Changes in Goodyear Management
Edward T. Fogarty (62), former Chairman, President and CEO of Tambrands, Inc., has been elected to the twelve-strong board of Directors of The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Comp. After 37 years of service James Boyaziz (63) will retire on July 31, his responsibilities as Corporate Secretary will be assumed by C. Thomas Harvie (57), who is currently Senior Vice President and General Counsel.
Continue ReadingStock Exchanges Are Losing Trust In Tyre Industry
After profit warnings from Goodyear, and from Michelin, the tyre industry is losing credit and trust at stock exchanges all over the world. Continental has now also been downgraded from buy to Market perform.
Continue ReadingMIRS Introduced By Pirelli
Pirelli recently invited journalists and analysts to its factory at Bicocca, Milan in order to see first hand the company’s new manufacturing process MIRS (Modular Integrated Robotized System). MIRS reduces the steps in tyre manufacturing from 14 to 3 and a tyre can be produced every three minutes. Tyres are built round a special drum, with the instructions given to the robots (the process is totally automated) through a barcode. The tyres are said to be more uniform and consistent. As well as its speed and flexibility, MIRS has the advantage of compactness and a line capable of producing 125,000 tyres a year can be sited in an area of a mere 350 square metres. Pirelli Chief Executive Marco Tronchetti Provera said that Pirelli will invest 50 million Euro over the next three years in 80 MIRS lines, increasing output by ten million tyres a year. Two of these lines will be located at Pirelli’s Burton-on-Trent factory in the UK, concentrating on SUV and 4x4 tyres. Burton stopped making tyres in 1994 and the news is a welcome change for the UK tyre manufacturing industry. It is a large factory, and there is ample scope for more MIRS lines to be added in the future, should this be Pirelli’s strategy. The figures associated with MIRS are truly impressive; investment costs are lower than for traditional factories and the minimum economic batch size has been reduced from 3,200 units to 375. The time taken to change sizes comes down from 375 minutes to 20. Workforce productivity is increased by 80% and MIRS uses less energy than a ‘normal’ plant. The manpower needed is significantly reduced too – it is estimated that 850 staff will be needed to produce the proposed ten million tyres. There is one other figure which, in these days of competition and falling prices, is even more interesting – a MIRS tyre is 25% cheaper to produce than a conventional tyre.
Continue ReadingSuccessful Dunlop Cloverleaf Comes To An End
Dr. Volker Wingefeld (49), Finance Director of Dunlop GmbH, is leaving the company within the next few weeks to join the board of Buderus AG, responsible for finance. Dr. Manfred Gerresheim (61), board member responsible for technical development and Robert Schäfer (61), chief executive of Dunlop, are considering leaving at the end of this year. The Dunlop management team is completed by its fourth member, Hans-Jürgen Wagner and, during the 90s, was very successful, turning in several record profits in a row.
Continue ReadingJohn Lampe to lead Bridgestone/Firestone USA
Bridgestone/Firestone USA has announced John Lampe as successor to outgoing Masatoshi Ono. John Lampe steps up from the number two position to lead the largest subsidiary of the Bridgestone Group. The announcement was made official at a company press conference in Nashville on 10th October.
Continue ReadingHigh Brand Recognition For Goodyear During Recall
In a survey in the US, it seems that OE pull-through is an important factor and that the tyre recall has – according to Goodyear – stimulated interest in tyres. Before the recall, 36.7 per cent of respondents said they would choose Goodyear tyres and 21.4 per cent Firestones. During the recall, these figures changed to 55.2 per cent and 4.1 per cent respectively.
Continue ReadingControl Of Thailand Joint Venture For Michelin
The Siam cement Group is to reduce its shareholding in the Michelin Siam Group from 50 per cent to 40 in order to concentrate on its core business. The shares will be purchased by Michelin, the other partner in the joint venture, giving it a 60 per cent stake. Michelin Siam has three factories in Thailand, plus a tyre mould making plant and a steel cord factory. The company makes Michelin brand tyres for vehicles from motorcycles to aircraft.
Continue ReadingEncore – A New Michelin Service For Fleets
Michelin has introduced a new initiative in the UK, aimed at supplying a single source, total tyre life package for fleet customers. Called Encore, the new service introduces a retreading facility for Remix tyres and the possibility of retreading new tyres from competitors. The retreads will be branded Encore and will only be available for fleet customers and not on retail sale. Further details are available in November’s TYRES & ACCESSORIES. The company has made ‘substantial’ investments at Stoke-on-Trent, including a new, independent retreading facility, in an attempt to woo fleet business. Encore will only be available to those customers who buy Michelin tyres as new, as the whole aim of the scheme is to increase sales of new Michelin tyres. For fleet customers, product alone is no longer enough, as they are demanding more in the way of services and tyre management. Encore gives Michelin a greater measure of control and enables the company to offer a ‘new to scrap’ tyre management service.
Continue ReadingBrazilian Carbon Black Plant For Degussa Hüls
German company Degussa Hüls is building what it says will be one of the most modern industrial carbon black plants in the world at Paulinia, near Sao Paulo, Brazil. Production will begin in early 2002 and initial annual capacity will be 60,000 tonnes. Degussa Hüls says the new site will strengthen its role as a global partner of the rubber industry.
Continue ReadingManagement Changes At Yokohama GmbH
Junichi Okishima, who has been managing director of Yokohama Germany for five years, is returning to Tokyo at the end of this year to take up new challenges within the group. His successor will be Noria Karashima.
Continue ReadingVredestein Offers Sportrac As A ‘Collector’s Item’
With a limited production of only 2,000 units in the single size 205/55 R16, Vredestein is offering a Millennium Edition of the Sportrac with a specially-produced sidewall. It is anticipated that the tyre will become a collectors item.
Continue ReadingViborg Gets Take-over OK
The Viborg Group/Dorana has been given the go-ahead to take over Gummi Mayer by the European Competition Authorities.
Continue ReadingBridgestone’s Excellent EBIT Margin
Despite the fact that the EBIT is down 5% and the net profit down 15% compared with 1998, Bridgestones EBIT Margin of 11.3% of sales is the highest among the major players in the tyre market.
Continue ReadingChange of rights for Tyrexpo Asia
E.C.I. have confirmed the acquisition of the rights to the Tyrexpo Asia exhibition from Tarsus Exhibitions.
Continue ReadingA New Road And Track Tyre From Cooper-Avon
Cooper-Avon has announced the launch of a newly developed road and track tyre, the CR500, which will be fitted to Caterhams new Superlight R500 model. The tyre has been jointly developed by Cooper-Avon and Caterham and is heavily influenced by Avons radial tyre racing success.
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