Hanover Motorbike Tyres: Continental Very Ambitious
Continental AG is going to increase its involvement in motorbike tyres and the OE-market. So far, the Hanover group has concentrated mainly on passenger car, truck and industrial tyres. All this is now subject to change. The fact that, after belonging to the commercial tyre business unit, two-wheeler tyres were merged with the groups passenger vehicle tyre unit from January, 1st this year, could be an indication for the companys reborn interest in the motorbike tyre market. As stated by Continental, the group achieved a 50 percent increase in turnover of motorbike tyres last season, and according to their motorbike tyre marketing leader Jörg Essiger, entering the radial ply tyre segment with the ContiForce would be another step in the right direction. The new two-wheeler tyre had already been presented to public at the Intermot fair in Munich last autumn, and was officially presented to the press at the Contidrom fair in May. Essiger explains, the ContiForce offers both excellent handling and a very reasonable price, which is 10-15 percent lower than the competition. He says, that ContiForce would be the appropriate tyre for sports-bike riders, and real sportsmen can also demonstrate their efficiency on it. Who knows, whether with their next new motorbike tyre the Hanover group might enter into the pure sport machine segment. Already next year, the tyre manufacturer will probably put another newly-developed motorbike tyre on the market; so said Jörg Essiger at the Contidrom presentation – however no further details were forthcoming.
Continue ReadingNHTSA’s Preliminary Evaluation Against Goodyear
The NHTSA is still conducting a preliminary evaluation of Goodyears Load Range E-tyres, but the manufacturer is confident that its tyres are totally OK and that the evaluation will come to an end soon.
Continue ReadingA Change For The Better – Cooper-Avon Tyres
In 1997, Avon Tyres, a British-owned rubber goods and tyre manufacturer for over 120 years, was taken over by the American manufacturer Cooper Tire & Rubber Company. The subsequent three years or so have been among the most eventful in Avons long history; fears that the British company (annual turnover in excess of 100 million Pounds) would be absorbed by its new parent (annual turnover approaching $4 billion) proved to be groundless. This came as a relief to locals, as Avon was (and still is) the town of Melkshams largest employer and plays an important part in community life. On the contrary, Cooper has invested heavily in its first manufacturing base outside the USA and Avon has reorganised, rethought its product offering and, in an uncertain economic climate, prospered. Our article examines how the company has changed and examines its prospects for the future. Managing Director Ron Shield and Marketing Director Julian Baldwin outline the events since the takeover and the way that the Cooper-Avon relationship has developed.
Continue ReadingGloomy Outlook For Asian Auto Makers
A report from automotive consultants autopolis is predicting tough times ahead for most of Asias car markets this year, due to falling currencies, lower prices, declining exports and political uncertainty. The average fall is expected to be 7%, with markets outside Japan falling by more than 10%. For Japanese sales, a 4% decline is expected. Sales are expected to fall in most places, excluding China, with South Korean and Indian markets being particularly hard hit.
Continue ReadingFinal Of The Third Dunlop Drivers Cup in South-Africa
In the middle of February the time has finally come: altogether 30 winners of the national qualification heats that were held in Groß Dölln near Berlin in September 2000 could participate in the final of the third edition of the Dunlop Drivers Cup. The event was organised by the German daughter of the tyre producer in co-operation with Toyota, Meiers Weltreisen, South African Airways and Maier Sports. After Patagonia (1999) and the Southwest of the United States the authorities had chosen South-Africa as the final place for this sporting event that aims to combine driving training and adventure/fun. The 26 males and four females had to face different driving tests of skill with passenger cars, 4x4 vehicles and quads, a kind of a four wheel motorcycle. With this event, Dunlop wants to focus attention on the topic of driving safety and to interest people in motorsports. The rally began in Durban. The 2,280 km long tour passed through the provinces of Kwazulu Natal, Eastern and Western Cape. The finish of the rally was in Cape Town. In the middle of the tour the Landcruiser offroaders had to be changed in Port Elizabeth. The competitors had to carry on with a Toyota Lexus IS 2000 Sport, shod with the Dunlop SP 9000 high performance tyre . The result of the race was in doubt up until the end, a sign of the high standard of driving skills of the qualifying teams. The next Dunlop Drivers Cup will be held in February 2002 in Australia. The scope of the 2002 qualifying sessions will be widened, including a European dimension.
