TVS Srichakra has entered the European market with its new range of Eurogrip two-wheeler tyres which are customised to meet the European rider’s needs. The company has been meticulously moving on its brand building and product launches in the last two years. In 2019, the company had launched its brand TVS Eurogrip with a new logo and new product range, aiming at younger, millennial and aspirational buyers.

To foray into the European market, TVS Srichakra once again has gone through a lot of studies and product testing. The newly launched range of Eurogrip Bee Connect scooter tyres will be available in a basket of 40 different sizes in the coming months in Europe. Decoding the significance of the Eurogrip Bee Connect name, Andrea Bianchi Milella, Marketing Manager of TVS Srichakra’s Italian Centre, said, “It took quite a long process to came to this to this name-Eurogrip Bee Connect. The pandemic has changed everyone’s life, so has mobility. Due to social distancing and safety, public transportation is being avoided in Europe and, two-wheelers, especially scooters, are increasingly preferred by people to connect with each other. Secondly, at TVS Srichakra, we are the forefront runner for creating ecological consciousness in the tyre industry. We did tremendous work on reducing the environmental impact and increasing the usage of renewable energies with this product. With the Eurogrip Bee Connect, we wanted to highlight that we are very conscious about sustainable mobility and which animal could be better than the bees to symbolise this fact. Bees are industrious and hardworking and, most of the time, on the move, but at the same time, they play kind of a crucial role in the wellbeing of nature and humanity itself. So, we wanted also to highlight this side of our involvement in the automotive industry.”

 The company has entered the European market when the pandemic has put a halt on everyone’s life for more than a year. However, P Madhavan, Executive Vice President - Sales & Marketing, TVS Srichakra, backs the timing to enter the European market, saying the strategic move has been taken after much deliberation. Madhavan says, “I will strongly believe in stop, pause and take a breath, and then look at the very reason where you can go from that point onwards. So we use this period to go back and understand the consumer better. We got into the research more and tried to get fresh insights on the consumer so that if there is that nugget of gold as an opportunity available, go pick that up. That was the thought right through.” 

 The Chennai-headquartered company utilised the recent slowdown period for designing, studying the market trends and the riders’ needs in greater details. The new product development went through multiple rounds of prototyping and subsequent tests in its laboratories and racetracks and roads by some independent testers in Europe. 

 Today, the homegrown company is a leading tyre company in the two-wheelers and three-wheeler and OHT tyre space, operating for more than three decades. The company rolls out around three million tyres every month out of its two manufacturing facilities located in Madurai (Tamil Nadu) and Rudrapur (Uttarakhand). 

 

Eurogrip Bee Connect for riding experience 

In India, two-wheelers are essentially a mode of commuting, whereas as the consumers in Europe, though in smaller numbers, is more discerning and evolved. 

According to Milella, European two-wheeler riders seek a wholesome experience and are choosy on bikes, accessories, and tyres. “European two-wheeler riders want to enjoy the riding experience, which could be any forms - long rides on highways, country roads, sporty rides, off roads or racetracks. The consumer segment in the region we are dealing with is updated and aware of the types of tyres they require for their needs. So, you need to have quite a lot of offers all across the spectrum to cater to each type of riders. I will say it’s quite interesting,” said Milella.

 Currently, the company is working on new products, which will be released in the first quarter of 2022. A knobby product for off-road purposes and a street tyre for medium and big displacement motorcycles, both in Radial and Cross Ply construction, are lined up for launch in the next few months.

TVS Srichakra has installed an entirely new line at its Madurai plant to manufacture the newly launched range. Elaborating further, V Sivaramakrishnan, Chief Technology Officer (R&D Head), said, “Tyres made for the European market require completely different compounds and materials and need to meet the REACH compliance. So, we have a completely new manufacturing plant dedicated for the European product line in Madurai, India, which includes completely new extruders, tyre building machines, and process.”

 At the start, TVS Srichakra is not looking for sales targets in the European market. The priority for the company is to establish the brand, which another mammoth task for any tyre company. TVS Srichakra has already been in Europe with its Eurogrip brand in the Agri tyre space for five years. “We are designing and developing our products as per the market needs and building our brand. We prefer to have more organic growth,” says Madhavan. 

 The company also plans to introduce some of Eurogrip Bee Connect products in India and other markets in upcoming quarters.

 Not only building a brand, but establishing the retail chain in Europe is another challenge. The retail tyre business in the region is much more organised in both online and offline segments, which give much more options to consumers. In Europe, the retail tyre business is being increasingly driven by digital space, and consumers expect solutions from doorstep delivery and fitment to other services instead of just a product. As of now, TVS Srichakra has no plans to acquire any retail chain or distributors in the replacement market in the region. Currently, the company is working with the leading distributors across all European countries- Italy, Spain, France and the Netherlands. “With our partners, we will be present at the vast majority of retailer across countries to support our customers,” said Milella. 

