Into the ‘Guinness Book of Records’ on Bridgestone Tyres
Gerhard Plattner, an Austrian journalist and specialist in fuel economy record-breaking, succeeded in crossing ten European countries using just one tank of diesel. His trip began on 16th November 2004 in the German town of Lindau, on Lake Constance, with a full sealed tank and the firm intention to cross as many countries as possible without refuelling. After first travelling through Austria, Switzerland and Liechtenstein, he returned to Austria via the Feldkirch border crossing. The road took him further through the South Tyrolean Puster Valley, and on to Slovenia, West Croatia, Hungary and Slovakia. After a 1,160-km journey lasting 15 hours and 7 minutes, Plattner reached his final destination: the Czech Republic. On arriving in the tenth country of this epic ‘Eco Tour’, he parked his Golf V TDI running on Bridgestone „B390 Eco” tyres with the Volkswagen dealer in Brünn. “Above all, I would like to praise the Bridgestone ‘B390’ tyres. I have used them on previous record attempts and, yet again, they’ve performed splendidly. Not only do they have excellent fuel saving qualities, but they’re also comfortable and have first-rate handling characteristics,“ said Plattner after his tour throughout Europa which earned him a place in the ‘Guinness Book of Records’.
Continue ReadingHankook: Sales Up 15.3 per cent
Hankook has released monthly financial results for November, which show that the company has experienced a 15.3 per cent increase in operating profit and an 8.4 per cent increase in sales volumes. In this period tyre sales, by volume, increased from 2.761 million to 2.992 million. The fact that revenues increased more than sales volumes suggests that the company sold more of its higher profit products, indicating an improved product mix.
Continue ReadingBandag Gains US Xpress Deal
Bandag Inc has agreed wide-ranging, six-year contract with US Xpress, the fifth largest publicly owned haulage company in the US, Modern Tire Dealer has reported. The agreement will come into effect at the beginning of January 2005 and will see Bandag manage a “total tyre programme” for 5,500 tractors and 14,500 trailers. Our tyre management services will help US Xpress better predict and manage tyre costs, and allow them to focus more time and resources on their core strength of meeting shipping customers´ needs, says Martin Carver, Bandag´s chairman, CEO and president. “By consolidating all of our of tire management tasks, we will reduce operating expenses,” commented Max Fuller, co-chairman of US Xpress. “We also believe we will increase our fleet´s uptime, which will ultimately lead to higher levels of customer satisfaction.”
Continue ReadingIndustry Speakers Gather for Tire Technology Expo
More than 110 exhibitors have confirmed their participation in the 2005 Tire Technology Expo. The exhibition, running from 22 – 24 February in Cologne, will feature session from leading industry experts. According to show organisers UKIP, the show is largest event of its kind in Europe and will bring together over 100 experts from internationally recognised research institutes and centres of excellence to present on a range of “hot topics.” Subject matter will include materials, the intelligent tyre, modelling and simulation techniques and the latest developments in polymer technology. Speakers include Frank Feher of Goodyear Chemicals, Bridgestone’s Shoji Oida and John Bullas from the University of Southampton. “This years show is the biggest in the event’s history, with more high quality exhibitors and visitors registered than ever before,” says Tony Robinson CEO of UKIP Media & Events. “Professional visitors from around the world will be able to see the newest technologies on display and exchange the latest information and opinions on the significant changes within tire technology at the intensive three-day conference. We’re looking forward to a really stimulating and fantastic show.”
Continue ReadingGoodyear to Attempt to Sell Business Units
Goodyear is about to make a second attempt to sell non-core businesses with suggestions that its engineered products division will be the first one up for sale, according to ‘The Deal’ reports. The news comes after Goodyear cancelled the sale of its rubber chemicals business in July. The company had promised to pay down its debts, using the sale of some its assets to provide the necessary funding. So far the company hasn’t sold any of its significant assets. The Deal reported that oa source close to the company suggested that the next business unit up for sale will be the engineered products business. The sale process is expected to start in January. Refusing to mention the speculation, Goodyear’s engineered products spokesman, Skip Scherer said: “To maximise shareholder value, the company evaluates from time to time its business portfolio, but we don’t speculate or comment on that process.” It is not clear how much the business unit will cost, should it be sold, but one analyst, Morningstar Inc’s Philip Guziec, has been quoted as suggesting that between $600 million and $1.2 billion would be a likely figure.
