Research from Google dated September 2013 suggests that more people are using the web to research and make tire purchases. Time spent on research is up; average spend is up; and brand influence is up. The top reason for buying — according to the Google research — is durability followed by price. The biggest statistic
SRI opens Thailand Agri tire factory
Sumitomo rubber has officially opened its new agricultural tire factory at Amata City Industrial Estate, Rayong Province. This is the firm’s first factory outside Japan for agricultural tires. The rise in global food demand has pushed the requirement of agricultural equipment tires in Thailand. Approximately 13 billion yen has been invested in the new 130000
Reliance adds Elastomers Customer Support Centre at Vadodara
Reliance India Ltd has opened a state-of-the-art Elastomers Customer Support Centre (ECSC) in India for users of elastomers in the tire and non-tire sectors. The unit is located at RIL’s Petrochemicals Complex in Vadodara. Reliance wants to become one of India’s top suppliers of rubber. The centre aims to offer technical support to its customers
Styron converts Schkopau BR line to Nd-BR
Styron will be converting its Butadiene Rubber (BR) production train located in Schkopau, Germany, to Neodymium catalysts. The switch to Nd-BR s expected to be completed in the Fourth Quarter of 2015. It will enable the company to meet the growing demand of Nd-BR for green tires and ultra high performance tires. “The Nd-BR development
ADAC HP tire tests 2014 – Goodyear and Dunlop on top
Seventeen tires 195/65 R 15 V size were tested and evaluated at the ADAC tire test, 2014. Seven tires were rated good. Goodyear Efficient Grip achieved maximum scores in the good category among all the seven tires for its superb performance on dry and wet roads. Hankook Kinergy Eco K425 was the second in the
ADAC summer tire test 2014 – Conti on top
Sixteen tires of 175/65 R 14 T size were tested on the ADAC summer tire test 2014. Continental ContiEcoContact 5 was the top tire, satisfying all the criteria. To follow it, was Hankook’s Kinergy Eco 425 K, just marginally behind ContiEcoContact. Pirelli Cinturato P1 Verde, Bridgestone Ecopia EP 150, Falken SN832 Sinera Ecorun and Nokian
Indian production of NR down; production of SR up
India’s Rubber Board has published its Rubber Statistical News for February 2014, which covers the period up to November 2013. Statistics suggest a fall of 10.2% in the production of natural rubber to 524000 tonnes from April to November 2013 throughout India when compared with previous year’s result. During the same period, consumption of natural
Continental Launches Radial Truck Tires in Indian Market
Continental will launch its range of radial truck tires in the Indian market from 1 April. The company is already manufacturing HSR2 steer tire and the HDR2 drive tires at the former Modi Rubber factory in Modipuram. Continental will be providing a coach tire for a smoother ride along with stability and mileage. HSX2 and
EU passenger car registrations: +6.6% over two months; +8.0% in February
February 2014 saw an increase in demand for new passenger cars in the European Union for the sixth consecutive month. Sales were up 8 percent on the same period a year ago. Though in absolute figures, the total of 861,058 units registered was the second lowest result for a month of February since 2003. Spain
China auto sector reports boom month in February
Production and sales of automobiles in China experienced double digit year on year growth of 21.5% and 17.8% respectively in the year to February. However, production was down 21.7% and sales fell by 26% when compared against February 2013. Accumulated sales for the top 10 auto companies accounted for 90.9% of the total sales in
