Kwik-Fit Breaks Tyre Rolling World Record
Kwik-Fit staff, friends and family have successfully set a new Guiness World Record for simultaneous tyre rolling. In doing so they helped to raise over £30,000 for the Tsunami Appeal. The attempt, held at Chester Race Course resulted in 238 people each rolling a tyre over 100 metres, narrowly breaking the previous world record by just one person.
Continue ReadingVote to Decide Fate of Goodyear Board
Bowing to investor pressure, Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co will allow shareholders to decide whether its board of directors should stand for election every year, rather than in staggered, three-year terms, the Akron Beacon Journal has reported. That move would give shareholders the power to vote out the whole board in one go, rather than decide the fate of a minority of directors each year.
Continue ReadingIndian Budget: Good News For Tyre Business
The new year, or at least the new financial year, will give the Indian Tyre industry something to cheer about. That is since the government published its Central Budget for 2005/2006 financial year and the and excise and customs relief that came with it, Rubber Asia reports.
Continue ReadingFinalists Chosen for Goodyear Highway Hero Award
(Akron/TR) Finalists have been selected for Goodyear Tire & Rubber’s Highway Hero Award, given to a professional truck driver who shows heroism in his or her work. Journalists from the trucking industry are voting for the one driver who will be selected as the 2004 Goodyear North America Highway Hero and presented the award at the Truck Writers of North America annual banquet, Goodyear said.
Continue ReadingTrelleborg Inaugurates Wuxi, China Plant
The Trelleborg Group has inaugurated its newly constructed Chinese plant Wuxi , part of expansive Shanghai region. The Wuxi plant, which has approximately 300 employees, will produce antivibration systems and other vehicle components. The plant replaces an earlier Trelleborg facility in Wuxi and represents a doubling of production capacity. According to a company statement, the new facility has a total area of nearly 20,000 square metres and has been designed according to strictest environmental considerations. Trelleborg Automotive has also recently opened a technical centre in Shanghai. “This is another stage in strengthening our leading position in China,” says George Caplea, president of the Trelleborg Automotive business area. “We now have a best-in-class facility with enough capacity to meet growing demand, while we are also able to offer very favourable technical-development capacity, benefiting both domestic and international customers.”
Continue ReadingTitan International Announces First Quarter Dividend
The board of directors of Titan International, Inc has approved a quarterly cash dividend of $.005 (half a cent) per common share for the first quarter of 2005. The cash dividend is payable 15 April, 2005, to stockholders of record on 31 March 2005.
Continue ReadingConti Outperforms
Analysts, Goldman Sachs, have set Conti’s shares to ‘outperform.’ The “fair value” of the company’s shares is 70 euros, according to analysts, who expect the tyre manufacturer to improve its profit by 45 per cent in the next two years due to improvements in cost structures and its dominance in the fast growing ESC sector (electronic stability control). The analysts also report an improved performance by Conti in its tyre business and say that the manufacturer is not as dependent on raw material prices as its competitors. Profit per share is expected to reach 4.25 euros this year, increasing to 5.45 in 2006
Continue ReadingPerformance Fibers to Build Second Plant in China
Performance Fibers will build a second polyester fibre and fabric plant in Kaiping, China, to meet demand from the country’s growing automotive market. The new plant will double the company’s dimensionally stable polyester capacity in China, where it is the industry leader. This is the companys second expansion at the Kaiping facility in two years, having doubled capacity of the original plant with the addition of new production lines in early 2005.
Continue ReadingContinental Becomes First South African Run-Flat Producer
At the end of February Continental Tyres South announced that it had become the first manufacturer to produce run-flat technology in the country, South Africa Treads reports. The company reports that it is both “proud” and “excited” by the news, and will be embarking on comprehensive training programmes with its dealer network around the country. The SSR will grace the new generation BMW 3-series, scheduled for release in June.
Continue ReadingGoodyear’s Fortera Dubbed ‘Seriously Hot’
(Akron/TR) Goodyears new Fortera, which features SilentArmor Technology, was named one of the 20 Seriously Hot Products that (Almost) Speak for Themselves” by Popular Science magazine. The story appears in the magazine’s April 2005 issue. “To see our new Fortera SilentArmor tyre in this published gallery of high-demand new products is a real plus for Goodyear in the generation of word-of-mouth support and the creation of consumer buzz,” said Sanjay Sivanandan, vice president for Goodyear consumer tyres. “It demonstrates to consumers that tyres can be high-tech, too. In this case, people will recognize Kevlar as a key feature in these tyres. They dont buy a tyre for technology alone; they buy the benefits of technology. They want relevant technology, he said. Last year, Goodyear’s Assurance TripleTred line made the Popular Science list.
Continue ReadingCooper Names New Director of European Sales and Marketing
(Akron/TR) Cooper Avon has named Steven T Kersh as director of European sales and marketing. In his new role, he will oversee sales and marketing efforts for European operations headquartered in Melksham, England. The appointment will become effective on 1 April, 2005. Mr Kersh began his Cooper career in 1993 as a management trainee. In 1995 he was promoted to export sales customer service coordinator, and since has served as an export sales trainee, export sales territory manager, regional manager of export sales and most recently as manager of export sales.
Continue ReadingAutomotive Suppliers Face Uphill Struggle
(Akron/TR) Cutbacks, fast rising raw material costs and marketshare battles by US automakers have created a crisis among auto part and component suppliers, according to a Detroit News report today.
Continue ReadingKumho Expects Early Completion
A report in the Korea Herald says that Kumho Tire Co expects to complete expansion at its tyre plant in Nanjing, China, in mid-April rather than at the end of 2005 as was previously thought. Originally the company had planned to quadruple production to 12.6 million units, the early conclusion of its plans could suggest that it has reduced this target. In addition, Kumho plans to break ground for a new $184 million tyre plant in Tianjin, China, its second in that city. Plans call for that plant to be on stream in 2007, Tire Review reports
Continue ReadingEU Commission Probes Car Makers
The European Union Commission has said it is probing four car makers on suspicion that they restricted access to technical information required for vehicle maintenance in a way that may contravene EU competition law, Tire Review reports.
Continue ReadingFor Tyre Companies 2005 is A Year of Celebration
This year the General brand is celebrating its 90th anniversary, while Toyo Tire & Rubber Co will enjoy its 60th birthday this summer. At the same time Yokohama Tire Corp is celebrating its 35th year of doing business in North America. 2005 must be the Year of the Tyre Company, writes Tire Review.
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