Tire manufacturer Kenda Rubber Industrial Co (建大輪胎) yesterday said it plans to increase its production capacity in Vietnam to meet rising demand.
The new plant in Vietnam is scheduled to begin operations in the third quarter of next year, with an estimated daily capacity of 25,000 units.
It would supply car tires to customers in the US to take advantage of Vietnam’s low-tariff status and maintain the company’s price competitiveness over global rivals, Kenda said.
Kenda produces most of its car tires at a plant in China’s Kunshan, a company official who declined to be named said by telephone.
With the US raising tariffs on Chinese tires, Kenda said the Vietnamese plant would gradually replace the position of its Kunshan plant.
The US is to levy a 38.5 percent anti-dumping tax on tires from China, the official said.
Kenda said it expects its sales growth momentum to continue next year, bolstered by rising demand from countries, such as the US and China.
The company expects to add 10 to 12 Chinese automakers to its portfolio next year, lending support to sales and profits, it said.
As for the US market, the company said that its innovation center in Ohio is focusing on developing high-end products to attract more customers, such as premium downhill and enduro car tires.
From January to September, car tires contributed 38 percent to total revenue, up from 35 percent last year, company data showed.
In the first three quarters of this year, Kenda’s cumulative revenue reached NT$22.3 billion (US$699.3 million), down 7 percent from NT$23.99 billion during the same period last year.
Net income slid 16 percent to NT$2.25 billion, or earnings per share of NT$2.57, the data showed.
The company attributed the decline to weakening demand in the global bicycle market and rising rubber material prices.
The company’s bike manufacturing clients, such as Giant Manufacturing Co (巨大機械) and Merida Industry Co (美利達), are maintaining their conservative outlook for next year, the official said.
Revenue from bicycle tires accounted for nearly 22 percent of Kenda’s total sales this year, compared with 28 percent last year, company data showed.
Taiwan Transport and Storage Corp (TTS, 台灣通運倉儲) yesterday unveiled its first electric tractor unit — manufactured by Volvo Trucks — in a ceremony in Taipei, and said the unit would soon be used to transport cement produced by Taiwan Cement Corp (TCC, 台灣水泥). Both TTS and TCC belong to TCC International Holdings Ltd (台泥國際集團). With the electric tractor unit, the Taipei-based cement firm would become the first in Taiwan to use electric vehicles to transport construction materials. TTS chairman Koo Kung-yi (辜公怡), Volvo Trucks vice president of sales and marketing Johan Selven, TCC president Roman Cheng (程耀輝) and Taikoo Motors Group
Among the rows of vibrators, rubber torsos and leather harnesses at a Chinese sex toys exhibition in Shanghai this weekend, the beginnings of an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven shift in the industry quietly pulsed. China manufactures about 70 percent of the world’s sex toys, most of it the “hardware” on display at the fair — whether that be technicolor tentacled dildos or hyper-realistic personalized silicone dolls. Yet smart toys have been rising in popularity for some time. Many major European and US brands already offer tech-enhanced products that can enable long-distance love, monitor well-being and even bring people one step closer to
RECORD-BREAKING: TSMC’s net profit last quarter beat market expectations by expanding 8.9% and it was the best first-quarter profit in the chipmaker’s history Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), which counts Nvidia Corp as a key customer, yesterday said that artificial intelligence (AI) server chip revenue is set to more than double this year from last year amid rising demand. The chipmaker expects the growth momentum to continue in the next five years with an annual compound growth rate of 50 percent, TSMC chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家) told investors yesterday. By 2028, AI chips’ contribution to revenue would climb to about 20 percent from a percentage in the low teens, Wei said. “Almost all the AI innovators are working with TSMC to address the
Malaysia’s leader yesterday announced plans to build a massive semiconductor design park, aiming to boost the Southeast Asian nation’s role in the global chip industry. A prominent player in the semiconductor industry for decades, Malaysia accounts for an estimated 13 percent of global back-end manufacturing, according to German tech giant Bosch. Now it wants to go beyond production and emerge as a chip design powerhouse too, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said. “I am pleased to announce the largest IC (integrated circuit) Design Park in Southeast Asia, that will house world-class anchor tenants and collaborate with global companies such as Arm [Holdings PLC],”