German Tyre Components Factory To Close
It has been announced that the former Kleber tyre factory at St. Ingbert in Germany will close at the end of June next year. The factory began making tyres in 1970 and ceased tyre production in 1994. Since then it has manufactured tyre components such as textile fabrics and rubber mixings. 200 jobs will be lost and the closure is part of the Michelin Groups on-going restructuring programme to improve competitiveness.
Continue ReadingATS Moves To Birmingham
In the UK, ATS Euromaster has announced that Birmingham City centre will become home to its new National Administration & Finance Centre, creating over 150 jobs in the process. Commenting on the announcement, Roland Combes, Managing Director, said: We want to develop our strategic base in the city of Birmingham to complement our state-of-the-art Customer Service Centre in Aston. The new facility means we will be able to provide seamless operational support for our centres, whilst continuing to deliver the best possible service to our growing UK customer base.
Continue ReadingWilson Retires As MD of Bridgestone/Firestone UK
Jim Wilson, Managing Director of Bridgestone/Firestone UK since 1995 has retired to return home to the USA. Wilson joined Firestone in 1965 and has worked overseas since 1967. His position will be held by marketing director Chikuma Otsuki until further notice.
Continue ReadingTurnaround for Dunlop Africa
African tyre maker Dunlop has seen a turnaround in its fortunes, turning a loss of $18.3 million (20.23 million Euro) into a profit of $25 million (27.64 million Euro) in the first half of the year. Sales have increased by 52 percent from $577 million (637.85 million Euro) to $879.6 million (972.31 million Euro). Developments at Bulawayo and Harare, new radial tyre ranges and the development of the Common Market for Southern Africa indicate that the improvements should continue for the foreseeable future. Kenyan tyre chain Kingsway Tyres has signed a deal with Dunlop to the exclusive distribution rights to Dunlop tyres and tubes. Dunlop hopes the move will bring its products closer to the Kenyan market.
Continue ReadingGerman Acquisition For Watts
Watts Industrial Tyres has strengthened its European operations by the acquisition of Kollenbach, of Rheinberg, Germany. Said Jean-Paul Mindermann, MD of Watts-Industrie Reifen: We had outgrown our own premises in Langenfeld and the Kollenbach acquisition has enabled us to double our operation in the Ruhr area.
Continue ReadingReferendum For Michelin’s 27,000 Workforce
Under the new French employment laws Michelin are to hold a referendum of its 27,000 French employees on the establishment of a 35 hour working week. The proposals include a reduction of the working year by 15 days, a 5% pay increase for the coming year and inflation linked increases for the following two years, more flexible working patterns and includes the employment of another 1,000 workers. According to Michelin the offer is more generous than that dictated by the recently introduced regulations for a 35 hour working week. The referendum will take place on the 25th January and is part of French government proposals to reduce unemployment.
Continue ReadingEarly Retirement Offer From Goodyear
In the USA, Goodyear has offered an early retirement package to 700 white collar workers, around 8.5% of the white collar staff. Workers have until the middle of January to decide whether or not to accept the offer.
Continue ReadingInternet Usage Inefficient
According to research from Deloitte & Touche, businesses are not making the best use of Internet trading facilities. Most, they say, concentrate only on the supply chain element of their e-trading. According to the Deloitte & Touche report a full integration of the demand chain and supply chain, from basic supplier to consumer, offers greater shareholder value, increasing profitability by up to 70 percent.
Continue ReadingAcquisition In The Automotive Field Planned By ThyssenKrupp
Last year there were rumours concerning a possible hostile takeover bid for Continental by ThyssenKrupp. However, ThyssenKrupp was not able to bring its steel subsidiary company to the stock exchange as planned and it seemed that the acquisition pressure had been halted. On January 15th, the ThyssenKrupp management mentioned during a press conference that they are planning a bigger acquisition in the automotive field. No further details were made available.
