Vietnam Tire factory
- Thread starter CarLuver
- Start date
Did you think it wouldn't?
And unless the tech is faulty/defective, we can now see why tires today balance up much better than years ago. Showing that the tread is molded into the tire instead of sections, more uniform! Very cool to watch..
I am surprised to set that no employee was wearing any PPE. No safety glasses, no hearing protection etc. I did not see their shoes to see if they're steel toe.
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- Dec 28, 2011
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- 5,614
Add to the above; smell. Has to be that funky warm rubber odor....
OP, cool video & thanks for posting.
I like the diesel powered Kia Carnival or whatever it's called in Vietnam.
As a tire engineer, here's what I noticed:
This was a Kumho factory. They're a South Korean company - and this, of course, is Viet Nam.
The factory is not too old. It's just too clean in places where it ought to show dirt accumulation. There is some, so it isn't like they filmed this right after opening the factory.
They didn't show the calendaring operation (where they apply rubber to the fabric) and barely showed stock prep (where they cut the fabric into usable pieces)
There was a green tire inspector immediately after building and it looked like every machine had an inspector. Maybe several machines were serviced by an inspector?
They had Post Cure Inflators.
They showed the uniformity machine before final inspection. They marked the radial high point with a red circle. I didn't see if they marked the static balance point with a yellow dot, but they did do dynamic balancing.
They didn't show them palletizing the tires. They only showed the tires lined up immediately in front of shipping containers. I wonder if they store tires there at all and they don't put the tires on pallets!
In the final shots, they had washed off the red circle, so I couldn't tell if they matched it up with the valve hole or not. (It's my opinion that wheel manufacturers don't use the valve hole to mark the wheel's low point anymore, so match mounting doesn't result in a better assembly).
There were a few things that were new to me, but they were variations on a theme.
This was a Kumho factory. They're a South Korean company - and this, of course, is Viet Nam.
The factory is not too old. It's just too clean in places where it ought to show dirt accumulation. There is some, so it isn't like they filmed this right after opening the factory.
They didn't show the calendaring operation (where they apply rubber to the fabric) and barely showed stock prep (where they cut the fabric into usable pieces)
There was a green tire inspector immediately after building and it looked like every machine had an inspector. Maybe several machines were serviced by an inspector?
They had Post Cure Inflators.
They showed the uniformity machine before final inspection. They marked the radial high point with a red circle. I didn't see if they marked the static balance point with a yellow dot, but they did do dynamic balancing.
They didn't show them palletizing the tires. They only showed the tires lined up immediately in front of shipping containers. I wonder if they store tires there at all and they don't put the tires on pallets!
In the final shots, they had washed off the red circle, so I couldn't tell if they matched it up with the valve hole or not. (It's my opinion that wheel manufacturers don't use the valve hole to mark the wheel's low point anymore, so match mounting doesn't result in a better assembly).
There were a few things that were new to me, but they were variations on a theme.
Anyone else notice the highly mechanized production ending (@ 18:00) with tires scattered on a floor and guys lifting and rolling them about?
How is that job done otherwise? I would guess that part of the process is similar in every company.
The way America was in 30's and 40's
I did 10 years of international sales and was surprised from country to country the safety standards. or lack thereof, and how they differed. In a metal plant in Mexico with cutting, welding and grinding, no eye protection. The UK... gotta wear that safety vest, but no eye protection. China...lol, forgetaboutit. Heck there was open flame on the trade show floor! Dubai UAE, single pole ladders that went very high up.... Again, just interesting to see.
Watch Pakistani Truck ( https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC64FbxoHfUWd5hykYk5_BvQ?reload=9 ). There's no safety anything around. They're wearing sandals while working on heavy stuff.
It’s also a bit of an art to load a semi trailer with tires. One guy grabs a tire and bounces it off of another tire lying flat on the ground. It rolls right into the trailer where another guy stacks them in a herringbone like manner.
They'll catch on! First thing that happens is all the executives go out and buy a bunch of Vanity Fair stock, then they pass a regulation that everyone needs Fire Retardant clothing. Simple.
Saw it happen once about 15 years ago.
Used to UNLOAD 55 gallon drums of motor oil that way. Roll them off the trailer, they hit the tire, then catch them as they roll off the tire. One flip and it's up for rolling.
Interesting video….I remember when the Firestone Tire recall of 2000 was all the rage, reading how their tires are made at the Decatur, IL plant; it sounded like it was like running a blacksmith shop with all the labor involved…
