The Bridgestone Corporation (Bridgestone) is acquiring German tyre retail, wholesale and retreading company Reiff Reifen & Autotechnik GMBH (Reiff) in a deal for UK-based Fintyre Group. FinTyre acquired Reiff in August 2017, however, according to insolvency administrators Jaffé Lawyers, the…
Category: Feature
Covid-19: Pirelli to start operating Italian factories
Italian tyre maker Pirelli is preparing for a gradual return to activity at its factories on 4 May, starting off with a lower production level, due to the current reduced demand. The plan, it says, is aimed at ensuring the maximum…
Thai rubber authority to start JV for medical gloves production for COVID-19
The rising demand of medical gloves – attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic – will see the Rubber Authority of Thailand (RAOT) setting up a rubber glove and medical glove factory soon with an annual production capacity of 1.8 billion units.…
Apollo resumes partial production at Kerala, India, manufacturing plant
Apollo Tyres Ltd. (Apollo) has resumed partial production at its manufacturing plant in Perambra, India, on April 21 after government directives exempting its operations from the national lockdown. Apollo had previously halted operations at its Indian sites in Kerala (Kalamassery…
MRF to donate more than US$3mn to COVID-19 relief initiatives in India
Madras Rubber Factory Ltd. (MRF), a tyre manufacturer based in India, has revealed that it will contribute as much as INR25 crores (US$3.28 million) to support various COVID-19 initiatives within the country. The COVID pandemic is one of the toughest…
Michelin to restart production at UK factory after furloughing hundreds of production staff
French tyre manufacturer Michelin is set to reopen its UK factory in Stoke-on-Trent in a few days – Michelin’s production workers are set to return to the site from April 27 (there will be a phased return) while work has…
Giti Tire to keep US tyre plant idled until early May
Giti Tire (USA) Ltd. is extending the closure of its tyre plant in Richburg, South Carolina, until May 4 “to adjust for market conditions impacted by COVID-19.” The move will affect roughly 800 workers at the3-year-old passenger and light truck…
Malaysian glove factories approved for “100% operations” to allay global shortage
The Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) has allowed glove factories in Malaysia to work at full tilt as of April 1, 2020, despite the currently ongoing partial lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The authorities have loosened the…
Prinx Chengshan inaugurates tyre production at new Thai plant
Chinese tyre maker Prinx Chengshan Tire (Thailand) Co. Ltd. – now known as Prinx Thailand – has just successfully produced its first TBR tyre at its US$300 million plant in Chonburi province, roughly a year after breaking ground on the…
New Australian road project makes use of crumb rubber from end-of-life tyres
A busy road in Melbourne, Australia, now features asphalt with a crumb rubber mixture – from end-of-life tyres – thanks to the Tyre Stewardship Australia (TSA), the Australian Road Research Board (ARRB) and the Victorian Department of Transport (DoT). The…