Continue ReadingAnalysts Rate Goodyear Shares A “Buy”
Despite the admission of chairman and CEO Samir G. Gibara that Goodyears 4Q results were disappointing, some financial analysts have recommended the companys shares as a buy. The results were better than forecast, plus the analysts are confident that Goodyear will start to turn things around before long.
Continue ReadingCombined UK Offices For Dunlop And Goodyear
In the UK, Dunlop and Goodyear have decided to combine their administration offices to increase the effectiveness of the joint venture. The offices – and a new distribution centre – will be in Birmingham, preferably at Fort Dunlop. The Wolverhampton offices will eventually be closed, but production at Wolverhampton will not be affected. The two sales divisions will function independently, even though they will operate from the same location. The move will be completed over the next 12 months.
Continue ReadingRestructuring Of Accuride‘s Light Wheel Production
Accuride Corporation (North Americas largest manufacturer and supplier of wheels for heavy/medium trucks and trailers) has announced plans to optimise its operations by restructuring the Companys light steel wheel operations and closing its Columbia, Tennessee, facility. Accuride will consolidate the production of light wheels currently produced in Columbia into its other facilities.
Continue ReadingO.E. Aims of Michelin
Michelin wants to capture half of the global O.E. market for high performance tyres. To help achieve this the company is counting on its C3M automated manufacturing system, now in place at seven plants around the world.
Continue ReadingNew Noise Restrictions For Tyres
The EU parliament in Brussels has set new rules regarding tyre noise levels, rolling resistance and abrasion, to come into effect in 2003. Passenger cars will be allowed to have noise emissions between 72 and 76 decibels, light trucks between 75 and 79 decibels.
Continue ReadingConfidence In Bridgestone And Firestone
John Lampe has spent all his working life with Firestone and then Bridgestone/Firestone. He has recently been put in charge of the Bridgestone groups largest subsidiary, Bridgestone/Firestone Inc. in the USA. In addition – and this is a first for Bridgestone and very rare for large Japanese businesses – Lampe sits on the board. This illustrates how highly he is thought of in what are difficult times for the company. In our exclusive interview, he talks of the relationship between Bridgestone/Firestone Inc. and Ford. However, since the interview, this attitude changed dramatically, with Bridgestone/Firestone Inc. ending its business relationship with Ford. Our follow-up article after the Lampe interview traces this change in attitude and the increasingly-bitter war of words as the companies try to pin the blame on each other.
Continue ReadingMichelin Promotes Jean Michel Guillon
Jean Michel Guillon, who used to be head of sales for Michelin in Germany before he assumed responsibility as Vice President Sales for MAST (Michelin Americas Small Tires), has become Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President Michelin North America Inc.
Continue ReadingWeb-Based Ordering System From Michelin And IBM
Michelin and IBM have announced that the tyre manufacturer has installed for all Europe a new Web-based system – based on a Web-enabled IBM eServer zSeries mainframe – that improves service to its network of 50,000 European distributors by allowing them to place orders for Michelin products directly over the Web any time of the day or night. The system is initially being deployed for use by Michelins large European distributors in the United Kingdom, Germany and France and will be made available to the most of the companys European network tyre distributors. Full deployment will be by 2004.
Continue ReadingSecond Quarter Results From Goodyear
Goodyear has released its 2nd quarter financial results. At $3.58 billion, Q2 turnover was slightly up from Q1 ($3.4 bn) and around the same as for Q2 last year. Profits after tax were $7.8 million, nearly 90 per cent down on the figure for Q2 2000 of $77.1 m. However, Q2s profits were a vast improvement on the $46.7 m loss recorded in Q1 2001, due largely to increased business from the replacement of Firestone tyres on Ford Explorers. For the first half of 2001, Goodyear posted a net loss of $38.9 m, compared to a profit of $125.3 m for H1 2000. Regarding the rationalisation programme, 5,800 jobs have been lost from the proposed total of 7,800.
Continue ReadingProposed Bonus Share Issue By Transense
Transense Technologies PLC, the company involved which recently licensed exclusive world-wide rights for the Société de Technologie Michelin to embed Transenses surface acoustic wave sensor technology on automotive and aircraft tyres, is proposing a three-for-one bonus share issue to boost the marketability of its shares
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