Visitors grow by 22.5%; exhibitors up 64% on 2011 Expo
A substantial increase in visitors to this month’s Tyrexpo Asia 2013 exhibition in Singapore set new standards for the region’s leading independent tyre and equipment event.
By attracting 4,355 individual visitors to the Singapore Expo Centre between 19-21 March, the exhibition lifted its performance by 22.5% compared to the 2011 show, itself a record at the time.
And confirming its standing as the most international tyre show in Asia, visitors were recorded from 97 different countries across the global tyre world. For the first time, buyers were recorded from among other countries such as Argentina, Burma, Finland, Gabon, Guam, Kazakhstan, Paraguay, Seychelles and Vanuatu.
Another high point was the record number of exhibitors, with 250 suppliers representing a huge 64% increase from two years ago.
“We knew we had a record number of exhibitors in the hall, but until the doors opened on day one we couldn’t predict that visitor numbers would show such substantial growth compared to 2011,” says ECI International sales director, Rowena Suthers. “The show has been steadily gaining momentum over the past few years, but this year it has really come of age in every respect. In part we also attribute some of the success of the Tyrexpo Asia event to our other growing events in Africa, India and the UK in being able to deliver quality, focused events that meet the demands of both exhibitor and visitor expectations. ECI is proud in playing its part as a facilitator in bringing together tyre professionals from ever increasing global tyre sector markets.”
Tyrexpo Asia 2013 opened in upbeat fashion on the back of predictions from Guest of Honour, Dr Stephen Evans, secretary-general of the International Rubber Study Group (IRSG), who forecast a ‘decade of opportunity’ for tyre makers and service providers.
“Much of the demand will originate from China and to a lesser extent India, but from an overall perspective the years through to 2022 will be a period of opportunity for tyre makers and the replacement and service sectors,” said Dr Evans in his opening remarks as guest speaker.
In support of his forecast, he pointed to strong growth in OE and replacement tyre sales as a result of increased vehicle production, with:
• OE passenger car tyre sales growing from 333 million units in 2012 to 524 million units by 2022
• Replacement car tyre sales moving from 786 million units in 2012 to 1.3 billion units by 2022
“We believe there are currently around 1.1 billion vehicles in use around the world and predict that figure will rise to as many as 1.7 billion towards the end of the coming decade. China alone is set to reach a target of an extra 250 million vehicles over the same time frame,” said Dr Evans.
Among the many new tyre ranges and patterns introduced by exhibitors at Tyrexpo Asia 2013 were:
Aeolus, China’s fifth largest tyre manufacturer by sales, announced its entry to the Southeast Asia passenger car market with the launch of a complete range of PCR tyre products. The new venture comes on the back of the construction of a new car tyre manufacturing plant in Jiaozuo; the 625,000 sq m factory is capable of manufacturing 6 million tyres a year.
Aeolus also confirmed its ambition to become one of the top 10 tyre makers in the world. General Manager Wang Feng, said: “The company’s goal is to have a price/quality position higher than that of South Korea’s Hankook Tyre Company. Currently we are at around the 20th position in the ranking of world tyre manufacturers; our intention is to be in the top 10 manufacturers in the world.”
BKT, the Indian OTR manufacturer, introduced two new tyres to its materials handling range at the show. The 445/95 R25 Airomax AM27 pattern for high speed crane fitments and the Maglift STF solid range for fork lift trucks debuted at the show, along with the recently introduced Container King 18.00-25 tyre popular in Asian ports.
BKT currently claims around 5% of the global OTR market, with a long-term ambition to double that to 10% by 2020. A fourth manufacturing plant will add 350 Metric Tonnes (MT) per day to output by the end of 2014, bringing total capacity to 750 MT.
Another Indian tyre manufacturer, GRL, traditionally best known for bicycle and two-wheeler products, showcased its recent strategic investment in Off Highway Tyres, covering agricultural, industrial and construction applications. The move is part of a major development program that will culminate in commissioning of a new US$275 million production plant in Gujarat in 2015. The additional capacity is set to increase production from a current level of 50 Metric Tonnes per day to 325 MT per day.
ATG (Alliance Tire Group) launched four new patterns to its materials handling range of tyres at Tyrexpo Asia, including the Galaxy Giraffe XLW for Telehandler, Boomlift and Yard Crane applications. Galaxy Jumbo Hulk, Galaxy Beefy Baby III and the Galaxy Port Star Plus.
Singaporean supplier Mindtrac launched a cross-ply truck range at the show, with its new Ultra X range of Indian-manufactured cross-ply tyres, for truck and light truck applications.
Sri Lankan industrial tyre maker LAUGFS introduced two new solid fork lift tyres, the premium Ultima and economy Optima patterns in 18 x7- 8. The Ultima is targeted at OE customers in south Asia.
Ends
About ECI International Ltd
ECI International is a privately owned, UK-based exhibition company. In addition to Tyrexpo Asia it is the owner and organiser of Tyrexpo India (July 2013), Tyrexpo Africa (2014) and Brityrex International (2014) in the UK.
Visit www.eci-international.com for more details of all exhibitions
Media contacts:
Mark Harrison
Harrisons PR
T: + 44 (0) 1295 690 003
M: + 44 (0) 7776 182 506
E: harrisons@ndirect.co.uk
Rowena Suthers
ECI International Ltd
T: +44 (0)7801 291 881
E: eci.intl@btconnect.com