 TVS Srichakra’s Italian R&D centre will play a vital role in establishing the company’s base in Europe. It focuses on cutting edge technology development and bringing the knowledge and consumers specific inputs in the region. The Italian centre also brings in testing capabilities, which are available globally. The Indian R&D Centre is oriented towards designing detailing, product industrialisation, working from the arts to parts, compound and material testing. “We look into more synergy in terms of technologies getting developed at our India and Europe R&D centres,” said Sivaramakrishnan.

 The company already has a material science lab in India and mentors from Japan and Italy for the material and compound development process.

 Last fifteen months of the pandemic, TVS Srichakra designed and developed new products for the local market. It launched 11 new products for the replacement market, including eight new high-performance tyre sizes for motorcycles, two for scooters and one new tyre size for electric rickshaws. The tyre sizes were introduced under the Sportorq, Jumbo GT, Conta, Durapro and e-Durapro product series.

 In December 2020, the company also announced its planned capital expenditure of INR 10 billion to ramp up manufacturing in its Madurai and Pantnagar plants. This investment is planned to be made over three years. The investment, when fully made, will result in an increase in two and three-wheeler tyre capacity by 25-30 percent and a doubling of off-highway tyre capacity from current levels. 

 The company also worked on digitalisation heavily as it had anticipated that contactless working would be the order of the day. The digitalisation programme helped TVS Srichakra reach the retailers without having the salesman in the field. “Consumers who realised that the shared mobility was out and they pulled out the two-wheelers for service and changed the tyres and battery. So we saw a huge uptick in numbers thanks to the effort that we put in,” said Madhavan.

 Madhavan anticipates that if the COVID situation gets better and the economy comes back on track, the boost the usage of two-wheelers. “That will augur well for us, and we run into the festival season. So, this is to say, we are not fortune tellers there, but the only thing is if the entire thing gets over the next two, three weeks, and the consumers are allowed to move around that that I believe will be a stepping stone to getting a good festive season.” (TT)

Eurogrip Tyres, the leading tyre manufacturer in India, showcased its premium two-wheeler tyres at the 17th edition of Feria 2 Ruedas (F2R) International Motorcycle exhibition held at Plaza Mayor, Medellin, Colombia. The dates of this high-profile business event in South America's two-wheeler sector are 15–18 May 2025.

For more than 17 years, the Feria de las 2 Ruedas (F2R) has been the leading motorcycle industry event in Latin America. The expo, which takes place every year in Medellín, Colombia, is a vibrant venue for commerce, innovation and growth in the motorcycling sector. Additionally, it gives aficionados the chance to investigate the most recent developments and trends in the industry. The company showcased its premium lineup at exhibit N24 in the Tented Pavillion, which included a range of sport touring, off-road and trail tyres. High-performance versions including the Roadhound, Protorq Extreme, Trailhound STR, Climber, Bee Connect, Terrabite DB+ and Badhshah LX were on display.

P Madhavan, Executive Vice-President – Marketing & Sales, TVS Srichakra Ltd, said, “Eurogrip is focused to deliver innovative products for the global markets. Latin America is a priority market for us, and F2R Expo is a promising platform to engage with our target audience. We are looking forward to interesting business opportunities arising from this expo. Such specialised industry tradeshows add exceptional value to our quest in becoming a leading global tyre brand delivering world class tyre technology.”

Denka Company Limited announced it would record an extraordinary loss of approximately 16.1 billion yen (£85.8 million) as an impairment on manufacturing facilities at its US subsidiary. It will indefinitely suspend chloroprene rubber production at the Louisiana plant.

The Japanese chemical manufacturer, which holds a 70 percent stake in Denka Performance Elastomer LLC (DPE), cited mounting operational challenges, including unexpectedly high costs for pollution control equipment and declining production volumes at the American facility.

“DPE has faced significant cost, production and other challenges at its facility in the United States,” the company said in a statement. “Rising costs are attributable to, among other factors, identification, design, purchase, installation, and operation of pollution control equipment to reduce chloroprene emissions that DPE did not anticipate being required when it acquired the facility from E.I. DuPont de Nemours and Company.”

The subsidiary was established in December 2014 and acquired the chloroprene rubber business from DuPont in November 2015. The Louisiana facility was intended to serve as a second manufacturing site in North America, complementing Denka’s Omi Plant in Itoigawa, Niigata, Japan.

However, according to the company statement, DPE has struggled with multiple operational issues, including “rising energy costs and a shortage of qualified staff necessary to operate new pollution control equipment and implement other emission reduction measures. “

Production volumes have declined partly due to “operational restrictions arising from the pollution reduction measures and unscheduled plant outages associated with supply chain disruptions and severe weather events,” Denka said.

The company noted that these challenges, combined with changes in the global economic environment for chloroprene rubber, have pressured profitability, making near-term improvement difficult.

