The High Cost of TiresThe price of tires has jumped dramatically in recent years, and part of the reason is due to the increase in prices of raw materials.April 2013, TruckingInfo.com - FeaturebyJim Park, Equipment Editor-Also by this authorSHARING TOOLS |PrintSubscribeShare on emailShare on facebookShare on twitterShare on linkedinMore Sharing Services16Ten years ago, you could buy a decent steer tire for $300. Not anymore. But, then again, you're not buying the same tire anymore either.Long-term pricing trends show that the cost of raw materials used in tire manufacturing has gone up over the past decade, along with the shelf prices for tires, but consumers haven't seen the price swings for tires that manufacturers have seen for materials over the same period of time.And raw materials are only part of the tire's cost structure. In a normal year, raw materials make up about 50% of the cost of the commercial tire, says Rick Phillips, director of commercial sales at Yokohama Tire Corp. That includes natural rubber, synthetic rubber, carbon black, steel and a host of other organic chemicals, including petroleum.Phillips says natural rubber was selling for 56 cents a pound in 2009. Today it's around $1.50 per pound.Accord to price charts posted on a government of India website,www.rubberboard.org, prices for various grades of natural rubber have increased from $135 per 100 kg in 2004, to a current price in March 2013 ofabout$290.Steel prices, while essentially stagnant over the past year at $700 to $800 per metric ton, have seen significant swings over the past 10 years. Most types of steel saw price peaks of $1,000 and higher per ton in 2008, which was up dramatically from pre-recession pricing of $500 to $600 per ton for most products.And don't forget oil prices.Oil prices in 2003 averaged $27.69 per barrel in 2003 dollars. Today, prices hover in the $90s, another significant increase. This hit tire manufacturers two ways, first as a raw material in tire production, and again in shipping costs, especially for those bringing tires here from overseas.Less tangible but omnipresent are the research and development costs. Phillips says tire makers were making very good tires 10 years ago, but they can hardly compare to today's tires.Tires are so much more efficient today than in previous generations that while acquisition costs have increased, life-cycle costs and cost per mile have actually come down. You're getting way more bang for your buck, Phillips says. But at the same time, it's getting harder and harder to make significant strides in technology.Now, tires are so efficient and so well-built that we have to spend millions and millions of dollars to get just a small gain, he says. The development curve isn't as steep as it was. You have to go a long way to even move the needle today.Supply and demandGlobal demand for tires has increased, with countries like India and China putting more and more trucks on the road every year. Demand in North America and in Europe is down somewhat.That reduces the pressure on supply, although Phillips says much of the need for tires in emerging markets is filled domestically.We've got a bit more supply here than demand at the present, he says, But by the end of the year and through 2014, I expect that will change. When global demand picks up again, we'll have problems here because there's not enough North American capacity to meet demand. And when the commodity brokers see that, we'll probably see more price manipulation like we did in 2011.In the short term, Phillips expects prices to stay relatively flat, but when global demand starts to rise, tires and their raw materials costs will start going up right alongside.Steel is more stable than rubber, and rubber is more stable than oil, but each is subject to its own pressures, he notes.The good news, according to Goodyear, is that raw materials pric ing has been stable over the past few months. That doesn't mean we'll see discounts on tire prices, but they may not be jumping as frequently as they have over the past few years. Enjoy it while you can.

Natural rubber is havested from the hevea trea as a liquid, much like maple syrup is harvested from a maple tree.

