Tyre makers across the globe have in the recent past announced their firm expansion plans as well as new investments. In fact, as per a recent report by the Automotive Tyre Manufacturers Association (ATMA), almost a dozen of new plants and capacity enhancements are currently underway.

The report states that Mexico is on track for being in the top 5 tyre manufacturing nations. In the last 6 months, over $1 billion new investment has been committed from three brands – Yokohama Rubber Co, Sailun Group and ZC Rubber Group. This will add fresh capacity of 24 million passenger/light truck tyres in addition to the existing over 65 million passenger/light truck tyres a year and upto 2 million truck/bus tyres a year.

Then there is China’s Sunset Tyres Corp, which aims to invest over $256 million towards its new radial passenger tyre plant in Brazil.

Linglong also announced investment of $640 million to enhance its competitiveness and broaden its product mix at its Serbia plant. The facility is expected to be completed by end-2030 and will add capacity to manufacture 1.1 million radial tyres, including 8,00,000 truck/bus tyres and 50,000 industrial/engineering tyres and 1,50,000 agricultural tyres.

Michelin is upgrading its French farm tyre plant as it gears up to build new generation of agricultuarly tyres.

UAE-based tyre distributor, Zafco Group Holdings is exploring setting up a tyre plant in Pakistan. The proposed 1.4 million passenger and light truck tyres a year factory is valued at $92 million, according to the World Bank affiliated International Finance Corp. (IFC), which is evaluating contributing up to $25 million in funding.

India’s JK Tyre & Industries is also mulling new investment of $168 million towards capacity expansion over the course of the next two years. The company aims to increase its passenger car tyre production by 16 percent and also aims to invest another $48 million towards ramping up off-road and radial truck/bus tyre production.

Bridgestone has announced its plans to upgrade its OTR tyre plant in Japan. It will invest $166 million at its earthmover and mining tyre facility over the next three and a half years.

Nova Motorsport is investing $22 million at its recently acquired CNB/Camac tyre factory in Palmeira, Portugal. The project includes incorporating motorsport tyre capacity from the former Cooper Tyre plant in Melksham, England.

German tyre maker Continental is also expanding capacity for passenger tyres at its five-year-old factory in Rayong, as it aims to meet the growing demand for ‘premium tyres’ in the region and elsewhere, including North America.

Chinese manufacturer JGST aims to refocus on expansion to meet passenger demand. The company sells tyres under the Celimo and TBB brands.

Yokohama Rubber Co is also relocating its over 20-year-old facility in Hangzhou to a new greenfield site. It will invest $269 million towards the new plant, and aims to start production in the second quarter of 2025 with an initial capacity to manufacture 9 million tyres.

British engineering start-up Enso aims to build the world’s first carbon-neutral manufacturing plant for electric vehicle tyres in the United States. It aims to invest around $500 million towards the new facility with plans to manufacture 5 million passenger tyres specifically designed for EVs by 2027.

Representational Image courtesy: ATMA

Pyrum Innovations AG has announced that its Supervisory Board has extended the contract with Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Kai Winkelmann until 31 March 2030 to ensure continuity in the management of the company.

Winkelmann joined the firm in February 2021, and on 1 April 2022, he was initially named to the Executive Board as CFO. He has so far played a major role in obtaining the company's funding during his tenure at Pyrum, including last year's successful capital raise. Winkelmann is in charge of Finance, Compliance and IT in his role on the Executive Board.

Alf Schmidt, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, said, “We are pleased about the contract extension of Kai Winkelmann, who has proven his skills and in-depth expertise in the financial sector and at the management level in recent years. Over the last four years, he has made a significant contribution to the development of the necessary administrative structures and to the success of the company, and has promoted its rapid further development. We have confidence in his foresight and are convinced that Winkelmann will continue to play a central role in the successful implementation of the company’s goals in the years to come.”

Bridgestone Corporation (Bridgestone) has been selected once again to continue as a constituent of three internationally renowned environmental, social and governance (ESG) indexes: the MSCI ESG Leaders Indexes, the FTSE4Good Index Series and the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index (DJSI World).

