BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

19/06/2008

Belshina tyre firm to boost output by 7 per cent

By Richard Higgs

Firm also expands production of heavy duty tyres for off-road.

19 June 2008 - Belarus tyre and rubber products manufacturer Belshina is planning to boost its output of tyres by 7% during 2008 through more efficient use of its production capacity.

Among projects Bobruisk-based Belshina has earmarked for this year are the launch of a new tyre assembly system and an upgrade of its existing processing lines. The firm is also expanding production of heavy duty tyres for off-road industrial vehicles.

It has just commissioned a radial steel OTR (off-road) tyre assembly system supplied by the Netherlands-based machinery supplier VMI Group. The high capacity VMI system utilises flat drum building technology and assembles green tyres in sizes between 17.5 R25 and 24.0 R35.

The new equipment will be used mainly for manufacturing 21.0 R35 and 24.0 R35 tyre sizes for rigid dumper vehicles. In addition, Belshina plans to upgrade its existing assembly units for the production of 33.0 R51 tyre size, aimed at the same type of OTR industrial vehicle.

The Belarus company intends to expand its OTR tyre output to 28,480 units per year and to introduce 37 new types of tyre by 2010.

Its main customers for tyres are the Minsk Automobile Plant and Production Association Minsk Tractor Works, both based in the Belarus capital Minsk. The tyre producer also plans to boost wider domestic supply of its products by developing a retail network across Belarus.

Belshina manufactures a range of 200 sizes of tyres for cars, trucks, road construction vehicles, buses, tractors and agricultural machinery. The firm exports its products to markets in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), across Europe, and in Africa, the Americas and the Middle East.

Source:

http://www.prw.com/homePBP_NADetail_UP.aspx?ID_Site=818&ID_Article=24861&mode=1&curpage=0

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