Bridgestone has announced its discontinuation of Formula One tyre supply, and it appears Pirelli is less than certain about its future with the World Rally Championship. According to the autosport.com website, Pirelli’s director of motorsport Paul Hembery has admitted there are no guarantees company will bid for a second term as WRC control tyre supplier following the current deal’s expiry at the end of 2010.
Cooper Tire & Rubber’s Texarkana facility in the US state of Arkansas has received this year’s ‘Diamond Award for Excellence in Environmental Leadership’ from the Arkansas Environmental Federation. The award, states the tyre maker, recognises companies that demonstrate initiative or leadership in managing their environmental affairs.
JK Tyre and Industries is aiming to substantially increase exports from Tornel, the Mexican company it acquired last year. According to the Press Trust of India the company aims to do this within a year through further expand within the Central and South American markets.
On November 3 Hayes Lemmerz International announced that the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware has confirmed the proposed plan of reorganisation filed by the wheel manufacturer in July. Now that the go-ahead has been given, Hayes Lemmerz expresses confidence that the plan will significantly improve its balance sheet and reduce leverage. The company's total consolidated pre-petition funded debt of approximately US$720 million is now expected to shrink to approximately $240 million upon emergence from Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
Michelin has leant financial support to the development of a green engine, which reportedly has the capacity to reduce fuel consumption and carbon emissions by 20 per cent. The fuel-lean Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition Engine (HCCI) has a flameless, low temperature combustion which enables it to reduce fuel consumption and carbon emissions, combining the emissions benefits of a gasoline engine with the low fuel consumption of a diesel engine. The HCCI technology has been developed by Dundee based Oxy-Gen Combustion Ltd, with much of the research and development undertaken by the company's managing director David Tonery, who invented the enabling HCCI technology while a mechanical engineering undergraduate at the University of Dundee.
China Securities Journal has reported that China will soon issue new tyre industry policies aimed at raising the threshold for new plants and reducing the proportion of exports. The move follows the recent US decision to impose 35 per cent import duties on Chinese-made tyres.
Pierre Cohade, president of Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.’s Asia-Pacific business, recently asked if we should move away from talking about BRIC countries (the emerging markets of Brazil, Russia, India and China) and instead focus on BIIC. Posting this poser on the popular Twitter social network (follow twitter.com/tyrepress for regular tyre industry updates) from his base in Shanghai, Cohade questioned whether Russia’s position as leading light in the global economy should be replaced with Indonesia which, in his words “continues its spectacular improvements.” He’s got a point.
Kraiburg Austria has launched two new treads – the K222 and KST2. Following the company’s K74 development, reportedly the first design with sufficient traction properties for the 60 series, Kraiburg has now designed an all-season tread for 70 and 80 series casings. Suitable for trucks and buses, the new all-season design is said to be able to offer extra grip in winter without comprimsing on wear or increasing rolling noise or fuel consumption. According to the company, this makes the K222 or KST2 “ideal for all applications in which the annual mileage is approximately the same as the running performance of the drive axle.”
Yorkshire based Ayce Systems has launched the innovative tyre changing/alloy wheel refurbishment machine called the Wheelrite Combi. Developed by Ayce’s own technicians, the company expects the new machine to open up “new business opportunities for many sectors of the industry, particularly tyre fitters looking to move into alloy wheel refurbishment without having the additional expense of buying two machines.”
Logically the machine also works the other way round, allowing alloy wheel refurbishers to carry out tyre fitting. This flexibility is demonstrated by the diversity of three customers that have already bought machines: A body shop keen to expand their business into tyre fitting and alloy wheel refurbishment; a large prestige car dealership that is bringing both services in-house; and a powder coating company that has set up a separate unit next door to complement their existing customer services.
Two new Crowsfoot Wrench sets have been added to the Laser Tools range. Both sets are manufactured from Chrome Molybdenum for strength and supplied in blow moulded case for storage. The 1/2"D set offers 14 pieces ranging from 27mm to 50mm for around £159.90. The 3/8"D set offers 10 pieces and ranges from 10mm to 18mm (Part No 4757). For these you can expect to pay around £34.99.
