Despite “sharp market contraction,” Groupe Michelin saw its 2012 sales and net income rise. 2012 sales came in at $28.35 billion, up year-over-year from $26.83 billion, while net income grew 7.4% to $2.14 billion. Those results came even as tire unit sales were down 6.4% YoY, the company reported. “Given its global footprint, Michelin expects to hold volumes steady in 2013, in a market environment that is uncertain in mature markets but still expanding in…

Feb. 6, 2013 — A group of international scientists has sequenced the draft genome sequence of the rubber tree Hevea brasiliensis, the major commercial source of natural rubber. The manuscript describing the draft genome is published in BMC Genomics. Scientists have sequenced the draft genome sequence of the rubber tree Hevea brasiliensis, the major commercial source of natural rubber. Rubber is an indispensible commodity that is used in manufacture worldwide, billions dollar industry. The plant…

Bridgestone Fires Up Second Indian Plant E-mail Print PDF 07 FEBRUARY 2013 Bridgestone Corp. has begun initial passenger radial tire production at its greenfield tire plant in Chakan, India. Production of radial truck/bus tires there is slated to start in October, according to reports. The Chakan plant, Bridgestone’s second in India, will be completed in phases, with a total investment of $378 million. Once fully operational, the plant will produce an estimated 10,000 passenger tires…

South Korea’s Hankook Tire Co. reported record sales of $6.44 billion in 2012, and leveraged that for a 58% improvement in operating profit. The tiremaker said its 2012 sales were 8.3% up from 2011’s $5.67 billion result. 2012 operating profit came in at $836.8 million, up from 2011’s $504.9 million. Hankook attributed much of its sales success to a “sharp increase” in sales of UHP tires, which the company said rose 30.2% year-over-year. Hankook Tire…

KUALA LUMPUR: Hartalega Holdings Bhd reported a 19.6 per cent net profit increase of RM60.62 million for the third quarter ended December 31 2012 compared with RM50.66 million a year ago. Group revenue for the period rose 7.2 per cent to RM259.56 million from RM241.95 million, while earnings a share was 8.28 sen against 6.96 sen in the same quarter last year. Hartalega managing director Kuan Mun Leong was bullish on the group’s growth prospects…

Pirelli SpA cut the ribbon on the second production line at its Voronezh tire plant in southwest Russia. The tiremaker said the line will run test tires until March, when it is expected to begin turning out premium passenger, light truck/SUV and winter tires. The Voronezh plant’s first production line has an annual capacity of 2 million tires, which will be doubled by 2014. The newest line is expected to reach 2 million units annually…

Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. (GT), the largest U.S. tiremaker, will close its main French plant and cut its workforce in the country by 39 percent amid labor disputes and plunging auto demand in Europe. The factory in Amiens in the north of France will be shuttered, with the loss of 1,173 jobs, the company said in a statement today. Goodyear currently employs about 3,000 people across the country, Mathilde Davadant, a spokeswoman, said by…

Kottayam, India – The International Rubber Study Group reports the world production of NR during April to December 2012 increased by 3.2 percent, whereas consumption of NR declined marginally by 1.1 percent. Consumption of NR in the U.S. and EU countries declined considerably during the period. Consumption of NR in Japan and South Korea also declined. Growth in NR consumption in China also remains slow. According to ISRG projections, world production and consumption of NR…

WASHINGTON—U.S. tire shipments are projected to rise 2 percent in 2013 because of an increase in vehicle miles traveled and economic growth, according to the Rubber Manufacturers Association. That follows a relatively flat performance in 2012, with total shipments unchanged at 284 million units, the trade association said. In a Dec. 18 report, the RMA said replacement tire shipments probably fell to 234 million units in 2012, a decrease of 2.5 percent from 2011 figures….