Cooper Tire & Rubber Company has filed a legal complaint against the company that has agreed to buy it in a friendly takeover, Apollo Tyres. Cooper filed a complaint on 4 October in Delaware Chancery Court asking that “subsidiaries of Apollo Tyres Ltd be required to expeditiously close the pending merger between the two tyre companies in accordance with the terms of the definitive merger agreement”.
Reducing driving costs with recycling, retreading synergies
Continental will pursue the principle of making commercial vehicle tyres go further for customers with its synergetic TBR retreading facility named the ContiLifeCycle Plant. Announced in 2012 and due to open in Hannover-Stöcken later in 2013, the 10 million euro-plus plant is set to become the world’s first plant to integrate rubber recycling with hot and cold retreading, and will create more than 100 new jobs at Conti’s headquarters. Tyrepress got in touch with Christian Saas, Conti’s director Retread Business Commercial Vehicle Tires, to get the latest information on the plant prior to it coming on line.
Marangoni aims to make European retreading more competitive
Compared with producing a new tyre, retreading saves up to 30 per cent in energy and 70 per cent in raw materials. Retreading also lowers overall cost per kilometre, but despite these benefits the European retreading market has been hampered by a scarcity of the industry’s main raw material – good quality, retreadable casings – and by the availability of new imported tyres whose casing quality is not sufficient for retreading.
Mercedes-Benz Driving Events to run on Bridgestone
Bridgestone has entered into a deal to supply tyres for Mercedes-Benz’s Driving Events, the outfit in charge of all driver training and driving experiences at the German car maker. A range of tyres from the Potenza, Turanza, Dueler and Blizzak ranges will be fitted to the full range of Mercedes-Benz vehicles used during all 36 Mercedes-Benz driving events.
Six Michelin suppliers have been awarded for their “exceptional contribution” in 2011 and 2012. At an awards ceremony held on 25 September, the French firm saluted these companies’ contribution towards its growth and development, a contribution they said to be with a respect for Michelin’s values.
The English-language version of the Bridgestone Group’s CSR Report 2013 have been released and is now available for download from the company’s website. The 63-page document covers the period from 1 January to 31 December 2012 and, in addition to covering initiatives related to Bridgestone’s 22 CSR Focus Points, it broaches the Japanese firm’s CSR activities from three perspectives, which it presents as ‘special features’.
Conversion to ‘general use’ tyres central to Bridgestone’s Bari plan
The ‘death sentence’ hanging over Bridgestone’s Bari passenger car tyre plant in Italy has been rescinded. A plan to keep the site operational has been announced; this calls for the factory to focus its production solely on tyres for general use, while increasing the plant’s competitiveness and reducing its overall conversion cost.
Cooper Tire & Rubber has announced that its stockholders voted to approve its pending merger with a wholly-owned subsidiary of India’s Apollo Tyres, with more than 74 per cent of Cooper’s outstanding common shares voted in favor of the transaction. Approximately 78 per cent of Cooper’s outstanding common shares were voted, with more than 48 million shares voted in favor of the merger, representing approximately 96 per cent of Cooper’s voted shares.
Conti to invest in technology at Korbach, Germany site
Around €40 million will be invested in Continental’s Korbach factory in Germany by 2018, the tyre maker reported on 30 September. The company’s Tire Division will use these funds to establish a specialist production line for 19 to 22-inch passenger car and light commercial vehicle tyres to meet growing international demand from both the original […]
As work on Sumitomo Rubber Industries’ tyre plant in Brazil nears completion, groundbreaking was held for the company’s second tyre factory outside of Asia. On 18 September, a groundbreaking ceremony was conducted at the Sumitomo Rubber AKO Lastik Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S. (SAT) factory site in Turkey’s Cankiri Province.
Within the next few hours, Cooper Tire & Rubber shareholders will cast their votes in favour or against Apollo Tyres’ bid to acquire the US tyre maker for US$2.5 billion.
Europe, beware – winter is coming, and there’s nothing you can do to stop it. The first snow has already fallen in the mountains of Switzerland, and that means the start of a new winter tyre season. Van den Ban (VDB), however, reports itself winter ready and says its expanded assortment of winter tyres is even more extensive compared with prior years.
When Pirelli’s Board of Directors approved a number of changes to the company’s management structure yesterday, it confirmed that position of chief commercial officer will no longer be required. The position will disappear from Pirelli’s management structure at the end of this year and the incumbent chief commercial officer, Andrea Pirondini, will leave Pirelli.
Vredestein reaping benefit of merged Facebook presence
The various local Vredestein Facebook pages were recently merged into a single global account in order to give the company’s products better international exposure, and Vredestein reports gaining more than 10,000 fans within the space of four weeks as a result. The new global page can be found at www.facebook.com/Vredestein.
Govt grant for Dunlop Aircraft Tyres’ Airbus project
A £1.5 million government grant is winging its way to Dunlop Aircraft tyres. The grant was awarded by the Government’s Technology Strategy Board and the funds will aid the Birmingham-based company in its development and testing of tougher, lighter aircraft tyres.
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