Cooper B-To-B Website Coming To Europe Next Year
The Cooper Tire & Rubber Companys new business to business website, which was recently launched by the Findlay, USA-based tyre manufacturer, currently only allows U.S. customers to place orders via the internet. However, It is planned to make the service available in Europe early next year.
Continue Reading2Q Sales Growth For Federal
Federal Corporation of Taiwan has reported strong second quarter sales growth, up 19.4 per cent over the same period last year. 2Q sales were US$ 25.7 million (21.5 million in 2Q 2001) and markets outside Taiwan and China contributed US$ 18.9 million, or 77 per cent of the total. For the first six months of the year, sales are up by 18.3 per cent, at US$ 48.9 million.
Continue ReadingReturn To Algeria For Michelin
By forming a company - Michelin Algerie - Michelin has made the first move to re-open its factory in Algeria, which was closed in 1993. A Government-led privatisation programme has been aimed at attracting foreign investment and Michelin is said to be waiting for some answers from Government before deciding whether to re-start production. Should this happen, the factory will employ 500 people and manufacture truck tyres, 60 per cent of which will be exported.
Continue ReadingPossible Merger In India
There are reports that Indian companies JK Industries and Vikrant Tyres Ltd. are exploring the possibilities of a merger to form one tyre company. JK Industries has outlined the plan to its lender, the Industrial Development Bank of India and is awaiting a response, while Vikrant has proposed a number of restructuring scenarios to its directors, one of which involves a merger with JKI.
Continue ReadingTyre Recall Due To Inflation Error?
Automotive safety experts in the USA have said that erroneous inflation recommendations from Ford may have played a part in the recent recall of nearly 600,000 Continental tyres, fitted as OE on Ford Expeditions and Lincoln Navigators. Rear tyres should have been inflated to 33 p.s.i., but Ford recommended 30 p.s.i. It has not been determined whether or not low pressure contributed to the current recall, but some observers pointed to the difference in recommended pressures by Ford and Bridgestone/Firestone as a factor in the spate of accidents involving Explorer SUVs and Firestone tyres.
Continue ReadingNew Factory For Porsche SUVs In Leipzig
Porsche yesterday opened a new 127 million Euros factory at Leipzig, eastern Germany, to produce the new Cayenne SUV, a vehicle developed in conjunction with VW. The new factory, next to a 4km test track and customer centre, will also produce the Carrera GT sports car from the middle of next year.
Continue ReadingVoluntary Recalls At Continental Tire North America
Continental Tire North America today announced a voluntary safety recall of 595,000 of its Continental P275/60R17 ContiTrac AW and General Grabber AW P275/60R17 tyres. Consumers will receive free replacements. The tyres involved have DOT codes from 109 to 4400 and were produced between March 1999 and October 2000 and fitted as original equipment on 106,701 2000-model year and certain 2001-model year two-wheel-drive Ford Expedition and two-wheel-drive Lincoln Navigator sport utility vehicles. Approximately 60,000 of the tires are in the replacement market. The voluntary recall we are announcing today shows how Ford and Continental early warning/quality systems work together and why we are at the forefront of testing, data analysis and responsiveness, said Mark Sowka, vice-president Original Equipment, Continental Tire North America.
Continue ReadingTim Parker To Be Kwik-Fit Chief Executive
CVC Capital Partners has appointed Tim Parker (46) as Kwik-Fit Chief Executive. Parker is currently CE of Clarks, the shoe manufacturer, which he is credited with turning around by cutting costs and increasing outsourcing. Reports say that he will take an (unspecified) equity stake in Kwik-Fit once the deal is completed, which CVC says will take a few weeks but will happen by the end of the year.
Continue ReadingDisease Fear Leads To Tyre Clean-Up
Thousands of tyres are being removed from Pittsburgh after mosquito eggs and larvae were found in piles of abandoned tyres. The clean-up follows fears that an outbreak of West Nile virus is imminent in the area; a virus which is carried by the Culex mosquito.
Continue ReadingOfficial Opening Of Pirelli North American HQ And MIRS Plant
Pirellis new North American HQ and first US MIRS tyre factory were officially opened this weekend in Rome, Georgia. The ribbon was cut by Roy E. Barnes, Governor of Georgia and Pirelli North American President and CEO Gaetano Mannino. Various other local dignitaries attended the ceremony. The complex will employ 300 in three years time, 250 of which will be involved in production. Initially there will be three MIRS modules, but Pirelli says that this number will substantially increase by 2003. Pirelli also says that it expects to announce new OE contracts for MIRS tyres with more than one North American car manufacturer.
Continue ReadingHose Disputes For Goodyear
Goodyear is being sued by four New York homeowners over allegedly leaky heating hose, which has caused damage to their houses. The hose, called Entran II, was usually installed under floors to heat homes - it was removed from the market in 1993. In Colorado earlier this year, Goodyear was ordered to pay $23 million to a property developer who used the hose in his buildings. Other lawsuits are pending. Goodyear is appealing the Colorado decision and says any problems lie with improperly designed heating systems, rather than the hose. Two years ago, a federal jury found no blame attached to Goodyear in a dispute with a customer, Heatway Systems, who used Entran II in its heating systems and is now facing hundreds of claims.
Continue Readingmytyres.net Sets Up In UK
On-line tyre retailer mytyres.net has set up in Glasgow, UK, following in the footsteps of Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Sweden. The company behind mytyres.net is Hanover-based Delticom AG, which last year achieved on-line tyre sales of 21.7 million Euros. It promises next day guaranteed delivery on mainland Britain for orders placed before 12 noon and offers tyres from more than 40 manufacturers.
Continue ReadingFire At Goodyear Factory
Arsonists have been blamed for a fire at Goodyears Wolverhampton UK factory, in which 4,000 truck tyres and three lorry trailers were destroyed. 120 firefighters took two hours to bring the 70 ft-high flames under control and residents were told to stay indoors with windows closed against the emissions. Although the fire has been put out, experts have warned that the tyres could continue to smoulder for up to two days.
Continue ReadingBridgestone Group to Expand Global Production Capacity
Bridgestone Corporation has announced that it and its subsidiaries will expand their collective production capacity worldwide. It also announced that the Bridgestone Group will realign the geographical distribution of production capacity for different kinds of products. Bridgestone and its subsidiaries will invest approximately 250 million dollars in the production expansion and realignment, according to the announcement. The moves are measures to cope with the shift toward larger sizes of passenger car tyres in the industrialised nations and the growing demand for commodity-grade tyres in the newly industrialising economies of Asia and elsewhere.
Continue ReadingAnother Knight For Kwik-Fit
Reaction continues to the sale of Kwik-Fit to CVC, who have announced that chairman of the new company will be Sir Trevor Chinn, the outgoing chairman and former chief executive of Lex Service. Analysts are still debating the deal, with the consensus being that Ford overpaid when buying the company in 1999. Ford denies that the accounting irregularities at Kwik-Fit, where liabilities were understated by 3.4 million Pounds (5.3 m Euros), depressed the selling price. Ford says that the low valuation represents present market value, but many think that, by paying 330 million Pounds for 81 per cent of a business which turned over more than twice that last year (2001 turnover was 762 million Pounds), CVC has got a good deal.
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