Tyrexpo Europe Review
This years Tyrexpo show was held only a matter of weeks before a rival exhibition, being run alongside an already-successful aftermarket exhibition. It would be naïve to believe that the existence of two shows so close together has had anything but an adverse effect on both events, and the fear was that the tyre industry would be the loser if we had two bad shows. The total number of visitors to Tyrexpo Europe was a disappointment, but many of the exhibitors expressed themselves satisfied with the quality of visitors. Opinions were polarised – some were happy, others not, some said that the UK needs a dedicated tyre show, others were not so sure. One thing on which all were agreed is that we cannot afford the same two-exhibition situation in two years time. Our review covers exhibitors reactions – warts and all.
Continue ReadingWilliams-BMW Successful Because Of Michelin Tyres
Formula 1 Champion Michael Schumacher believes that the secret of the Williams-BMW team lies in the Michelin tyres. Michelin seems to have done a good job so that Williams-BMW has become competitive, the Ferrari driver told La Gazzetta dello Sport, during team testing in Mugello. I would have thought that Bridgestones advantage would have lasted longer, said the German, who has Bridgestone tyres on his Ferrari, whereas brother Ralf uses Michelin tyres on the Williams-BMW.
Continue ReadingExpansion Of Production For Goodyear, Michelin
In the wake of the Firestone recall, Michelin says it has tripled tyre production in the USA as well as shipping thousands of tyres from Europe. A special customer service centre is handling 8,000 calls a day. Goodyear plans to provide more than half of the tyres replaced because of the recall and has increased production of Ford-approved tyres tenfold. The company has increased shipments to 9,000 outlets, including company-owned stores, independent tyre retailers and Ford dealers.
Continue ReadingNew Danish point S Members
Danish group Dek Ringen, with 31 members and 35 outlets, has joined the European point S network. The cooperation already had 700 outlets in France, Germany, Italy, Belgium and The Netherlands. The European Tyre Coordination Committee (ETC) coordinates all activities of point S members across Europe.
Continue ReadingSUVs Come Under Fire In The USA
It is not only the Ford Explorer that might show a tendency to rollover in critical situations; the US Consumer Report has revealed through its own tests that the Mitsubishi Mondero (known in Europe as the Pajero) shows a tendency to lift two wheels in critical situations. That, according to the magazine, is not acceptable and is a safety problem. Mitsubishi denies that there is any safety problem at all.
Continue ReadingQuarterly Dividend From Goodyear
Directors of The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company have declared a quarterly dividend of 30 cents a share. The dividend is payable September 17, to shareholders of record August 17. The payout represents an annual rate of $1.20 per share.
Continue Reading“Essen-Motor-Show 2001” – On Course For Growth
The Essen-Motor-Show is putting its foot down! After the record exhibition in 2000 (with 394,800 guests, 12.4 percent more visitors), it has been accelerating once again: the range on offer, which already covered many diverse aspects of automobiles and related products, became even wider in 2001. A total of more than 550 exhibitors, including the leading automobile manufacturers, presented what was on offer on the global market in 18 exhibition halls. Special emphasis was placed on the sporty and individual vehicle models as well as on the wide range of vehicle accessories. Current racing vehicles from all motor-sport categories, including a large number of this seasons Formula-1 cars, supplemented the range on show, where all the major players, almost without exception, were represented. Many exhibitors had booked larger booth areas. Other automobile manufacturers who had not exhibited their makes before had announced their participation in the Number 2 of all German vehicle fairs. Because of the greater demand for exhibition space, the exhibition management had therefore decided to provide an additional large hall for the Automobiles and Tuning exhibition sections. VDAT – Verband Deutscher Automobil-Tuner e.V. (the Association of German Automobile Tuners) had also intensified its involvement in the Essen-Motor-Show 2001. VDAT members presented themselves exclusively in the VDAT Halls 5, 10 and 11 which were designed with a salon character.
Continue ReadingHow Kraiburg Regards the Future Of Retreading
Even before the dramatic changes in the worldwide economy after September 11th, the retreading business, as well as its suppliers, was facing hard times. Reduced demand, increased competition and price pressure characterised the depressed market. It was not unusual for material suppliers to experience a decrease in their third quarter results of around 20 percent. Uncertainty, pessimism and negative forecasts represented the collective mood in wide areas of the business. But Kraiburg, the Geretsberg (Austria)-based retreading supplier, is swimming against the stream and reports stable economic results and new strategic activities to meet future market challenges. Kraiburgs turnover in 2001, up till end October, is just half a percent below the companys performance for the first ten months last year. In addition, an agreement for a joint venture with the Bulgarian company Zebra was finalised in October. Since 1997 the Sofia based company Zebra has produced thin and light tread patterns which would have been uneconomic to produce in Austria. Kraiburg has invested around one million Euro in Zebras tread pattern production and 95 percent of the joint venture shares belong to Kraiburg. Within the next two years the Bulgarian production will be increased from 800 to 1,800 tons per year – using the same machinery and equipment.
