CKT sale to have “no impact” on Kenda product supply
Kenda USA officials say that despite Kenda Rubber’s decision to sell its ownership stake in Cooper Kenda Tire, the move is a positive for the company. At the start of March, Cooper Tire & Rubber bought out Kenda Rubber’s 50 per cent share in their joint venture passenger tyre production facility in China. According to Kenda, the plant only produced Cooper branded and Cooper associate brand passenger, 4x4 and light commercial tyres, and thus the sale “has no impact to the current supply of Kenda products.”
Continue ReadingPhillips Carbon Black withdraws from Evonik bidding
The race to acquire Evonik Industries’ carbon black business has narrowed following the withdrawal of Phillips Carbon Black from the final round of the bidding process. Dow Jones Newswires reports the company failed to submit a bid before the final deadline, leaving three or four contenders in the running – Advent International, Triton Partners, Rhone Capital, and possibly Cabot Corp., are said to still be interested.
Continue ReadingCooper acquires 100% share in Kunshan JV operation
By mid-March Cooper Tire & Rubber should be the proud 100 per cent owner of Cooper Kenda Tire. Upon finalisation of the US$116.5 million transaction the former 50 per cent Cooper owned joint venture operation will be renamed Cooper Kunshan Tire (contingent to government approval) in recognition of the city in China where it is headquartered. According to Cooper Tire, the transaction should be completed by March 15 through a wholly-owned company subsidiary.
Continue ReadingConti to support ‘double-digit’ 2011 growth with increased investment
Following a 2010 in which set targets were “clearly surpassed”, Continental AG says it aims to achieve double-digit growth this year. At the company’s Annual Financial Press Conference, held on March 3 in the German city of Frankfurt, CEO Dr. Elmar Degenhart reported a sales growth of almost 30 per cent, to 26 billion euros. This represents record sales for the automotive supplier, a personal best also matched by a record operating result.
Continue ReadingKwik-Fit confirms Itochu is new owner
Kwik-Fit Group has confirmed earlier reports that PAI Partners has sold the fast fit chain to the Japanese Itochu Corporation for £637 million. The purchase price is said to include £457 million of debt, which will be paid off in full at completion, according to a Financial Times report. The deal is reportedly Itochu’s biggest investment in the UK and follows its acquisition of Stapletons in 1994. The company is also already talking about the potential synergies between the two businesses:
Continue ReadingMIRA to invest £300 million in becoming ‘Europe’s most advanced independent testing facility’
MIRA has announced its intention to become a £100million business within the next 10 years. The well-known independent test centre, which is home to test garages belonging to Dunlop, Continental, Giti and Kumho to name but a few, says the business’ growth will see MIRA become the most advanced independent transport technology facility in Europe. And the operation reports that it is willing to commit £300 million to investment in new infrastructure at its Midlands base.
Continue ReadingConti reports global growth in winter, OEM sectors
On March 3 Continental AG will hold its annual press conference, at which it will provide detailed information on its performance in 2010, a year in which the automotive supplier says it emerged from the crisis “in impressively good shape.” The company has already reported an increase in annual sales from 20 billion euros in 2009 to “at least” 25.5 billion euros last year, a figure helped by the “positive performance” of the company’s car tyre division.
Continue ReadingItochu Buys Kwik-Fit for £637 million
Kwik-Fit has reportedly been sold to the Japanese conglomerate that owns Stapleton’s, Itochu Corporation. According to a City AM report, the deal follows the signing of a three digit million pound deal yesterday (1 March 2011). The article suggests Kwik-fit’s former owner, private equity firm PAI Partners” has “cashed out” of its six-year ownership of the chain for “£637 million, which includes net debts of £457 million.” A Kwik-Fit spokesman refused to confirm or deny the reports when Tyres & Accessories asked for confirmation of the news. Either way, the reports suggest the deal is still subject to regulatory approval.