Alternatives to natural rubberAlthough we're in no danger of running short of our primary source of natural rubber, prices have risen dramatically over the past 10 years and some companies are now looking for alternatives.The primary producers of natural rubber are in South and Southeast Asia, with some production in tropical West Africa.All those are places subject to damaging seasonal monsoons and other extreme weather conditions.That makes supply a little unpredictable.Rubber has also recently become a traded commodity, leading to speculative investment, which has driven up prices.It's not unlike petroleum markets, says Bill Niaura, Bridgestone Americas'director of new business development. There are price points where it begins to make economic sense to explore and drill for oil in non-traditional areas. We're now at the point in the rubber industry where it makes sense to look for alternatives.There are about 2,000 plant species producing natural rubber, but the Hevea tree is the most productive. In the history of the rubber business only one other species, guayule, has been used in actual rubber production.Unlike the hevea tree, which grows in tropical climates, guayule grows in the arid climates of the U.S. Southwest.Active research and development programs are under way to domesticate and commercialize guayule, with two led by tire manufacturers.Guayule blooms againA consortium consisting of Cooper Tire & Rubber Co., Yulex Corp., Arizona State University and the U.S. Department of Agriculture are working under a $6.9 million grant from the USDA and the U.S. Department of Energy.The goal is to harness biopolymers extracted from guayule as a replacement for petroleum-based synthetics and tropical-based natural rubber used in the manufacture of tires.Meanwhile, Bridgestone has its own plans for a guayule research farm near Eloy, Ariz., and a research center in nearby Mesa,Ariz.A 281 -acre agricultural site in Eloy will serve as the base of its agricultural research operation, and will supply guayule for the company's process research center in nearby Mesa.Material-wise, guayule is the same polymer as hevea rubber, but it diversifies our supply, Niaura says. In terms of plant biology and regionality, it's domestic to the Americas, but there are still challenges ahead.The facility is expected to be fully operational in 2014, with trial rubber production starting in 2015.

Regular pressure checks are the best way to ensure a long and prosperous relationship with your tires.

Tires are worth looking afterIt's easy to dismiss tires as low-tech commodities requiring more time and effort to maintain than they are worth.The truth is you get out of your tire program what you put into it.Fleets with strong tire programs treat tires as assets.According to Continental's Clif Armstrong, fleets that are ahead of the curve on tires treat them as investments.Thirty years ago, when your $150 tire wore out at 40,000 miles, you just disposed of it and bought another one, he says. With tires at $350 or $400 and even up to $700 for wide-single tires, you have to treat them as assets.The tread has wearability value, and the casing can be retreaded or sold.The more retreads you get from a casing,the better the value, Armstrong says. It's conceivable today to run a tire/casing out to a million miles with excellent maintenance and several retreads.The key factor in maintaining the value in your tire and casing investment is proper maintenance and management-and maintaining tire inflation pressure.Improper inflation reduces tire life, says Bob Montgomery, vice president of intelligent transportation systems for Stemco."Low tire pressure also leads directly to irregular wear and premature failures, which the Technology & Maintenance Council of the American Trucking Associations says are 90% attributable to under-inflation.Automatic tire inflation systems, such as Aeris from Stemco, can keep tires at their optimum pressures while providing real-time data to detect leaks, analyze tire performance, calculate fuel economy and even identify mismatched dual tires.On the pressure monitoring side, several available technologies can alert drivers or fleet management of an impending tire failure through telematics.Continental's ContiPressureCheck, for example, also uses temperature compensation to tell if a hot tire is underinflated. Without some form of temperature compensation, a hot tire that is underinflated might appear to be fine, because the contained air pressure is at or above its cold inflation pressure.Aeris, PressureCheck and similar inexpensive and reliable technologies really can extend tire life. Perhaps not to 1 million miles every time, but considerably further than if you do nothing buy kick them a couple of times a week.

The raw material costs for tire manufacturing has increased consistently over the past decade, raisingprices for thelogistics industry, according to Heavy Duty Trucking magazine. Natural rubber costs have risen about $150 per pound since 2004. The trucking industry has found ways to adapt to rises in raw material costs."In a normal year, raw materials make up about 50 percent of the cost of the commercial tire," Rick Phillips, director of commercial sales at Yokohama Tire Corporation, told the source. "That includes natural rubber, synthetic rubber, carbon black, steel and a host of other organic chemicals, including petroleum."Crude oil costs have also increased significantly in the past decade. The rise in prices impacted truck tire manufacturers in two ways: as a raw material in tire production and in shipping costs, especially when tires were coming from overseas,the magazine said.Despite elevated raw material costs for critical components of tires, the trucking industry has responded by making more efficient tires with a longer lifecycle. Though the acquisition price has increased, cost per mile has decreased. In addition to well-built tires, some trucking companies have responded to rising costs by outfitting trucks withautomatic tire-inflation systems, Fleet Owner stated. This can reduce operating costs for logistics firms by cutting back on tire wear because low inflation can cause uneven wear.Though there is no shortage of natural rubber sources, the cost has risen steeply enough to become prohibitive, and some companies are investigating rubber alternatives, according to Heavy Duty Trucking magazine. Natural rubbers comeprimarily from Asia and West Africa, areas at risk for seasonal monsoons, which can cause fluctuations in supply. Some tire manufacturers are researching alternatives to tropical rubber, such as tree species that can grow in arid climates in the U.S.

