Tire Inflation System For Truck Trailers From ArvinMeritor
ArvinMeritor has announced that the Meritor Tire Inflation System (MTIS) has been selected by Great Dane Trailers as standard equipment on the companys Classic Refrigerated Van Lines. Great Dane is one of the worlds largest manufacturers of refrigerated trailers.
Continue Reading3Q Earnings Revision For Goodyear
Goodyear has revised its earnings outlook for the third quarter of 2001, downwards, Net income per share is be similar to the second quarters 5 cents per diluted share. This compares to 11 cents per share for the third quarter 2000. Goodyear says that an already slowing demand had weakened further in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on the USA.
Continue ReadingContinental’s Results Have Slowed Down And Redundancies Are Possible
Compared to last year, Continental Group’s turnover for the first nine months of 2001 has increased from 7,438 billion Euro to 8,240 billion Euro (a rise of about 10.8%). The Group’s operational result (EBIT) of 238 million Euro (385 million Euro in 2000) has especially been affected by the North American tyre business and a non-recurrent expenditure of 58 million Euro due to the reconstruction process, begun in the second quarter and which has resulted in the closure of the truck tyre production site in Herstal (Belgium) and the remoulding site in Bad Nauheim. The Group’s result before tax has fallen by 160 million Euro down to 96 million Euro. After tax of 44 million Euro, the result is 104 million Euro more than last year’s amount, and the earnings per share are 0.35 Euro (1.16 Euro in 2000). Presenting the quarterly results at a press conference, Manfred Wennemer, who was appointed Managing Director on 11th September 2001, explained the Group’s directional change, concentrating on profits, results and cash flow and on cutting down financial debts, which also involves focusing on profitable transactions and devolving profit-and-loss responsibility on to the Business Units. Additionally, Wennemer announced some bigger restructuring measures: All parts of the company are under scrutiny, and there are no holy cows, he emphasised, adding the comment that factory closures and redundancies could be a possibility.
Continue ReadingNew High Performance Winter Tyre From Marangoni
Marangoni Tyre has extended its Meteo ESC Winter tyre range with the introduction of four new sizes. These are a 14-inch, T-rated size, two 16-inch, H-rated tyres and a high performance tyre, size 225/45 R17 V, aimed at high-level saloon cars. This is the first V-rated Winter tyre in the Meteo ESC range, which now consists of 24 sizes.
Continue ReadingMore And More E-Commerce In The Tyre Business
Late – at least compared with other businesses – but not too late, the tyre industry and trade have realised the importance and the possibilities of e-commerce and for todays business. But this late discovery is not really a surprise because automotive and related companies are naturally not so closely related to the topic as, for example, the electronics or the communications businesses. It is therefore perhaps not surprising that a study by Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), carried out in co-operation with KPMG Consulting, reveals a lower interest among companies in the automotive sector – again only in comparison with other businesses – to expand their e-business activities, although in the meantime the internet is becoming more and more accepted in the tyre business. Two or three years ago there were only a few investing in this new media. But since last year, the number of tyre and wheel related online shops or portal sites is constantly growing. And even the tyre manufacturers themselves are investing more and more in internet facilities. Details can be found in NEUE REIFENZEITUNG’s e-commerce feature in January.
Continue ReadingShow A Little Respect
A survey among 720 chief executives worldwide, conducted by the Financial Times and PricewaterhouseCoopers, lists the worlds most respected companies. There are no tyre companies in the top fifty and the only mention of a tyre manufacturer is of Michelin, who was placed equal sixth in a separate section headed The Worlds Most Respected Engineering Companies.
Continue ReadingAgricultural Tyres From Uniroyal
Uniroyal is well-known for passenger and truck tyres. Now the brand, part of the Continental group, is trading under the name Uniroyal Agro in the agricultural tyre segment also. The exclusive distributor in Germany is Meyer Lissendorf, and negotiations are on-going regarding distribution in other European countries.
Continue ReadingKerkorian Sells 16 Million DaimlerChrysler Shares
Kirk Kerkorian, the third-biggest shareholder in DaimlerChrysler, has reportedly halved his stake in the company by selling 16 million shares recently. It is said that he will continue with the $8 bn lawsuit he brought against the company, alleging that it misled shareholders when Daimler and Chrysler merged.
