New Distributor For Westlake
Eskay Tyres, based in Sittingbourne (Kent) have been appointed sole European distributors for the Westlake brand of radial and bias-ply tyres. The range includes passenger, light truck, truck, agricultural, ATV, OTR and industrial tyres.
Continue Reading100 New Jobs At C-Tyres
Colway Tyres has been re-incarnated as C-Tyres in a management buy out backed by the Royal Bank of Scotland. The deal was created through Tait Walker Chartered Accountants and Hay and Kilner solicitors. Colway Tyres was the market leader for passenger tyre retreads, boasting sales of around 600,000 and Motorway Retreads were the third largest premium truck retread producer. The two firms together under the C-Tyres banner should have excellent prospects, said Allan Kelly of Tait Walker Corporate Finance. Managing Director Garry Oliver, Finance Director Peter Morris and Operations Director John Harrison announced that future business has already been secured with Kwik-Fit, ATS, National Tyres and Motorway/Hi-Q. The firm expects to take on in excess of 100 new employees in 2002 - including many of the skilled staff laid of when Colway closed its doors.
Continue ReadingSuperior Industries’ Wheel Production To Rise By 30 Per Cent, Say Analysts
A report from automotive analysts at UBS Warburg forecasts that aluminium wheel manufacturer Superior Industries will increase production capacity by 30 per cent by the end of next year, to 17 million wheels. This is despite a predicted slow down in US auto sales. Superior sells wheels to OEMs and 85 per cent of its business is with Ford and GM, supplying around half of their aluminium wheel requirements. The recent filing for Chapter 11 of Hayes Lemmerz is seen as a factor in the forecast production increase.
Continue ReadingFibre-Optic Cable Contract Awarded To Pirelli And Siemens
Indonesian telecommunications company PT Telkom has awarded a contract to Pirelli and Siemens for the construction of a fibre-optic network in Sumatra. The network will span Sumatra from east to west (2,000 km) and also link with the island of Batam, 20 km from Singapore. The contract, which is worth 70 million Euro, is the first for the Pirelli/Siemens partnership, which was established in May last year.
Continue ReadingBids Due In For Kumho By Tomorrow
The bids for 80 per cent of Kumhos tyre operations are due in by tomorrow and the company expects to name a final candidate by the end of the month. Press reports say that at least two bids have been submitted so far by US-based consortia. If the deal goes ahead, it will be among the largest-ever asset sales by a South Korean company to foreign investors. Earlier today, Kumhos shares rose 8.4 per cent while the overall stock market was down 0.41 per cent.
Continue ReadingSale of Kwik-Fit Becomes Increasingly Likely
Dated 8th January, The Financial Times refers to quotes from Ford top managers, Bill Ford and Sir Nick Scheele, that each part of the company is disposable, except the core business of production and sale of vehicles. Especially mentioned is the fast fit business chain Kwik-Fit, which cannot be counted as core business. Both managers expect a lot more problems for the Ford Motor Company in 2002.
Continue ReadingNTS Definitely Sold to Management
It is now official: In a MBO, the retail chain NTS and the wholesaler Viking International, have been sold to their top executives. Although neither side wishes to comment on the price, it is now common knowledge that the price is more likely to be 40 million Euro than 50 million Euro. At the end of the 80s the Continental group bought the chain from Michelin for 140 million pounds Sterling because the Monopolies and Mergers Commission signalled that it would not accept the total acquisition by the French company. Continental managers are convinced that the details of the sale will ensure further co-operation with the new owners. Continental is convinced that it will consolidate, or even improve its current position in Great Britain through co-operation with the now independent retailer NTS, under the umbrella of the now named Axle Group.
Continue ReadingRecord Sales For Continental’s Car Division
In the last business year Continental Group sold more than 60 million car tyres in Europe (including eastern European countries). Around about two thirds were sold in the aftermarket, the rest as original equipment (oe). In oe, the Continental Brand was dominant, followed by only a small volume from the other company brands. In the aftermarket the leading Continental brand made about 15 million sales, the others followed in order, Uniroyal, Barum, Semperit and the regional brands Gislaved, Viking and Mabor. General must also be mentioned in the off road sector, not forgetting house and private brands, of which Continental sold some five million pieces Europe-wide.
Continue ReadingDr. Wellen Takes Over From Bernd Frangenberg
Dr. Ulrich Wellen, the designated successor to Bernd Frangenberg, has taken over responsibility for Continental General Tire (CGT). Frangenberg will remain a member of the Executive Board until the Supervisory Board meets in April, when he will leave the company.
Continue ReadingEarnings Fall At Alcoa
Alcoa, the worlds largest aluminium manufacturer and a key player in the aluminium wheel sector, reported lower fourth quarter profits due to weakened prices and lower demand from the aerospace and transport industries. The company also posted its first net quarterly loss in seven years. Fourth quarter earnings, excluding charges, were 11 cents per share, however a 28 cent per share after-tax charge for restructuring resulted in a net loss of 17 cents per share against a net income of 45 cents per share for the same quarter in the previous year. The company is continuing with restructuring activities seeking a target cost saving of $1 billion in 2003.
Continue ReadingTalks About Job Losses At Goodyear
Union officials at Goodyears Wolverhampton plant are seeking assurances about the future employment of 1,000 employees at the West Midlands tyre plant. Transport and General Workers Union spokesman, Peter Booth, is meeting company executives to seek assurances that current employment levels will be maintained. Failure to achieve that assurance could lead to strike action, he advised.
Continue ReadingNew Pilot Race Bike Tyres From Michelin
From two wheel racing to the street: Michelin presents the new motorbike tyre Pilot Race 2 which has only the name in common with its predecessor, the Pilot Race. The new high performance tyre, available in three versions, was derived from the Michelin racing tyres used in the Supersport 600 World Championship 2001 by Kevin Curtain on his Honda CBR 600, during which he won some races and achieved some pole positions.
Continue ReadingCo-operation between Van den Ban and Inter-Sprint
Shortly before Christmas, it was announced that the two Dutch wholesalers, Intersprint and Van den Ban, were to co-operate in areas such as logistics, warehousing and transport. Under the agreement, Intersprint will purchase a number of shares from Van den Ban and it is possible that Van den Ban will buy a small amount of Intersprints shares. The founder of Van den Ban, Mr. Arie van den Ban, stressed that the amount of shares to be purchased by Intersprint has not yet been determined, but it will be less than fifty per cent. The two companies share up to 70 per cent of customers but want to continue to act independently in the market. Van den Bans managing director Simon Klapwijk and commercial director Henk van Dijk will leave the company this week; a parting which was described as amicable by both sides.
Continue ReadingReconciliation Talks Between Ford And Bridgestone
Press reports in Japan say that talks have been held between Ford and Bridgestone, regarding the resumption of business relations. The two companies confirmed that talks have taken place but would not comment on whether or not any agreement had been finalised. Further discussions are expected later this month.
Continue ReadingUS Consortium Plans To Buy Kumho Tire
The Kumho Group, by the 11th January, will be in receipt of a letter of intent to take over the tyre division. The bid comes from a duo of US-based consortia seeking to gain position as priority negotiators in the sale of the tyre division. One consortium is led by Carlyle, the other by Goldman Sachs. Kumho aims to sell around 80 per cent of its interest in Kumho Tire for about $1.5 billion (1.67 billion Euro).
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