US firm recalls thousands of China-made tyres

09 August 2007 10:57  [Source: ICIS news]

SINGAPORE (ICIS news)--Foreign Tire Sales (FTS) on Thursday recalled about 255,000 Chinese-made, steel-belted radial tyres that it imported into the US as they were unsafe, the company said.

 

The tyres - manufactured by Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber Co - were defective because they lacked a safety feature called a “gum strip” or contained gum strips that were not large enough, the company said in a statement. The gums strips help to protect against the tread or belt separating from the tyre, which can cause accidents.

 

The tyres were sold from early-2004 to mid-2006 as replacements for sports utility vehicles (SUVs), pick-ups and vans under the brand names Westlake, Compass and YKS, FTS, the Union, New-Jersey based company, said.

 

FTS designed and contracted out the production of the light-truck radial tires to Hangzhou Zhongce and began to sell them in the US in 2002. However, the Chinese firm changed the construction of the tyres without obtaining approval, it said.

 

Independent tests conducted by FTS in May determined that the tyres without gum strips or with insufficient gum strips posed a safety hazard, it added. The company said it then informed the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) of the safety defect, which resulted in the recall.

 

Just last week, toy company Mattel recalled some China-made toys that it said used non-approved pigment containing lead.

 

By: Jeanne Lim
+65 6780 4359

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