A major concern of all tyre and rubber manufacturers has always been the worldwide shortage and spiralling prices of natural rubber (NR). Natural rubber is a highly valuable biomaterial in contrast with other bio-polymers and it cannot be replaced by other synthetic materials for many vital applications like heavy-duty truck/bus and aircraft tyres as well as many latex products. As such, it is the first choice for heavy-duty radial truck tyre manufacturers, especially because of its physical, mechanical properties and excellent adhesion to steel cord.Why is NR in short supply? Mainly it is due to production cut and shifting towards palm oil cultivation in major NR producing countries like Malaysia, growing usage of NR in commercial vehicle radial tyre and growing demand in the fast-developing economies like China and India. NR is also vulnerable to the effects of climate change, population growth, and economic developments. In fact, these unpredictable factors induce major changes in the available yield and demand for NR.Rubber has become an essential part of our life and it is highly vulnerable to the market conditions. This gives rise to the fluctuations in the market and leads to a steep increase in price. There are a lot of factors responsible for it. As with all agricultural commodities, the effects of climate change, pollution, economic development, and population growth are unpredictable factors, which are also inducing major changes in available acreage, yield, and demand for natural rubber.Unless alternatives are identified and developed on a commercial scale, tyre and rubber companies would experience great difficulties in the days to come. This is exactly why the scientist/technologist community and other stakeholders across the globe are currently making all-out efforts in this direction.Shift towards palm oilThe shift towards palm oil in some of the Southeast Asian countries had its tell-tale effects on NR supply. It was about two decades ago, palm oil emerged as the cheapest source of edible oil and has been garnering a lot of attention since then. Today, it is the largest produced, consumed and traded edible oil in the global markets. Not only is it competitively priced compared with other major oilseeds, but it also has the highest yield. The palm oil tree yields an annual average of 3.7 tonnes of oil per hectare, which is much higher compared with the rapeseed (0.6 tonne) and soybean (0.45 tonne). Indonesia and Malaysia are the largest producers and exporters of palm oil, and together have an overall 87% share in the global output and 90% share in exports.According to an analysis by Koh and Wilcove during the period 19902005, close to 60% of the palm oil expansion in Malaysia was at the expense of forest conversion and the rest coming from rubber and cacao crop land. Such developments are taking place in Thailand and Indonesia too.Growing NR usage in radial tyreRadialization has of course increased the percentage usage of natural rubber owing to better green strength and steel cord-rubber bonding properties. A high level of building tack between the various layers of liner/carcass/tread/sidewall is essential for the modern days high-speed tyre building machines. All-steel radials required a higher level of green tack and green strength than conventional tyres. In these respects, natural rubber is superior compared to the other polymers used for making tyres.It may be noted that more NR is used in tyres than ever before and the worldwide trend toward radial tyres is certain to ensure continued demand. These include its excellent dynamic properties, with a low hysteresis loss, and good low temperature properties, it can be bonded well to metal parts, it has high resistance to tear and abrasion and it is relatively easy to process. These are some of the distinct advantages that NR have over SR.Surging demand in China and IndiaToday, China and India are the largest consumers of NR and the former, despite being the largest NR consumer in the world, has inherent problems in extending its limited rubber plantations. For example, the rubber planting areas in China are located in remote mountain areas or undeveloped areas.Threat of extreme weather is more frequent than ever. Environment conditions in new expanded area are poor for rubber tree growth, where rubber trees take longer time to mature. The gap between local output and demand has to be met by imports. India is also gearing up and due to an increase in presence of international players in India, there is a surge in the demand for NR and is reflected in the ranking of India at the third place in the world for consumption of NR. The hunt for alternatives Necessity of course is the mother of invention. In other words, crisis is the criteria for new developments. About 40% of the worlds NR production is consumed by USA and Japan. The last decade saw huge ups and downs in NR prices leading to a renewed interest in