Moroccan Tyre Manufacturer In Insolvency Proceedings
Moroccan tyre manufacturer General Tire has begun insolvency proceedings, following the collapse of a restructuring plan. The company, in which Continental AG has a 34.2 per cent stake, has a deficit of 61.9 million Dirhams (6.07 m Euro) – up 14 per cent on last years figure. General Tire has invested 400 million Dirhams (39.25 m Euro) since 1995 but the domestic market is suffering from illegally-imported used tyres, which, it is estimated, now account for 60 per cent of the market.
Continue ReadingContinuing Satisfaction From Michelin In J. D. Power Study
In the US, The J.D. Power & Associates 2001 Replacement Tire and Retailer Customer Satisfaction Study has rated Michelin as the brand offering most customer satisfaction among both passenger vehicles and light truck owners. This is the tenth year of the study and Michelin has taken top spot for the last seven years (light trucks) and the past three years for passenger vehicles. Light trucks include pick-ups, SUVs and full-size vans, passenger vehicles, cars and compact vans. Customers mentioned reliability, durability , performance and handling above price.
Continue ReadingNew Managing Director For Bridgestone In Brazil
Bridgestone/Firestone Brazils former vice president of legal and government affairs has been promoted to the managing directors post upon the retiral of Vito De Florio on 1st October.
Continue Reading8th Tyres/Chassis/Tracks Conference in Hanover
Home match for Continental: Not enough that the company’s head of Tyre R&D and Process Engineering, Heinrich Huinik, had been the chairman of the organising committee for the 8th VDI (association of German engineers) Tyres/Chassis/Tracks conference, the tyre manufacturer, which, after the reorganisation process in recent years regards itself as a whole service supplier, had been on the agenda for both several specialised and the two plenary lectures too. Thus, it was no surprise when, using the sloganGlobal Chassis Control, Dr. Wolfgang Ziebart, member of Conti’s Executive Board, again picked out their system network as a central theme in his plenary lecture. Another main topic of the conference in Hanover was the specialised field of System Integration which had twice the number of lectures than all other specialised meetings, titled Track-Tyre-Interaction, Tyres, Tyre Modelling, Chassis Simulation and Chassis Systems.
Continue ReadingGreater Share In Stomil For Michelin
Michelin has gained another 2.88% stake in Stomil-Olsztyn and now holds 65.78% of the company shares. The remainder of the shares are held by eight to ten owners as opposed to the 40 additional shareholders that existed at the beginning of September. This new structure, according to Michelin, clarifies the structure of the company.
Continue Reading“Essen-Motor-Show 2001” – On Course For Growth
The Essen-Motor-Show is putting its foot down! After the record exhibition in 2000 (with 394,800 guests, 12.4 percent more visitors), it has been accelerating once again: the range on offer, which already covered many diverse aspects of automobiles and related products, became even wider in 2001. A total of more than 550 exhibitors, including the leading automobile manufacturers, presented what was on offer on the global market in 18 exhibition halls. Special emphasis was placed on the sporty and individual vehicle models as well as on the wide range of vehicle accessories. Current racing vehicles from all motor-sport categories, including a large number of this seasons Formula-1 cars, supplemented the range on show, where all the major players, almost without exception, were represented. Many exhibitors had booked larger booth areas. Other automobile manufacturers who had not exhibited their makes before had announced their participation in the Number 2 of all German vehicle fairs. Because of the greater demand for exhibition space, the exhibition management had therefore decided to provide an additional large hall for the Automobiles and Tuning exhibition sections. VDAT – Verband Deutscher Automobil-Tuner e.V. (the Association of German Automobile Tuners) had also intensified its involvement in the Essen-Motor-Show 2001. VDAT members presented themselves exclusively in the VDAT Halls 5, 10 and 11 which were designed with a salon character.
Continue ReadingHow Kraiburg Regards the Future Of Retreading
Even before the dramatic changes in the worldwide economy after September 11th, the retreading business, as well as its suppliers, was facing hard times. Reduced demand, increased competition and price pressure characterised the depressed market. It was not unusual for material suppliers to experience a decrease in their third quarter results of around 20 percent. Uncertainty, pessimism and negative forecasts represented the collective mood in wide areas of the business. But Kraiburg, the Geretsberg (Austria)-based retreading supplier, is swimming against the stream and reports stable economic results and new strategic activities to meet future market challenges. Kraiburgs turnover in 2001, up till end October, is just half a percent below the companys performance for the first ten months last year. In addition, an agreement for a joint venture with the Bulgarian company Zebra was finalised in October. Since 1997 the Sofia based company Zebra has produced thin and light tread patterns which would have been uneconomic to produce in Austria. Kraiburg has invested around one million Euro in Zebras tread pattern production and 95 percent of the joint venture shares belong to Kraiburg. Within the next two years the Bulgarian production will be increased from 800 to 1,800 tons per year – using the same machinery and equipment.
Continue ReadingAgritechnica 2001
Agritechnica is the largest agricultural exhibition in Europe and the 2001 event was held in Hanover from 13th to 17th November. This year’s show area has increased by 4% to a total of 196,000 square metres and more than 1,300 exhibitors from 30 countries showed their goods and services. The exhibition showcases the latest advances in technology for modern agriculture, including tractors, other agricultural machinery, accessories and spare parts. Included in these are tyre manufacturers who offer agricultural tyres, with such famous names as Continental, Goodyear, Michelin, TWS and Vredestein, among others. Agritechnica usually proves a great draw for those involved in agriculture; this year with 247,000 visitors 9.5% more came through the doors than two years ago, 34,000 of these coming from 100 countries outside Germany, and similar levels were expected this time around. The November date for the show is well-timed, as this is the time of year when many farmers are planning their investments for the coming season.
