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Downturn and Rising Raw Material Costs Lead to Alcoa Loss

Alcoa has reported a 27 per cent sequential drop in revenue, resulting in a loss of US$480 million for the first quarter of 2009. This figure, says the company, reflects the impact of the economic downturn on its core industrial and commercial markets as well as an historic decline in aluminium prices. Revenues for the first quarter 2009 were $4.1 billion, down from $5.7 billion in the fourth quarter 2008 and down 36 per cent from revenues of $6.5 billion in the first quarter of 2008 (after excluding divested businesses). The sharp drop in revenue resulted from the impact of the economic downturn on Alcoa’s end markets, including the automotive industry.

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Ansteel-Bekaert JV Steel Cord Plant Opens

Last May Belgium’s Bekaert and Chinese steel producer Ansteel established a strategic partnership, and several months later set up a 50/50 joint venture called Bekaert Ansteel Tire Cord (Chongqing) Co., Ltd. Almost a year after the partnership was first announced, the companies have celebrated the official opening of their 150 million euro joint steel cord production plant in Chongqing, China.

The new facility is intended to meet rising local tyre industry demand for steel cord, and at present 130 people are employed at the site. This number, says Ansteel and Bekaert, will grow in line with market demand and the realisation of further investment phases.

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Conti PremiumContact 2 Tops Which? Rankings

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Continental’s PremiumContact 2 was ranked best in the recent Which? tyre rankings, earning the tyre maker its seventh and eighth “Best Buy” recommendations from the consumer advice magazine’s website. The ContiPremiumContact 2 received the highest overall performance score in the two tyre sizes featured in this month’s (April’s) report.

In the 205/55R16W review, Which? said; “The ContiPremiumContact 2 offers first-rate handling on dry roads, good wet and dry braking and good resistance to aquaplaning in bends and on straight roads.” Testers commented that the 185/60R14 H size offers “excellent handling on dry roads, good wet and dry braking and decent wet grip in bends and on straight roads”. In total the tyre, designed for medium-sized family cars, has now been given four “Best Buy” gongs in 205/55R16V (the UK’s most popular size), 205/55R16W, 185/60R14H and 195/65R15V.

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Vanstyle Encourages Van Owners to “Tame the Beast”

We’ve been bombarded with a multitude of Trinny & Susannah style homely to comely shows and home renovation programmes along the lines of ‘Changing Rooms’, but to date vans have been largely left out of this makeover mania. One UK company – Vanstyle – intends to change all this. While it won’t be coming to a television near you any time soon, the company is calling upon all van, SUV and truck drivers to join its campaign to give the nation’s vans the once-over with new wheels and accessories.

Ultimately every van or truck driver chooses his or her vehicle for its functionality, and this naturally shouldn’t be overlooked at makeover time. But Vanstyle says this “doesn’t mean the beast can’t be tamed”. In other words, why not make your machine look good?

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Schmitz Cargobull Predicts 85% Sales Drop, Announces Layoffs

Schmitz Cargobull, Germany’s largest manufacturer of trailers for HGVs, plans to eliminate one-eighth of its workforce. It was announced on April 8 that around 500 of the company’s 4,000 employees will lose their positions. The company stated it plans to take a number of social factors into consideration when selecting the positions to be eliminated. In addition, all 350 temporary contract positions with the company will not be renewed.

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Bridgestone’s Biker’s Club gets on the Road

Bridgestone Biker’s Club is celebrating a new arrival this week – a 2009 Tiger 1050. The newest member of the Club will enable the Biker’s Club team riders to get out and about across the UK, visiting dealers, members and attending biker meets and ride-outs.

Andy Whitehead and Gary Hartshorne are looking forward to introducing both the Club, and its latest addition, to the UK biking fraternity. Said Whitehead: “Gary and I really appreciate the kind offer from Cambrian Tyres which allows us to use the new Tiger to showcase the Bridgestone’s Biker’s Club. We will be travelling around the UK on the bike, supporting our trade and consumer customers, and giving them the bikers’ nod of camaraderie when we’re out and about. Our growing Biker’s Club Dealer network and new website, www.bridgestonebikersclub.co.uk, put our UK customers in touch with us here at Bridgestone and we are looking forward to developing our relationship with them and showing our commitment to and appreciation of their business.”

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Klarius Invests £1.2 million in UK Manufacturing

Klarius Group, the exhaust manufacturer, reports that it is currently enjoying success despite the challenging market having invested £1.2 million in its UK manufacturing and R&D facilities over the last 18 months. According to the company, the investment has gone into moving production arrangements over to lean manufacturing, fast track product development for exhausts and catalytic converters and in-house logistics facilities.

The Klarius Group was formed in August 2007 following the acquisition of the Emissions Control activities of ArvinMeritor Light Vehicle Aftermarket Europe. In its final year of trading prior to the acquisition (2006/2007), the Emissions Control division registered a £7 million operating loss. However, since the Klarius takeover this has been turned around, as evidenced by the Group’s first set of accounts which reveal that Klarius moved into profit well within its first full year of trading. Favourable euro exchange rates have also combined with a strong international sales approach to secure new supply agreements and install new distribution facilities and warehousing across Europe.

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Schaeffler Negotiates 1 billion euros of Credit

On 7 April Schaeffler Group finalised a 1 billion euro loan agreement with its banks. “With the 1 billion euro credit line we have gained further flexibility for Schaeffler Group,” said Klaus Rosenfeld, group CFO at the automotive supplier, adding: “The conclusion of the loan agreement is an important sign of trust from our banks.” According to a statement issued by Schaeffler’s press office, all parties involved have agreed on strict confidentiality regarding further details of the loan agreement.