developing alternative crops for natural rubber production. There are as many as 1,800 species identified that could produce natural rubber latex, but only a few of these are known to produce large amounts of high molecular weight rubber. The hunt for alternatives to NR has a long history. During World War I & II, the Britons and later on Japan controlled most of the rubber supplies. During and after that war, a lot of people in different countries started to feel uneasy in that not only their military strength, but their industrial and economic strengths were dependent on the foreign rubber.Guayule and other plantsGuayule, a desert shrub growing in semi-arid regions in Mexico and Southern US, is one of the non-tropical plants that has been at the centre-stage of all experiments to develop a commercial alternative source of NR. Other promising plants are the Russian Dandelion, Sunflower or Lettuce. USA and Canada are actively considering the latter. Scientists are also considering the synthesis of synthetic poly-isoprene through bio-isoprene route. Guayule & the Russian Dandelion are two varieties of shrubs which contain considerable amount of latex. Guayule project was first started in 1988 and the Russian Dandelion project was started in 1942, for two years until 1944. Based on several studies, TKS (the most popular variety of the Dandelion) was demonstrated to be a viable alternate source of natural rubber, compatible with associated rubber manufacturing process, comparable to Hevea, and superior to Guayule. Several other plants that are able to grow in temperate climates were tested for rubber production, especially in times when price or accessibility of natural rubber was an issue (1920s, WWII, 1970s). A recent study showed that lettuce contains small amounts of rubber with a molecular weight similar to that of the rubber tree and guayule. This provides a new opportunity to study rubber biosynthesis in plants on a molecular level; however, its potential as an alternate source of natural rubber is unclear. There are other plants known to produce rubber, like Cryptostegia 2-4%, Milkweed 4-5%, Pingue 1-2% & Rabbitbrush 1-2%.Synthetic alternativesSynthetic polyisoprene which has the structure and properties of NR has been an important elastomer, ever since it was first prepared in 1954 with the then newly discovered Ziegler catalyst. Although it still demonstrates lower green strength, slower cure rates, lower hot tear, and lower aged properties than its natural counterpart, synthetic polyisoprene exceeds the natural types in consistency of product, cure rate, processing, and purity. In addition, it is superior in mixing, extrusion, moulding, and calendering processes. Isoprene is found in products ranging from surgical gloves to car tyres. Efforts to produce synthetic isoprene from bio-resources commenced in the backdrop of depletion of global petroleum resources and environmental hazards.The production of isoprene from renewable resources (BioIsoprene) is the target of a joint venture between the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company and the biotechnology company Genencor. Using BioIsoprene from Genencor, Goodyear has produced a synthetic rubber for incorporation in a concept tyre demonstrating the equivalence of BioIsoprene with petroleum-derived isoprene. Recently, Amyris has signed a deal with Michelin to collaborate in the development and commercialization of Amyris No Compromise renewable isoprene. Amyris is also collaborating with Kuraray & Kuraray in a venture to use Biofene to replace petroleum-derived feedstock such as butadiene and isoprene in the production of specified classes of high-performing polymers. The hunt is on Natural rubber crisis, which surfaced in a major way for the first time in the aftermath of the Pearl Harbor bombing in 1941, is still lingering irrespective of development of synthetic alternatives. It was during World War II, rubber industry saw the kick-start of research on the alternative rubber plants to decrease the dependability on the hevea tree. Then came the time when extensive exploration of alternative methods to synthesize synthetic rubber from bio-resources instead of petroleum-based resources commenced. Yes, the hunt is on again. Lets keep our fingers crossed to see whether the joint effort of scientists and technologists will result in harnessing these alternatives commercially.China Tire & Rubber Industry Trends OutlookPosted Date :February 10, 2014InTire Market & Tire Company News0Looking backon 2013, Chinese tire rubber industry has made considerable progress, look to 2014, China will usher in what the tire and rubber industry development and changes?Development trends ofthe new yearfor thedomestictire rubber industry, we made the following forecasts and outlook.Outlook 1: Eucommia, dandelion welcome breakthrough inthe applicationor2013 release of Green Paper Eucommia industry, noted that the introduction of new