Denka confirmed that DPE employs 250 people as of December 2024 and will not restart its chloroprene rubber manufacturing facilities following a regular maintenance shutdown. Instead, “all options for the business, including a potential sale of the business or its assets, will be considered,” the statement said.

The company emphasised that “no decision regarding a permanent closure of the facility has been made at this time.”

Customers will continue to be supplied from current inventories and production at the company’s Omi Plant in Japan.

DPE is 70 percent owned by Denka USA LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Denka Company Limited, and 30 percent by Diana Elastomers, Inc., a subsidiary of Mitsui & Co., Ltd.

Yokohama Rubber reported a 56.9 percent year-on-year decline in profit attributable to owners for the first quarter of 2025, despite posting a 9.0 percent increase in sales revenue.

The Japanese tyre maker recorded a profit of 8.53 billion yen for the three months ended 31 March, down from 19.8 billion yen in the same period last year. Business profit fell 3.2 percent to 24.07 billion yen, while sales revenue rose to 275.12 billion yen.

The company maintained its full-year forecast, projecting an 11.4 percent increase in sales revenue to 1.22 trillion yen and an 8.8 percent rise in profit to 81.5 billion yen for the fiscal year ending 31 December 2025.

Yokohama Rubber attributed the profit decline to one-time costs related to its February acquisition of Goodyear’s off-the-road (OTR) tyre business, which it purchased for approximately 143 billion yen.

“Profit from existing businesses was strong,” the company said in its earnings statement. “In addition to increased sales volume for the company’s consumer tyres, mainly in overseas markets, and continued expansion of sales of high-value-added ADVAN, GEOLANDAR, and Winter tyres as well as high-inch tyres, profit was boosted by the MB segment’s MIX improvements and structural reforms.”

The tyre segment, which accounts for 91percent of the group’s consolidated sales revenue, saw a 10.4 percent increase in sales to 250.32 billion yen. Original equipment tyre sales were higher year-on-year, driven by “strong sales in Japan of vehicle models equipped with YOKOHAMA tyres and expansion of shipments for Chinese automakers’ new energy vehicles,” the company said.

Replacement tyre sales also increased, supported by higher sales of summer and winter tyres in Japan, increased sales of high-inch tyres in Europe, and stepped-up sales efforts in Asia.

The MB (Multiple Businesses) segment, which represents 8.4 percent of total sales, experienced a 3.2 percent revenue decline to 23.02 billion yen. This was attributed to lower demand from construction machinery makers in Japan and automakers in North America.

The company described an “upbeat” business sentiment in Japan for the quarter, noting that “a steady recovery in inbound demand and increasing orders for construction and logistics projects compensated for weak consumption by domestic households curbing spending in response to rising prices of consumer goods.”

Overseas, the company observed rising inflation concerns weighing on consumer spending in the United States, while in Europe, “manufacturing industries are rebounding and corporate business sentiment is improving.” In China, personal consumption was boosted by the Spring Festival holiday, but high US tariffs “reduced China’s exports and created uncertainty about the future that is weakening industrial activity.”

Swedish speciality chemicals firm Nynas reported solid financial results for 2024, posting an Adjusted EBITDA of 1,333 million Swedish kronor, marginally higher than the 1,316 million kronor recorded in 2023.

The company, which specialises in naphthenic speciality oils and bitumen products, attributed its performance to operational efficiency and commercial success in its niche markets.

“We are delighted with the progress made during 2024, evidencing our right-sized cost base and a more targeted commercial and manufacturing footprint. We have redefined our strategic direction, positioning Nynas as a speciality chemicals company, enabling the energy transition and setting our course for 2035,” Nynas CEO Eric Gosse said in a statement.

The firm highlighted strong cash generation from operations, which it said would support planned investments and longer-term growth initiatives. Nynas also mentioned the ongoing transformation of its Harburg site with plans to monetise the asset eventually.

All three of the company’s production facilities maintained high operational reliability between 95 percent and 99 percent. The Nynäshamn refinery achieved a notable milestone: in May 2024, it set a new monthly production record for naphthenic speciality oils at 42,000 tonnes.

Strategic pivot towards sustainability

Nynas outlined a strategic shift focused on higher-margin speciality materials with sustainable characteristics. The company aims to strengthen its position in European markets through innovation and sustainability initiatives.

“Nynas is uniquely positioned to contribute to the energy transition. Our strategy reflects our purpose to advance a more sustainable society, and our product development pipeline is fully aligned with this goal," Gosse added.

In 2024, the company received an EcoVadis Gold rating, placing it in the top 5 percent of globally rated businesses for sustainability performance.

With consecutive years of strong financial performance, Nynas indicated it continues to monitor debt capital markets to optimise its capital structure “at the appropriate time potentially”.

The Swedish chemicals producer noted that, having ceased operations in the United States in 2022, it remains largely insulated from recent global trade tensions surrounding US import tariffs. The company imports only minimal feedstock from America, shielding it from potential cross-border trade disputes.