Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • European Rubber Journal
  • Plastics News
web
Subscribe
  • Login
  • Register
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • ITEC
    • Automotive
    • Tire
    • Non-Tire
    • Suppliers
    • Silicone
    • Latex
    • Coronavirus
    • Executive Action
    • Government/Legal
    • Opinion
    • Technical Notebooks
    • International Elastomer Show
    • Women in Tire & Rubber
    • HEXPOL Sponsored Content
    • Goodyear recognized by Lockheed Martin as 'elite supplier'
      EV tire advancements to help secure future
      Lambillotte: Only question on AVs is timing
      CAR official says EV future brighter than autonomous
    • Biden signs executive order, prioritizes U.S.-made EVs, PPE
      Conti starts production of ‘HL' load index tires for select OE customers
      ITC votes to keep duties in place on China P/LT tire imports
      Hankook gains OE fitments on Audi RS Q8
    • Conti starts production of ‘HL' load index tires for select OE customers
      ITC votes to keep duties in place on China P/LT tire imports
      Russia's Kama Tyres expanding truck, ag tire capacities
      Hankook gains OE fitments on Audi RS Q8
    • DuPont investing in Liveo line of silicone products
      A change at the top for Stockwell Elastomerics
      Flexan receives FDA registration for Suzhou facility
      63rd Polyurethanes Technical Conference set for fall
    • Phillips Carbon Black expanding capacity at site in India
      DuPont investing in Liveo line of silicone products
      New systems solutions advance the sustainability of automotive weatherseals
      Arburg: 2021 Technology Days in June will run for 6 days
    • DuPont investing in Liveo line of silicone products
      A change at the top for Stockwell Elastomerics
      Flexan receives FDA registration for Suzhou facility
      Coi Rubber adding on to plant in China
    • WCCO task force navigates pandemic, expands communications
      ASTM cancels April meetings as COVID-19 continues impact
      Paycheck Protection Program funding reopens Jan. 15
      Detroit Auto Show canceled; alternative event being planned for September
    • A change at the top for Stockwell Elastomerics
      Angelos Papadimitriou to leave position with Pirelli after six months on job
      Tero Peltomaki named Cimcorp CEO
      Synthomer CEO MacLean to step down by early 2022
    • Biden signs executive order, prioritizes U.S.-made EVs, PPE
      ITC votes to keep duties in place on China P/LT tire imports
      Hwa Fong joins Taiwan tire makers' bid for alternative to import duties
      NLRB certifies USW as bargaining unit for Kumho Tire plant in Georgia
    • Editorial: Against a backdrop of turmoil, M&A deals give glimpse of normalcy
      Column: Pandemic looms over everything in life, business in 2020
      Column: Lessons from the 2020 Best Places to Work
      Editorial: Silicone hit hard by pandemic, expected to bounce back
    • Advancements in synchronous drive belt design for industrial and consumer markets
      Effects of multiple repurposed materials for reinforcements of standard rubber compounds
      Impact of peroxide blends on the cure rate and aged properties in HNBR
      Techniques to detect long chain branching in polymers
    • Rubber Division seeks abstracts for 200th Technical Meeting
      WORD panelists say evolution, authenticity keys to success
      IEC keynote: Communication key to logistics
      IEC speaker: Specialized elastomers may reduce spread of life-threatening pathogens
    • WORD panelists say evolution, authenticity keys to success
      New video celebrates women in rubber industry
      ITEC panelists say women can thrive in tire industry
      Rubber Division planning second Women of Rubber event
    • Sponsored By HEXPOL Compounding
      Faster Access to Your Polymer Compounding Experts Around the World
      Sponsored By HEXPOL Compounding
      Take a walk thru a HEXPOL Lab
      Sponsored By HEXPOL Compounding
      HEXPOL offers a unique selection of High Performance Elastomers to match your application requirements
      Sponsored By HEXPOL Compounding
      It’s what you can’t see that makes the Difference at HEXPOL
  • Blogs
    • Products
    • Wacky World of Rubber
    • New Products: Nova thinks outside the box with sealing tech
      New Products: MonTech introduces 1,500 kN lab press
      New products: 3M introduces new durable, pliable medical adhesive
      New Products: Lanxess launches energy-efficient PU elastomer
    • Wacky World of Rubber: How Trelleborg, teens sealed a spot in the world record book
      Wacky World of Rubber: Of chicken and feet, but not chicken feet
      Wacky World of Rubber: Time to go mattress shopping
      Wacky World of Rubber: Because nothing says football like 'frunk' shrimp
  • Newsletters
    • Rubber in Automotive
    • Silicone News
    • Latex News
    • Sign Up for Newsletters
    • Biden signs executive order, prioritizes U.S.-made EVs, PPE
      Conti starts production of ‘HL' load index tires for select OE customers
      ITC votes to keep duties in place on China P/LT tire imports
      Hankook gains OE fitments on Audi RS Q8
    • DuPont investing in Liveo line of silicone products
      A change at the top for Stockwell Elastomerics
      Flexan receives FDA registration for Suzhou facility
      Coi Rubber adding on to plant in China
    • Bridgestone bets on guayule as alternative natural rubber source
      Synthomer CEO MacLean to step down by early 2022
      Jack Murphy joins Akron Dispersions
      Synthomer optimistic, raises earnings forecast
  • Multimedia
    • Videos
    • Photo Galleries
  • Directory
  • Resources
    • Classifieds & Mold Mart
    • Sponsored Content
    • White Papers
    • Sponsored By HB Chemical
      The Company Behind the Inventory
      Sponsored By French Oil Mill Machinery
      Process Improvement, Cost Reduction with Custom Press Systems
    • Sponsored By Uncountable Inc.
      Cooper Standard deploys lab informatics platform to synchronize R&D
      Sponsored By Elkem
      LSR Select™: A solution to improve your financial impact in molding applications
      Sponsored By HEXPOL Compounding
      Peroxide Cureable Silicone Injection Molding
      Sponsored By HEXPOL Compounding
      Understanding and Selecting Performance Additives for Rubber Compounding
  • Data
  • Events
    • RPN Events
    • RPN Livestreams/Webinars
    • Industry Events
    • Past Events
    • ITEC Library
    • International Silicone Conference Library
    • 2021 Healthcare Elastomers Virtual Edition
      2021 Rubber in Automotive Virtual Edition
      2022 ITEC
  • Advertise
  • DIGITAL EDITION
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. News
August 07, 2018 02:00 AM

