Apollo to promote expanded industrial tyre range in grand European tour
Apollo will introduce its full range of industrial tyres to end users and tyre specialists in Europe with a six-month tour of the continent. Apollo Vredestein specialists will visit eight countries to introduce Apollo branded industrial tyres to as many users and dealers as possible. The company will use a specially designed Volkswagen Crafter, with dual Manchester United branding, to display almost all types, sizes and profiles of tyre during the promotional tour.
Dunlop is the official tyre partner of the AMG Driving Academy for the 2014/2015 season. The partnership with the AMG Driving Academy is the next step of an ongoing cooperation between Mercedes-AMG and Dunlop, with both companies delivering high performance products to the market.
Bridgestone has confirmed that its Dueler H/L 33 tyres are being fitted as original equipment on the Lexus NX. According to the manufacturer, the tyres are “engineered with low rolling resistance [and] will play a key role in the vehicle’s ability to deliver impressive handling, stability and fuel efficiency.” The latest news comes as part of a continued strategy of targeting SUV OE, according to the official announcement.
Sensata Technologies Holding NV, a wholly owned indirect subsidiary of Sensata Technologies BV, has agreed to buy TPMS Schrader group of companies from Madison Dearborn Partners, LLC for a total enterprise value of US$1 billion. Schrader is the global leader in tire pressure monitoring sensors (TPMS). According to the company, the transaction provides TPMS and additional low pressure sensing capabilities, adding to Sensatas “industry-leading sensing position”. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval but is expected to close during the fourth quarter of 2014.
PKA buys out Genan founder – but has it been duped?
Bent Nielsen is no longer a shareholder in the tyre recycling company he set up after Denmark’s PKA (Pensionskassernes Administration A/S) acquired his 52 per cent stake in Genan yesterday; with this added to its existing 48 per cent share, Genan is now firmly in the pension fund administrator’s hands – but today PKA allegedly claimed that both Genan and Nielsen have duped it over a number of years.
Netherlands-based machinery manufacturer VMI Group says a ruling is expected soon in the case of a Chinese company caught making illegal replicas of VMI tyre building drums. Commenting on the incident, company president and CEO Harm Voortman said vigorously protecting intellectual property is “an essential part” of VMI’s strategy.
The Board of Directors at powertrain component supplier Dana Holding Corporation has authorised a US$400 million increase in its common share repurchase programme. This increase in the share repurchase programme brings the total to $1.4 billion since Danas share repurchase programme was initially announced in October 2012. As of 30 June 2014, Dana has returned $942 million to shareholders since the inception of the programme.
Chengshan given first dibs on Cooper Chengshan tyre plant
A binding decision on the future ownership of the Chinese joint venture company set up by Cooper Tire & Rubber and Chengshan Group Company Ltd is still to be made, however the two parties are now in talks and have entered into an option agreement for working out the future of Cooper Chengshan (Shandong) Tire Company Ltd (CCT).
Camoplast Solideal increases industrial footprint with Brazil acquisition
Off-road tyre, wheel and track specialist Camoplast Solideal Inc. has acquired Brazilian industrial tyre manufacturer Rodaco. With this purchase, Camoplast Solideal says it has improved its capacity to manufacture and distribute tyres for the material handling industry in South America.
100 new jobs as Jaguar Land Rover chooses Coventry for tech centre investment
Jaguar Land Rover has announced its chosen location for the OEM’s Special Vehicle Operations Technical Centre. The Technical Centre will be situated in Prologis Park, Ryton, near Coventry, and will become the global centre of excellence for the creation of high-end luxury bespoke commissions and extreme performance vehicles. Operations are set to begin towards the end of the year, with a team of 150 Jaguar Land Rover specialists based at Ryton, around 100 of which highly-skilled engineering and technician jobs will be new. £20 million will be invested in installing specialist equipment and a customer commissioning suite.
Tirendo brings Delticom its first-ever negative result
For the first time in its 15 year history, online retailer Delticom has reported negative net earnings. The German firm says it ended the first half of the 2014 financial year with a net loss of approximately €200,000; it says this minus result is primarily attributable to an accumulated, after tax loss of €8.0 million from Tirendo, the Berlin-based online tyre retailer Delticom acquired in September 2013. The perhaps understated comment from Delticom on 14 August was that “Tirendos performance in the first half of the year is significantly below planning, both in terms of revenues and earnings.”
Hankook Tire reports it has formed a partnership with Applus+ IDIADA. As part of what it calls a strategic alliance, the tyre maker has built a new technical office in Spain and will carry out joint research for tyre testing and development. This 7,200 square metre test centre will be known as the “Spain Technical Office for European Technical Center”.
First-half 2014 results a record for Yokohama Rubber
Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd. reports that its net sales, operating income and net income reached record first-half highs in the first half of the 2014 financial year. Net income climbed 38.4 per cent over the same period of the previous year to 18.0 billion yen (£104.9 million), on a 23.8 per cent increase in operating income to 23.6 billion yen (£137.6 million), and a 5.3 per cent increase in net sales to 283.9 billion yen (£1.7 billion). Underlying this performance was a strong sales growth in the company’s tyre business, both in Japan and internationally, along with gains in a number of other business areas. Earnings in each segment benefited additionally from a downward trend in raw material prices and from the weakening of the yen.
A new tyre testing facility has been added to Kumho’s European Technical Centre (KETC) in Papenburg, Germany. The 1,000 square metre premises will facilitate the upwards of 3,000 tyres that the KETC tests a year and it houses a nine-strong test team along with all the required tyres and wheel rims. Kumho says the adjacent proving ground has been particularly designed to encompass subjective handling, wet handling characteristics, aquaplaning, driving comfort, interior/exterior noise and braking on all surfaces. These activities are supported by GPS-based measurement systems and digital evaluation of the tyre footprints.
Few tyre makers depend as heavily on the Russian market as Nokian Tyres, and the Ukraine crisis therefore lefts its mark on the company in the first half of this current financial year. Kim Gran, president and chief operating officer of Nokian Tyres, said the Russia and CIS markets “proved to be more challenging than estimated” in the January to June 2014 period due to the crisis’ escalation, and a “clear drop in sales value” occurred as a consequence. Both unit volumes and sales in the region declined; Nokian’s sales in Russia dropped 31.4 per cent year-on-year between 1 January and 30 June to €230.9 million while sales in the CIS countries plummeted 66.0 per cent to €6.9 million. Combined, the region experienced a 33.3 per cent decrease in sales, to €237.8 million. Most of this decrease in sales value resulted from the weakening of the Russian rouble.
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