Continue ReadingBridgestone marks 80 years with new symbol, tagline and corporate philosophy
It’s now 80 years since Shojiro Ishibashi established Bridgestone Tire Co., Ltd. in the Japanese city of Kurume, and to commemorate its oak anniversary Bridgestone Corporation has unveiled a new corporate symbol, brand tagline and announced a refinement of its “The Bridgestone Essence” corporate philosophy. These changes, the tyre maker explains in a press statement, are “part of an integrated strategy to further strengthen Bridgestone brand globally.”
Continue ReadingQ4 2010 better than expected for Titan
Titan International returned to the black last year after recording a year-end net income of US$0.4 million, boosted by a final quarter that was, as described by company chairman and CEO Maurice M. Taylor Jr., “better than what we thought it was going to be.” In 2009 the United States based off-road tyre maker experienced a net loss of $24.6 million. Net income in this ‘better than expected’ fourth quarter amounted to $0.7 million; a year earlier Titan International made a loss of $30.7 million in the final quarter. Titan reached its annual net result on the back of sales of $881.6 million, a year-on-year increase of 21.1 per cent, and operational income of $40.9 million. Fourth quarter 2010 sales were $232.7 million, up 58.8 per cent year-on-year, while the quarter’s gross margin was up from a loss of $0.8 in 2009 to $26.0 million last year.
Continue ReadingDundee plant to benefit from Michelin investment?
News of Michelin plans to invest in its Dundee facility is circulating in various Scottish newspapers and websites. According to reports, the tyre maker intends to inject a “multi-million pound” investment into the plant in order to facilitate the production of its latest premium eco passenger car tyres. A Michelin study is said to be underway with a best case outcome being the installation of additional production machinery at Dundee, a switch to continuous seven-day operation and the creation of some 140 new jobs. In addition, plans for the Scottish factory include the safeguarding existing employment there.
Continue ReadingNew Apollo factories: First Eastern Europe, then Indonesia
In the last year or so conflicting reports on Apollo Tyres’ plans to set up a factory in Eastern Europe have circulated; in March 2010 it was said plans for a new plant there had been dropped in favour of a focus on expanding the former Vredestein facility in the Netherlands, while later in the year talk from Apollo management turned again to international investments. Recent news from Chennai, India based newspaper the Economic Times indicates a new factory in Eastern Europe is indeed still on the cards.
Continue ReadingShare offer for Azerbaijan tyre maker announced
Azerbaijan’s State Committee for Property Affairs is offering investors the chance to obtain a 96.98 per cent share in tyre maker JSC Azersin. According to the Azerbaijan Business Center, this package of shares is made up of a standard package offered for investment (85 per cent of shares) plus shares available after labour collective subscription. The share tender is open to both domestic and foreign investors. Bids for shares in the debt-ridden tyre maker are accepted until March 31.
Continue ReadingRecyclatech signs first franchise deal for bacteria devulcanisation process
Various news sources have reported the February 15 signing of a franchise deal between Scotland’s Recyclatech Group and Spanish firm Biotyre. According to The Scotsman newspaper, Biotyre will build a pilot tyre recycling plant in Spain utilising Recyclatech’s bacteria driven devulcanisation technology, and in return from licence fees and royalty sales the Scottish firm will provide Biotyre with technical and scientific support, plus the bacteria used in the process. The half million pound pilot plant is being set up with a view to Biotyre establishing a full-scale commercial operation. Recyclatech itself intends to establish a facility of its own in Scotland, and The Scotsman reports company chairman John Pool as saying the company is “close” to raising the £1 million it needs for this. The Recyclatech plant will have the capacity to produce around 1,000 tonnes of recycled rubber per annum and it will be used to supply samples to companies interested in using the technology.
Continue ReadingYokohama signs site lease for Philippines factory expansion
To fulfil plans to increase tyre making capacity, Yokohama Rubber has signed a contract to lease a 300,000 square metre section of land adjacent to the Yokohama Tire Philippines plant, some sixty kilometres northwest of Manila. The leasing contract for the land at the former US Air Force base was signed between Yokohama and Clark Development Corporation on February 12. The capacity expansion plans were first announced in late January and involve a total investment of 50 billion yen (£371.3 million) in order to increase capacity 143 per cent to 17 million units per annum.
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