cultivation techniques, gutta latex yield up to 400-600 kg per hectare.If the planting area will be expanded to 300 gutta million hectares, annual production up to 1.2 million tons of rubber gutta above.In addition, early in 2011,the NationalDevelopment and Reform Commission had formally cultivate the gutta rubber industry intothe nationalstrategicemergingindustry system.It is understood that the government and businesses around the country are actively responding to the policy, gutta rubber-related projects are vigorously advancing.In addition, the dandelion has entered a new development stage.Studies show that the use of dandelion roots produce high quality natural rubber has become possible in the laboratory.The German horse brand in collaboration with the Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and the Institute of Applied Ecology, dandelion as a raw material for industrial production of rubbertires, its research and development projects to be a breakthrough.German horse brand is also expected in the next few years, the tire rubber composition containing dandelion will begin testing on public roads.We found that the industry for future applications and dandelion gutta very hopeful.They believe that the current two plants have become the most likely alternative to rubber for tire production of raw materials, as the technology matures, these two resources can effectively alleviate the reliance on non-rubber producing countries to rubber imports.Prospect 2: go abroad enterprises have an increasing trendFor thedomestictire and rubber industry, two out universal status quo, to the second choice, Triangle, Linglong, race wheels and rubber, Hainan represented companies have to go abroad, set up factories in foreign countries, trying to solve some of the countries on China tire double reverse as well as the small size of thedomesticrubber plantation, adversely affect the survival and development of enterprises brought.A website tire industry analyst said that with the United States,Braziland other regions of China Tire dual policy continues to heat up, the strength of thedomesticenterprises will be more and more foreign investment.Currently, most of these companies choose to invest in rubber from Southeast Asian countries closer to the origin.It is reported that this region as the largest production base of raw rubber, has a unique geographical and price advantage, Chinese tire industry is increasingly becoming a strategicshift in the target areas.Prospect 3: excess production of natural rubber will expand the scaleThe Rubber Economist Ltd.s An e-mail report, due to the production growth is greater than the consumption of rubber, natural rubber worldwide in 2014 will show a tendency to expand the size of the surplus, or climbed from 2013s 336,000 tons to 366,000 tons.The report shows that theglobal rubberproduction inthe new yearwill climb 3.3 percent to 11.965 million tons, 3% higher than previously expected.Increase inVietnamand Myanmar, Cambodia and other countries miscarriage rubber production, increased its 2014 annual expectations.A rubber futures analysts forecast, due to the oversupply of rubber in the international situation is difficult to alleviate the short term, in 2014, Chinasrubber pricesmay continue to show a steady downward trend.Looking 4: Spot rubber prices trading platform or promote a more rationalNatural rubber prices in recent years has been in a phase of irrational fluctuations, have an impact on the healthy development of thedomesticrubber industry.In 2013, the establishment of Chinas naturalrubber tradingcenter spot, only to breakthe patternof the futures market price guide, to form a futures market, the spot market and the real flow of the market interaction and mutual influence of multi-level market system.Many industry insiders commented higher that the Bohai Commodity Exchange Rubber Valley natural rubber trading center spot for the rubber industry provides an open, transparent and efficient stock trading platform to promote change inthe patternof natural rubber price a useful try, the more the market price provides an important reference.Prospect 5: tire RFID tags or popularityJune 2013,KoreaKumho Tirewill become the worlds first RFID tag (also known as electronic tags) added tire products company; Since then, the French Michelin Group is also accelerating the promotion of radio frequency identification (ie RFID) pace tires.Michelin believes that tires with embedded RFID technology is reliable throughout the life of the tire can improve the state of the tire tracks.It is understood that there are already other tire manufacturers to join, these companies hope to develop a unified RFID international standards as soon as possible.Some industry experts believe that the technology exists the possibility of adoption.In 2014, there may be more tire companies apply this technology, Chinese enterprises do not rule out the possibility to join the ranks.