At the end of a turbulent 2009 analysts of Plimsoll are predicting 45 UK tyre manufacturers and distributors will be struggling to see 2010 out: “Having clung on through the bad times many of these struggling companies are going to run out of time and fail just before the recovery really takes hold. Sadly, some of them are just too weak to carry on and there will be a spike of failures in the New Year. On the flipside, their demise will bring a welcome reduction in competitive pressure for those left”.
Pattison is convinced the market is due a prolonged period of consolidation with the number of companies in trouble leading to heightened takeover activity. He explains: “With too many companies chasing weakened demand it is inevitable that there are likely to be a number of high profile mergers and takeovers. In all honesty it’s long overdue. Once demand started to flag it was inevitable companies would be caught out. This period of consolidation is needed to sort out the dead wood. We have named 21 companies as the best acquisition prospects in the market”.
With an estimated 6500 vehicle lifts sold last year, this essential part of a working garage’s life cannot be ignored. And as long as there are lifts, those using them need to be aware of how they can protect their safety and maximise the potential of their investments. In order to find our more Tyres & Accessories recently interviewed Garage Equipment Association (GEA) chief executive, Dave Garrat.
GEA members sold 5247 vehicle lifts, according to the last full-year figures in 2008. Add another 20 per cent for the remaining non-GEA members operating in the market and it is clear that at least 6500 vehicle lifts were sold in the UK last year. And what’s more, despite the global economic meltdown that began in the second part of 2008, this number represents an increase over the 2007 figure. This year’s figures are not expected to be so good as, in line with the rest of the business community, the lift sector has experienced its fair share of belt tightening this year, with garages and fast fits delaying purchase during the course of 2009. However, according to Dave Garratt, this doesn’t mean there has been a boom in sales of low-cost machinery. Rather, it is said to have brought equipment maintenance into sharper focus.
You’d have to look under a fairly isolated rock to find someone unaware of the beating the transport industry has taken in 2009, but fewer people are aware that dwindling fleet vehicle purchases have also brought some benefits. Kwik-Fit Fleet is one firm to have gained from this effect of the recession Head of Kwik-Fit Fleet Mike Wise, when talking with Tyres & Accessories, reflects that the fleet industry has been for the last 15 or 16 months totally dominated by recession affected businesses looking to cut costs, and this has proven a boon to the fast fit services provider: “Since the recession struck in 2008, an increasing number of businesses have extended their fleet replacement cycles,” he explains. “Recession-induced lengthening fleet replacement cycles have provided a major business opportunity for Kwik-Fit Fleet as tyre consumption rises and an increasing volume of MOTs and service and repair work is required as vehicles move into their fourth year of operation and even longer.”
We trust the police to keep us safe and hardly raise an eyebrow when they put their lives on the line, but when a flat tyre threatens it seems the long arm of the law must remain at arm’s length. After finding the left side front tyre flaccid while parked on a stretch of double yellow line road in Surbiton, two police officers were obliged to ignore the weighty metal jack and firm spare wheel lying a tantalising few feet away in the patrol vehicle’s boot and instead wait two hours until a breakdown van arrived.
Nokian Tyres’ net sales for the first nine months of 2009 totalled 550.8 million euros (down 32.2 per cent on 813.2 million euros in January to September 2008). Meanwhile the company’s operating result amounted to 61.2 million euros in the period. According to the company, sales and operating result improved clearly in the third quarter. July to September operating profit fell 39 per cent compared with 43.7 million euros (£42.492 million; $64.6 million). Reuters reported that this figure beat all of the forecasts in its poll. During the same period, sales fell 28 per cent to 204 million, in line with expectations.
Sales and operating margin is said to have improved, compared to previous quarters, due to pre-season deliveries of winter tyres, restocking of heavy tyres by OE customers, production restructuring and reduced raw material cost.
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