PETALING JAYA (Dec 18, 2013): Top Glove Corporation Bhd, the world’s largest rubber glove manufacturer, saw its first quarter net profit fall by 12.5%, due to a lower average selling price and unfavourable contributions from its China operations. Net profit for the quarter ended Nov 30, 2013 stood at RM50.28 million compared to RM57.49 million from a year ago. Revenue dropped 1.8% to RM573.99 million for the quarter, from RM584.58 million the year before. This…

WASHINGTON (Nov. 27, 2013) — Toyo Tire & Rubber Co. Ltd. pleaded guilty to being involved with two separate conspiracies to fix prices of automotive components in the U.S. and will pay a $120 million fine, according to the Department of Justice. The company’s actions involved anti-vibration rubber and driveshaft parts installed in cars sold in the U.S. and elsewhere. A two-count felony charge filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of…

JAKARTA, Dec 3 (Reuters) – Indonesia’s main rubber grouping is calling on the world’s second largest producer to cut output next year by 10 percent, while urging other Southeast Asia rubber-growing countries to do the same to reduce global stocks and support prices. Tokyo rubber futures, which set the tone for physical rubber prices in Southeast Asia, have dropped nearly 10 percent this year on concerns about the global economy and as regional supplies have…

Mumbai: Apollo Tyres Ltd. said on Monday that it has completed the sale of its South Africa unit Apollo Tyres South Africa (ATSA) to Sumitomo Rubber Industries. The Gurgaon-based tyre maker had announced the $60 million deal in May. The transaction allows Sumitomo Rubber, a unit of the Japan-based Sumitomo Group, to take over ATSA and a car-tyre plant in Ladysmith. Apollo Tyres had acquired South Africa headquartered Dunlop Tyres International in 2006 for Rs290…

New Delhi, India – JK Tyre & Industries said it will invest Rs 1,430 crore to ramp up capacity at its Chennai manufacturing facility which makes radial tires for trucks, buses and cars. “We have earmarked capex of Rs 1,430 crore to increase our truck and bus radial capacity by additional eight lakh tire per year and car radial capacity by another 20 lakh tire per year at the Chennai plant,” said JK Tyre &…

LAS VEGAS—China’s Triangle Group Co. Ltd. is building a fifth plant in the Weihai, Shandong Province, area that will be dedicated to higher value-added tires. The move is part of its global growth strategy, company executives told distributors and customers during a news conference in Las Vegas at the SEMA Show. The plant is designed for a capacity of 8 million units a year, according to Hu Yongkang, head of Research and Developement/Quality Management Center,…

KUALA LUMPUR: Hartalega Holdings Bhd has posted a net profit of RM63.3 million for its second quarter ended September 30, up from RM58.5 million in the same quarter a year ago. Revenue rose 10.2 per cent to RM280.9 million, compared with RM255 million previously. Hartalega managing director Kuan Mun Leong attributed the performance to improvements in production capacity and a steady rise in demand for nitrile gloves. “The first half of this financial year has…

TOKYO—Bridgestone Corp. is planning to boost capacity for radial car tires at its Wuxi, China, plant by nearly 31 percent, with an investment of $140 million over three years. Bridgestone said the increase, to about 22,600 tires a day, is in response to rising Chinese demand for passenger tires, especially for high-performance radials. The tire maker did not say how the expansion would affect employment, which stands at 1,267, or the size of the 3…

MUMBAI, India—Indian tire maker Ceat Ltd. plans to nearly double car tire capacity at its 2-year-old plant in Halol, India, requiring an investment of $104 million. Ceat did not provide a timetable for the expansion, which would expand the plant’s capacity by about 80 percent to roughly 270 metric tons per day. Ceat Managing Director Anant Goenka said the project is in response to rising demand in India for passenger and utility-vehicle tires, both from…

AKRON— Goodyear’s North American Tire segment hit a record for third quarter earnings at $161 million, and the tire maker is predicting a segment operating income record of more than $1.5 billion this year, it reported Tuesday. Goodyear saw year-over-year quarterly earnings improvements in all four of its regional businesses, and the Akron-based tire maker said its total third quarter segment operating income, at $431 million, was up 24 percent from the same 2012 period….