UK Relaunch For Kelly At Tyrexpo Europe
The Kelly brand is to be relaunched at the Tyrexpo Europe exhibition in the UK in March. Director of Kelly Europe, Chris Kisby, says that the relaunch will give Kelly a powerful presence in the price shopper market segment and a clearer identity in relation to the other group brands, Goodyear and Fulda. New products to extend the range will also be introduced at the show.
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 ReadingBridgestone Spread Safety Web
Bridgestone Firestone Inc. has launched a web-site dedicated to tire safety offering consumers the opportunity to sign up to an e-mail notification service to remind them to check their tyre pressures. According to Michael Fluck, e-business and Internet manager for Bridgestone Firestone, Many cars have longer service intervals than their predecessors. consequentially, tyre inflation levels may not be checked often enough. an e-mail reminder that its time to do so may reinforce the importance of doing this check.
Continue ReadingContinental Buys 60 Per Cent of Temic
Continental has announced that it has bought 60 per cent of auto components manufacturer Temic, subject to regulatory approval. Conti paid DaimlerChrysler (DCX) between 623 and 633 million Euro – the exact price is dependent on when the tyre manufacturer decides to acquire the remaining 40 per cent. Until that time, DCX will retain the 40 per cent shareholding. Last year Temic turned over 1.1 bn Euro and the company employs 5,800.
Continue Reading100,000 Tyre Inflation Brochures In The USA
Bridgestone/Firestone and the Tire Retread Information Bureau (TRIB) are co-sponsoring the distribution of over 100,000 tire inflation brochures at the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) Roadcheck 2001 program to be held throughout north America June 5-7, 2001. The four page brochure titled What are the high costs of low air pressure is entirely non-commercial and originally appeared in Bridgestone’s tire topic magazine, Real Answers. The brochures will be distributed by highway patrol officers at weight stations in all fifty states and U.S. territories, and all Canadian provinces and territories, as part of CVSA’s program to heighten truckers’ awareness of the importance of maintaining proper air pressure.
Continue ReadingPositive Result For Michelin’s Germany Subsidiary
Michelins German subsidiary has improved its results for 2000 in every aspect. Expectations have been more than fulfilled with an increase in turnover of 6.4 per cent to 1.75 billion Euro and a 70.2 per cent increase in profit to 57.8 million Euro. The Michelin Group as a whole has increased net earnings by 35 per cent to 438 million Euro (1999: 325 million Euro). The turnover of 15.4 billion Euro is around 11 per cent higher than the previous years figure of 13.88 billion Euro.
Continue ReadingFallout From Firestone Ford Impacts Industry
Fords Just In Time supply chain is expected to feel the effects of Fords cutback in production as the company replaces potentially dangerous Firestone tyres. The idling of three production lines will cut production by 24,000 vehicles, with a further cut to follow. Suppliers such as Lear Corp, Dana and Borg Warner are amongst those announcing reductions in forecasts due the knock-on effect of the Ford stoppages. Earnings forecasts are being affected by as much as 15 per cent according to some analysts.
Continue ReadingAuto Service – Not All The Hopes Realised
In the 80s and 90s a lot of tyre dealers invested in auto service knowing that there were limits: without employing a master mechanic for car repairs, certain works are not allowed to be carried out. But many dealers cared for the qualifications of their employees, sent them on courses in order to get the permission to do the typical works that car service stations normally do. Some tyre dealers were on their way to making a success of auto servicing. But there are also examples of diversification going in the wrong direction. Some fields were portrayed to tyre dealers as being the business of the future but which failed later: Steering wheels? The airbag killed this business. Batteries? Today most are maintenance-free. Exhausts? Better quality steel has led to better rust-proofing. Numbers of car services will decrease over the next few years, meaning that tyre dealers, independent car repair stations and licensed car dealers will have to fight much harder for the customer than they do today. Generalists, who attempt to do all the work around the car, will have to invest a lot of money in their outlets. Specialists – for example in tyres – can recommend themselves to the customers with their special services and products whereas car service stations might be overstretched regarding an increasingly complicated tyre business because of the progress in electronics, such as tyre pressure warning system. Easy solutions are not available. But it is dangerous to follow each trend of diversification, to invest a lot of money merely in order to realise one day that you have built up a new service in a specific auto part, only for the demand to wane and another part comes into focus. However, in twenty years time cars will still need tyres, and who will replace the defective tyres if not a tyre dealer?