While the new financing is likely to help the company shore up its financial position, last year Schaeffler borrowed 16 billion euros to finance the takeover of Continental AG, but when the automotive markets spirally and the company’s share price nosedived Schaeffler was left with high debt service payments in the midst of an automotive industry crisis. This led the company to request support from the German state and federal government. In February co-owner Georg Schaeffler said the group needed up to 6 billion euros in fresh financing.

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Bridgestone Americas Announces Motorcycle Tyre Recall

The recall of a number of Bridgestone tyres fitted as OE to Triumph motorcycles in 2008 and 2009 is currently underway. The tyre in question, the Exedra G850 in size 180/70R16 77H, was shipped with the Triumph Rocket III Touring. This particular motorcycle develops very high torque and can cause torque-induced degradation in a body ply, which may result in cracks forming in the rear tyre’s inner liner, leading to a slow leak. This condition does not affect the front tyre.

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Double Win for Dunlop Direzza

The winner of the Street Touring Ultra class at this year’s Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) competition, held in California, may have appeared familiar. The man taking the honours at the event was none other than last year’s winner, Richard Jung. At both the 2008 and 2009 competitions Jung attained victory on Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1 Star Spec tyres.

“There has been a lot of hype about new street tyres from some of Dunlop’s competitors for this type of competition, so it was satisfying to get a repeat victory as evidence that the Direzza Sport Z1 Star Spec is still the tyre to beat,” said Jung. “Enthusiasts are getting the message that this Dunlop tyre is proven to be the fastest in competition. You can feel the difference when you push the Star Specs, which is an advantage, because it allows a more consistent feel and reduced the need for suspension adjustments between runs.”

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Michelin Withdraws From Shanghai Motor Show

The Michelin Group has withdrawn from April’s Auto Shanghai 2009 motor show, reports Chinese news outlet Sina Corporation. The company has attended the show during the past decade and maintained a significant presence there. A member of Michelin’s public relations team stated that the company will cut back on its exhibition presence this year. “The whole industry is in difficulty and we also have to do some adjustment and scale-down,” the representative explained. Michelin is, however, still scheduled to attend the IAA show in Frankfurt, Germany, in September.

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ATD to Sell 37 Retail Outlets

US based tyre wholesaler and distributor American Tire Distributors Holdings (ATD) intends to sell the 37 retail outlets it acquired in 2008 as part of its purchase of Am-Pac Tire Distributors. In a financial filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, the company states: “The acquisition of Am-Pac Tire also added 37 retail stores, predominately in the St. Louis, Missouri and Southern California areas. As these stores are not core to the Company’s business, management’s intention is to divest of these stores during 2009.”

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Wolfrace Announces 5-Year Aftermarket Rim Warranty

Wheel designer Wolfrace is confident in the quality of its aftermarket rims – so much so, that it is now offering them with a five-year warranty. This move, which the company claims is an industry first, applies to a number of lines in its 14 design GB range, namely the Porto in silver, Milano, Como, Modena, Oslo, Flair, Campo, Salerno and Riga. A number of designs, the Porto in black/ polished, Trenta, Lugano, Ravenna, Bari, Nogaro, Porto and Ancona in full chrome, are covered by a two-year warranty.

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In Tyres & Accessories, May 2009:
Tyrexpo Asia Review
High-Performance Tyres
Vintage Tyres

Tyrexpo Asia

Reports from this year’s Tyrexpo Asia exhibition in Singapore have been positive, with show attendees commenting on a good turnout and definite signs of flourishing business despite current global conditions. Following a full schedule of meetings with industry representatives at the show, Tyres & Accessories is proud to bring you its 2009 Tyrexpo Asia review. A comprehensive report on the Singapore show can be found in our next edition.

Born to Perform

If any aspect of the tyre business can at all lay claim to coolness, it is the high performance tyre segment. Manufacturers naturally make the most of this when promoting their wider product ranges, yet the performance tyre sector is a very important business in its own right. Healthy profit margins mean companies are keen to see continued market growth, and the production of high performance tyres is increasingly becoming a means of continued existence for plants located in higher cost countries following the flight of mass-market manufacturing to other parts of the world. Don’t miss the May edition of Tyres & Accessories, when we feature the latest news from the high performance tyre world.

Enjoying an Active Retirement

As we get older we are admonished to regularly exercise our bodies, to – ‘use it or lose it’. Vintage and classic cars are no different. A full appreciation of yesteryear’s vehicles can only be gained by keeping them on the road instead of gathering dust in a static museum display, but for a full and active retired life, these cars require a little more TLC than average – including the correct tyres. Thankfully, number of firms have dedicated themselves to ensuring these tyres remain available long after wider volume production ended. In May, Tyres & Accessories returns to the world of cross-ply and beaded edges to bring you its vintage tyre feature.

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Advanced ID Announces Wireless Tyre Diagnostics Solution

RFID specialist Advanced ID Corporation has announced, along with information technology provider Pro SAAMYA, the release of a tyre diagnostics solution incorporating Advanced ID/Pneu-Logic’s truck probe and Pro SAAMYA’s TiMaS, or Tire-data Management System. The complete solution includes a Bluetooth-enabled tyre tread depth/pressure probe and the middleware that wirelessly links the most important data on tyres to the fleet operator’s fleet management database.

TiMaS software works with mobile phones, PDAs, tablets and laptop computers. Benefits of the system include real-time automated tyre data management, reduced operational costs, fewer on the road breakdowns, elimination of paper-based recording and easy integration with existing software systems.

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