Service Centre For Michelin’s Agricultural Tyres
In Karlsruhe Michelin has introduced an Agricultural Service Centre for the three agricultural tyre brands Michelin, Kleber and Taurus. All questions from German customers regarding use and sale of tyres as well as mounted wheel and tyre systems will be answered.
Continue ReadingStrong Car Sales In USA
Sales up till July seem to be in line with last years strong performance. Ford is one of the winners, GM is stagnating and Chrysler heavily losing market share. BMW, Porsche and some of the Japanese and Korean car manufacturers are performing particularly well.
Continue ReadingNew Trailer Tyre Offered By Continental
Continental has introduced the trailer tyre size HTR 385/55 R 22.5 for heavy trucks in regional traffic. The HSR tyre in the same size for steer axles will be available from this autumn.
Continue ReadingNet Earnings From Bridgestone Decline Sharply
Bridgestone has announced a sharp decline in net earnings for the first half of this year, which were US$ 178 m. The reason for the decline is the voluntary tyre recall in North America. Sales were down 4.8%, reaching US$ 9.35 for the first half year. The decline in the tyre sector was 5.9% and that in the non-tyre sector was only 1%. Operating profit fell by 7.6% to US$ 890 m. Interestingly, operating profit in the most profitable country, Japan, climbed once more, but operating profits in the Americas and Europe were well down.
Continue ReadingFirst Stop in Germany
First Stop is a partnership program of Bridgestone/Firestone Europe in cooperation with independent tyre dealers. The chain started five years ago in Scandinavia and Great Britain and now numbers about 1.100 Outlets in sixteen European countries. All the First Stop dealers have the same corporate identity with a black, grey and red livery. In Germany, the First Stop concept started one and a half years ago with perhaps 30 Outlets, based on the experiences gained in the other European countries and successful marketing measures at Germanys Bridgestone/Firestone own chain A3. Nowadays First Stop has 75 service stations all over Germany and plans for the end of 2000 to reach hundred - representing between 80 and 90 dealers. Marketing and advertisement support is part of the First Stop concept as well as training in technical, business administration and sales aspects. The efforts of the Bad Homburg headquarters also include car servicing (shock absorbers, brakes, exhausts and oil) which is not very strong at many German tyre stations. Also the cooperation guarantees benefits in the purchase of workshop equipment and other parts such as wheels. The dealers can also participate in a three phase tyre offer for cars (for trucks Bridgestone/Firestone developed the Truck Point system): the premium brand Bridgestone, the well known brand Firestone in medium segments, and FST 2000 tyres. FST 2000 is a car summer tyre in nearly 30 sizes from 135/80 R13T up to 195/50 R15V, produced only in Europe and exclusively distributed through its First Stop partners who need an offer for the end user who is more price-conscious. And of course the worlds leading rubber company guarantees best quality. Now Bridgestone/Firestone has added First Stop Winter to complete the program for the dealers. Details can be found in issue 10/2000 of NEUE REIFENZEITUNG.
Continue ReadingRenault Recalls Kangoo Model
French car manufacturer Renault has recalled 25,000 of its Kangoo cars, equipped with Kléber tyres, due to quality problems with the tyres. It is expected that Kléber will release further details shortly.
Continue Reading2002 Explorer “Will Not Have Firestone Tyres As Standard”
A report on BlueOvalNews, the alternative website for Ford users, says that Ford has reversed its earlier decision to make Firestone tyres standard on the new 2002 Ford Explorer and Goodyear and Michelin will be fitted as OE.
Continue ReadingGreater Share Of Australian Cable Co. For Pirelli
Pirelli Group, already 51% shareholders in Pirelli Cables Australia Ltd is making a take-over bid, offering 52.7 European cents per share. Pirelli claims that the offer represents a 66% share premium to the average share price in the past month, 46% against the last three months. Liquidity, according to Pirelli is low, with only two shareholders owning 70% of the stock.
Continue ReadingJoint Venture Between Autobytel And Continental
Tyre manufacturer Continental intends to engage itself more in the e-business arena – especially on the B2C (Business to Consumer) level. The company has therefore decided to begin cooperation concerning tyre distribution with autobytel.com, an independent US-American internet-platform which offers a complete car service to its customers covering the complete life cycle of the car. Working together with tyre retailers, a complete service package will be offered to customers. All retailers interested in this project will be given the opportunity to participate, even if they do not possess the necessary infrastructure at the moment. The two companies explained during a press conference in Frankfurt what they are going to do. Continental is initially investing about 15 million Euro, most of it for the creation of a tyre portal. At present the whole project exists only on paper but Continental wants to arrange the basics of this project by the end of February 2001, and the operative start is planned for autumn 2001. During the press conference, Conti CEO Kessel underlined his interests in working closely together with the professional tyre trade.
Continue ReadingYokohama Restructures To Face The Future
A year ago, there were rumours that Yokohama was seeking an alliance with Michelin. TYRES & ACCESSORIES recently visited the company and, in addition to factory and R&D facility visits, interviewed the President of Yokohama Rubber Company, Mr. Yasuo Tominaga. Mr. Tominaga spoke of the companys wide-ranging restructuring plan and whether a company the size of Yokohama can survive alone in a global market dominated by the big three manufacturers.
Continue Reading“No U-Turn On Job Cuts”, says Edouard Michelin
Edouard Michelin has confirmed that Michelin will go ahead with plans to reduce its European workforce by 10%, referring to the initiative as not just a cost-cutting plan or headcount reduction. It is a productivity plan that has an upside of speeding up growth. In the same interview, Edouard Michelin said that tyre industry consolidation was not at an end. Michelin, he said, will eventually have to make some kind of link, alliance, or even acquisition in Asia. He also suggested that medium-sized tyre companies will either merge or join the club of the large companies.
Continue ReadingFire At Michelin Warehouse
A fire started at a Michelin raw materials warehouse which is dedicated to Michelins largest plant at Clermont-Ferrand, where 5,000 people are employed.
Continue ReadingOE Contracts For Bridgestone
Nissan has chosen Bridgestone Potenza RE040 tyres for the limited edition (200 for sale in the UK only) R34 version of its Skyline GTR. The Skyline was the first production car to lap the 14-mile Nurburgring circuit in under eight minutes. Bridgestone has also been chosen as exclusive OE for the six-litre Aston Martin DB7 Vantage Coupe and Vantage Volante cars. The tyre in question is the Bridgestone S-02.
Continue ReadingSpeedline Truck
The division Speedline Truck supplies the major truck manufacturers in Europe and North America. In future the range will include flow-formed wheels - for trucks Speedline uses this technology exclusively, which has the effects of reduced weight and improved mechanical properties.
Continue ReadingMichelin Factory For India
Following a recent feasibility study, Michelin has announced that Bangalore is the most likely site for a new manufacturing plant, as various producers have factories in this region. Other cities being considered are Pune and Baroda.
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