Continue ReadingTough Time For Ford And Firestone At Congressional Hearing
Ford chief Jacques Nasser faced some tough questioning at yesterdays Congressional hearing into the Firestone tyre/Ford Explorer situation. Billy Tauzin, from Louisiana, revealed that one of the brands of tyre being used to replace the Firestones had a failure record nearly 25 times worse than the Wilderness. Nasser said that, if this was correct then well act on it. Tauzin also criticised BF Incs John Lampe of attempting to shift the blame on to Ford.
Continue ReadingWind Of Change At Goodyear
Changing climatic conditions are leading Goodyear engineers to develop tyres with greater levels of grip on wet surfaces. Precipitation levels in North America have risen dramatically in recent years, with figures climbing by as much as 15% in the US/Canadian border states. Elsewhere, storm levels have increased and seven hurricanes are expected this year. Goodyears chief engineer, Bill Egan says, Greater levels of grip on rain-slick roads can be engineered on the computer for real world conditions. Improving a tyres wet-traction capabilities is vital in these times of changing weather patterns.
Continue ReadingRecall For Nissan Too
Nissan has recalled 24,000 Japanese produced four-door Almeras which may be subject to a tyre mounting fault. During the mounting of the tyres on the wheels there may have been insufficient mounting paste used, resulting in damage to the tyre bead. The cars were produced between March and December 2000. In Germany the tyres will be tested and replaced on up to 1,470 Almeras.
Continue ReadingNon-Rubber Tyres From Goodyear In Three Years?
A partnership has been formed in the US between Goodyear and Nevada-based Amerityre to manufacture polyurethane tyres, which Goodyear says could be on the market in three to four years. Amerityre already produces urethane tyres for bicycles, lawn and garden equipment and has produced four sets of prototypes, which it has fitted to pick-ups and other vehicles. CEO Richard Steinke says that the tyres have been driven for 2,000 miles with 30 holes in each tyre. Rick Vannan, Goodyear director of advance product and process technology, says that any product will require two years of internal testing and, if urethane replaced rubber completely, 10-15 years to convert factories.
Continue ReadingRebuilding Continental: Slowed Down Or Failed?
For 125 years, Continental has been in a position to feel pleased with its identity as a tyre and rubber producer until, under the Physicist von Grünberg, it was steered on to a different course. The plan, which at first sounded sensible, i.e. to use the available human and technical resources to search for and explore technically sophisticated products, in order to present itself increasingly as a partner in development with the automotive industry. That plan suddenly changed when ITT-Teves (Bremsen Teves, from where von Grünberg had come to Continental AG), came up for sale early in the summer of 1998. Teves was acquired for about Euro 1,700 million (1998 sales Euro 1,950 million) which corresponds to 18 times EBIT. The corporation had plunged into debt and now, analysts who had at first applauded the German Corporation’s initiative, points out Continental as an ideal take over candidate, or states that, alternatively, the corporation will collapse under its debts or can be expected to be broken up. The groundwork for this article had already been completed before Continental’s boss Kessel was dismissed. This only goes to show that any speculations about the impact the terrorists’ attacks on New York, for example, may have had on the world of Continental, are totally beside the point; the decline had begun long before that.
Continue ReadingRequest To Postpone Crash Testing From Ford
Ford has asked the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety to postpone crash testing of the 2002 Explorer to allow the manufacturer to make structural changes to the vehicle. Ford is making the changes after two of its trucks received poor or marginal ratings in crash testing.
Continue ReadingUS Management Team Restructuring For Hayes Lemmerz
Troubled wheel manufacturer Hayes Lemmerz has announced a reorganisation of its North American operations into a single strategic business unit, uniting the Fabricated Wheels and Cast Wheels businesses. The new unit will be known as the North American Wheels Business. The reorganisation also involves a number of management changes and appointments.
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