•The company’s revenues for 2020 spiked by 2.25 percent despite overall slowdown globally

•ZC Rubber’s First Future Factory is expected to be completed by the mid of this year

•It also plans to set up a new plant in America, Europe, or the Middle East

•The company bets high on export business

ZC Rubber hosted its first Global Online Dealer Conference to outline the company's strategic vision and plans to keep the growth momentum in 2021.

The conference, with the theme "Innovate into The Great Future, also highlighted the ZC Rubber’s plans about its latest products, technologies, and services to provide distributors and customers.

The Chinese tyre major revenue increased by  2.25 percent to 28.22 billion RMB in 2020. ZC Rubber Group chairman Shen Jinrong said, the company will continue to strengthen its position in future through further global expansion and technological innovation.

“We have been pursuing the strategy of technological innovation and have realised the overall improvement in product quality, production efficiency, and quality control since last year,” Jinrong said.

In 2020, ZC Rubber brought forward the new generation truck and bus tyres based on the latest design theory PSCT and the state-of-the-art Flagship Series passenger car tyres.

He also shared the company's vision towards a full digitalization, focusing on smart manufacturing, FUTURE Factory, and sustainable development. ZC Rubber’s first Future Factory, equipped with top facilities and digital technologies, is expected to be completed by the middle of the year.

ZC Rubber intends to set up a plant in America, Europe, or the Middle East.

Ge Guorong, Vice President of ZC Rubber Group said the company has benefited from digital marketing and sales in recent years through online-to-offline (O2O) services network expansion and the smart S2BSb platform connecting suppliers, distributors, retailers, and end-users in China.

"ZC Rubber's successful experience in the Chinese market is not only to be enjoyed in China but also shared globally," He added. "Our digital development will empower global distributors and retailers in coming years."

For international markets, ZC Rubber is also betting high on export business this year with a 15 percent growth. Guorong said the company will continue to have focus on brand marketing in 2021 to provide vital support to its distributors and retailers worldwide.

ZC Rubber also presented its global product lines and its latest leading technologies for both consumer and commercial segments.

As the new top-tier passenger car tire line, the Flagship Series for four Westlake, Goodride, Trazano, and Chaoyang, was officially launched globally. This series made its debut in China last year. With their core technologies, the four flagship products aim to strike a perfect balance of quietness, grip, and fuel efficiency. It will "enrich the high-end product matrix of ZC Rubber's passenger car tyre lineup" and is positioned as "premium tire with leading design, performance and satisfaction", as the company stated.

LANXESS, a specialty chemicals company, has successfully placed a six-year-tenor euro benchmark bond with a coupon of 0.0 percent in the European capital market.
The company, with about 14,800 employees in 33 countries, will use the funds to finance the planned acquisition of IFF, a US-based chemical company involved in microbial control.

The new bond is listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange in denominations of EUR 1,000.

Michael Pontzen, CFO, LANXESS, said, “We have secured the first step of financing already quickly after the announcement of the acquisition of IFF Microbial Control and are happy about the very receptive reaction of the capital market to our offering.” (TT)

Goodyear has launched its new RT-3B bead-to-bead tread in US and Canada in sizes 20.5R25 and 23.5R25 for off-the-road (OTR) tyres.

The new retread provides all-around performance for loaders and graders. Joining the existing lineup of premium off-the-road Goodyear tyres, the retread provides up to 60 percent savings compared to a new tyre.

Used extensively in gruelling OTR applications, retreading helps extend the life of tyres while delivering high traction and minimal tread wear. Additionally, retreading promotes sustainability by reducing unnecessary waste.

The new Goodyear RT-3B is cured in a mould and press method to generate low heat through long hours of usage via its 115-level tread depth. Strongly cut-resistant in nature, the centerline lugs and open shoulder provides optimal traction.

Loic Ravasio, General Manager, Global and Americas OTR, Goodyear, said, “We are always focused on delivering high value and low cost of ownership to our OTR customers. The RT-3B is a substantial addition to our retread portfolio providing another great option for operators to help drive efficiency, reduce costs and protect the environment.” (TT)

Anshuman Singhania, Dy. Managing Director of JK Tyre, has been appointed managing director of the company, effective October 21,2020.

Anshuman Singhania joined the Company as an Executive and over the years has been deeply involved in various activities of the Company in different positions, said the company.

Singhania is also Vice Chairman of ATMA

He is a graduate from Oxford Brookes University, UK and an alumnus of London Business School. As a young leader, he started his career from the shop floor as an apprentice and has held several positions in Planning, Production, Product Development, Quality Control, Stores & Purchase, Finance as well as Sales & Marketing. Being a techno-savvy person, he has played a key role in implementing the latest technologies in the manufacturing process at JK Tyre.

Yokohama Off-Highway Tires recently held the groundbreaking and foundation stone unveiling ceremony of its new plant at Atchutapuram, Visakhapatnam - Andhra Pradesh, India.

In the online event, Masataka Yamaishi , President & Chairman of the Board, Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd broke the ground to commence construction work.

Yamaishi San unveiled the Foundation Stone virtually in the presence of Atao Kishi San: Chairman - ATC Tires Pvt. Ltd. and Managing Officer - The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd., Nitin Mantri – CEO and Anil Gupta – COO and the leadership team at Yokohama Off-Highway Tires.

The new plant will have a daily production capacity of 55 tons (rubber weight), with planned capital investment totalling US$165 million. The plant, which will be the company’s third plant in India, will manufacture its three brands ALLIANCE, GALAXY and PRIMEX brand tyres.

 Yokohama Off-Highway Tires currently has two tyre plants in India—the Dahej Plant in Gujarat and the Tirunelveli Plant in Tamil Nadu.