Analysis of Kumho's Chinese mixing disaster published

ERJ staff report (DS)

Tianjin, China -- Earlier this year, a Chinese national TV programme exposed poor practice in the mixing room at Kumho tyre factory in Tianjin. The resulting impact has led Kumho to consider withdrawing completely from the Chinese market. The reaction among the Chinese consumers seems to far outweigh the reality of the relatively minor problems at the factory.

A detailed, sober report on the subject posted on the CRIA website analyses the issues involved and examines whether such problems may occur in the future. It analyses in some depth the current state of rubber mixing in Chinese tyre factories.

A major contributor to the scandal was the fact that Kumho had been using more than 20 percent of process scrap back into its mixing process. The report shows that hte figure of 20 perent was a limiation imposed by the China government in 1991, long before China became a world power in the rubber and tyre industry, and when there was much greater reliance on natural rubber.

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Story on CRIA website (Chinese language)

Above story (auto-translated from Chinese)