ZF acquires TRW Automotive, sells steering system business
A new “heavyweight” in the automotive components sector has been created today with the acquisition of TRW Automotive Holdings Corp. by ZF Friedrichshafen AG. TRW announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement with ZF Friedrichshafen, which will see all outstanding TRW shares acquired for US$105.60 per share in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $13.5 billion. The announcement that TRW is changing hands followed a separate statement from ZF Friedrichshafen announcing the sale of its 50 per cent share in the ZF Lenksysteme GmbH joint venture to partner Robert Bosch GmbH for an undisclosed sum; this transaction is said to have been made to satisfy antitrust requirements prior to the acquisition of TRW.
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Michelin to buy Germany’s largest tyre wholesaler
According to information available to Tyres & Accessories, major European wholesaler Ihle Baden-Baden AG may soon belong to Michelin. The French tyre maker is said to be planning a 100 per cent acquisition of parent company Ihle Holding AG, whose assets include some 20 companies. Ihle Baden-Baden AG, which is headquartered in the spa town that serves as its namesake, is Germany’s largest wholesaler and enjoys an annual turnover of around €175 million (2012). German and other European authorities are conducting merger control proceedings.
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Groundbreaking held for Continental’s performance tyre, technology facility
Yesterday, Continental officially broke ground on its new High Performance Technology Center (HPTC), a new “factory within a factory” at the company’s Korbach plant in Germany. The HPTC is being erected on a 12,000 square metre site and the building is expected to be completed by the end of May 2015, with operations at the completed facility scheduled to begin in July 2016.
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Apollo Tyres launches Manchester United ‘Apollo Challenges’ competition
The word to Louis van Gaal is that Manchester United must finish ‘no lower than third’ in the Premier League this year, and should the recently-appointed manager meet this expectation it will be a marked turnaround of last season’s fortunes. Sponsors, such as tyre makers Federal, Multistrada and Apollo Tyres – the latter official partner for the club in 69 countries – also stand to benefit from a better year on-field.
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Evonik gains additional precipitated silica capacity in the US
A 20,000 tonne expansion to Evonik Corporation’s precipitated silica plant in Chester, Pennsylvania officially opened on 9 September, and has boosted the company’s global capacity for precipitated and fumed silica and matting agents to around 550,000 tonnes per annum.
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Rösler sells Zeus tyre fill business – MD explains why
On 2 September, US-based polyurethane, plastisol and recycled rubber product manufacturer Accella Performance Materials Inc. (known before May 2014 as Dash Multi-Corp) announced its acquisition of Rösler Tyre Innovators’ “Zeus” tyre fill business for an undisclosed sum. Zeus has become a subsidiary of Accella Polyurethane Systems will operate as Zeus Tyrefill Systems GmbH. Speaking with Tyres & Accessories, Paul Rösler Jr, joint managing director of Rösler Tyre Innovators, provides some further details of the deal and explains why the company decided to exit the tyre fill production business.
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Trelleborg Wheel Systems outlines route to global agricultural tyre leadership
The agricultural tyre market appears particularly well suited towards specialised manufacturers; Trelleborg Wheel Systems acquired Pirelli’s agricultural business in 1999, with the branding switched between 2006 and 2010. Since acquiring various technologies from Pirelli, the Trelleborg Group has invested heavily in order to make its tyre and wheel operation a premium brand player in the agricultural and forestry tyre market. The Tivoli facility, with its buildings showing a manufacturing history dating back to the 1940s, but also incorporating the latest agricultural tyre building machinery, represents “a history full of innovation for farming professionals,” in president of the Agricultural and Forestry Tyres business unit, Paolo Pompei’s words.
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Braskem joins Michelin-Amyris renewable isoprene project
The partnership between Michelin and Amyris to develop and commercialise isoprene sourced by renewable feedstocks has now been in place for three years, and Michelin announced today that a third company has joined the collaboration. Thermoplastic resins and biopolymers producer Braskem will work together with the other two companies to develop a technology that enables plant sugars, such as those found in Brazilian sugarcane or cellulosic feedstocks, to be used to produce renewable isoprene. The addition of Braskem is expected to accelerate the technology’s industrialisation.
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European Commission says Hungary to host Apollo’s new tyre plant, endorses proposed investment
Apollo Tyres hasn’t officially announced where its planned European factory will be built, but it looks as if the honour has gone to Hungary. Today the European Commission confirmed that a proposal to give Apollo Tyres (Hungary) Kft. €95.7 million (approximately HUF 29 billion) in regional investment aid for the construction of a tyre plant in Gyöngyöshalász is in line with European Union state aid rules. The Commission found that the aid granted by Hungary favours regional development, while any distortions of competition will remain limited.
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