Tsuruno to head Yokohama Asia
Yokohama Rubber Corporation has appointed Koichi Tsuruno president of Yokohama Asia Co., Ltd. Tsuruno begins in this role on 1 August. He retains his position as corporate officer and president of Yokohama Tire Manufacturing (Thailand) Co., Ltd., which he commenced on 1 July.
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T&A meets Goodyear Dunlop UK managing director Erich Fric
The latest in a succession of leaders at Tyre Fort in Birmingham, Erich Fric brings with him an easy-going, but teutonic clarity into his (relatively) new role of Goodyear Dunlop UK managing director. Almost a year after news of the appointment was released, Tyres & Accessories visited the company headquarters in mid-April for the MD’s first published interview in his current role where he shared his views on the British tyre market and recent corporate criticism of the companies EMEA region.
Continue ReadingPirelli offers students placements in Annual Report communications project
Pirelli has launched a communication project for undergraduate, postgraduate and recently graduated students, offering the chance of a two-month paid work placement in Milan, in addition to publication in the manufacturer’s 2012 Annual Report alongside artwork by New Yorker cartoonist, Liza Donnelly. The brief presented by Pirelli is simple: find the most significant word that sums up the values students would like to matter most in their future. Pirelli will send the submissions, accompanied by the students’ explanations of their choices, to a jury in order to select the 10 most representative words. These 10 words, and the accompanying reflections, will then be interpreted by Donnelly, and printed in the 2012 Report.
Continue ReadingBridgestone “Genius” graduate lands Eden Tyre management role
One of the most recent graduates of Bridgestone’s “Tyre Genius” training course has been promoted to manager of Eden Tyre Sales’ (ETS) Ripley depot. The tyre manufacturer said Simon Rai, 26, demonstrates a wide range of core skills, as well as the ability to think on his feet, vindicating the decision to invest in his development.
Continue ReadingEnd of the road for Goodyear’s Amiens-Nord plant?
The sword of Damocles has hung over Goodyear’s production site in Amiens, France for years now. Most recently, in 2009 the American tyre maker openly discussed plans to end the production of passenger car tyres in Amiens-Nord; the site suffered from “uncompetitive costs,” the company said. Two years ago Goodyear attempted to emulate the deal it made in Latin America and sell the Amiens plant’s agricultural tyre production to Titan International. But all plans for the Titan-Goodyear deal collapsed at the end of 2011. Titan chairman and CEO Maurice Taylor pulled the ripcord and withdrew from Europe, visibly frustrated by the union representatives in Amiens.
Continue ReadingBodyshop association chair steps down
The first National Association of Bodyshops (NAB) Executive of 2013 was held recently, hosted by new Head, Frank Harvey. During the meeting Julie Eley announced to the Executive Committee that, due to business commitments, she would not be able to stand for re-election in April and therefore will be stepping down as Chair of NAB Executive Committee, with effect of 31st March 2013.
Continue ReadingToyo announces senior management changes
At the company’s Board of Directors meeting on 24 January, approval was given for Kenji Nakakura’s appointment as chairman and representative director of Toyo Tire & Rubber. The Japanese tyre maker has not stated when this appointment takes effect. The incumbent company president, CEO and representative director will be replaced in all offices by Akira Nobuki, who currently serves as Toyo’s executive corporate officer.
Continue ReadingMichelin: Tyre sell-in unit volumes weak in December
The latest tyre market data published by Michelin is being read as a warning signal by market analysts. The figures, which reflect demand trends in December and for 2012 as a whole suggest tyre sell-in unit volumes were weak. European light vehicle replacement sales, specifically, continued to slip (-7%), despite falling 19 per cent year—on–year in December 2011. Overall this is being interpreted as a response to a poor winter tyre season.
Continue ReadingNew Kumho aftermarket, dealer managers for Germany
At the start of this year, Kumho Tire Europe GmbH appointed a new executive sales director and car dealer key account manager for the German market. Thomas Schlich has taken on the position of executive sales director and in this role he is responsible for the replacement car and truck tyre market business relating to tyre and car dealers throughout Germany. The 47-year old has been employed in the automotive industry for more than 16 years, including nine years in various positions with Bridgestone.
Continue ReadingNew consumer tyre VP for Double Coin’s US business
Double Coin Holdings’ US-based subsidiary, the China Manufacturers Alliance (CMA), has appointed Ken Coltrane vice-president of its consumer tyre business. Coltrane brings almost two decades of tyre industry experience to his new role; most of his tyre industry career was spent at Del-Nat Tire Corporation, where he held positions in export, purchasing, and also served as the company’s vice-president of marketing.
Continue ReadingAl Dobowi expanding European team
Al Dobowi representatives recently shared details of the company’s plans to expand its European commercial team. During the opening months of 2013, Al Dobowi plans to strengthen customer-facing areas at its European head office in London through the appointment of new personnel with particular focus on sales, marketing and customer service.
Continue ReadingConti predicts 1 billion euro free cash flow, EU-bottom out soon
Continental AG expects its full-year 2012 free cash flow to come in at around 1 billion euros. Speaking at an investor’s presentation in New York, Conti CEO Dr Elmar Degenhart upped its previous assessment of about 750 million euros by a third. The statement came as a surprise to financial analysts and apparently even for the CEO himself, who reportedly only found out in the last few hours.
Continue ReadingIs Goodyear headed for European restructuring?
Recent reports published by financial analysts suggest Goodyear could be forced to restructure its business in the Europe Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region. Reporting on an investor’s presentation given in Detroit, Deutsche Bank market watchers relayed that Goodyear cautioned that financial targets established two years ago – specifically US$1.6 billion segment operating income by 2013 – would be “difficult to achieve if current European market trends persist”.
Continue ReadingCooper confident about 2013
Financial analysts has spoken of Cooper’s confidence in its continuing business outlook following presentations to investors at a Detroit roadshow. Explaining their renewed confidence, the analysts put this down to “notably improved” product mix, cost competitiveness and recent pricing activity. As far as the import question of how Cooper will fair post import tariff, the Deutsche Bank analysts highlighted that since the tariff was implemented, “the cost of producing tyres in China has increased faster than other regions (the cost gap was 30 per cent at the time of tariff implementation but has declined to a 10-15 per cent).
Continue Reading2012 a record year for Continental
Continental AG reports that 2012 was another record year for the automotive supplier. Despite slumping auto markets in Europe, the corporation reports in preliminary figures that it boosted 2012 sales by more than 7 per cent to approximately 32.7 billion euros. At around 10.7 per cent, the adjusted EBIT margin topped the previous year's figure of 10.1 per cent.
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