Beijing Auto ready for Apollo Tyres joint venture, say local reports
Chinese car manufacturer, Beijing Auto Group is “poised” to sign a tyre production joint venture with India’s Apollo Tyres, according to local news sources. Livemint.com cited Beijing Auto chairman Xu Heyi as saying the proposed venture would have an annual production capacity of about one million tyres. The factory will reportedly be built in the […]
Continue ReadingReport: Michelin investing 40 million euros in Hungary plant
Michelin has announced plans to expand production at its Nyíregyháza (northeastern Hungary) production plant as part of a 40 million investment project. According to the local Budapest Business Journal, the investment is expected to raise the plant’s daily output to 6,900 tyres by the end of 2017 and raise headcount by 100. Hungarian news agency […]
Continue Reading![Michelin tyres OE on Porsche Cayman GT4](https://www.tyrepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Michelin-Cayman-GT4-Closeup.jpg)
Michelin tyres OE on Porsche Cayman GT4
Porsche AG has chosen to equip all of its Cayman GT4 launch cars with Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 UHP tyres in 245/35 ZR20 (91Y) TL N0 front and 295/30 ZR20 (101Y) XL TL N0 rear. The tyre is already OE on other recent Porsche models including the 918 Spyder and GT3. Further evidence of […]
Continue ReadingCarlisle becomes Carlstar
Carlisle Transportation Products BV, which produces specialty tyres, wheels, and industrial belts, has changed its European company name to The Carlstar Group BV. The new name is intended to combine “the strong heritage of the Carlisle brand while reflecting a renewed focus on the company’s future growth.” “The Carlisle brand has been built over a […]
Continue Reading![Michelin’s new CrossClimate: Year-round, not all-season](https://www.tyrepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/IMG_3845-e1425574229785.jpg)
Michelin’s new CrossClimate: Year-round, not all-season
On 2 March, at the sidelines of the Geneva Motor Show, Michelin launched its CrossClimate tyre. You could be forgiven for calling this tyre as an “all-season” product, however Michelin executives are emphatic that it is not one. Instead it is being pitched as something of a paradigm shift - both for the the French manufacturer, which has repeatedly positioned itself as a staunch supporter of seasonal summer/winter swaps, and for the market in general. Instead Michelin is positioning the CrossClimate as a tyre tuned for European markets with more temperate climates. The United Kingdom and its growing all-season tyre market is undoubtedly one region the tyre maker has in mind for the CrossClimate, however the strategy and the implications of it latest offering go far wider than just the UK alone.
Continue ReadingFerrari loses branding ground to Germans, as F1 sheen wears thin
As the worlds car companies gather in Geneva for the biggest event of the year, brand valuation and strategy consultancy Brand Finance has released its annual review of the state of their brands. Every year, Brand Finance puts thousands of the worlds top brands to the test. They are evaluated to determine which are the most powerful, and the most valuable.
Continue ReadingAlliance Automotive Group acquires United Aftermarket Network
The Alliance Automotive Group has acquired the United Aftermarket Network (UAN) from shareholders Andrew and Rachael Dickinson. As a result of the acquisition, Jim Mazza, the current managing director of Groupauto, will move to a new role of managing director of Alliance Automotive Group UK trading groups. A new Groupauto MD will be recruited, Alliance adds. Andrew and Rachael Dickinson will remain with the business to transfer ownership efficiently, while Phil Dodd will immediately fill the Managing Director’s position at UAN. Both UAN and Groupauto will continue to operate as separate networks; Alliance says both brands will play to their strengths.
Continue Reading![Trelleborg launches European Road Show at SIMA 2015](https://www.tyrepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Trelleborg-Road-Show-2015.jpg)
Trelleborg launches European Road Show at SIMA 2015
Trelleborg has launched its European Road Show 2015 at SIMA 2015, with one-day events planned in Italy, Sweden, Germany, Poland, France, Spain and the UK. The manufacturer says the roadshow will provide multiple field demonstrations of how farming professionals can enhance their operations and protect the future of their businesses. Trelleborg’s ‘Blue Box’ interactive mobile stand will also provide visitors with information about its range of digital tools.
Continue Reading![Marangoni Industries Manutention inaugurates Louvres distribution site](https://www.tyrepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Marangoni-MIM-Louvres.jpg)
Marangoni Industries Manutention inaugurates Louvres distribution site
Marangoni Industries Manutention, one of the Marangoni Group’s French subsidiaries, has inaugurated a new logistics and distribution site in Louvres, near Paris, France. The opening is designed to strengthen Marangoni’s presence in an area where, through its subsidiary, it says it has a leading position in sales and service for material handling equipment tyres. The new Louvres site has 2,500sqm of storage space. Marangoni adds that the site shows its ability to evolve with a market in which recent changes have occurred rapidly.