Linglong speeds up expansion against market headwinds

Jane Ho
European Rubber Journal
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Print

    YANTAI, China—With pressure to meet growing demand, Linglong Tyre announced in February its new 5+3 strategy, envisioning five plants in China and three overseas, compared with its 3+3 strategy from a year earlier.

    Last year, Linglong reported a 32 percent jump in revenue to $1.97 billion, half of which came from the overseas markets.

    Net profit less non-recurring items rose by 6 percent to $145 million, making it one of the few Chinese tire makers that saw an increase in profitability.

    Overall gross margin rate, although down by 4 percent to 24 percent, is still considerably higher than the average of seven listed Chinese tire makers at 18 percent.

    The company sold a record high of 49 million tires last year, up 16.4 percent from 2016 worldwide, and last year was China's largest passenger car tire maker and second-largest truck and bus tire maker.

    OE supply 'firsts'

    Linglong claims to be the first Chinese tire maker to become a global original equipment supplier to world-class brands such as Volkswagen, Ford and Nissan, with its original equipment sales raised by 52 percent to $644 million in 2017.

    The firm has two plants in its headquarters province of Shandong, one in south China, and one in Thailand operational since 2014.

    Its de facto annual capacity has reached 48 million passenger car tires, 8 million truck and bus tires and 1 million bias tires. Aside from the the bias tire facility and one project in Shandong suspended due to environmental regulations, all of the company's facilities had over 85 percent capacity utilization rate in 2017.

