, passenger and light truck replacement tires, APAC, said at the contract signing.

The factory’s annual capacity will reach 20 million passenger tires and 5 million two-wheeler tires by 2022.

Sourced article found here (subscription required).

July 7, 2017

Extension of tire building project announced at Michelin NA

Filed under: Tires — Notch @ 11:11 am

Michelin North America (Canada) Inc. announced an additional two years of tire building at its Michelin Pictou County site in Nova Scotia to meet consumer demand for winter products. Initially, the Michelin Latitude X-Ice Xi2 winter tire project was announced in March 2016 for a period of two years; it has now been extended until May 2020.

“We continue to have significant customer demand for this winter product line and are certainly pleased to extend this project at our Michelin Pictou County site until 2020 to meet this need,“ said Jeff MacLean, President, Michelin North America (Canada) Inc. “Michelin has been building tires in Nova Scotia for over 46 years and we are proud to continue to build Michelin Latitude X-Ice Xi2 for our Canadian winters and our export markets.”

Currently, the Michelin Pictou County site is home to a high-performance car tire production shop, the current Michelin Latitude X-Ice Xi2 project, tire membrane production and a large rubber mixing operation, as well as the company’s Canadian corporate offices.

Read the full press release here.

Michelin upgrading Romanian tire, cord plants

Filed under: Tire Cord, Tires — Notch @ 10:59 am

Group Michelin is investing roughly $105 million in a pair of plants in Romania, to cover the start of production of new tire models at one and expand steel cord output at a second, according to local press reports.

The French tire maker is budgeting $37.5 million at its tire plant in Zalau for new models that will target the lower levels of the “intermediate” market segment and will include the Tigar brand.

“This new strategic project of the Michelin Zalau Anvelope plant perfectly marks its 40 years of continuous development. I am very proud that the Michelin team continues to contribute to the group’s growth strategy. The plant is now ready to deal with new challenges by setting up modern equipment, launching new brands and implementing a business model that links the plant directly to the client,” said Sean Parry, the director of the Michelin Zalău industrial platform, according to the Romania Insider.

Michelin produces some 130 tire models at the Zalau facility that are aimed for the Europe, Middle East, and African market. The facility employs 1130.

Michelin also is investing $68 million through 2019 at its steel cord plant in Zalau to boost capacity there by 50 percent to 60,000 metric tons, the company said.

The tire cord factory in Zalau is a strategic unit for Michelin as it supplies tire reinforcement components to the group’s tire factories in Europe, America, and Asia. Some 90% of the factory’s output goes to export.

Read more here and here.

July 4, 2017

Lanxess restructuring impacts Rhein Chemie unit

Filed under: Rubber Chemicals — Notch @ 2:21 pm

Following the acquisition of U.S. firm Chemtura in April this year, specialty chemicals company Lanxess has revised its organizational structure. The two business lines Rubber Additives Business (RAB) and Colorant Additives Business (CAB) now both belong to the Rhein Chemie business unit.

Lanxess’s goal with this restructuring is to adopt a more targeted approach with an even stronger customer focus. The unit will in the future cover specialty business with active ingredient compounds, specialty chemicals and processing aids for the rubber, plastics and colorants industries.

Rhein Chemie will remain the umbrella brand for rubber and colorants business. Lubricant and flame retardant additives business has been transferred to Lanxess’s Additives business unit. The two units will form the Specialty Additives segment in the company.

Read the full press release here.

Black Bear Carbon receives Cradle to Cradle certification

Filed under: Carbon Black — Notch @ 2:06 pm

Black Bear announces that Black Bear’s carbon black has received an official Cradle to Cradle CertifiedTM Bronze Certificate, assessed by the Environmental Protection Encouragement Agency (EPEA). This is the first time that any carbon black in the market has received this certification.

Michael Braungart, founder and CEO of EPEA and co-author of the lauded book Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things, praised the product, saying:

“The Black Bear Carbon upcycled product is a game-changer in the field of carbon black. It is ‘upcycled’ because the output material is of higher quality than the input material (furnace black in car tires). Its extremely low content of PAH means that it is of such good quality that I am happy to recommend its use in all kinds of applications, including those involving a lot of skin contact, such as bicycle handlebars, stroller handles, wheelchairs, and of course, in car and bike tires, where abrasion and inhalation of carcinogenic PAH-containing particles can be hazardous. The use of a high-quality product like Black Bear’s carbon black has the potential to positively impact on the health and wellbeing of many people, and it is therefore a beneficial Cradle to Cradle product.”

Read the full press release here.

Older Posts »

Blog at WordPress.com.