VMI’s CEO Harm Voortman was among the senior figures to celebrate the global smart manufacturing technology company’s new Indian engineering and service centre, which opened in Vadodara on 4th October. He gave a positive view on prospects for the Indian tyre market: “India is now among the top five global economies,” he said. “Prospects for the tyre market are exceptionally strong. Vadodara was the natural choice for our new engineering centre, which is now part of our global strategy for customer support, software engineering and long-term growth.”

VMI has been operating in India for years, but the new centre marks a step change for the company’s investment in the region. So what does VMI’s new strategy mean for the Indian tyre and automotive industry?

Helping to drive economic growth

India is the world’s fifth largest economy, and a key driver for growth is large-scale investment in road and transport infrastructure. There is growing demand for tyres, especially for trucks, with higher performance standards a must. Infrastructure investment will have a positive impact on the Indian economy, helping make India an even stronger global economic hub.

As we reported in July, VMI’s unique MILEXX automated truck tyre building machine is playing a major role in transforming access to the high-quality truck tyres the logistics industry needs inside India. With more and more Indian citizens also moving to electric vehicles, the need for improvement in quality and performance for car tyres is also clear.

Mike Norman, VMI’s Chief Commercial Officer, said, “We expect to see growth in production accelerate over the next five years – and that goes a long way to explaining why VMI has chosen this moment for major new investment in the Indian market.”

Global software engineering

Perhaps the most compelling reason for VMI’s Vadodara investment is the drive to create an integrated, international software engineering capability for the entire business. India is the world’s most important centre for software capabilities: with home-grown businesses becoming household names and foreign companies building their own Indian research and engineering centres, tapping into the outstanding engineering capabilities India provides.

Automation is the key distinguishing feature of VMI production platforms. From the launch of the MAXX TBM 15 years ago, the concept of ‘hands-off, eyes-off’ has dominated VMI’s design thinking. Stage by stage, new concepts, components and functionalities have been introduced to VMI machines, aiming to reduce human contact and deliver error-free, higher quality, maximum efficiency production.

Vision systems were introduced a decade ago to carry out such key tasks as centring materials correctly, making the right cuts and ensuring consistent quality in output. As improved camera and software options become available, VMI introduces them as standard components to new machines and offers retrofitting to the installed base, enabling customers to operate at best practice level always.

Artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI & ML) are now increasingly vital for VMI production platforms, which drives the need for software engineering capabilities of the highest quality. VMI has developed systems that use AI to identify anomalies (foreign bodies and faults in materials), enabling these issues to be dealt with at once, rather than causing scrap later. The same capabilities will soon be deployed to optimise production.

Smart software is the key to these emerging trends. As demand for new AI-related capabilities accelerates, VMI is building the high functioning, global software engineering team it needs to prosper in this emerging world. By creating an attractive, well-managed centre in Vadodara, VMI expects to mobilise some of the most qualified, ambitious and visionary engineers India can offer. The team is truly global in nature, using a common engineering platform to enable cross-border collaboration and deliver real benefits both to VMI and the Indian economy.

Why is software so important?

Most commentators believe the industry is at an inflection point, where the current business model is changing fast. We see a growing need for many more tyre variants (SKUs), caused by such factors as the move to EVs, need for lighter but stronger and more flexible tyres, introduction of more environmentally responsible new materials (due to lower levels of particulate pollution) and different patterns of demand in the market.

As Norman commented, “The industry is being challenged to move to a different model, with greater production flexibility, less waste and scrap, lower energy costs and reduced emissions.” That means greater process agility and even higher levels of automation. We will need to develop autonomous decision making (requiring AI & ML), near elimination of errors and scrap (better automation of all processes) and the ability to switch from one SKU to another, with short production runs that are still profitable.

None of these changes can happen without intelligent software. Norman added, “The Vadodara investment gives VMI the scale and skills to become the industry leader in flexible AI-enabled systems – with India at its heart.”

Service transformation

The Vadodara centre also means VMI now has a global network of service centres to provide 24/7 ‘follow the sun’ support to customers worldwide. Vadodara is a key part of VMI’s ‘Global but Local’ service approach, covering everything from maintenance, parts and troubleshooting, through to optimisation consulting and training, retrofits and upgrades and remote monitoring to ensure optimal operation.

 

The Global but Local concept means customers are always served by teams that speak their language and share their culture but operate to consistent, best-practice standards – everywhere. All VMI’s service engineers use the same tools and methods, covering service desk, innovation, core R&D, order engineering retrofits and upgrades.

The Vadodara centre builds on and extends the service support VMI delivers to Indian customers. Now, for example, it is easier and quicker to carry out a routine service on such key components as drums by ‘being local’, with a full maintenance and service facility, minimising downtime and cost. This makes it possible to use a ‘lifecycle approach’ for drums, with much faster swap-over than before.

Investing in the future of India

India is emerging as a highly attractive investment market – perhaps as important as China to foreign companies. Past infrastructure investment levels have been relatively low in India, so there is widespread support for the growth policy now being followed. With the tyre industry now going through a period of significant change, there is huge opportunity for the Indian economy to become one of the most important tyre-building centres in the world.

 

Norman said, “These are exciting times for us to expand our presence in India. We will be helping to growth the economy in a key sector while tapping into the most important pool of software expertise on earth. As the focus on smart software grows more intense in the next few years, we expect our new Indian colleagues to play a key role in growing both VMI and the Indian economy.”

Belgian steel wire maker Bekaert reported resilient first-half 2025 earnings as strong cash generation and cost control offset softer sales, but warned that tariffs and currency pressures are weighing on demand.

