TEHRAN — Iranian tire maker Barez Industrial Group and the French Rubber & Plastics Industry Association UCAPLAST have agreed to cooperate on several areas of technology.
Signed during the IranPlast '18 trade show, held Sept. 24-27 in Tehran, the parties' memorandum of understanding (MoU) outlines seven areas of cooperation, including tire and component design, production management, raw materials, standardization, maintenance, logistics as well as HSE, a Barez official told European Rubber Journal.
According to Iranian press reports, the agreement was signed by Barez CEO Parviz Akhavan and the head of UCAPLAST (Union des Syndicats des PME du Caoutchouc et de la Plasturgie), Dennis Vaillant, in Tehran on Sept. 25.
During the ceremony, Mr. Akhavan said the MoU marked a significant progress for Barez amid severe U.S. sanctions.
"The French trade union is a leading European union in this industry and works with giants such as Michelin and Continental," Mr. Akhavan said.
Barez has achieved the European "E-mark" standard for its tires, which it supplies as OE fitment on Peugeot models 2008 and 301 in Iran, he added.
The standard certificate, the CEO said, played a key role in signing the MoU.
Barez is the largest Iranian tire maker with two plants, in Kordestan, western Iran, and in Kerman in central Iran. The company produces 5 million passenger car tires and 200,000 truck/bus tires annually at the two plants.
UCAPLAST is an independent employers' organization representing small and medium-size French enterprises in the rubber and plastics industries.
Last year, during the IranPlast show, the organization signed an MoU with the Iran Polymer & Petrochemical Institute (IPPI) to produce automotive rubber parts in Iran. The MoU envisaged the formation of a JV between IPPI and French car maker Citroen for production of automotive parts.
The deal has been hampered by the return of U.S. sanctions on Iran since the Trump administration pulled out of an international nuclear deal in May this year.