    On account of such pressure, in February Linglong revealed a plan to build a fourth China site with nearly 14.5 million unit total annual capacity and $803 million investment in Jingmen, located in Central China.

    Site expansions

    The company also is expanding its existing sites to add at least 6 million units of annual capacity by the end of 2018. Details of the other three projects, including one in the U.S. and one in Europe, have not been disclosed. Smart manufacturing machinery will be installed at all new plants.

    Linglong estimates its total production will reach nearly 58 million units this year, with a 12 percent rise in revenue and a 10 percent rise in net profit. It also predicts a 20 percent yearly growth rate in production and sales volume over the next few years.

    Part of Linglong's confidence comes from its growing research ability. Over the past few years, Linglong has set up research centers in Beijing, Germany and the U.S. to pool new talents, coordinating with its headquarters to work on new product development as well as cutting-edge areas such as dandelion rubber tires, graphene-compound tires and 3D printing.

    Relaunch

    Last year the company relaunched a premium label Atlas, a U.S. passenger car tire brand it had acquired and upgraded, and states its performance is on par with or better than international brands.

    Linglong also invested $4.3 million to set up a subsidiary dedicated to dandelion latex research and also formed strategic alliance with over a number of universities and institutes to spur innovation in this area.

    A further initiative announced last November revealed that Linglong will be heading three relevant projects: snow tires using dandelion rubber, heavy duty tires using gutta-percha and passenger car tires using bio-based itaconate.

    On graphene-compound tires, Linglong has been able to lower the cost for graphene oxide production and developed its rubber latex compound. Application research on formula for heavy duty tread, sedan tread and engineering tread has been conducted, and progress has been reported in improving tire puncture resistance.

    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Rubber & Plastics News wants to hear from its readers. If you want to express your opinion on a story or issue, email your letter to Editor Bruce Meyer at [email protected].

    SIGN UP FOR NEWSLETTERS
    EMAIL ADDRESS

    Please enter a valid email address.

    Please enter your email address.

    Please verify captcha.

    Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

    Get our newsletters

    Staying current is easy with Rubber & Plastics News delivered straight to your inbox, free of charge.

    Subscribe Today

    Subscribe to Rubber & Plastics News to get the best coverage and leading insights in the industry.

    SUBSCRIBE
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • Twitter

    MISSION

    To serve companies in the global rubber product industry by delivering news, industry insights, opinions and technical information.

    web
    Contact Us

    2291 Riverfront Pkwy, Suite 1000
    Cuyahoga Falls,
    OH 44221

    Customer Service:
    877-320-1726

    Resources
    • About Us
    • Digital Edition
    • Contact the Staff
    • Advertise
    • Order Reprints
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    • Terms of Service
    • Careers
    • Ad Choices Ad Choices
    • Sitemap
    Partner Sites
    • Tire Business
    • European Rubber Journal
    • Plastics News
    • Plastics News China
    • Urethanes Technology
    • Automotive News
    • Crain Brands
    Copyright © 1996-2021. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • ITEC
      • Automotive
      • Tire
      • Non-Tire
      • Suppliers
      • Silicone
      • Latex
      • Coronavirus
      • Executive Action
      • Government/Legal
      • Opinion
      • Technical Notebooks
      • International Elastomer Show
      • Women in Tire & Rubber
      • HEXPOL Sponsored Content
    • Blogs
      • Products
      • Wacky World of Rubber
    • Newsletters
      • Rubber in Automotive
      • Silicone News
      • Latex News
      • Sign Up for Newsletters
    • Multimedia
      • Videos
      • Photo Galleries
    • Directory
    • Resources
      • Classifieds & Mold Mart
      • Sponsored Content
      • White Papers
    • Data
    • Events
      • RPN Events
      • RPN Livestreams/Webinars
      • Industry Events
      • Past Events
      • ITEC Library
      • International Silicone Conference Library
    • Advertise
    • DIGITAL EDITION