Expanded Goodyear Dunlop European Logistics Centre Inaugurated
Late last year the Goodyear Dunlop group completed the expansion of warehouse storage capacity of its European logistics centre in Philippsburg, near Stuttgart in southern Germany. Work on the centre’s offices, from where the company’s Europe-wide logistics are directed, has now also been finished, marking the completion of a 20 million, one and a half year project. The centre was officially inaugurated by Heribert Rech, minister of the interior for the province of Baden-Württemberg along with Eberhard Louis, director of Distribution & Operation at Goodyear Dunlop Europe, and Dr. Rainer Landwehr, chairman of Goodyear Dunlop Tires Germany.
Continue ReadingCoalition Question Mark Hangs Over Michelin Funds
The Stoke Sentinel reports that up to ₤3.9 million awarded to Michelin through the regional development agency Advantage West Midlands (AWM) may not head in the tyre maker’s direction if the new coalition government’s spending axe falls upon it. The Government says it will review spending projects reviewed upon after January 1 and decide if they represent value for money; Michelin’s intention, according to the Sentinel, was to use the awarded funds towards a ₤20 million modernisation plan for its Stoke-on-Trent site.
Continue ReadingMichelin Data Confirms Market Uptick
Information released by Michelin on July 19 paints a very similar picture of the current global tyre market as the Pirelli information published two days earlier. The French manufacturer reports a 13.4 per cent year-on-year growth in the European (including Turkey, excluding Russia) passenger car and light commercial vehicle tyre replacement market during April 2010, and a 21.2 per cent growth in the original equipment sector. This represents a year-to-date growth of 10.4 per cent for the replacement market and 33.6 per cent for original equipment. The replacement truck tyre market is reported to have grown 22.7 per cent, while the original equipment sector showed a year-on-year growth of 58.8 per cent during the month. Year-to-date, Michelin’s figures show the replacement truck tyre market to have grown 34.7 per cent, while growth in the original equipment sector is reported to be 10.7 per cent.
Continue ReadingLast Minute Bid Gives Denman Assets to Titan
Tire Review reports Titan International emerged as the winner among multiple parties seeking to buy some or all of the remaining assets of the defunct Denman Tire. Yesterday, the US Bankruptcy Court approved Titan’s $4.4 million last minute bid to acquire all of Denman’s brands, patents, drawings, molds, recipes and other intellectual property. The assets were auctioned off by the court as part of Denman’s Chapter 7 liquidation.
Continue ReadingBridgestone a Boeing ‘Supplier of the Year’
More than 12,000 companies currently supply Boeing with components for its range of aircraft, but only fourteen of these could be chosen to be a ‘2009 Supplier of the Year’. Bridgestone Corporation was one of this select group, having been singled out for its performance in a number of areas, including quality, delivery performance, cost, environmental initiatives, customer service and technical expertise. This is the first occasion that Bridgestone has been awarded this title.
Continue ReadingNTDA to Implement "Major Changes"
Following the National Tyre Distributors’ Association’s (NTDA) annual general meeting yesterday (18 May 2010), the association has agreed to a number of major changes to its organisational and representational structure. The changes follow a review conducted by former chairman Peter Gaster during the last year, which found that a modified structure would better represent regional membership and that the association would benefit from better engagement with its suppliers. So what has changed? According to the latest NTDA e-zine, the AGM accepted a change to the rules to completely revise the regional representation of its executive council. NTDA members will shortly receive a regionalised nomination form as “a prelude to a voting procedure to elect regional representatives from all eight regions.” The new approach will expand regional representation on the council and provide an on-going link with the smaller companies in membership. Nominations will only be accepted from companies who do not already have a right to a seat on council through their size.
Continue ReadingTyre Market Data Shows Growth in All Regions
According to data released by Pirelli & C. SpA, Europe’s passenger car and light commercial vehicle replacement tyre market grew 14 per cent year-on-year during April 2010, below the 20 per cent improvement observed in March yet a three point improvement on the market’s 10.5 per cent year-to-date improvement. Original equipment sales of all tyre brands in Europe improved one per cent year-on-year during April, considerably lower than the 19.25 per cent improvement seen in the year-to-date. Replacement market truck tyre sales showed a 20 per cent year-on-year improvement during the month, down on the year-to-date increase of 32.75 per cent. The original equipment truck tyre market in Europe shot up 60 per cent in April, by far the largest monthly year-to-date growth so far this year. Year-to-date, growth in this sector have improved by 16 per cent over last year.