The company posted consolidated sales of €1.9 billion, down 5.2 percent year-on-year, with volumes declining 2.6 percent and price/mix effects stripping out a further 2.2 percent. Underlying EBIT slipped 16.2 percent to €171 million, delivering a margin of 8.8 percent compared with 9.9 percent a year earlier.

Free cash flow surged to €123 million from €43 million in the prior-year period, driven by a €135 million reduction in working capital and €21 million in cost savings as the company continued to streamline operations and rein in capex. Net debt fell to €327 million from €399 million despite a continuing €200 million share buyback programme, €74 million of which has been completed.

“We have continued to focus on what we can control best – cash flow and costs - and have significantly reduced overheads and working capital in H1 2025,” chief executive Yves Kerstens said. “Equally, I am very pleased with the hard work of our teams fighting for volumes in the current challenging markets.”

He added: “We are also taking further steps to make our business units more autonomous and agile. Therefore, I am very confident that we will come out of the current business environment stronger and more cost competitive than ever before.”

Bekaert said volumes were particularly strong in its Steel Wire Solutions and Rubber Reinforcement divisions in the United States and China, while European and Latin American demand lagged. Its Brazilian joint ventures delivered €24 million in net profit share, up from €20 million a year ago.

However, the group cautioned that growing trade tensions – including a rise in US steel tariffs from 25 percent to 50 percent – and the weakening of the US dollar and Chinese yuan against the euro were eroding pricing power and softening orders.

“Following a period of resilience in Q2, the tariff uncertainty and weakening economic outlook has started to have an impact on demand,” Bekaert said.

The company now expects slightly lower full-year 2025 sales on a like-for-like basis, with an underlying EBIT margin of between 8.0 percent and 8.5 percent, down from 8.8 percent in the first half.

Jeff Glajch, the Chief Financial Officer of Orion S.A., a multinational speciality chemicals firm, will retire early in the fourth quarter of 2025, the company stated today.

To find a replacement, an extensive search will be initiated. Glajch will continue to support Orion until the end of 2025 in order to facilitate a seamless transfer.

Corning Painter, CEO, Orion, said, “On behalf of our entire organisation, we thank Jeff for his guidance and valuable contributions to Orion over the past three and a half years. Thanks to Jeff’s leadership, we have exceptional finance and information technology teams in place, and we are well-positioned for future growth.”

The Tire Society has completed its paper selection for the 44th Annual Conference on Tire Science & Technology, which will take place from September 23 to 25, 2025, at the University of Akron. This year, over 60 percent of presentations will come from international participants.

Technologists from 20 organisations in Canada, China, Germany, India, Italy, Korea, and the United States will present at the conference. Presenters include tire manufacturers, universities, testing labs, consultants, suppliers, a vehicle company, and the non-profit Consumer Reports.

This year’s program focuses on sustainability, with papers on rubber emissions, devulcanisation, tire lifecycle, and electric vehicle applications. Technical talks will also cover tire performance topics like noise reduction, cornering, traction, wear, and durability testing using predictive analytics and advanced simulations.

Dr Surendra Chawla will deliver the keynote address titled “Sustainability in the Tire Industry: Driving Toward a Greener Future.” Chawla spent four decades at Goodyear, advancing to Director of Corporate Research before retiring as Senior Director, Global Innovation. Following his Goodyear tenure, he joined the Polymer industry Cluster as a Leading Consultant, contributing to the Greater Akron region’s designation as the Sustainable Polymers Tech Hub by the US Economic Development Administration.

Michelin representatives Frederic Biesse and Damien Lim will present the plenary address “Tire Wear Emissions and Air Quality: Current Insights and Pathways Toward a Sustainable Future.” Biesse has worked 26 years at Michelin’s Clermont-Ferrand R&D Centre in France, focusing on noise, wear, and rolling resistance as Manager of the Tire Performance Analysis team. Lim brings 14 years of experience from Michelin Americas R&D Centre, specialising in tire wear studies and predictive tool development.

Scott Sass, Director of Technology at Alterra Energy LLC, will address the awards banquet with “Polymer Circularity: Steering Clear of Potholes.” Alterra has developed a continuous thermochemical liquefaction process for recycling typically non-recyclable plastics into manufacturing feedstock.

The Tire Society positions itself as the world’s leading membership organisation for tire science, engineering, and technology. Conference registrations include Tire Society membership, providing access to the peer-reviewed Tire Science and Technology Journal and post-conference presentation access through the “Play-on-Demand” feature.

Continental Tire the Americas has named Wyatt D Hamilton Sr as the new Director of Sales for its US Truck Tire Replacement division. With over 20 years of industry expertise, Hamilton will lead strategic efforts to expand market share, enhance customer relationships and drive sales growth in the replacement truck tyre segment.

A seasoned professional, Hamilton began his career at Continental as a Field Sales Representative after earning a Business Management degree from North Carolina State University. He progressed through key roles, including Territory Sales Manager and Key Account Manager for both Replacement and Original Equipment (OE) Truck Tires. His leadership expanded globally when he headed Continental’s Truck Tire OE team in Malaysia for the APAC market. Upon returning to the Americas, he led the Pricing and Market Intelligence team, influencing strategic decisions. Most recently, as Director of OE and Strategic Accounts, he developed business strategies while fostering collaboration across engineering, operations and sales teams, along with talent development initiatives.

Based at Continental’s US headquarters in Fort Mill, South Carolina, Hamilton’s deep industry knowledge and leadership will further strengthen the company’s position in the truck tyre market.

Shaun Uys, Vice President Truck Tire US, Continental Tire the Americas, LLC, said, "Wyatt's extensive industry expertise, unwavering commitment to customer satisfaction and strategic foresight position him as the perfect leader to elevate our replacement truck tyre business to new heights. We are eager to witness the contributions he will bring to this pivotal role."