Continue Reading![Yokohama’s Chelsea shirt deal worth up to £200 million](https://www.tyrepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/yoko-chelsea.jpg)
Yokohama’s Chelsea shirt deal worth up to £200 million
Yesterday evening, Chelsea Football Club signed what is said to be the second most valuable shirt sponsorship deal ever in English football when it entered into an agreement with Yokohama Rubber. According to The Telegraph, the deal is worth almost £40 million a year, a figure that puts it second only behind Manchester United’s sponsorship agreement with Chevrolet. The tyre maker has signed up with Chelsea FC for a five-year period that gets under way in July 2015, and in addition to the Yokohama logo’s presence on the shirts worn by Chelsea FC teams at all levels, Yokohama Rubber will gain representation through stadium branding and various advertising and promotional materials.
Continue ReadingTitan breaks out the red ink for 2014 results
Details of a difficult 2014 have emerged in Titan International’s full-year financial report, which was published earlier today. The tyre maker’s CEO and chairman, Maurice Taylor, took the eye-watering US$80.4 million loss attributable to Titan on the chin, referring to 2014 as “a year of very real challenges for businesses in the agriculture, construction and mining sectors.” He also reported that Titan International shed at least 1,900 people from the payroll during the year due to lower production output, with the company’s global employee count sinking below 6,500. Other issues that arose during the 12 month period included currency impacts, impairment charges of approximately $76.5 million and a union slowdown.
Continue Reading![ETD aims to establish the Leao commercial tyre brand](https://www.tyrepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Reed3.jpg)
ETD aims to establish the Leao commercial tyre brand
Marcus Reedijk is both founder and managing director of European Tyre Distributors B.V. (ETD), a company specialising in the import of Chinese tyres for the European market. ETD is located in Strijen, near the port of Rotterdam, and anyone visiting its offices can’t help but notice when driving down the Strijener Industriestraat that the road is lined left and right by enormous warehouses belonging to various companies that all bear the name Reedijk. These companies are the product of an extraordinary “tyre family dynasty,” and each has a history that in some way involved Marcus Reedijk at some point in his 45-year tyre industry career, even if he’s no longer personally associated with them today.
Continue Reading![Michelin donates to €300,000 French agronomy programme](https://www.tyrepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/mich-sima.jpg)
Michelin donates to €300,000 French agronomy programme
Under an agreement signed at the SIMA International Agri Business Show in Paris yesterday, Michelin will donate €300,000 to the La Salle Beauvais Polytechnic Institute to support its creation of a farming machinery and new agricultural technology programme. The funds will be donated over a three-year period through the Michelin Corporate Foundation. Jean-Dominque Senard, who in addition to his functions as Michelin chief executive officer and managing general partner is president of the Michelin Corporate Foundation, signed the Memorandum of Understanding together with Claude Gewerc, president of the Picardy Regional Council, Philippe Choquet, general director of the LaSalle Polytechnic Institute, and Richard Markwell, president of AGCO Massey Ferguson.
Continue Reading![Rapid Granulator becomes Eldan Recycling ‘sibling’ through acquisition](https://www.tyrepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/np-reftman.jpg)
Rapid Granulator becomes Eldan Recycling ‘sibling’ through acquisition
Tyre recycling machinery supplier Eldan Recycling has “joined forces” with Rapid Granulator following the latter’s acquisition by Eldan’s parent company, Swedish business group Lifco AB. Rapid Granulator will be consolidated in Lifco’s Environmental Technology division, which is a part of its Systems Solution business area and the division Eldan Recycling belongs to. Although Lifco has not disclosed how much it paid for the granulator manufacturer, it states the acquisition “will not have any significant effect on Lifco’s earnings or financial position in current financial year.”
Continue Reading![Apollo Tyres launches 2015 Hungary recruitment drive for ‘100s of technicians’](https://www.tyrepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/K_Prabhakar-012.jpg)
Apollo Tyres launches 2015 Hungary recruitment drive for ‘100s of technicians’
Apollo Tyres has announced details of its recruitment drive in Hungary for its soon to be built Greenfield facility at Gyöngyöshalász. Apollo plans to appoint 100 technicians and fresh graduate engineers soon, with a second drive to recruit a further 150 people in the second half of 2015. Although production will only start at the beginning of 2017, the first batch of employees for the Hungarian factory will be contracted in the beginning of July 2015. Besides technicians and engineers, the company is also seeking applications for various functional areas including administration and logistics.
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