Bridgestone has been a part of the MSCI ESG Leaders Indexes for two years in a row since 2023, the DJSI World for three years in a row since 2022 and the FTSE4Good Index Series for seven years in a row from 2018. Bridgestone's specific Mid Term Business Plan (2024-2026) has been steadily implemented, putting sustainability at the centre of its operations. The company's 2020 vision and Mid-Long Term Business Strategy served as the foundation for the plan.

According to the company statement, “Setting forth the vision of ‘Toward 2050, Bridgestone continues to provide social value and customer value as a sustainable solutions company’, Bridgestone links its business to the realisation of carbon neutrality, a circular economy and nature positivity across the entire value chain. From the ‘produce and sell’ phase and the ‘use’ of its products through to their ‘renewal’ to raw materials, Bridgestone aims to build a foundation for creating sustainability value.”

The following initiatives have contributed to Bridgestone's inclusion in these indexes:

• Contributing to a circular economy and attaining carbon neutrality by using ENLITEN technology to make tyres from recycled and renewable resources, using BCMA and switching to ‘Green & Smart’ manufacturing at Bridgestone locations to increase resource productivity and energy efficiency.
• Encouragement of nature positivity through initiatives for the sustainable use of water resources and natural rubber that are closely related to the commercial operations of the firm, including strengthening assistance for natural rubber smallholders.
• Strengthening of a thorough structure and procedure for human rights due diligence that aims to identify, mitigate, avoid and disclose human rights concerns.
• Visualisation and disclosure of the impact of social contribution actions that are in line with the global goals.

German automotive company and tyre major Continental has been added another feather to its cap with bagging the ‘Tire Manufacturer of the Year’ at this year’s Tire Technology International Awards for Innovation and Excellence at this year’s Tire Technology Expo.

With this, Continental becomes the only tyre maker to have won two concurrent awards – Tire Manufacturer of the Year and Environmental Achievement of the Year – Manufacturing. The company’s Lousado facility in Portugal was also recognised for manufacturing tyres CO2-neutrally since last year.

Edwin Goudswaard, Head of Research & Development, Continental Tires, said, "We are especially proud to be the only manufacturer to be honoured twice at the Tire Technology Awards in an extremely competitive field. Both awards highlight our strong commitment to sustainable tire development and manufacturing. In such a highly competitive market, this success demonstrates our innovative prowess and our ability to actively shape the future of the industry."

Interestingly, this also marks it the fourth time that the German company has bagged the Tire Manufacturer of the Year award. The awards took into consideration tyre makers globally and were evaluated by a jury of 27 independent industry experts.

Going forward, Continental has outlined its ambition to switch all of its tyre plants to fully carbon-neutral production processes by 2040 at the latest.

Hankook Tire & Technology (Hankook Tire) has appointed Jongseon Ahn and Sanghoon Lee as Executive Directors and new Co-CEOs, following a resolution passed at the Annual General Meeting and Board of Directors meeting held on 26 March.

Ahn will be in charge of Hankook Tire's global innovation, R&D, procurement, production and quality, while Lee will be in charge of global sales and marketing initiatives to strengthen the premium positioning of the company's unified global brand, Hankook, as well as the supply of original equipment (OE) tyres for new vehicles. In addition to the leadership nominations, shareholders approved all eight agenda items at the Annual General Meeting, including the approval of the consolidated financial accounts, partial revisions to the Articles of Incorporation and director appointments.

Ahn has extensive leadership expertise and a proven track record of advancing technology innovation in the operational holding firm, Hankook & Company. He oversaw general management and spearheaded innovative initiatives in 2021 while serving as COO of Hankook & Company and Head of ES (Energy Solution) Business Headquarters. He became the CEO in 2022 and oversaw the company's expansion of premium Absorbent Glass Mat (AGM) battery sales into important international markets, which greatly increased profitability and strengthened the company's platform for long-term success.

Lee's vast worldwide leadership experience serves as the foundation for his profound understanding of marketing and global sales strategy. He has held important regional leadership positions in China and Europe since 2018, during which time he has played a crucial role in bolstering the company's premium brand positioning internationally and continuously promoting creative business performance, both of which have greatly increased revenue. At the conclusion of last year, he was nominated as Hankook Tire's Co-CEO due to his success and leadership.