French tyre maker Michelin reported sales of €27.2 billion in 2024, down 4.1 percent from €28.3 billion in 2023, demonstrating resilience in a challenging market environment marked by declining volumes and currency headwinds. The company achieved a segment operating income of €3.4 billion with a 12.4 percent margin, while generating a net income of €1.9 billion. The board has proposed a dividend of €1.38 per share for shareholders.

Managing Chairman Florent Menegaux stated: "Our 2024 results are solid, despite a particularly unstable economic and geopolitical context. To maintain our competitiveness, we also had to make difficult industrial restructuring decisions in Poland, China, Sri Lanka and France. Michelin continues to implement its 'Michelin in Motion 2030' strategy".

In the Automotive and Two-wheel segment, Michelin recorded sales of €14.7 billion, representing a 1.3 percent decline, while maintaining a strong operating margin of 13.1 percent. The segment demonstrated robust performance in the premium category, with MICHELIN-branded Passenger car tyre sales reaching 65 percent in the 18-inch and larger tyre segment.

The Road Transportation division witnessed sales of €6.6 billion, declining 4.9 percent year-on-year. However, the segment showed significant improvement in operating margin, which rose to 9.0 percent from 6.8 percent in the previous year. The division's Connected Solutions business, under the MICHELIN Connected Fleets brand, continued to expand successfully.

The Specialties business recorded sales of €5.9 billion, marking a 9.4 percent decrease, with an operating margin of 14.6 percent. While the mining tyre business faced temporary challenges, it maintained its market share, and the aircraft tyre segment demonstrated positive growth momentum.

In terms of regional performance, Europe's replacement tyre market grew by 9 percent, despite a 7 percent decline in passenger vehicle Original Equipment and a 20 percent drop in trucks. North America showed resilience with a 2 percent growth in the replacement market, while experiencing declines of 2 percent and 11 percent in passenger and truck Original Equipment segments respectively. The Chinese market contracted by 5 percent overall, though Original Equipment grew by 3 percent in passenger vehicles.

Michelin has undertaken significant strategic initiatives in 2024, including manufacturing network optimisation through plant conversions in Olsztyn (Poland) and Shenyang (China), while announcing the closure of operations in Cholet (France) and the sale of Sri Lanka plants to CEAT Group. The company launched the innovative BioButterfly project for bio-based butadiene production and partnered with Microsoft for energy optimisation across its facilities.

On the financial front, Michelin executed a €1 billion bond issue in two tranches and announced a €1 billion share buyback programme for 2024-2026. The company's strong financial position was recognised with a credit rating upgrade to A2 by Moody's.

Looking ahead to 2025, Michelin anticipates slight market growth, though with a decline in the first half due to lower Original Equipment demand. The company expects to improve its segment operating income at constant exchange rates and generate free cash flow before acquisitions exceeding €1.7 billion.

Pirelli has launched the fifth generation of its iconic P Zero ultra-high-performance (UHP) tyre, the flagship model of the P Zero range.

Thanks to enhanced handling, as demonstrated by track tests on both dry and wet roads, and shorter stopping distances, the P Zero has two main advantages: superior performance and safety. The European wet grip label has given the new tyre an ‘A’ rating since its introduction. In order to improve cornering grip, the contact patch and grooves were updated as part of the development approach, which concentrated on the tread design and tyre structure. To guarantee constant performance over the course of the tyre's life cycle, a more balanced contact patch enhances both braking performance and wear rate. New designs with contrasting marks on the sidewall make the new P Zero visually stand out as well.

With more than 50 models now on the market, the fifth-generation P Zero tyre is available in sizes ranging from 18 to 23 inches. Together with the other P Zero family tyres, these offer comprehensive coverage for the premium and prestige market in all application types. The majority of the new lineup includes Pirelli's specialties, such as Elect, a technology package for electric and plug-in hybrid cars that uses solutions made especially to manage high torque and cut down on noise, increasing range by up to 10 percent because of decreased rolling resistance.

UHP products in the P Zero series are made for a variety of applications, such as track racing, electric vehicles and winter driving. Every driving demand is met by other members of the extended family in addition to this most recent P Zero. These include the P Zero R, which is made to optimise driving pleasure and sporting performance for high-performance cars and SUVs, and the P Zero E, which combines e-mobility and safety (as evidenced by the triple ‘A’ rating on the European tyre label) with a reduced environmental impact (thanks to the use of more than 55 percent natural or recycled materials). Pirelli's P Zero Trofeo RS, which is also approved for road usage, is designed for track driving. The range also includes the P Zero Winter 2 for wet or snowy surfaces.

KraussMaffei Extrusion successfully concluded the KraussMaffei TecDays ‘World of Extrusion’ in Laatzen near Hannover, Germany, with a focus on topics such as pipe & profile, recycling and circular economy.