Continue ReadingAgricultural Tyre Market: 2001 has been a difficult year
The world-wide market for agricultural machines and tyres is has been characterised by a rationalisation processes over several years. The leading competitors in the tyre sector (Michelin-Group, Trelleborg Wheel Systems (TWS), Continental and Goodyear) have more or less completed repositioning themselves in the market. The widest multi-brand variation has been attained by the Michelin-Group, which covers with its four brands (Michelin, Kleber, Taurus and Stomil) all price-segments and applications. However, the development of this tyre segment cannot be viewed in isolation. It is influenced and defined by a number of fundamental and mutually connected parameters. These are: · the general economical development of the agricultural sector, · the changing structure of the German agricultural sector since reunification, · seasonal influences/aspects (e.g. weather conditions) and · sales, numbers and specifications of agricultural machines (especially tractors). In Germany fewer and fewer farming companies have concerns about a permanently increasing average area of land - a trend that can be observed throughout the rest of Europe. At the same time agricultural machinery is becoming more powerful, larger and faster, and the tyre manufacturer has to produce a product that can cope with these demands and yet remain gentle on crops to ensure maximum yield. In the first half of the year 2001 the already decreasing number of machinery sales found an additional seasonal reason in the sinking investments of the farmers, due to the BSE and the FMD-crisis. The increased cost-consciousness of the farmers became obvious in an trend towards cheaper brands. In the second half of the year the tyre market recovered a little bit from its bad results in the first six months but the overall negative figures could not be overcome completely so that ultimately a five percent loss was expected, compared to the previous year. This meant a total number of 220,000 tractor tyres sold in Germany (radial: 143,000 pieces).
Continue ReadingDunlop Record Growth in 1999
Dunlop GmbH (Hanau) expects further turnover and profit increases in the 1999 tyre business. Turnover will rise by almost ten per cent over the previous year to 1.64 billion marks. The pre-tax group profit will be significantly above the 1998 level of 133 million marks. The good business development is due to consistently strong demand for Dunlop tyres both in original equipment and in replacement. High winter tyre sales figures also contribute to this development, representing approximately 20 p.c. in Dunlop’s total German production. Dunlop 1999 winter tyre sales will probably have gone up by 16 p.c. over 1998. Since 1994 Dunlop GmbH has doubled its car tyre sales. During the last few years the Hanau tyre manufacturer has made progress in the high-performance tyre segment far above the market average, and the company operates a profit-sharing scheme for its employees. Against the industry trend, the Dunlop payroll has increased by almost 21 p.c. since 1991, with the number of people working for Dunlop GmbH at the end of November 1999 reaching almost 5,000. If one leaves out the former subsidiary Dunlop TECH, which ceased to belong to the contributing members of the Dunlop GmbH group in the middle of last year, the figure is similar to that of the previous year.
Continue ReadingFirst Prize For Conti Teves
A. T. Kearney and the weekly magazine Produktion held a competition for the best factory of the year. 80 plants were nominated and the winner of the first prize for outstanding manufacturing processes was the Conti Teves factory in Rheinböllen, which produces brake components.
Continue ReadingStudy Says UK Motor Dealers ‘Unable To Compete’
A report by the Consumers Association says that UK franchised motor dealers cannot compete effectively against rivals in every area of business, from new car sales to servicing. When it comes to repairs and sales of spare parts, the dealers cannot match prices and performance of competitors such as the large fast-fit chains, the study concludes.
Continue ReadingNokian To Produce Commercial Tyres In The USA
Finnish tyre manufacturer Nokian has confirmed that the company intends to produce commercial tyres in the USA as soon as possible. The first products will be forest tyres, followed by industrial tyres. A spokesman for Nokian said that it had not yet been decided whether the company would build its own factory in the USA, whether there would be some kind of joint venture co-operation, or whether tyres would be manufactured in an off-take agreement. The Finnish company has been active in the US and Canadian markets for some years.
Continue ReadingFirst Take-off For “Spirit of Goodyear”
Goodyears newest Blimp has finished its first flight successfully. The blimp Spirit of Goodyear follows the Spirit of Akron which crashed last year.
Continue Reading“Goodyear, All Systems Go!”
A lengthy report of a speech by Goodyear boss Sam Gibara, in which he tells of the group’s return to the position of number one tyre manufacturer. The speech encompasses a range of subjects affecting Goodyear – the importance of the Goodyear family and the Goodyear culture, above all the importance of people. The example of Nokian Tyres is held up as, size for size, it is probably the most profitable tyre manufacturer in the world. What Nokian can do, Goodyear subsidiaries can surely do? It is important to get the right mix of products and to shorten the time to market, it is important too to be able to supply customers with what they want, when they want it, and Mr. Gibara acknowledges that, in the past, fill rates have not been all they might be. A decisive factor in Goodyear’s success will be the effectiveness of its multi-brand strategy. Other tyre manufacturers have successfully developed such strategies and Goodyear, with its own name and that of Dunlop, has two very powerful brands in its armoury. Customers differ in their driving habits and incomes and thus they need different tyres to fulfil these various needs. Goodyear has the brands to satisfy all these customers. Finally, Mr. Gibara reiterated Goodyear’s goal to be not only be the number one tyre manufacturer in the world, but the most profitable one. And then he closed the meeting. Except that he didn’t; there was no meeting and there was no speech from Mr. Gibara. The article which can be downloaded in full length as PDF file (size: 2.84 Mbyte, Adobe Acrobat Reader required) is, in fact, an imaginative piece written by Klaus Haddenbrock, outlining what Mr. Gibara could have said on such an occasion. And Mr. Gibara’s reaction? See his letter in reply in TYRES & ACCESSORIES’s April issue.
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