Bridgestone voted Australia’s ‘most trusted tyre brand’
Bridgestone has beaten Michelin and Pirelli to be named Australia’s ‘most trusted tyre brand’ in a survey carried out for Reader’s Digest Australia. The publication’s Trusted Brands 2014 survey rated brands in 46 categories on a scale of one to ten, and named one winner and two highly commended runners-up for each category.
Evonik Industries is building its first highly dispersible (precipitated) silica plant in South America. The company announced on 21 July that it will invest a “mid-double-digit million euro amount” in a facility located in Americana, within Brazil’s São Paulo state. No word has been given on the greenfield site’s anticipated output tonnage when it goes on stream in 2016 or when full capacity is reached. The silica produced will mainly be used in the production of low rolling resistance tyres, however Evonik says that by building the plant it will also cater for the needs of the growing regional business in attractive specialty segments in South Americas food, animal feed, and agricultural industries.
US tyre investigation is “dog in the manger” behaviour, says Chinese ministry
Moves by United States trade authorities towards reintroducing duties on certain Chinese tyres have been applauded by the union representing many US tyre industry workers, yet China says this not only contradicts international trade rules and national law, but any new antidumping or countervailing duties that emerge from current investigations will also fail to achieve their intended result.
Rosneft responds to its inclusion on sanctions list
Russia’s Rosneft, indirect 13 per cent shareholder in Italian tyre maker Pirelli, has commented on the decision by the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) to include it on the new sectoral sanctions list. The oil company was one of four energy sector companies added to the list on 16 July 2014; the sanctions were announced in response to unrest in Ukraine but were put in place before the crash of Malaysian Airlines MH17. Under the terms of the sanctions, US citizens can not undertake certain dealings with Rosneft and the other firms, and they will not be able to obtain medium or long-term lending from the US.
Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations has rebranded its GCR Tires & Service division. The company says the effort signifies its pledge to be the “leading provider of commercial tyres and service in North America.” The rebranding includes the introduction of a new logo, which Bridgestone describes as “crisp, clean and colourful” and a “visual representation of GCR’s continued pledge and commitment to its customers.”
According to various Taiwanese media sources, an assistant manager employed by Nankang Rubber Tire Corp. Ltd. has been arrested along with his wife on suspicion of receiving illegal rebates from the tyre maker’s suppliers. The arrested man has been identified by the surname ‘Chen’, and police are said to have taken custody of NT$230 million (£4.5 million) in cash plus remittances found in his home and office in Hsinchu City. The arrest was made on 16 July.
Thrifty but tardy: Goodyear-shod Prius sets Nürburgring record
Toyota may well have broken two records at the Nürburgring circuit in Germany, and is keen to share details of one of them. A modified, Goodyear-shod Prius has recorded the most fuel-efficient lap of the Nordschliefe. It was perhaps also the slowest lap officially recorded by a vehicle manufacturer.
It isn’t just European tyre markets that were up in the first half of 2014 – UK-based automotive intelligence supplier JATO Dynamics states that the European new car market grew 5.8 per cent year-on-year in the period from January to June. Sales growth of 4.3 per cent in June means that year-on-year sales increased for the tenth consecutive month. Great Britain recorded the biggest year-to-date increase in units sold - over 120,000 more than the first half of 2013, a 10.6 per cent increase. Overall, 24 of the 30 countries analysed recorded year-to-date increases in volumes compared to the same period last year, including Europe’s five largest markets – France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy and Spain.
MAM Software has announced it will exhibit at Automechanika Frankfurt between 16 and 20 September. The company’s show presence will be located in the SMMT Pavilion in hall 5.1 at stand E95, and the company says it will use the event to identify new market opportunities for its cloud-based enterprise management software, data and e-commerce solutions.
Top golfers set for World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational
The worlds top golfers will once again descend on Akron in the US as the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational returns to the Firestone Country Clubs South Course between 31 July and 3 August. The WGC-Bridgestone Invitational is one of four in the WGC series, the international golf tournament organised by North American tour organiser PGA TOUR. The top players of the six major global tours – the PGA Tour, European Tour, Asian Tour, Japan Golf Tour, PGA Tour of Australasia, and Sunshine Tour – and players in the top 50 of the Official World Golf Rankings are eligible to compete in the tournament.
US Department of Commerce proceeding with tyre import tariff case
The US Department of Commerce Department is proceeding with the US United Steelworker’s case against Chinese tyre imports into America. The union is pushing for new import duties similar to those that were introduced in 2009 and has hailed the news that the case is continuing and as a significant step forward in the process.
European tyre markets up across all segments in 1H 2014
The European Tyre and Rubber Manufacturers Association (ETRMA) has published figures showing that is members experience sales increases across all segments in the first half of 2014.
The Tire Retread & Repair Information Bureau (TRIB) has announced that its managing director, David Stevens, will be a featured speaker for the third year in a row at the Latin American & Caribbean Tyre Expo taking place in Panama City, Panama from 23 - 25 July, 2014
Used cars are generally not a topic covered by tyrepress.com, however one vendor’s effort to sell a pre-loved hatchback is well worth a mention. Marketing agencies should take note of the approach used by the unnamed owner; they may do worse than trying it themselves next time a manufacturer appoints them to promote a vehicle that won’t sell on the basis of its own merits.
On 28 June, the Global Management Association ranked Nexen Tire the top company in the tyre category in its ‘2013 GCSI’ survey, a global customer satisfaction survey supervised by the Japan Management Association Consultants (JMAC). The survey was carried out over a three week period in April and covers 188 products across nine industries in total, with the sample size of 100,000 people. The evaluation criteria included factors related to customer satisfaction, such as quality, customer value, global competency and loyalty.
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