Watts Tyre Group Creates New Latin American Business Unit
Watts Tyre Group, the UK-based industrial tyre and wheel producer has announced the creation of Watts America Latina, a new business unit to service the Latin American market (excluding Brazil and Mexico where the group has existing business operations). Watts America Latina is headquartered in Montevideo, Uruguay and is headed by director General Carlos Correia. The business services container customers across the region as well as sales from a warehouse operation from which pallet orders can be satisfied enhancing product availability.
Continue ReadingGoodyear India Rises to Limit in Mumbai Trading
Goodyear India Ltd. rose 20 per cent - its daily limit – in Mumbai trading after the company said its parent offered to acquire all outstanding shares for 245 rupees apiece, reports Tire Review. As many as 32,039 equity shares changed hands so far, as compared to a two-week average of 8,569 shares.
Continue ReadingKumho Asiana Group Shares Jump Following Creditor Support
Messages of support from major creditors such as Korea Development Bank and a restructuring plan have led to shares in the Kumho Asiana Group – which includes Kumho Tire – experiencing a jump of up to 15 per cent in Tuesday trading, say Reuters reports. The state-run bank helped the company to suppress ideas that the Group could be heading for court receivership. The gains outpaced a general improvement of 0.7 per cent in the rest of the market.
Continue ReadingKumho Asiana May Face Court Receivership
After owners of troubled Kumho Asiana Group rejected a demand by creditors that they offer their stockholdings and assets as collateral for fresh loans, creditors have said all restructuring steps would be put on hold, with some floating the idea that key parts of the group would be put under court receivership, reported the Korea Times.
Continue ReadingThe Who Play Bridgestone Halftime Show at Super Bowl XLIV
One of Britain’s oldest surviving (well, at least half of them) rock bands, The Who played the Bridgestone-sponsored halftime show at American Football’s biggest event yesterday. The 10-minute slot has been filled by single bands best described as classic since the infamous “wardrobe malfunction” of 2004’s Super Bowl XXXVIII. Bridgestone has sponsored the show for the past three years, which have featured Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band and now The Who’s Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey. Coverage of the show can be seen below in the embedded video. Before and after the big event, an American Football match broke out, the much-loved New Orleans Saints beating the more fancied Indianapolis Colts 31-17. Bridgestone also displayed its latest adverts amidst the action on the television coverage.
Continue ReadingAmerican Tire Distributors Plans IPO
North Carolina, US based wholesaler American Tire Distributors Holdings has lodged registration documents with the US Securities and Exchange Commission to initiate proceedings for a proposed initial public offering of its common stock. The company, who claims to be the largest replacement tyre distributor in the United States, intends to list its common stock on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "ATD", however it has not yet determined the number of shares to be offered and the price range for the offering.
Continue ReadingHankook Management Target 11 per cent Price
Hankook Tire’s management are confident they can raise confidence in its ability to their products’ global average selling price by between seven and eight per cent in 2010. According to an investors note published by Deutsche Bank, additional price hikes are possible, with Hankook’s management said to be targeting an 11 per cent increase. According to the financial analysts, Hankook’s confidence of being able to successfully implement the prices increases is based on the fact that “demand in key markets remain supportive expecting.” In real terms this means managers expect year-on-year sales volume growth of around 14 per cent this year with 100 per cent utilization.
Continue ReadingHankook Reflects on 2009 North American Success, Predicts More for 2010
After attaining its highest global sales to date in 2009, Tire Review believes Hankook Tire America Corporation has reason to expect more success in 2010. Its report quotes Soo Il Lee, the company’s president, who reflected on last year’s growth and shared Hankook’s goals for the coming year with attendees at the tyre-maker’s dealer meeting, held earlier this week in St Thomas, US Virgin Islands.
Continue ReadingKumho Tire Work-Out Plan Approved by Creditors
Joongang reports that creditors of Kumho Tire have approved a debt work-out programme. The work-out scheme was proposed by parent company Kumho Asiana Group last week, effectively putting bond payments on hold for the next three months. The next step, the newspaper said, will come as creditors perform due diligence, then lay out and enforce restructuring plans. Creditors of Kumho Tire met at the headquarters of state-run Korea Development Bank, where more than 95 per cent voted in favour of the restructuring.
Continue ReadingBridgestone Offers Sneak Peek of Super Bowl Ads
Once again, Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations plans to grab the attention of viewers of Super Bowl XLIV, which airs 7 February on CBS from Dolphin Stadium in Miami, Florida, reports Tire Review. BATO will unveil two new Bridgestone brand tyre commercials during the game, in addition to the brand serving as the title sponsor of the Super Bowl XLIV Halftime Show featuring The Who. The Richards Group, a Dallas-based independent advertising agency, created the 30-second commercials, one of which will run at the end of the first quarter, while the other will air during the third quarter.
Continue ReadingApollo Hosts Three-Day India Conclave
Earlier this month, Apollo Tyres brought together its high performing business partners for an India conclave, reports Tire Review. Partners qualified for the event by achieving challenging sales targets in the commercial vehicle tyre category in 2009. The initiative, organized under Apollo’s International Marketing Program for exports out of India, was christened “Jai Ho” after one of the Oscar-winning lyrics from the movie Slumdog Millionaire, and literally meaning “may you be victorious.” The reward for this victory was an all-expense-paid, three-day incentive trip to India.
Continue ReadingKumho Delays Wages to Tyre and Industrial Employees
The financial plight of the Kumho Asiana Group is deepening as creditors defer liquidity provision while devising a turnaround plan for two of its affiliates, reports Tire Review. Kumho Tire could not pay wages to its employees for a second straight month, while Kumho Industrial became the second affiliate to announce it would be unable to send out salaries.
Continue ReadingFederal Second Brand Hero Releases Promotional Videos
Hero Tires has released corporate promotional videos for both the English and Chinese markets. The European film, presented in English, consists of a montage incorporating the manufacturing of various Hero tyre models and such aspirational imagery as a fashion show. Meanwhile the Chinese video draws on the history of the country in order to emphasise the heritage of the brand, which is manufactured in China.
Continue ReadingDelticom Reports Revenues of 310 million euros in Preliminary 2009 Results
Hanover-based Delticom AG has released preliminary 2009 financial results that show group revenue totalled 310 million euros, compared with 259 million euros in 2008. The growth realised (+20 per cent) was twice as strong as expected. Last year, 800,000 customers purchased tyres for the first time in one of the company's number of online shops, which includes mytyres.co.uk in the UK.
Continue ReadingHankook Tire Reports Record Sales and Operating Profits in 2009
Hankook Tire has reported record global sales and operating profits of 4.8 trillion (£2.604 billion; 2.985 billion euros) and 549.3 billion won respctively. In the period global sales grew 18 per cent year-on-year, while operating profits shot up nearly five-fold (2008: 114.2 billion won), despite the global recession. 2009 also saw the company’s European production centre in Racalmas, Hungary turn a profit after sales shot up 55 per cent year-on-year (see table). Now the company’s management has raised the bar for 2010 with a global sales target to exceed 5 trillion won (£2.717 billion; 3.109 billion euros) for the first time in its history.
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