Continue ReadingNo Co-Operation Between Eustex and ETRA
The planned co-operation between the European Scrap Tyre Exchange (Eustex) and the European Tyre Recycling Association (ETRA) will not now take place, said Michael Laasch, Managing Director of Eustex. At the beginning of December, Eustex had shown interest in a costless internet co-operation between the two organisations. Laasch had suggested the provision of an ETRA-News button on the Eustex Webster. In return, ETRA would recommend the use of Eustex to its members.
Continue ReadingVW Sets Aside DM 1bn For ELVD
The European End of Life Vehicle directive (ELVD), due to come into force in 2007, has threatened to be expensive for car manufacturers. Just how expensive is shown by press reports that Volkswagen has announced that it will be setting aside DM 1 bn in order to comply. BMW has already set aside half this figure and Daimler/Chrysler up to DM 400 m. Other manufacturers are expected to wait until next year
Continue ReadingNew Face At Simex Europe
Raof Daud, Managing Director of Simex Europe, is leaving the company after almost nine years in the post. He is going to Lec Refrigeration (like Simex, a member of the Sime Darby group) in a senior sales capacity. Taking over at Simex Europe as General Manager is A. K. Lee, who was previously Export Manager, based in Malaysia.
Continue ReadingFleet Contract For Bridgestone/Firestone UK
Bridgestone/Firestone UK has won the contract for the sole supply of tyres to the BRS commercial vehicle rental fleet. The fleet consists of around 3,000 vehicles, ranging from 3.5 tonnes to 44-tonne tractor units and will now follow a policy of using Bridgestone new and retread tyres. The three-year contract was won against fierce competition and it is the first time that BRS has used a single tyre supplier. The contract will be serviced through Truck Point, the 220-depot organisation of independent tyre dealers established by Bridgestone/Firestone UK.
Continue ReadingTyre Recall Ends In Divorce
As if last years voluntary recall of 6.5 million Firestone tyres in the USA had not caused enough damage, the Japanese-owned tyre manufacturer is facing another crisis. May 21 Bridgestone/Firestone was severing all its business connections with Ford. That was it, the 100-year relationship was over, Bridgestone/Firestone had had enough and this was goodbye. It certainly seemed a drastic step to take, but the reason became apparent the next day, when Ford announced that it was recalling 13 million Firestone tyres; an exercise that would take nine months and cost the company up to $3 billion. This is a cost that Bridgestone cannot afford and the company has indicated that any demand from Ford to help with the costs would receive short shrift. Press reports say that Ford President Jacques Nasser has a statistical study which shows that Firestone Wilderness tyres fail three times more often than the industry average. Bridgestone/Firestone suggests that the Explorer design is to blame; something which Ford strenuously denies, saying that Explorers sold with, for example, Goodyear tyres, have had no tread separations. As far as John Lampe of Bridgestone/Firestone is concerned, the company has no obligation to participate in a further recall. In a statement, he said; No-one cares more about the safety of the people who travel on our tyres than we do. Bridgestone President Shigeo Watanabe gave the reason for splitting from Ford, saying that the new recall, coming on top of last years exercise, would have been a life or death matter for Bridgestone/Firestone. Later on, he played down fears that not supplying Ford would have a marked effect on Bridgestone/Firestone, saying that, at most, the group would lose 1.5% of its sales worldwide. On the plus side, freed from the need to be polite to a major customer, Bridgestone/Firestone can now say what it thinks about the part played by the Explorer in the accidents and defend itself more vigorously against the still-vocal consumer and pressure groups, not to mention the lawyers, of course. John Lampe, who wrote to Jacques Nasser, outlining Bridgestone/Firestones reasons for severing business relations with Ford: Business relationships, like personal ones, are built upon trust and mutual respect. We have come to the conclusion that we can no longer supply tyres to Ford since the basic foundation of our relationship has been seriously eroded.
Continue Reading31st Award For Kwik-Fit Fleet
Kwik-Fit Fleet has picked up its 31st award since the company began in 1987. This latest accolade comes from the Institute of Transport Management, which named the company Best European Fast-Fit. ITM has selected KFF as the UKs best fast-fit for the past six years.
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