HAAKSBERGEN, Netherlands—Dutch tire and rubber machinery maker VMI Group is on track for strong growth this year, parent TKH Group reported in a first-half results statement.
VMI is a key part of Haaksbergen-based TKH's Industrial Solutions segment, which also supplies specialty cable and plug-and-play cable systems for sectors including robotics, medical and machine-building.
In the first six months, turnover in this segment increased by 9.2 percent to $380.7 million, the Aug. 15 report noted. Earnings (EBITA) lifted 24.6 percent to $48.8 million on higher turnover and production capacity utilization.
The segment benefited from "continued recovery" of order intake from China, as well as growth in market-share among the world's top five tire makers, TKH said.
More particularly, TKH noted that its order book was "filled with relatively large number of new machines, among others MILEXX (VMI's recently launched truck-tire-building machine) and customer-specific developments for the top five tire manufacturers."
In the second quarter, segment order-intake amounted to $136 million.
"In line with the first quarter, a high order intake was booked in tire-building industry," CEO of TKH Alexander van der Lof said. "The recovery from China continues and our market share in the top five tire manufacturers has expanded, which gives confidence for further growth."
Looking to the second half of the year, the TKH boss forecast sales at the Industrial Solutions segment to increase compared to the first half of the year.