Speaking during K&M Tire Inc.’s 2021 Dealer Conference, Gary Schroeder, executive director of Cooper Tire & Rubber Co.’s commercial tire business, urged truck tire dealers to monitor several ongoing developments.

The new Audi RS Q8 will feature the Hankook Ventus S1 evo 3 in size 295/40ZR22 as original equipment. Audi customers also can run Hankook Winter i*cept evo 2 tires on the car.

Global Rubber Industries Pvt. Ltd. has broken ground on a new, $100 million plant in Badalgama, Sri Lanka, that will expand the company's specialty tire manufacturing capacity to keep up with growing demand.

Hunter Engineering Co. has created two new tabletop tire changers designed to service truck and SUV tires.

As an analyst at Northcoast Research Holdings LLC, John Healy has a bird’s-eye view of the domestic tire industry. Healy, who also writes MTD’s monthly Your Marketplace column, calls 2020 “the most unpredictable and at the same time, the most surprising” year in recent memory. In this MTD exclusive, Healy explains why - and looks ahead to what 2021 will bring.

Hankook Tire America Corp. is adding 23 new sizes to its all-season ultra-high performance Ventus V2 Concept2 (H457) passenger tire line, nearly doubling the product’s current size offerings. This brings its total to 45 size options. 

Apollo Tyres Ltd. is the latest tire manufacturer to announce a price increase. The company will raise prices on its Vredestein brand consumer tires up to 5%, effective March 1, "including adjustments at the article and pattern level."

Four Taiwan-based tire manufacturers have proposed a settlement with the Department of Commerce (DOC) that if successful, could result in the suspension of the U.S. government’s anti-dumping investigation into their passenger and light truck tire exports.

Kumho Tire USA is bringing two new tires to market to start 2021 — the Crugen HT51 for commercial vans and other transport vehicles — and the Ecsta V730, a performance tire designed to inspire drivers both on and off the track.

H&H Industries has acquired 18 OTR tire molds that had been used as part of the Continuum brand, which the company said was discontinued in 2020.

Tyrone (T.J.) Jordan, the former president and chief operating officer of Dura Automotive Systems, has joined the board of directors at Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. as of Jan. 10.

Zhongce Rubber Group Co. Ltd. (ZC Rubber) plans to establish a "Future Factory" plant in Hangzhou, China, Shen Jinrong, the company's chairman, announced during the firm's recent China Distributors Conference. 

Bridgestone Corp. is showcasing "how Bridgestone innovations will power a more sustainable mobility future" via its interactive Bridgestone World exhibit during this week's CES 2021 event.

Donald “Ryan” Loethen has been named president of Ceat Specialty Tires Inc., and will lead sales efforts across North and Central America.

Prabhash Subasinghe, managing director of Sri Lanka-based Global Rubber Industries (Pvt.) Ltd. (GRI), is looking forward to the new year. "I see 2021 as a year of endurance and growth for GRI," he says.

Caterpillar has awarded Balkrishna Industries Ltd.'s (BKT) plant in Bhuj, India, with its Supplier Quality Excellence Process Gold certification," an important acknowledgement reserved for suppliers who have stood out during the year for achieving the highest levels in terms of quality and control over processes," according to BKT officials.

Alliance Tire Americas Inc. is now Yokohama Off-Highway Tires America, Inc., the U.S. sales and marketing arm of Yokohama Off-Highway Tires.

Wang Feng, chairman and president of Shandong Linglong Tire Co., was named an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year for 2020 in China. He's one of 10 entrepreneurs in the country to receive the award.