High rubber prices force tyre manufacturers to go syntheticHigh rubber prices force tyre manufacturers to go syntheticAjayanShareFirst Published:Sun, Oct 14 2007. 11 53 PM ISTALSO READ Tumbling raw material prices lift tyre makers prospects Apollo Tyres plan to raise Rs1,725 crore gets shareholders nod Apollo Tyres net profit up 37% in June quarter Apollo Tyres Q4 profit zooms twofold to Rs281.62 crore Indian tyre makers shine as car owners replace bald rubber

Acting pricey: Tyre makers say if the price of natural rubber continues to appreciate, companies may have to raise the use of synthetic rubber to 30%.Updated:Sun, Oct 14 2007. 11 53 PM ISTKochi: Rising prices of natural rubber, the basic raw material for making automobile tyres, is squeezing the margins of tyre manufacturers, forcing them to increasingly look at synthetic rubber as an alternative.Natural rubber is currently priced at Rs90.75 a kg, up Rs10.75 from Rs80 a kg in May-June.The hike in the price of natural rubber could shave off 3-5% profits of the tyre companies, said Onkar S. Kanwar, chairman of Apollo Tyres Ltd, a leading tyre maker in India. Kanwar said his company is exploring the possibility of doubling the use of synthetic rubber.Natural rubber accounts for about 50% of the production cost of a tyre maker. Other raw materials, such as rubber chemicals, chord, carbon, etc., are by-products of the petroleum industry and their prices are linked to oil prices, which are already ruling firm in the international markets.Acting pricey: Tyre makers say if the price of natural rubber continues to appreciate, companies may have to raise the use of synthetic rubber to 30%.Apollo Tyres has an annual consumption of more than 150,000 tonnes of natural rubber. This is close to 20% of Indias annual natural rubber production of 850,000 tonnes.D. Ravindran, director general of Automated Tyre Manufacturers Association (ATMA), the apex body of tyre companies, said tyre manufacturers have started looking at synthetic rubber as a raw material.Last year, the average ratio of natural rubber to synthetic rubber was 79:21. This has now changed to 74:26, he said.If natural rubber continues to appreciate, companies may have to raise the use of synthetic rubber to 30%, some tyre makers said.Ultimately, it is the decision of individual companies, Ravindran said. During April-June of current financial year, the price of synthetic rubber was on an average Rs6 lower than natural rubber per kg.Domestic demand for rubber in April-September was 416,800 tonnes, up 3.2% compared with the same period last year. ATMA and the trade promotion body Rubber Board are critical of the rubber futures trading on commodity exchanges but Kanwar of Apollo Tyres finds nothing wrong with futures trading, although he admits that there is an element of speculation.The genuine players can take the advantage, he said, adding that his company was using the platform actively.The Rubber Board has asked commodity futures regulator Forward Markets Commission to restrict the daily volatility in the trade. The board attributes the high volatility in rubber futures trade to speculators.According to the board, rubber prices ruled much above the international prices between September 2006 and February when the domestic production peaked.Normally, after the monsoon, rubber tapping is in full swing, which pushes the production up and brings down the prices. But the board said prices were manipulated during this period, which adversely affected natural rubber exports.According to the latest statistics from the board, natural rubber exports in April-September were down to 16,215 tonnes against 47,729 tonnes in the year-ago period.But Kailash Gupta, managing director of Ahmedabad-based National Multi-Commodity Exchange (NMCE) said ever since the exchange introduced rubber futures in May 2003, the fair and transparent electronic trading platform has benefited nearly 9,000 clients, including a large number of small and marginal plantation growers.The exchange has been an active player in rubber futures. The dominant player is the Mumbai-based Multi-Commodity Exchange.Defending rubber futures trading on NMCE, Gupta said the exchange has provided an alternative trading platform to more than a million families of small plantation growers, who were earlier forced to make distress sale whenever the organized consumers withdrew from the market.According to him, the domestic price (Rs90.75 a kg) is in sync with the international prices (Rs88.41 at Bangkok).It is also for the first time that the Indian rubber futures have proved to be a price-setter, rather than price-taker, he said.According to him, the domestic market price used to be based on international prices but with the commencement of the futures trade, the global market has been taking cues from the Indian futures prices.The benefit of futures trading far outweighs the earlier administered pricing regime. This is reflected in the rising volume of rubber trade on exchanges, Gupta said.The physical delivery of rubber reached 49,520 tonnes at NMCE until the expiry of the September contract last fortnight.