Continue ReadingChinese UHP Tyre Sales Increasing at Twice the Overall Market Rate
Appetite in China for high performance tyres is growing. In mid-May, Michelin launched its Pilot Sport 3 into this market, making 18 sizes available for Chinese consumers. The Pilot Sport 3 complements the Primacy LC, introduced last year, in Michelin’s China market performance portfolio. "We are putting more attention on the high performance tyre market than before, a segment that is growing at a speed twice that of the overall tyre market in China last year," said Antoine Guerin, vice-president of marketing and sales with Michelin (China) Investment Co Ltd.
Continue ReadingKumho Q1 Sales 18% Up Year-on-Year
During the opening quarter of the 2010 financial year, Kumho Tires posted sales of KRW 586.4 billion (₤343.8 million), representing 27.7 per cent quarter on quarter and 18 per cent year-on-year growth. Operating profit during the three months to March 31, 2010 amounted to KRW 21.3 billion (₤12.5 million) and net income KRW 20.9 billion (₤12.3 million). The tyre maker comments that these gains result from an improved plant operation rate and greater export sales. Export volume during the quarter was up 40 per cent year-on-year, an occurrence Kumho attributes the general recovery of North America’s car and tyre markets – one of its key sales territories.
Continue ReadingToyo Reports Net Profit
Toyo Tire & Rubber has announced a return to the black with a net income of 2,957 million yen (₤21.5 million) for the 2009 fiscal year. The Japanese company, which made a 10,722 million yen loss during the 2008 financial year, earned a profit in the 12 months to March 31, 2010 despite a 12.4 per cent decline in net sales to 287,726 million yen (₤2.1 billion). Operating income during the recent financial year amounted to 8,664 million yen (₤62.9 million). The company’s tyre business unit posted net sales of 214,291 million yen (₤1.6 billion), accounting for 74.5 per cent of total net sales and a 11.5 per cent drop from 2008 sales. Ordinary income for the 2009 financial year was 6,933 million yen (₤50.3 million); a year earlier an ordinary loss of 1,395 million yen was recorded.
Continue ReadingLay-Offs, Redundancies Imminent at Nokia’s Finland Plant
Nokian Tyres reports that on May 10 it entered into statutory negotiations affecting around 70 employees at its facility in Nokia, Finland. In a press statement, the tyre maker says approximately ten office employees and 60 blue-collar employees are involved in “adjustment measures” that include changing some of the rotating shift lay-offs initiated in January 2009 to full lay-offs, effective until further notice. Nokian also intends to terminate some employment contracts, it says.
Continue ReadingSales Down, Income Up at Yokohama Rubber
The short-lived dip in raw material costs the industry experienced in 2009 helped Yokohama Rubber towards a better bottom line result in the recently concluded financial year. The company has announced net earnings of 11.5 billion yen (₤83.5 million) for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2010. This gain compares with a net loss of 5.7 billion yen in the previous fiscal year and reflects a surge in operating profitability. Operating income rose 67.5 per cent, to 21.5 billion yen (£156.1), on a 9.8 per cent decline in net sales, to 466.4 billion yen (₤3.4 billion). Underlying Yokohama’s surge in operating income were the abovementioned reversal of the upward trend in raw material costs and the company’s progress in reducing selling expenses and other costs. Net profitability benefited additionally, meanwhile, from a sharp reduction in losses on currency translation adjustments.
Continue ReadingNew Technical Centre Staff to Boost Cooper Innovation
An increased pace of new product development has prompted Cooper Tire & Rubber to increase staff levels at its three technical centres. During 2010 a total of approximately 40 new employees will come on board, including several at the company’s European Technical Centre in Melksham. Cooper states that 25 engineers and scientists will also begin work at its North America Technical Center in Ohio and 13 at its Asian Technical Center in Shanghai.
Continue ReadingConti Partners in CV Hybrid Battery Project
Continental is working together with two other companies on a project related to lithium-ion batteries for commercial vehicles. Specifically, Continental, along with automotive suppliers ZF Friedrichshafen and ads-tec, are embarking on a joint project to develop production techniques for optimising the pre-assembly and final assembly stages of lithium-ion energy storage unit modules for use in hybrid commercial vehicles. This joint project, titled “FUEL” or “Future goes Electric”, is being sponsored by Germany’s Federal Ministry of Education and Research as part of a government economic stimulus package.
Continue ReadingGoodyear Joins Price Hike Trend
Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. will increase prices on all of its consumer tyres in North America by up to 6 per cent as of 1 June, says Tire Review. This includes Goodyear, Dunlop and Kelly-Springfield brands. The company cites rising raw material and transportation costs as the reasons for the increases.
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