890 To Go At Pacific Dunlop
As part of its major restructuring, Pacific Dunlop is to close two Victoria-based tyre plants in Australia. The move is aimed at ensuring the future of South Pacific Tyres and will result in 890 job losses – 820 at the factories and 70 in management and back-office positions. Olympic Tyres Ltd has confirmed that it has secured continuous supply of Olympic Tyres, supplied by South Pacific Tyres. Olympic distribute SPTs agricultural, off road and construction tyres throughout the UK and much of Europe.
Continue ReadingNew High Performance Winter Tyre From Marangoni
Marangoni Tyre has extended its Meteo ESC Winter tyre range with the introduction of four new sizes. These are a 14-inch, T-rated size, two 16-inch, H-rated tyres and a high performance tyre, size 225/45 R17 V, aimed at high-level saloon cars. This is the first V-rated Winter tyre in the Meteo ESC range, which now consists of 24 sizes.
Continue ReadingIntroduction Of Eurofleet Messenger
The first edition of a newsletter from Eurofleet has appeared. This is a joint venture between the large German tyre dealer group Team-Reifen-Union and Bandag. Eurofleet plans to create a complete network of 400 service providers in 2,000 different locations and will focus on large European fleets.
Continue ReadingThe Influence of Tyre Tests On Sales Figures In The Retail Business
The tyre tests appear normally twice a year in spring and in autumn. Millions of people at least notice them, and among these many even study them very intensively. The topic discussed here is the tyre tests which appear regularly every year in the big end consumer-oriented automotive magazines in Germany. Their judgement has a significant impact on the consumers. The tyre manufacturers know this for a fact and promote positive test results in their advertising campaigns. A note as very recommendable, for example, serves as a kind of award, which has a strong convincing effect in the tyre retail shop. However, if the product fails in all important magazines the result will be the opposite and the whole thing can end in disaster. Tyre manufacturers fear these situations, specially when they have introduced a new product to the market. Tyre retailers use positive test results often as an additional argument in a sales discussion with the customer. There is just one small problem: the exact influence of tyre tests on sales in the retail shops – in the sense of knowing the precise percentage of customers who buy a special tyre just because of the test result – is very difficult to measure. But there are some qualitative characteristics of tests that can be found out without problems:Tyre tests have a different relevance and coverage. The effect of tyre tests on customers is of a limited time – especially in the winter-season. The sell-in of the retailer is just as influenced indirectly (backwards) by tyre tests. Experiences from the previous tests play a role. The influence of winter tyre-tests is regarded as much higher than those of summer tyre tests by retailers and customers. Tyre tests have an effect on a certain segment of customers: people who are already concerned about the problem of safety.
Continue ReadingFour Wheel Steering From Delphi
Delphi Automotive Systems launched a pre-production four wheel steer development named Quadrasteer today. The system will improve turning capability at all speeds and stability at high speed. The electronic system is claimed to reduce turning circles by up to 20%.
Continue ReadingLe Mans: Bentley Starts With Dunlop
As announced at the Detroit Motorshow, the new Bentley EXP Speed 8 will be exclusively equipped with Dunlop tyres for the 2001 Le Mans 24 hour race. This renews a 70 year old motorsport partnership. For many years the tyre brand has had a strong connection with Le Mans: exactly half the total number of winners have driven on Dunlop tyres.
Continue ReadingMichelin Plant In Trier/Germany In Question
The Michelin plant in Trier where the Group produces wire and bead core has come under the microscope. The management is guaranteeing 300 jobs out of the present 330 for this year only and is raising the question whether or not production of wire etc. is still a core business.
Continue ReadingEuropean Distribution Centre in Rotterdam Opened By Hankook
Hankook has in the past announced on more than one occasion its intention to improve capacity and focus chiefly on Europe. A concrete decision has not yet been made, Jung Rak Chey (Managing Director Europe Regional H.Q.) told the press in Rotterdam in March. He thinks that a factory in Europe seems most likely, but locations in North America or acquisitions in South East Asia are possibilities. Hankook could achieve further successes in European original equipment – the company is already a supplier for the Ford Transit – and Jung Rak Chey talks of negotiations with Volvo and Volkswagen. If a supplier does not have a factory near the customer, then the logistics have to be so efficient that it should seem that such a factory exists. The European Distribution Centre (EDC) opened in Rotterdam is impressive in size, and Hankook itself calls it a milestone in the companys history. Capacity of the warehouse is 300,000 passenger car tyres, 20,000 light truck tyres, and 20,000 truck/bus tyres. Also, 250,000 car batteries are on storage, some of which were already filled in Korea but a filling station also exists in the EDC. Hankooks target is to deliver its customers with three million tyres and one million batteries annually from the EDC. The EDC will supply 35 countries, from Finland to Portugal, from Iceland to Russia.