Tyre & RubberIn the tyre industry, raw material accounts for nearly 70% of the cost of manufacture. Hence, for this industry, the efficient use of utilities becomes even more pressing, if they to be competitive.Fuel used for generating steam is around 40% of the total utility cost. Major area of steam consumption is for rubber preparation. Curing process consumes almost 70- 75% of total steam. Hence, the potential for making these areas energy efficient is considerable.

By partnering with tyre companies across the country we have been successful at reducing the avg SFC across the industry and have also now set ourselves a new benchmark to beat. Forbes Marshall- CII joint studies reveal differences in fuel consumption per ton of finished tyre within the industry, i.e. Specific Fuel consumption SFC (FO Kg/Ton Finished Tyre)We have partnered a wide diversity in Tyre and Rubber plants, Radial/OTR, Solid Rubber, Cycle/Scooter, Rubber Products, etc. We have also rendered our services for autoclaves.

Case StudyA tyre plant in Maharashtra was able to reduce its Specific Fuel consumption from 284 to 254 kg petcoke/MT tyre savings 2040 kgs of pet coke each day!The plant implemented the following recommendations Recovering condensate & flash steam Rectification of trap installation, right selection of traps on platen/dome presses Distribution and utilization of steam at the right pressure Arresting steam leaks. Implementation of ash re-burning system.

The prime reasons for difference in SFC across plants were:1.Efficiency of steam generation

Avg Direct efficiency: 67%Avg Indirect efficiency: 75%Reasons for gap:1.Fluctuating steam demand as number of presses online varies.2.Average steam consumption is about 50% of total boiler capacity.2.Optimized steam distribution and utilization

1.Effective steam trapping (selection, sizing & installation) improves batch timings and curing.2.Proper pressure temperature and dryness fraction of steam ensure lower SFC.3.Use of indirect steam over direct steam for hot water generation leads to better SFC.3.Recovering condensate and flash steam

Reasons for gap

1.In most plants flash steam is not recovered.2.Feedwater temperature varies between 40-900C3.Condensate recovery using electrical pump leads to loss of useful heat as electrical pumps cannot pump condensate at high temperatures.4.Condensate recovery by trap pressure leads to back pressure on equipments and thus trap malfunctioning. Importantly it also impacts product quality.

Tyre industry in no mood to reduce pricesGeorge Joseph |KochiJanuary 19, 2013Last Updated at 00:29 ISTBest Deals To Brisbane

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Add to My PageRELATED NEWS Apollo Tyres launches global R&D centre UFO Moviez increases stake in Scrabble Entertainment Price trends reverse in global and local markets Pharma sector: Maintaining growth on a high base India Inc uses more of CP as loan rates stay highAlthough localrubber priceshave fallen 15-20 per cent during the last seven months, thetyre industryis in no mood to reduce prices. During the last one year, companies had raised tyre prices by 20-25 per cent, citing the sharp increase in natural rubber prices, which forms 35 per cent of the total production cost. However, over the last six to seven months, local rubber prices have decreased sharply on account of slow down in demand and rise in imports. Now, local rubber quotes Rs 25 per kg lower compared to global prices. Yet, the industry is reluctant to pass on this benefit to its customers.There is not much scope for a reduction in tyre prices, said Sathish Sharma, head, India operations, Apollo Tyres. He told Business Standard that though rubber prices had fallen in recent months, the cost escalation due to the sharp rise in raw material prices in the last three years could not be set off fully with this fall. The price ofRSS-4grade rubber had shot up to Rs 221 in January 2011 and Rs 238 in April. On account of that huge rise, tyre companies had increased prices around six times in 2011-12, by a cumulative 20-25 per cent.Instead of reducing prices, leading tyre companies are opting for other modes to push sales in the light of a serious slowdown in tyre production and sales this financial year. The April-December period was bad for the industry as production in the medium and heavy commercial vehicles segment dropped 22.33 per cent on average, quarter-on-quarter. The setback was serious in the case of demand from the original equipment segment. So, companies started giving discounts of 0.5 to one per cent to dealers in order to boost sales. It is the dealers choice whether to pass on this benefit to end customers.The move clearly indicated that companies were not ready to announce any rate cuts.Industry sources told Business Standard that companies had already initiated giving discounts to dealers in the two-wheeler and passenger car segments. And, this might soon be expanded to the bus/truck tyres, too.Satish saidrupee depreciationduring the last 12 months had also badly hurt the industry, as it caused a sharp increase in the cost of imported inputs, such as synthetic rubber. The cost of production increased sharply in the last two years, and the industry suffered due to the economic slowdown and drop in demand. So, the recent fall in rubber prices alone is not enough for reducing tyre prices, he contended.