The three-day event was held from 25 to 27 March and was graced by around 300 visitors from 44 countries. The event provided participants with an ideal platform to exchange ideas on innovations and sustainable solutions in the field of extrusion. Apart from high-profile keynote speeches from industry and research partners and live demonstrations at the state-of-the-art Technology Centre, the event saw the world premiere of the new PVC multi-layer pipe head and a new machine concept for upcycling post-consumer plastic waste.

Extrusion of pipes and profiles was the main topic of the event's first section. Prominent keynote addresses from KraussMaffei Extrusion partners and specialists, including Borealis, Baerlocher, Omya, Plastics Europe and Georg Fischer, offered intriguing perspectives on global extrusion industry difficulties and future trends. The business offered cost-effective and environmentally friendly answers to the urgent problems facing the plastics sector. The ‘Smart Factories’ concept was introduced by Kabelwerk Eupen as a vision of the automated and digitally transformed factory of the future.

A live demonstration of the new PVC multi-layer pipe head, which creates three-layer pipes from virgin material and foamed core, was the focus of the first section. Spider wires and other such weak areas are avoided by the creative distribution method. The new pipe head adds to increased sustainability because of its material versatility, which includes processing recycled materials. Visitors also saw live demonstrations of PVC granulation and PE-PA pipe manufacture.

A novel machine design for the regulated upcycling of post-consumer plastic waste into premium automobile compounds was unveiled during the event's second section, which concentrated on recycling and the circular economy. Accurate, repeatable colours were guaranteed by the groundbreaking ColorAdjust technology. Additionally, a live demonstration of the scalable and energy-efficient manufacture of food-grade rPET granulates was conducted.

The TecDays offered in-depth explanations of several recycling procedures in addition to live demonstrations. The most recent advancements in the circular economy were discussed, along with mechanical, solvent-based and chemical approaches. Prominent research institutes including IKV Aachen and IKK Hannover, as well as industry partners PureCycle Technology, Veolia, Lober, Polymetrix and Exxon Mobil, provided insightful presentations on recent advancements and trends. Innovative technologies including artificial intelligence (AI) in compound production, smart sensors for inline quality monitoring and solutions for cable compounds in an electrified future were included to the programme.

A special event was held in the evening for celebrating 100 years of partnership with Kabelwerk Eupen AG.

Orion S.A., a global speciality chemicals company, has appointed Reciend Group as its distributor of speciality carbon black product lines in Peru. Reciend has been Orion's distributor and agent in Colombia for over 20 years.

Eduardo Belisle, Technical Business Manager, Orion, said, “We know the same dedication and technical work that transformed the Colombian market will be the key factors to drive the evolution for the coatings and plastics market in Peru. We look forward to supporting Reciend on this new journey.”

Highlighting that the collaboration is a strategic milestone that strengthens his company’s mission of bringing specialised solutions to Andean markets, Alejandro Mejía, Chief Strategy Officer of Reciend, said, “It is an excellent opportunity to create even more value for our customers and principals through our talented team, committed to delivering high-performance solutions to industrial markets – such as coatings, plastics, printing systems and battery applications – where we have strong expertise and a broad ingredients portfolio. After decades of working with Orion’s carbon blacks, we’ve established a solid foundation, and now the expansion of our collaboration into Peru enables us to replicate that success in this important and growing market.”

Apollo Tyres, one of the leading tyre manufacturers in the country, has appointed Rajeev Kumar Sinha as its new Chief Manufacturing Officer. He also joins the company’s Global Executive Committee.

Sinha is expected to further strengthen the company’s global footprint by driving the manufacturing agenda, including strategy and planning, performance optimisation, plant management, integrated manufacturing services (IMS), corporate industrial engineering (IE) and deployment of Advanced Manufacturing Systems, including AI/ML solutions.

He comes with three decades of experience, having worked in multiple senior roles with multinationals such as Cipla, Glenmark and PepsiCo, among others.

In his last stint, he was Cipla’s Global Chief Manufacturing Officer and member of the Management Council and Non-Executive Director in select group Companies.

Neeraj Kanwar, Vice-Chairman and MD, Apollo Tyres, said, “Rajeev is a global manufacturing leader who comes with over 35-years of rich experience in operations and supply chain domain across diverse industries such as chemical, FMCG, foods & beverages and pharmaceuticals. He will play a critical role not only in our growth journey, but also in maintaining our competitive advantage. He joins us as a key member of the Global Executive Committee.”

Based out of Gurugram, India he will report to Neeraj Kanwar. 

Rajeev Kumar Sinha, said, “I am delighted to join this dynamic and growing organisation, and excited by the possibilities the future holds for Apollo Tyres. I look forward to steering innovations, especially pertaining to AI/ML solutions, and Industry 4.0 and 5.0, driving the manufacturing agenda of the organisation.”