Unipart and H2 Equity complete deal
Unipart Group and H2 Equity Partners have officially completed the previous announced deal that sees H2 acquire a controlling stake in Unipart Automotive, one of the UK’s largest independent suppliers of car parts, workshop consumables and garage equipment.
Continue ReadingStrong demand prompts Titan to up 2011 projections
The sales and EBITA guidance issued by Titan International on May 19 has been revised, with increases made to both figures. In a September 28 press release announcing these alterations, Titan chairman and CEO Maurice Taylor stated: “Agriculture is booming, mining is hot and construction is rebounding.
Continue ReadingMichelin announces notes repurchase
In a press release intended for all markets excepting the US, Compagnie Générale des Etablissements Michelin announced that on 21 September it repurchased more than 10 per cent of the company’s lowest-ranking subordinated notes (titres subordonnés remboursables de dernier rang), due 3 December 2033, for an aggregate nominal amount of 500,000,000 euros admitted to trading on the regulated market of NYSE Euronext Paris under ISIN FR0010034298. Following the repurchase, the outstanding nominal amount is 140,628,000 euros.
Continue ReadingSchaeffler to become public company
As a step towards achieving capital market viability, major Continental shareholder Schaeffler is to be transformed into a public company. The decision for the privately-owned Schaeffler GmbH to become Schaeffler AG (Aktiengesellschaft) – an entity similar to a British public limited company – was announced by Supervisory Board chairman F.W. Schaeffler on September 26. The stock corporation is expected to be entered into the commercial register in October and Schaeffler Group operations will henceforth be managed by an Executive Board.
Continue ReadingHow social nets, price comparison are influencing online tyre business
Things move quickly in the online world. Even business moves “at the speed of thought” as Bill Gates suggested in the title of his book of the same name. While the tyre industry has shown some signs of reticence when it comes to doing business over the Internet, in recent years the tide has turned and most large (and many small and medium sized) tyre companies now see online involvement as a permanent part of their business. However recent developments in social marketing and price comparison sites only go to show that if you don’t keep up you may lose out. Tyres & Accessories analysed the latest data and spoke to some leading players on the frontiers of tyre e-business to see what pitfalls and opportunities lie ahead for the UK and European tyre business.
Continue ReadingInfinity launches online media site
Infinity Tyres has announced the launch of its online Press & Media Room at which news and press releases related to Infinity Tyres, the Infinity Tyres Foundation, and, any stories and media related to the Infinity family, will be first published and stored online. Infinity says it believes that this new digital platform will help journalists find “new ways of engaging their audiences.” Jorge Crespo, Infinity’s European general manager, said the Press Room is a very important digital tool because “millions of people and potential clients will now have access to Infinity’s message, whether this is regarding our product range, or the company’s interests, achievements and goals. And all of this is aimed at giving our potential customers and clients further information about all that happens within Infinity’s world.”
Continue ReadingFor sale: Itochu to divest French subsidiary Speedy
Only a few months after Japanese trading concern Itochu Corporation acquired UK fast-fit giant Kwik-Fit, the British company’s French subsidiary Speedy is, according to French media reports, up for sale. The resale of the Speedy fast-fit chain admittedly doesn’t come as a complete surprise, as from the outset Itochu expressed its main interest as being in the UK and Dutch markets.
Continue ReadingAnd now; electric roads
An article on the website TruthDive suggests that cars could, in the future, be powered by electrified roadways, thus eliminating car batteries. Masahiro Hanazawa at Toyota Central R and D Labs in Nagakute, Aichi, Japan, and Takashi Ohira at Toyohashi University of Technology, also in Aichi, are developing a system that transmits electric power through steel belts placed inside two tyres and a metal plate in the road.
Continue ReadingH2 acquiring controlling stake in Unipart
H2 Equity Partners has announced plans to acquire a controlling stake in Unipart Automotive, the UK’s largest independent supplier of car parts, workshop consumables and garage equipment. Unipart Automotive is currently owned by Unipart Group. The agreement, which is expected to be concluded shortly, sees H2 Equity Partners taking majority ownership in the UK operation. Unipart Group will hold onto 49.9 per cent. Patrick Kalverboer, managing partner at H2, will become executive chairman of the new company.
Continue ReadingCooper Tire shares mark 52-week low
Shares in Cooper Tire & Rubber Company hit a new 52-week low on Monday 12 September trading at $10.36, below the previous 52-week low of $10.50. According to a report at thestreet.com, Cooper Tire & Rubber has a market capitalisation of $696 million and shares were down 53.6 per cent year-to-date at the close of trading on Friday 9 September.
Continue ReadingPremium tyre sales on the up?
Years after the credit crunch bit and the recession took hold in the North America and Europe, financial analysts are asking if the de-segmentation phenomena that saw cheaper tyre sales increase could be coming to an end. So does this mean premium tyre sales are on the up?
Continue ReadingMaxxis plans to improve range accessibility
Following the news that Maxxis has ended its exclusive relationship with Grouptyre, and with everything pointing to the likelihood that a new distributor will soon be announced, the company has announced how it intends to make a much broader range of its car, van and 4x4 tyres available. According to a statement released by the company, while continuing to develop its profile and grow its share of the UK tyre market, Maxxis plans to ensure that its product portfolio is readily accessible to retailers across the whole of the UK.
Continue ReadingChemChina to focus on “scientific development”
State-owned China National Chemical Corp (ChemChina) said in its first Sustanability Report that scientific development will be the main focus of its next five-year plan (2012-2017). During 2006-2011, ChemChina put more than 12 billion yuan ($1900 million) into technology research, an annual increase of 14.5 percent. The company owns seven subsidiaries, including Aeolus Tyres, Guilin Rubber, Yiyang Rubber and the Xinghuo Organic Silicon Co, that are national technology centres.
Continue ReadingBond launches Tyregiant.com
It is certainly not the only development to take place within Bond International during 2011, but the wholesaler's recent launch of Tyregiant.com is likely to be the most headline-grabbing. Over the years various sources representing all the UK's largest tyre wholesalers have spoken of their capability of offering an online retailing capability, but up till now few – if any – have ventured onto the information superhighway. The solitary pioneering effort in this area was Grouptyre's GoodTyreGuide, which ambitiously seeks to fuse retailing, reviewing and wholesaling through its membership of whole operations. A year on from that, with the jury still out on whether this concept has delivered the kind of results expected at launch, Tyregiant is pitching itself as a straightforward retail site for consumers. The clever part for Bond (a company that has always shied away from retailing itself so as not to alienate its business to business customers) is that, like GoodTyreGuide before it, it is seeking to offer additional business to its customer base rather than itself becoming a competitor.
Continue ReadingBankruptcy, legal action – all in a week’s work at ShengdaTech
De-listed Chinese firm ShengdaTech has filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 11 of the US Bankruptcy Code. In announcing this action, the nano-precipitated calcium carbonate manufacturer says the Chapter 11 process will “facilitate the company's financial and operational restructuring, with the objective of restoring the company to financial health.” Under Chapter 11, ShengdaTech is permitted to continue trading and managing its assets as usual. Also announced on 22 August was the appointment of Michael Kang, a managing director at global professional services firm Alvarez & Marsal, as Shengdatech’s chief restructuring officer. In this capacity Kang will “lead the company’s restructuring effort.”
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