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With his win at Brands Hatch last weekend, Paul Di Resta closed the gap with championship leader, fellow Mercedes-Benz driver Garry Paffett, to just 29 points in the overall standings. This was Di Resta’s third win in Brands Hatch and the tenth of his DTM career. Gary Paffett crossed the finish line as runner-up after 40 laps of racing.
For Toyo Tire & Rubber, the first half of 2018 was a period of mixed fortunes. The manufacturer reports that turnover and earnings within its core tyre business increased 3.9 per cent during the six months to 30 June, with sales of 160,046 million yen (£1.1 billion) and operating income of 22,669 million yen (£160.8 million) resulting in a slightly improved profit margin of 14.2 per cent. Overall sales were down 3.3 per cent, to 185,738 million yen (£1.3 billion), due to decreased turnover within the company’s automotive parts business.
A new role for Joseph Saoud at Bridgestone Americas. The former president, truck bus radial and retread tyres, US and Canada, Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations, has been named president, Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations Latin America. In this role, Saoud will oversee the Bridgestone tyre business in Latin America, which includes subsidiaries in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica and Mexico. He will report directly to Gordon Knapp, president and chief executive officer of Bridgestone Americas.
Since late 2015, the Marangoni Ringtread process has been represented in India by Marangoni GRP, a joint venture between the Marangoni Group and India rubber recycler GRP. The joint venture operation has now begun the rollout of a network of franchised retreaders within the country – the first, Autobahn Retreading, has opened its doors in the city of Kochi (Cochin). The Autobahn Retreading plant was officially inaugurated by Giuseppe Marangoni, vice-president of the Marangoni Group, together with GRP’s chief executive officer, Harsh Gandhi.
In spite of lower year-on-year sales, MRF Ltd. more than doubled its net profit in the three months to 30 June 2018.
The Apollo Altrust range has grown with the addition of the Altrust All Season. Available from 1 August, the all-season line was specifically developed for light commercial vehicles and is available in 14 sizes.
Continental is set to gain a sizeable retail presence in Australia through its acquisition of acquire Kmart Tyre and Auto Service (KTAS), one of the country’s largest tyre and auto service suppliers. The company says the purchase of KTAS from Wesfarmers Limited for AU$350 million (£199.8 million) will “greatly reinforce” its tyre dealership network in Australia.
Caterpillar has awarded the Bridgestone Americas agricultural tyre plant in Des Moines, USA the highest level in the Caterpillar Supplier Quality Excellence Process (SQEP) certification – Platinum Level for a second consecutive year. These back-to-back platinum awards follow three years of Gold Level SQEP certifications. Bridgestone Americas says receiving the latest Platinum Level certification “represents a significant milestone” for Bridgestone and the Firestone agricultural tyre team.
Sales and profits headed in the right direction for Nokian Tyres in the second quarter and first half of 2018. The Finnish tyre maker reports a 6.4 per cent increase in net sales, to 429.1 million euros, in the six months to 30 June. Operating profit during this period rose 10.7 per cent year-on-year to 169.3 million euros and the operating margin reached 22.1 per cent (21.3 per cent in H1 2017). Profit for the period amounted to 134.1 million euros, 15.2 per cent higher than a year ago, and earnings per share rose to 0.97 euros.
As expected, Ning Gaoning has been co-opted to the Board of Directors at Pirelli & C. S.p.A. and appointed chairman. Ning, who is also chairman of Chinese state-owned petrochemical and fertiliser company Sinochem as well as chairman of Pirelli parent company ChemChina, succeeds Ren Jianxin. Ren relinquished all roles he held on the Board of Directors at Pirelli & C. S.p.A. on 30 July.
The U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association (USTMA) projects that tyre shipments in the USA will increase by one per cent to 319.8 million units this year. An additional 0.7 million original equipment passenger car tyres are expected to be shipped this year, a total of 45.9 million units and year-on-year growth of 1.5 per cent. Shipments of replacement market passenger car tyres were expected to be 1.5 million units higher this year, up 0.7 per cent to 211.2 million units.
Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd. reports that its sales revenue increased 1.8 per cent in the first half of 2018, to 309.7 billion yen (£2.2 billion). Business profit (sales revenue less the sum of cost of sales and selling, general and administrative expenses) rose 9.5 per cent year on year to 23.8 billion yen (£166.7 million) and operating profit was up 32.3 per cent to 26.4 billion yen (£184.9 million). The company says these operating profit and sales revenue figures were the highest it ever recorded. Profit attributable to owners of parent increased 19.2 per cent year-on-year, to 17.8 billion yen (£124.7 million).
Turnover at Bridgestone Corporation increased 2.8 per cent year-on-year to 915.5 billion yen (£6.4 billion) during the second quarter of 2018. Sales within the company’s tyre business contributed 758.9 billion yen (£5.3 billion) towards total turnover, growing 3.7 per cent over the prior-year result.
IAM RoadSmart has come together with Continental to support the tyre maker’s Vision Zero campaign to eliminate road deaths, injuries and accidents. Continental will work with IAM RoadSmart over coming months to engage road users at live experiential events. These will see attendees take the driver seat across a range of driving modules at test track locations, With IAM leading a module that gives a first introductory session to advance driver training, observing driver habits and advising on improvements that can be made.
Record unit shipments and net sales were the headline news upon the release of Superior Industries International Inc.’s financial results for the second quarter of 2018 – a performance resulting from the company’s acquisition of Uniwheels last year. The company has also slightly raised its income and EBITDA projections for the entire year.
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