Tyre Test Win For Uniroyal Rallye 540
Uniroyals Rallye 540 came out top in the latest and biggest-ever tyre test carried out by Auto Express magazine in the UK. The test took place with the aim of finding the best tyre for the average family car and included budget and second-line brands.
Continue ReadingFire Remains In Firestone
Bridgestone/Firestone Inc. has acquired a majority shareholding in Morgan Tire & Auto. This equity has, after it purchased rival Tire Plus Limited in the summer of last year, more than 550 depots in 24 states of the USA and was second biggest independent equity in the USA, referred to as a retail-powerhouse. Turnover of Morgan Tire & Auto exceeds 800 million Euro. Larry Morgan, who began his career as an employee of Firestone, remains CEO. The acquisition is a clear sign that, despite the Firestone recall disaster in the USA, the tyre manufacturer intends to stay in the market with the Firestone brand.
Continue ReadingRevised Deal For Pirelli
Pirelli has become the first firm to successfully negotiate a revised take-over deal after the poorer than expected markets after making its bid for Olivetti. In a complex deal Pirelli will still pay the same share price but will gain a 10% discount on a second tranche of Olivetti shares. The deal is still subject to EU approval.
Continue ReadingContinental “Expects To Sell National Tyre Service This Year”
Manfred Wennemer, management board chairman of Continental AG, is reported to have said that the company expects to sell its UK equity chain National Tyre Service by the end of this year. Earlier this year, Continental UK closed Nationals truck tyre operations when it formed ContiNetwork; a partnership with independent truck tyre service providers. This left 210 retail outlets in the National chain. A spokesman in Hanover confirmed Mr. Wennemers comment, but would not reveal any further details. The news was only revealed because Continental had to enter a figure into the fourth quarter accounts which was picked up by analysts.
Continue ReadingNew Distribution Warehouse For Michelin
Michelin is to invest 12m Euro in a new tyre warehouse at its Alava plant in Spain. The 30,000 square metre warehouse will employ 40 staff and will be for the exclusive distribution of the production from the Alava factory. The warehouse should be operational in 2002.
Continue ReadingReport Predicts 20 Per Cent Fall In US Auto Market
A report from automotive intelligence firm Autopolis predicts hard times ahead for the US auto industry, with demand falling by 10 per cent this year and 8.5 percent next. Sales of cars and pickups are forecast to fall until the first half of 2003 at 14.1 million units, down 20 per cent on the 2000 sales figure of 17.6 million units.
Continue ReadingProst Picks Michelin For F1
The Prost Formula 1 racing team has now signed a three-year deal with Michelin to supply tyres, beginning with the 2001 season. Prost has not yet chosen its second driver to team up with Jean Alesi.
Continue ReadingNationwide Autocentres Pilot New Ideas
NBGI Private Equity, a fund focusing on traditional economy companies, has bought 41 Lex Autocentres from Lex Service PLC. They will be rebranded as Nationwide Autocentres and will offer high quality, fixed price servicing for retail and fleet customers. Further acquisitions are expected and Tom Dunn, formerly operations director at Lex Autocentres, has been appointed managing director of National Autocentres. The newly established Nationwide Autocentres network announced that the firm's focus would be on MoT testing and general maintenance for both the retail and fleet sector. However, they also had plans for future development and were piloting additional services to cover air conditioning, GPS tracking and LPG conversions.
Continue ReadingA Better Press For Kwik-Fit
Following the negative Which? report on UK fast-fits, including Kwik-Fit among others, there is better news for the company from other magazines. A survey carried out by the publications Top Fleet, Fleet Management and Business Car voted Kwik-Fit best fast-fit company in the UK for the eighth year running. The readers of these magazines comprise fleet management companies and people responsible for the maintenance of the majority of UK company cars.
Continue ReadingEU Distribution Centre Of Hankook Officially Opened
Hankook Tires has recently completed the construction of its new European Distribution Centre at Rotterdam, enabling the tyre manufacturer to improve its service to customers throughout Europe. The EDC – a 10 million Euro investment – was officially opened on 7th March.
Continue ReadingBad Weather Creates Opportunities
The Automobile Association (AA) revealed figures for its busiest and quietest days of 2000. 20% of call outs were for flat or faulty batteries. The advice from the AA is that if a battery is struggling, get a new one. The second largest reason for call outs was for tyre related problems, with 7% of callers having tyre problems.
Continue ReadingNew Leader For Goodyear’s Global Marketing/Brand Management
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company has elected Cathryn M. Fischer, vice president and chief marketing officer. Fischer, 39, will be responsible for the worlds largest tiremakers global marketing and brand management efforts. She will report to Robert J. Keegan, president and chief operating officer.
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 ReadingMinicar-Segment Entered By Nissan
As announced in a press conference in Tokyo, car manufacturer Suzuki will supply 3,000 so called minicars a month to Nissan from 2002 onwards. With this agreement Nissan will enter the small car segment – with a maximum capacity of 660 cc – which already has a market share of 30 percent in Japan.
Continue ReadingExpansion Of Production For Goodyear, Michelin
In the wake of the Firestone recall, Michelin says it has tripled tyre production in the USA as well as shipping thousands of tyres from Europe. A special customer service centre is handling 8,000 calls a day. Goodyear plans to provide more than half of the tyres replaced because of the recall and has increased production of Ford-approved tyres tenfold. The company has increased shipments to 9,000 outlets, including company-owned stores, independent tyre retailers and Ford dealers.
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