Continue ReadingLion Forest to produce Silverstone tyres in China
Malaysian news sources are reporting that Lion Forest Industries Bhd is teaming up with Chinese tyre manufacturer Shandong LuHe Group Co Ltd to form a 75:25 joint venture company to produce Silverstone tyres in China. On 15 December the two companies said that Lion Forests subsidiary, Lion Rubber Industries Sdn Bhd, had signed an agreement with Shandong LuHe to form the joint venture company with paid-up capital of 152 million ringgit (approximately £21 million). Lion Forests newly acquired subsidiary Quay Class Ltd and Lion Rubber also entered into an agreement with Silverstone Bhd’s 100 per cent subsidiary, iMpression Worldwide Inc, for the provision of technical know-how and services and the use of the Silverstone brand name. Silverstone Bhd is a wholly owned subsidiary of Silverstone Corporation Bhd.
Continue ReadingDr Reinhard Meschkat Joins BERU’s Executive Board
Dr Reinhard Meschkat has been appointed to BERU AG’s Executive Board. In his new position he will assume responsibility for production, logistics and quality control of the Ludwigsburg-based automotive supplier. Dr Meschkat, holds a doctorate in manufacturing systems engineering, and has substantial experience in several executive positions as plant manager and managing director at Faurecia Autositze GmbH, a subsidiary of the French group Faurecia S.A. Prior to his employment at Faurecia, he had worked for Brose Fahrzeugteile as a production manager at a manufacturing plant, responsible for production planning, logistics and quality. He had also successfully implemented Kaizen principles into the production system.
Continue ReadingBeru Boards Approve Takeover
Both Beru AG’s supervisory board and its executive board have approved a takeover bid by BorgWarner Inc, describing it as “fair and appropriate.” Following a meeting to discuss the subject, both boards issued statements recommended BorgWarner’s proposed price of 67.50 euros (£46.32) per share. The regular period for acceptance expires at midnight on January 24, 2005. According to a company statement, the offered price is 252.1 per cent above the 19.17 euro price the shares were originally issued at in October 1997. The statement added: “In view of the complementary character of the planned takeover…the BERU Executive Board assumes that the employment situation at the BERU Group will not change as a result of this transaction. From the contents of the offer it is apparent that no measures are currently planned which would have a significant impact on the workforce of BERU AG or its subsidiaries.”
Continue ReadingBridgestone Confirms Brazil Investment
Bridgestone Corporation has announced that it will invest $160 million in building a new tyre plant. The news follows initial reports from Brazilian newspaper and the Associate Press news agency that the Japanese company was planning to spend $700 million on the project. Confirming parts of the reports, the company said Bridgestone Firestone Brasil, a wholly owned subsidiary of Bridgestone Americas Holding, Inc, would build the plant in the Brazilian state of Bahia. Construction will begin in 2005, and plans call for the plant to begin production in the second half of 2006. According to the company, Bridgestone Firestone Brazil’s new plant will produce tyres for passenger cars and light trucks. The company says the new plant will have an initial production capacity of about 8,000 tyres a day. It will utilise state of the art production technologies and is expected to create more than 500 new manufacturing jobs and 1,200 indirect jobs in the region. The projects will increase BFBRs capacity by roughly 25 per cent the company said. Brazilian car production reached 2,020,704 vehicles for the period between January and November, up 20.8 per cent from the first 11 months of 2003, reflecting the countrys robust recovery from a sluggish 2003, when the economy grew less than 1 per cent. The auto industrys trade association is predicting an output of 2.2 million vehicles by the end of 2004. Referring to the $160 million expansion plans, Jorge Gonzalez, president, Bridgestone Firestone Latin American Operations, said: “This substantial new investment is evidence of our optimism in the strength of the Brazilian economy and our belief in our Brazilian team-mates.” Earlier reports which, were later found to be inaccurate, had suggested that the company would be willing to invest an even greater amount.
Continue ReadingMayfield Plant Produces Last Tyre
After pleas from unions to reconsider its closure plans, Continental General Tire finally closed the production side of its Mayfield plant this week. The closure will result in about 800 jobs losses. Continental announced in June that the plant would close on Dec. 31. Plant manager Hank Eisenga said the facility was scheduled to go on its standard two-week winter shutdown on Monday. The production facility will not be reopening in the new year. The end of production was a bittersweet occasion for workers who discovered that the Continental will keep on 200 workers after initially saying it would only re-employ 130.
Continue ReadingMore Than Just Products
Today, every company that wants to be successful in fleet business needs a lot more than just good products, nowadays that is just a prerequisite. Those responsible at Bandag Inc in Muscatine, Iowa, are convinced that the right service and the right network is even more important than the products. Bandag claims that it has both, and is trying to further integrate all of its 220 European dealers into a single global retreading network. In order to promote this policy, the company invited 20 of its dealers from around the UK and Ireland to visit its American headquarters.
