Vipal strengthens Portuguese retread presence
Vipal has strengthened its connections with the Portuguese retreading market, building on a relationship in Spain and now including retreader São Mamede, from the city of Guimarães Vipal reports that is embarked on a series of relationship and communications actions focused particularly on European clients during the course of 2015.
Continue ReadingCooper Tire acquiring majority share in Chinese truck tyre maker
It’s now over a year since Cooper Tire & Rubber completed the sale of its share in the Cooper Chengshan (Shandong) Tire Company Ltd joint venture. At the time, company chairman, chief executive and president Roy Armes mentioned that Cooper would “identify and develop alternative sources” for the tyres produced at the Cooper Chengshan plant; he identified a further joint venture as one potential option. The tyre maker reports it has realised this alternative source and has entered into an agreement to purchase a majority of China-based Qingdao Ge Rui Da Rubber Co., Ltd (GRT).
Continue ReadingGiti confirms Chongqing truck tyre plant closure
Giti Tire closed its Chongqing, China truck tyre factory in November 2015 the company has confirmed. This means that roughly 90 per cent of the plant’s 1,100 workers will lose or have already lost their jobs, leaving around 100 staff in work.
Continue ReadingTyre production on the rise at ATG’s third factory
Alliance Tire Group, or ATG, calls itself the industry’s fastest-growing manufacturer of off-highway tyres. To support this expansion the company recently opened a new factory in Dahej, India. The tyre maker says the state-of-the-art 122,000 square metre plant utilises the latest manufacturing technologies and is currently able to produce 90 tonnes per day or 33,000 tonnes of tyres per annum, with capacity expected to rise to 57,000 tonnes a year by the end of 2016.
Continue ReadingYokohama exhibiting at Tokyo Auto Salon 2016
The Yokohama Rubber Co. Ltd. will again participate in the Tokyo Auto Salon, this year held 15-17 January at Makuhari Messe. According to the company, the Yokohama exhibit will showcase both the company’s tyres and aluminium wheels, with a particular emphasis on the Advan global flagship brand.
Continue ReadingGoodyear Dunlop’s Sava factory wins Ford Q1 award
The Goodyear Dunlop Sava Tires plant has received the respected Ford Q1 certification. The Ford Q1 certification acknowledges supplier facilities or manufacturing sites which have achieved excellence in a range of important criteria including capable systems, high performance, superior manufacturing process, and satisfied customers. The Q1 mark is considered worldwide as an indication of exceptional quality.
Continue ReadingUS tyre makers urge climate change action
In a statement issued on 29 December 2015, the heads of five major North American tyre manufacturers called for the US government to not only meet the commitments it made in the recent Paris climate change talks, but to “use its economic might to drive strengthened commitments over time and follow through from other countries around the globe.”
Continue ReadingMarangoni selling Pneusmarket to Fintyre
Italy’s leading aftermarket tyre distributor, the Fintyre Group, has reached an agreement to acquire the Pneusmarket network from the Marangoni Group. This transaction marks Fintyre’s entry into the tyre retail business.
Continue ReadingPep Boys bidding battle – Bridgestone throws in the towel
During the closing days of last year, Bridgestone Americas announced that the Bridgestone Retail Operations subsidiary would not counter bid the latest bid from Icahn Enterprises to acquire The Pep Boys – Manny, Moe & Jack. This meant a Happy New Year for Carl Icahn, who now looks set to add the brand and the 800+ Pep Boys outlets to his portfolio.
Continue ReadingIAAF awards and dinner brings independent aftermarket together
The IAAF annual awards & dinner 2015 hosted its “most prestigious ceremony to date” for the second year running at the ICC in the heart of Birmingham. Sponsored by Comma Lubricants, sports broadcaster John Inverdale was the guest speaker for the evening. With 600 guests, and more than 30 aftermarket companies in attendance contesting the awards, after-dinner entertainment was provided by an acoustic set by Prok & Chloe. In addition to the headline sponsor, the event benefited from sponsorship from a number of major brands, taking full advantage of the vast range of aftermarket decision makers in attendance. The automotive industry charity, BEN, raised nearly £10,000 on the night.
Continue ReadingWAIglobal honoured in IAAF vote
WAIglobal was runner-up in the Car Supplier of the Year category at the IAAF Annual Award Ceremony on 17 December. The result was announced at the ICC in Birmingham, where the awards dinner welcomed close to 600 aftermarket personnel, celebrating fast-growing, hardworking distributors and suppliers in the independent aftermarket. More than 40 companies contested the awards.
Continue ReadingPirelli reverse merges with Marco Polo
Pirelli & C. S.p.A. is to officially reverse merge with Marco Polo Industrial Holding S.p.A. This transaction will be submitted to the extraordinary shareholders’ meetings on 15 February 2016, with a view to completing during the first half of 2016.
Continue ReadingGood Design awards for 4 Cooper tyres
Cooper Tire & Rubber shares that two of its products from the USA, the Discoverer STT Pro and Discoverer SRX, and two from China, the Discoverer UTS and Weather Master Ice 100, have earned 2015 Good Design awards from the Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies for their design excellence. The winning tyres were selected from several thousand entries from more than 47 countries.
Continue ReadingMichelin cancels 265,570 treasury shares
Pursuant to the decision made by CEO Jean-Dominique Senard on 21 December 2015 and the ninth resolution of the company’s 2015 Shareholders Meeting, Compagnie Générale des Etablissements Michelin has decided to cancel 265,570 treasury shares, an amount representing 0.15 per cent of the total shares outstanding. The effective date of the resulting capital reduction is 28 December 2015.
Continue ReadingDLG certification for Vredestein Traxion+ and TraxionXXL
The Vredestein Traxion+ and Vredestein TraxionXXL tyres gained major recognition during the recent Agritechnica agricultural trade show. Following extensive evaluation by German testing and research institute DLG (Deutsche Landwirtschafts-Gesellschaft, or German Agricultural Society) in the spring and summer of 2015, it was announced at Agritechnica that both tyres have been designated ‘DLG certified’ products.
Continue Reading