Reduced floorspace, more digital content – new format for The Tire Cologne
The exact timing for a return to a pre-2020 kind of normalcy is anyone’s guess, and this uncertainty makes event planning a risky undertaking. The organisers of tyre exhibition The Tire Cologne are therefore hedging their bets by combining the traditional trade fair format with a virtual show. Both are scheduled to take place between 18 and 20 May 2021.
Continue ReadingBASF invests 16 million euros into Pyrum waste tyre oil recovery
BASF SE has announced that it is investing 16 million euros into Pyrum Innovations AG, a technology company specialized in the pyrolysis of waste tyres, headquartered in Dillingen/Saar, Germany. With the investment, BASF will support the expansion of Pyrum’s pyrolysis plant in Dillingen and the further roll out of the technology. BASF’s Pyrum investment follows the company’s partnership with New Energy, a similar tyre-derived oil project based in Budapest, Hungary at the start of September 2020.
Continue ReadingNokian shifts tyre retail model focus
Nokian Tyres has shifted away from its Vianor retail franchise concept in Germany. The Finnish tyre manufacturer said that it is “continuing the close cooperation with our former Vianor dealers in a new, but similarly intensive way under our Nokian Authorised Dealers (NAD) marketing concept.” The move comes shortly after Nokian sold its US Vianor Tire Centers business to Point S, and signifies a move away from the Vianor branding outside the brand’s domestic-plus Nordic region, where Vianor is established with 186 Vianor Equity locations. Anna Hyvönen, SVP, Nordics & Vianor, told Tyres & Accessories that the company is enacting its plans to “optimise” its Central European and North American distribution network via NAD, “focusing on the quality of the partners and providing excellent support and benefits.”
Continue ReadingCooper Tire publishes 2019 Global Sustainability Report
Cooper Tire & Rubber Company released its eighth annual Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Sustainability Report – “Responsibility the Cooper Way” – on 21 September.
Continue ReadingPirelli CFO partners with UN Compact ‘Principles of Integrated SDG investments and finance’
The UN Global Compact CFO Taskforce for Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), brought together Chief Financial officers from leading companies around the world to launch “CFO Principles of Integrated SDG investments and finance” in the context of the 75th UN General Assembly on 21 September 2020.
Continue ReadingETEL, Kwik-Fit decline to comment on sale speculation
On Friday 18 September 2020, it emerged that Kwik-Fit and European Tyre Enterprises Ltd (ETEL) owner Itochu has appointed investment bankers Nomura to act as its strategic investment consultancy with relation to the future of its European tyre business. The move has been widely interpreted as sale preparation. In light of the news, Tyres & Accessories contacted ETEL and Kwik-Fit representatives in order to find out more. Both declined to comment officially. However, supplementary information on Itochu’s third-quarter 2020 and full fiscal year 2020 results give further details of the conglomerate’s explanation as to why the company did not present a 2021 profit forecast for ETEL as it normally would.
Continue ReadingHankook, SK Planet partner on road hazard detection sensor project
Hankook Tire & Technology Co., Ltd. Is jointly developing a road hazard detection solution with SK Planet. According to the companies, the sensor is designed to determine road conditions using artificial intelligence and deep learning technology in order to pre-emptively respond to road hazards. Analyzed road surface condition, and risk factors include rainfall, snowfall, black ice and accidents.
Continue ReadingKwik Fit owner Itochu prepares for sale scenario
The UK’s largest tyre retailer, Kwik Fit, is being prepared for a sale. The Japanese Itochu group, which owns the European Tyre Enterprises Ltd (ETEL) holding company that controls both Kwik Fit and its wholesale counterpart Stapleton’s Tyre Services, has appointed investment bankers Nomura to advise on strategic options for the company, according to Sky News, with insiders suggesting a sale is very likely.
Continue ReadingGuizhou Tyre raises 1 billion yuan for Vietnam tyre factory in private share issue
On 4 September 2020 Guizhou Tyre Co. Ltd’s board of directors approved plans for a private share issue. The plan was to raise 1 billion yuan in funding via the sale of now more than 200 million shares to 35 selected investors. By 11 September, the company had received the green light from the state-funded Guiyang Industrial Investment Holding Group Co., Ltd. that it would purchase no less than 43.5 per cent of the issued shares.
Continue ReadingToyo given free land as part of 364 million euro Serbia tyre factory investment
The Serbian state is set to give Japanese tyre manufacturer Toyo 637,455 square metres of land worth roughly 3 million euros for its newest factory. According to a Serbian State Aid Control Commission decision, the countries Tax Administration calculated that – based on a land valuation of 5 euros per square metre, Toyo will have to employ 523 workers indefinitely by 2023.
Continue ReadingLandsail named official tyre partner of Leicester City
Landsail Tyres is the new Official Tyre Partner of Leicester City. The Sentury Tire brand has signed a multi-year deal with the Premier League football club, starting this season. The brand has excellent penetration in the UK tyre market, distributed by Grouptyre, and is present in more than 100 countries globally. It says the partnership with Leicester City is part of its strategic development plan. It will be “a core pillar of its marketing strategy.” The brand hopes to benefit from enhanced exposure across Leicester City’s digital channels as well as on matchdays at the King Power Stadium.
Continue ReadingWall Street Wolves with a taste for tyres…Goodyear & the hostile takeover attempt of 1986
Robert (Bob) Mercer died in August 2020, aged 96. Reason enough to shed light again on Goodyear’s darkest hour and the effect it has had on the company up to the present day.
Continue ReadingBéthune tyre factory closure ‘the only viable path’: Bridgestone
Tyres & Accessories contacted Bridgestone for its response to the statement put out by French authorities following its decision to shutter its tyre factory in Béthune, France. Bridgestone addressed the characterisation of the closure as a “premeditated murder,” the idea that the plant has been deliberately allocated low-margin products, and that the plant had been passed over for investment.
Continue ReadingLinglong renews VfL Wolfsburg sleeve partnership
The five-year-old sponsorship arrangement between Linglong Tire and German Bundesliga club VfL Wolfsburg has been given a further boost with a two-year extension of the 2019-initiated sleeve partnership. The continued presence of the Linglong logo on the left sleeve of players’ jerseys through to 2022 complements a partnership that also includes advertising on stadium LED boards, cam carpets, matchday hospitality and digital services.
Continue ReadingBridgestone Béthune closure ‘a premeditated assassination’ – Bertrand
The president of the Hauts-de-France region has labelled Bridgestone’s planned closure of its Béthune tyre manufacturing plant “brutal” and a “premeditated assassination.” For good measure, Xavier Bertrand added “we are dealing with cynics and liars” in his strongly-worded response to Bridgestone’s announcement. In a joint statement with the French government, Bertrand’s Hauts-de-France Region called on the Bridgestone group to “assume its responsibilities,” alleging that the company’s divestment from and allocation of low-margin tyres to the Béthune plant over the last decade has “automatically” led to its deficit in competitiveness.
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