May results of German tyre retailers by BRV
The monthly census of the German tyre dealers association BRV showed the following results for May 2000: Compared to May 1999 the turnover of German tyre retailers decreased 0.9%. In the passenger car tyre segment the decrease was 5.4% and retreading business had to face a decrease of 9.6%. Only the light truck and truck tyre segment showed an increase (+ 2.7%).
Continue ReadingGeneral Motors Honours Meritor
Meritor Automotive has been honoured by General Motors as one of its Supplier of the Year and also received the Best of the Best in South America award for its steel wheel business.
Continue ReadingSuit Against Concorde Tyre Supplier?
A San Francisco-based specialist law firm is exploring the possibility of filing a lawsuit against Goodyear in Ohio and is contacting dependants of the crash victims. Goodyear has been the exclusive tyre supplier for Air France Concordes since 1995. Therefore the which crashed recently was equipped with Goodyear tyres, too. Whether or not a blown tyre caused the disaster is still not known and a Goodyear spokesman said its way too early to make any assumptions or comments.
Continue ReadingRacism At Goodyear Warehouse?
At a Goodyear warehouse in North Brunswick (N. J.) members of the all-white management discriminated against black employees, The Akron Beacon Journal reports, quoting court documents and statements of two Goodyear managers. The eleven workers have been in court for two years in order to get more than 100 m US-$ compensation for discrimination. Goodyear has denied the claim.
Continue ReadingFord’s Behaviour Examined More Critically
Ford has conceded that it was aware of problems with Firestone tyres in Venezuela as long ago as 1998. Ford CEO Nasser admitted two weeks ago that, in Venezuela, not only had the tyres been changed, but modifications had been made to the vehicle suspension. Analysts said that attempts to place the entire responsibility upon Firestone have failed.
Continue ReadingNew Exhibitor Record For Automechanika
Automechanika – the International Trade Fair for Car Workshop and Service Station Equipment, Automobile Spare Parts Accessories – has set a new exhibitor record: 3,909 exhibitors occupied all of the approx. 300,000 square metres of indoor and outdoor exhibition space to present their latest products and technical innovations. The almost three percent increase in exhibitor numbers was the result of growth in the number of German exhibitors. 67 percent of all exhibitors came from outside Germany. The top five exhibitor nations were Germany and Italy, followed by Taiwan, the USA and Great Britain. The exhibition ran from 6 to 10 September 2000 and Messe Frankfurt welcomed around 150,000 trade visitors from all over the world during the five days of the fair, where exhibitors took many orders and transacted a lot of business. In contrast to this positive attitude at the trade fair, the background situation of the market does not look that good: The car boom of previous years came to a sudden end this year. The EU-Commission in Brussels is thinking about ending the exclusive distributor networks of car retailers. Parallel to this the car manufacturers - especially Ford and Mercedes-Benz – are restructuring their distributor networks, which means that they are reducing the number of their retailers. The pressure on the suppliers exerted by the car producers continues to increase and as a result they are showing a stronger interest in the aftermarket business. Furthermore Goodyear/Dunlops daughter company Pneumant was the fist tyre producer for several years to have a booth at the Automechanika. However, it is doubtful that this is the first example of a growing trend, as the Reifen exhibition, central event of the European tyre world, was held just a few months ago and it is to be considered that - in contrast to the alloy wheel business - the target audience of the tyre manufacturers is most probably not those who attend the Automechanika. In NEUE REIFENZEITUNG 10/2000 we review the show.
Continue ReadingFondmetal Boss Sells the Majority of His F1 Racing Team
The owner of the well-known Italian aluminium wheel factory, Gabriele Rumi, with 68% has sold the majority of the Minardi Formula 1 racing team to US-media conglomerate Panamerican Sports Network, but still retains 30% of the shares.
Continue Reading“No Defects Found In Recalled Tyres”
Bridgestone/Firestones chief executive in the USA, John Lampe, has said that the company has not found a defect in its recalled tyres, but he did say that there was a safety issue with a small percentage. Lampes definition of a defect is something you can point to and say there is the cause and we havent been able to find a cause or combination of causes. He added that he believes the tyres only pose a safety problem when fitted to Ford Explorers.