Continue ReadingNew Engagement In Agricultural Tyres By Continental Group
Over the last 20 years, agricultural tyre business has not been very important for the Continental group, and at times, the whole segment was in question. Later they got over this with off-take-agreements, when Eastern European companies were allowed to produce tyres with the logo of the prancing horse, in order to maintain market representation. Has this all gone by now? It seems so, because since they have been producing agricultural tyres in Otrokovices new plant where some new machines have been installed, price and quality go together again, hence Werner Flebbes (55) managers in Hanover feel to be able to cope with the world-wide competition. However, Otrokovice is just a production site from where the agricultural tyre section can order, but it is an important one. Today, Continental certainly is the groups first choice, offering the widest assortment and being distributed most efficiently. But already, the Barum brand, with its impressive variety, is being called a volume brand, and incidentally, in the radial tractor tyres segment, including the 75 series, it bears a remarkable resemblance to the Continental Contact. While Conti tyres are being sold throughout the whole trade, it was Flebbes idea to distribute Barum tyres in Germany only through some core dealers. Six big dealers (Wennekamp, Vergölst, Ihle/Günzburg, Schwarz, Semex and Brock/Weilerswist) have been given the exclusive right to promote Barum tyres, which means that they can sell to both trade and consumer. However, Hanover went a step further: The Uniroyal brand, which could have been placed very easily on the German market, has been offered exclusively. In an interview Thorsten Bublitz, responsible for marketing and sales of Conti’s agricultural tyres, assured, that by now Meyer Lissendorf has nearly all important sizes available, and it is planned to offer the complete range, with 68 sizes altogether, in September.
Continue ReadingDelay On Westbury Tyre-Burning Application
The Environment Agency has announced a delay on the decision whether or not to approve the application from Blue Circle Cement to burn tyres for fuel at the companys Westbury cement plant. A decision was expected on 21 February, but the EA says it is still considering matters raised during the consultation period. The EA says it will carry out a compliance audit at the site and new date has been set.
Continue ReadingPotenza S-03 Pole Position From Bridgestone
This is the time of the year when tyre manufacturers proudly present their latest products to the press and to dealers. Bridgestone/Firestone is no exception, launching its newest flagship tyre, the Potenza S-03 Pole Position. As the name suggests, the new tyre incorporates technology and design features based on the company’s Formula 1 experience. A high performance tyre, the Potenza S-03 Pole Position will be available in 51 sizes, speed rated W and Y, and for rims from 15 to 20. Aspect ratios range from 55 series down to a very low 30 series. The tyre has no OE homologations, neither are there plans to seek any – this follows the strategy used for the successful S-02, which the S-03 replaces. At the European launch of the tyre, Bridgestone/Firestone Europe referred to Formula 1, saying that the company welcomed the challenge from Michelin this season and pointing out that, in the first race of the new season, Bridgestone-shod cars filled the first seven places.
Continue ReadingBalancing The Scales
Our January issue carried items concerning the possible consequences of the EU Vehicle End of Life Directive, notably the suggestion that lead wheel balance weights might be banned for fitting as original equipment. Tin weights were suggested as a possible alternative. The article stirred up a very strong reaction from the pro-lead weights lobby, which is indicative of the depth of feeling that the matter can generate in the industry. As well as a letter from the Lead Development Association, Hofmann asked if they could answer some of the points raised in the article. We are always ready to put the other side of an argument, so this article examines the case for continuing with lead on economic, technological and practical grounds.
Continue ReadingExplorer Rollovers – Ford Blames Firestone
Ford has issued a comprehensive report in which it places the blame for the fatal crashes involving the Ford Explorer fairly and squarely on the Firestone tyres and not the vehicle. Ford contends that the Explorer is no more prone to rollovers or tyre failures than any other medium-sized SUV. Bridgestone/Firestone disagrees, saying that tyre and vehicle makes up an integrated system and any investigation has to take the vehicle into consideration. It also criticised comparative temperature tests on Firestone and competitors tyres, saying that they measured only external temperatures and took no account of internal running temperatures.
Continue ReadingTyre Maker Reduces Share In Car Manufacturer
Michelin on Thursday reduced a long held 3.8% share in the French auto manufacturer PSA Peugeot Citroën to 1%. The tyre manufacturer sold 1.27 million PSA shares which is estimated nearly 420 million Euro. The transaction will have positive effects on the financial structure of the company, Michelin announced.
Continue ReadingNew President For Trelleborg Wheel Systems
Maurizio Vischi (45) will become President of agricultural tyre manufacturer Trelleborg Wheel Systems on June 1st. Mr. Vischi is currently head of the TWS Agricultural Radial Tyres business unit, located at Tivoli in Italy, where he will continue to be based. The current President, Anders Pettersson, is leaving to take up a new position as a divisional president for the security group Gunnebo AB. TWS was formed at the end of 1998 as a joint venture between Trelleborg (which owns 60% of the jv) and Pirelli, as a specialist manufacturer of agricultural and forest tyres.
Continue Reading