Continue ReadingStrategic Alliance Among Auto Aftermarket Companies
Four companies – SKF, Tenneco Automotive, TRW and Valeo – have signed a memorandum of understanding to develop plans to enhance the services offered to their European automotive aftermarket customers. The companies will investigate opportunities to share skills and resources in the fields of training, technical support services and logistics, especially transportation. The four companies will remain independent. Any alliance between the companies resulting from the initial investigation will be subject to the necessary government approvals.
Continue ReadingLoss-Making Goodyear
The groups turnover fell from US$ 3.66 bn (1st quarter 2000) to US$ 3.41 bn for Q1 this year. Last year the group achieved earnings before taxes of US$ 80.3 million; this has turned into a loss of US$ 48.2 million. Earnings after tax fell to a loss of US$ 46.7 million. Despite these poor figures, analysts – especially from Deutsche Bank – have confidence in Goodyear, which is based on the hope that the effect of the disastrous Firestone recall will create a big advantage for first brands, and is also based on the assumption that price increases will stick. Last but not least, Goodyear has said that its on-going restructuring programme will lead to further significant cost reductions.
Continue ReadingNew Director For Goodyear
James M. Zimmerman (57) has been elected to the board of directors of the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. He joins the company from Federated Department Stores Inc., where he was chairman and CEO, and has extensive experience in retail. It was also announced that Katherine G. Farley, senior managing director of Tishman Speyer Properties Inc., has resigned from the Goodyear board after three years service.
Continue ReadingMichelin’s Creditworthiness Rated BBB+ By Standard & Poors
The credit rating agency Standard & Poors has given Michelin a long term corporate credit rating of BBB+ with stable outlook and a short-term rating of A-2. This rating compares favourably with that of other actors in the tyre business and of industries close to this sector of activity.
Continue ReadingAircraft Tyre Deal Between Boeing And Simex
Malaysian tyre manufacturer Simex Aircraft Tyre Company has signed an agreement to supply Boeing with radial tyres for the 777. Although Simex began aircraft tyre production in 1975, this will be the first time that the company has made radial aircraft tyres and production will begin next year. Simex has named Sumitomo Rubber Industries of Japan as its technical partner in the two-year deal.
Continue Reading“Sportec M-1” To Replace Metzeler’s “ME Z3”
With the arrival of the Sportec M-1, Metzeler has launched its latest motorcycle tyre which is planned to replace the ME Z3. The international press was invited to Biarritz, France, to take a close look at the new tyre designed to meet the niche between the race oriented Racing tyre and the touring targeted ME Z4. The M-1 is dedicated to the customer with a sportier riding style. The Sportec M-1 will be available from the beginning of October in five front wheel dimensions and six real wheel sizes. With a 0° steel-belted carcass and the multi-curvature tyre contour allied to the so-called MAW system (Metzeler Advanced Winding), or with the new compound and tread design, Metzeler has done a great deal to guarantee more enjoyment and safety for motorcyclists using the new Sportec M-1. Metzeler say that prices for the new tyre will match the market requirements, we can only guess what distribution manager Holger Schwedt means by that. Obviously Metzeler want to offer the Sportec M-1 below the price of its predecessor, the ME Z3, in order to minimise the advantage to its competitor, Bridgestone, who – if you look at market shares – came very close to the German market leader in recent years. We are no longer seeking to simply retain a stable market share, we wish to fight for more, explained Schwedt.
Continue ReadingTyreCheck 2001 In Germany
In the course of this years TyreCheck in Germany during May, 1.3 million cars were checked (previous year 200,000). 4 per cent of tyres had a tread depth below the 1.6 mm minimum, while another 15% had tread depths near to 1.6 mm. The TyreCheck, which was also carried out in other European countries, is designed to increase awareness of tyre safety. The German tyre dealers association (BRV, Bundesverband Reifenhandel und Vulkaniseur-Handwerk) described the participation of its members as disappointing, but the car testing organisations (TUV, Dekra, GTU) demonstrated a very high level of involvement.
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