Continue Reading“Smart Tyre System”: TRW Joins Michelin
Michelin and TRW Automotive Electronics have agreed to develop advanced tyre pressure monitoring technology, hand in hand with Michelins PA System Technology. The companies displayed their linked technology . The technology is being displayed at the Convergence 2000 International Congress on Transportation Electronics, being held in Detroit. The TRW system will give drivers advance knowledge of underinflation and allow them to remedy the fault before pressure falls to a dangerous level. In the event of a fast puncture the PAX system ensures the tyre stays on the wheel. The TRW system uses a sensor mounted in a high tec valve that sends details by radio signal to the on board control unit. The agreement will see both companies working towards the most effective method of alerting the driver to possible problems.
Continue ReadingRecall Almost Completed For Bridgestone/Firestone
Bridgestone Firestone has announced that it has provided customers with 5.5 million P235/75R15 ATX, ATXII and some Wilderness AT tires in under four months of the recall process. The firm also advised that there are sufficient stocks of new tyres to replace the outstanding numbers of tyres under the recall - waiting lists in most areas have now been eliminated. It had originally been thought that it would take a full year to reach this stage in the recall. According to John Lampe , CEO at Bridgestone Firestone Inc., No major automotive recall has achieved such significant results in so short a period (...). The next step is to determine the root causes of the problem that led to the recall.
Continue ReadingNew Pirelli Calendar 2001
World renowned photographer Mario Testino visited locations in Naples for the Pirelli Calendar 2001. This years format will feature 12 of the worlds top models in the usual alluring poses in natural settings around the famous Italian coastal city.
Continue ReadingTyre World in Upheaval
Michelin wants to speed up the globalisation process and has its back to the wall. Once again cost reduction programmes and job cuts are necessary. In the struggle between the Big Three Michelin may have been dealt the worst hand. Bridgestone’s and Goodyear/Dunlop’s pressure on the home market of the French is growing. Bridgestone with its immensely strong financial power is considered capable of becoming the clear number one in the global tyre market.
Continue ReadingMIRS – Revolutionary Tyre Manufacturing Method?
Pirelli has released first details of a new manufacturing system, called MIRS (Modular Integrated Robotised System). The company is investing 250 million Euros over the next five years. A MIRS plant that can produce one million tyres a year would employ 104 people in five shifts, would occupy 3,500 sq. m. and the investment cost (excluding the building itself) would be around 45 million Euros. According to Pirelli, MIRS reduces the steps of the tyre building process from the previous 14 to only three. Instead of passing the tyres from hand to hand in the production process, the MIRS work is done by robots. Tyre type and size are fed into the computer at the beginning of production, the rest is done by the computer alone, without human interference. MIRS is therefore a kind of mini-factory with an extremely high degree of flexibility. The factory can be built anywhere where there is a market. The technology, which Pirelli does not disclose and is not prepared to share with a competitor, not even under licence, was developed by Pirelli’s research and development department in co-operation with Italian universities and the Ministry of Research and Science. A pilot plant will start work in the Bicocca factory near Milan at the end of June 2000. The Italiens claim a manufacturing cost reduction of 25 p.c. for the MIRS method compared with the traditional way, and Pirelli boss Tronchetti Provera plans to manufacture three million tyres by the new method by the year 2003, or 15 p.c. of its high and ultra-high performance tyres. If all goes to plan, it will be possible to produce five million MIRS tyres within five years.
Continue ReadingKwik-Fit: 3,000 More Depots Within Ten Years
The Kwik-Fit group plans to grow from its present 2,000 centres to a total of 5,000 centres by the year 2010. This is made possible due to the financial backing of car giant Ford, said Sir Tom Farmer recently in a key-note speech in England.
Continue ReadingBridgestone Aiming For 20% Of World Market
Bridgestone is optimistic that it will achieve its stated target of a 20% market share worldwide during next year. The group aims to be number one, or at least number two, in each market. As far as distribution is concerned, the focus is very much on the First Stop franchise system. In a background briefing, high-ranking Bridgestone managers revealed that the companys main goal is to become the dominant player in the world tyre market, regardless of the actions of main competitors Goodyear and Michelin. At present, Bridgestone operates 44 tyre factories in 22 countries around the world.
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