Continue ReadingArvinMeritor Awarded Ford Accreditation
ArvinMeritor Inc has been awarded Q1 certification from Ford Motor Company. The award, which was presented by Terry Revord, Ford North American Supplier Technical Assistance Engineer, recognises Ford suppliers who demonstrate excellence in product quality, on-time delivery and outstanding customer service. When presenting the award, Revord said: “The Q1 award symbolises that ArvinMeritor Chickasha is among the very best suppliers to Ford Motor Company, with the commitment and processes in place to consistently provide the highest quality parts to our customers.” “We are very proud to receive Q1 certification today,” added Paul Rogers, director of operations for the Chickasha facility. “Our employees have worked very hard for almost a year to meet Ford’s stringent requirements to be certified Q1. We value our relationship with Ford and look forward to supplying them with superior ride control products for many years to come.” The Chickasha facility has more than 650 employees and manufactures automotive shock absorbers and MacPherson struts. The Q1 celebration included a cookout served to employees by facility management.
Continue ReadingThe End of the Spare Tyre?
With the large manufacturers increasing the output of their runflat products, how long will it be before we are all using them? One way of promoting the wide spread adoption of runflat tyres would be to introduce them as standard on all vehicles. This way consumers would already have the necessary Tyre Pressure Monitoring System to go with the latest tyres. And, of course, if everyone drove on runflats there would be little need for spare tyres. Tyres & Accessories invites you to comment on the subject by answering the T&A’s latest ‘question of the month.’ To read the first ‘question of the month’ of the new year, and to add your own views, click here
Continue ReadingGeorge Marshall Dies
It was with great sadness that we learned of the death of George Marshall on December 15th 2004, aged 81. George was well known in the tyre industry throughout the world, having edited Tyres & Accessories magazine since January 1971 and having been owner and publisher of the title from September that year until September 1987. Having spent his early career running his own tyre retreading and retailing businesses, George had a thorough knowledge of the industry, both from a practical and political viewpoint. His achievements were many, having been instrumental in founding the Brityrex exhibition in the UK and its South African and Australian equivalents, Satyrex and Austyrex. George also played a role in the foundation of the Imported Tyre Manufacturers Association and the Tyre Wholesalers Association in the UK. His lifetime spent in the tyre industry was recognised internationally, when he was honoured by the AMF (TEI) at Essen in 1986 and presented with the Industry Leadership Award by the American Retreaders Association in 1987. George received another accolade from the ARA when he was inducted into their International Tire Retreading and Repairing Hall of Fame in April 1995. George Marshall was a striking figure, instantly recognisable and known to tyremen all over the world; he was definitely his own man, with his own ideas and some of these were not universally popular. Nevertheless, whether you liked him or not, or agreed with him or not, you could be sure that his views were honestly held. It is a mark of the man that those who he criticised in print will be as saddened at his passing as those who he counted as his friends. As far as Tyres & Accessories is concerned, George was instrumental in rescuing what was a moribund trade magazine and building it up to become the best-respected journal in the industry, not just in the UK, but globally. George leaves a widow, Edna, to whom Tyres & Accessories extends deepest sympathy; a sentiment no doubt echoed by George’s many friends in the worldwide tyre community. But, as so often in the past, let George Marshall have the last word. Here is an extract from the last Editorial column that he wrote for Tyres & Accessories in September 1987. The article was entitled “It’s been a great 16 years!” and it sums up George Marshall’s life in tyres, as he wrote thus: “Never in my wildest dreams did I, when I took over T&A, even think that I would see so many parts of the world and make friends and meet so many tyremen in so many different countries. Nor did I ever think I would become a public speaker at tyre functions around the world. “I count myself as one of the luckiest men in the tyre industry for having been able to put back into it something it has given to me – a remarkably eventful and enjoyable life.” George Marshall 1923 - 2004
Continue ReadingGoodyear Dunlop Secures Additional Funding
Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co has said its Belgium-based joint venture with Japans Sumitomo Rubber Industries has arranged financing worth up to $365.5 million (£189.52 million), the associated press is reporting. The transaction, which will be completed in euros, will provide $219.25 million to Goodyear Dunlop Tires Europe BV, Europes second-largest tyre maker. That amount, which will be secured through accounts receivables, could expand before the facilitys term ends in five years. Goodyear said the transaction is expected to be completed by the end of the year, and will replace an existing $109.6 million facility. The deal is subject to customary annual renewal of back-up liquidity lines, Goodyear said. Shares of Goodyear rose 84 cents, or 6.43 per cent, to close at $13.91 in trading on the New York Stock Exchange. The stock increased another 5 cents to $13.96 in after-hours trade.
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