Bandag Buys Stock
Bandag has agreed to purchase over 1.5 million of its shares from Lucille A. Carver, widow of the companys founder and mother of current President, Chairman and CEO Martin Carver. Mrs Carver was a director of the company from 1957 until May this year and the sale reduces the voting power of the Carver family from 78 per cent to around 64 per cent. The total purchase price is $40,183,636.
Continue ReadingGoodyear Eagle Tops UK Test
Goodyears Eagle F1 high performance tyre came top in a test of eight premium brands, organised by UK specialist motoring magazine EVO. Drivers rated the tyres in a series of 11 tests over five days - all the tests were conducted blind - and the Eagle F1 attained the highest aggregate score as well as winning outright the wet and dry braking categories and coming joint first in the wet lateral test.
Continue ReadingMichelin OE Decision Affects US Business
Michelin recently took the decision to abandon OE orders from GM Europe as the company wants to concentrate on OE business in the more lucrative high performance segment. Michelin said that its North American business with GM is not affected (Michelin is GMs second largest tyre supplier, with the Uniroyal, BFGoodrich and Michelin brands) but it now appears that GM North America does not want to consider Michelin for future OE projects.
Continue ReadingKwik-Fit Sale Before Factory Closures
In an interview with German newspaper Handelsblatt, Nick Scheele, President of Ford Motor Company, said that the sale of the Kwik-Fit chain was in its final phase and would provide a cash injection for the car maker. Scheele also announced that there would be a number of factory closures (both the number and locations were unspecified) in autumn 2003.
Continue ReadingHayes Lemmerz Sells Schenk Foundry
Hayes Lemmerz has announced the sale of its Schenk foundry, sited at Maulbronn, Germany, to Metallwerke Kloß GmbH (MWK), for an undisclosed sum. The light metal foundry produces parts for, among others, the automobile industry and employs 300 staff. MWK has four locations in Germany, plus plants in Hungary and Spain, and employs 650 people.
Continue ReadingPirelli To Retain Commercial Tyre Business
Following speculation over the last year, Pirelli has confirmed that it is retaining its Commercial Vehicle Tyre Operation, and that this sector will now be headed up by Alberto Pirelli in Milan. Chairman, Marco Tronchetti Provera, said: Pirelli is in the best position to manage and develop its assets, as demonstrated by its improved performance against major competitors and given the Groups ability to finance its own growth, there is no necessity for any sale. Restructuring within the Pirelli Group and its new three-year plan show good prospects in terms of profitability and cash flow.
Continue ReadingCredit Rating Cut For Goodyear
In the USA, Moodys Investors Service became the second credit-rating organisation this year to downgrade Goodyears credit rating. Weak sales, and the prospect of little improvement this year, were the main reasons given. The cut means that Moodys have reduced Goodyears credit rating to junk status.
Continue ReadingPossible Closure For Goodyear Mould Factory
There is uncertainty over the future of Goodyears mould factory at Stow, in the Akron area. The plant has been operating at around 30 per cent capacity, producing mainly moulds for experimental and motorsports tyres. There are 117 hourly-paid workers at Stow, who have been notified that the plant is likely to close. Goodyear has upped mould production to lower wage-earning factories in order to cut costs. Talks between management and unions last week broke up without agreement.
Continue ReadingNew RV Tyre From Goodyear
Goodyear has responded to the increasing number of recreational vehicles (RVs) by introducing a tyre specially designed for such vehicles, the G670 RV Unisteel. There are an estimated nine million RV owners in the USA and Goodyear members of its Truckwise commercial vehicle tyre service network in the special requirements of RVs.
Continue ReadingProfits Up For Beru
Beru AG has published results for the financial year ending 31st March. Sales topped 300 million Euro for the first time (303.1 m Euro, compared to 276.5 m the previous year). After-tax earnings were up 27.7 per cent at 42.4 million Euro (33.2 m last year). The increase was due mainly to growth in diesel cold-start technology and tyre pressure monitoring systems. This latter product group saw sales rise by nearly 60 per cent to 10.7 million Euro.
Continue ReadingMay European Car Sales Fall
Sales of new cars in Europe during May fell by 8 per cent to 1.29 million vehicles; the largest drop for fifteen months. Of the five biggest markets, only the UK showed growth, while sales in Germany declined 14 per cent, Italy down 11 per cent and France down 8.6 per cent. The German figure was influenced by strikes at a number of car plants during May. Industry experts describe the west European car market as being in the doldrums and some predict that it will continue to fall until next year.
Continue ReadingTripling Investment In South Africa
Bridgestone/Firestone is to triple its investment in South Africa to around 15 million US dollars. Chairman Takashi Wada states that this is part of a drive to build market share and improve exports. There are expectations of increased OE business with Ford, GM, Toyota and BMW. The aim is to make the South African operation the third largest in the Bridgestone portfolio.
Continue ReadingThree Tyre Companies In Europe’s Top 500
The Wall Street Journal Europe has published a list of Europes top 500 companies, ranked on value of sales last year. Tyre manufacturing is represented by three companies. These are Michelin (number 118) with sales of 15.77 billion Euro, Continental (158 - sales 11.23 bn Euro) and Pirelli (217 - sales 7.50 bn Euro). To put this in perspective, the number one-ranked European company was BP, which had sales of 197.8 bn Euro.
Continue ReadingJoined Up Government?
UK papers have carried news that the government has decided that the last owner of a vehicle will be liable for the disposal costs at the end of vehicle life, at least until 2007. This counters the concept in the Producer Responsibility document on waste tyres that the cost of disposal should lie with the source of the tyre - the manufacturer or the distributor - this to minimise the point of contact for accountability, and ensure that the correct route to disposal is accounted for. There are fears that placing the burden of disposal directly on the end user will lead to an increase in the number of dumped cars. Alternative financing systems are being considered for post 2007. The ELV statement comes from the Dti, which is also the source of the Producer Responsibility document on waste tyres.
Continue ReadingPirelli looks toward Brazil
The European Investment Bank is evaluating a proposal to fund up to $39 million USD toward the modernisation of a Pirelli tyre plant in Brazil - Pirelli Pneus S.A. The Brazilian subsidiary has drafted a $136.6 million USD plan to add radial production capacity to its 25 year old plant in Feira de Santana plant.
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