Continue ReadingAgritechnica 2001
Agritechnica is the largest agricultural exhibition in Europe and the 2001 event was held in Hanover from 13th to 17th November. This year’s show area has increased by 4% to a total of 196,000 square metres and more than 1,300 exhibitors from 30 countries showed their goods and services. The exhibition showcases the latest advances in technology for modern agriculture, including tractors, other agricultural machinery, accessories and spare parts. Included in these are tyre manufacturers who offer agricultural tyres, with such famous names as Continental, Goodyear, Michelin, TWS and Vredestein, among others. Agritechnica usually proves a great draw for those involved in agriculture; this year with 247,000 visitors 9.5% more came through the doors than two years ago, 34,000 of these coming from 100 countries outside Germany, and similar levels were expected this time around. The November date for the show is well-timed, as this is the time of year when many farmers are planning their investments for the coming season.
Continue ReadingAgricultural Tyre Market: 2001 has been a difficult year
The world-wide market for agricultural machines and tyres is has been characterised by a rationalisation processes over several years. The leading competitors in the tyre sector (Michelin-Group, Trelleborg Wheel Systems (TWS), Continental and Goodyear) have more or less completed repositioning themselves in the market. The widest multi-brand variation has been attained by the Michelin-Group, which covers with its four brands (Michelin, Kleber, Taurus and Stomil) all price-segments and applications. However, the development of this tyre segment cannot be viewed in isolation. It is influenced and defined by a number of fundamental and mutually connected parameters. These are: · the general economical development of the agricultural sector, · the changing structure of the German agricultural sector since reunification, · seasonal influences/aspects (e.g. weather conditions) and · sales, numbers and specifications of agricultural machines (especially tractors). In Germany fewer and fewer farming companies have concerns about a permanently increasing average area of land - a trend that can be observed throughout the rest of Europe. At the same time agricultural machinery is becoming more powerful, larger and faster, and the tyre manufacturer has to produce a product that can cope with these demands and yet remain gentle on crops to ensure maximum yield. In the first half of the year 2001 the already decreasing number of machinery sales found an additional seasonal reason in the sinking investments of the farmers, due to the BSE and the FMD-crisis. The increased cost-consciousness of the farmers became obvious in an trend towards cheaper brands. In the second half of the year the tyre market recovered a little bit from its bad results in the first six months but the overall negative figures could not be overcome completely so that ultimately a five percent loss was expected, compared to the previous year. This meant a total number of 220,000 tractor tyres sold in Germany (radial: 143,000 pieces).
Continue ReadingDunlop Record Growth in 1999
Dunlop GmbH (Hanau) expects further turnover and profit increases in the 1999 tyre business. Turnover will rise by almost ten per cent over the previous year to 1.64 billion marks. The pre-tax group profit will be significantly above the 1998 level of 133 million marks. The good business development is due to consistently strong demand for Dunlop tyres both in original equipment and in replacement. High winter tyre sales figures also contribute to this development, representing approximately 20 p.c. in Dunlop’s total German production. Dunlop 1999 winter tyre sales will probably have gone up by 16 p.c. over 1998. Since 1994 Dunlop GmbH has doubled its car tyre sales. During the last few years the Hanau tyre manufacturer has made progress in the high-performance tyre segment far above the market average, and the company operates a profit-sharing scheme for its employees. Against the industry trend, the Dunlop payroll has increased by almost 21 p.c. since 1991, with the number of people working for Dunlop GmbH at the end of November 1999 reaching almost 5,000. If one leaves out the former subsidiary Dunlop TECH, which ceased to belong to the contributing members of the Dunlop GmbH group in the middle of last year, the figure is similar to that of the previous year.
Continue ReadingFirst Prize For Conti Teves
A. T. Kearney and the weekly magazine Produktion held a competition for the best factory of the year. 80 plants were nominated and the winner of the first prize for outstanding manufacturing processes was the Conti Teves factory in Rheinböllen, which produces brake components.
Continue ReadingRenault On The Expansion Trail
Renault is negotiating with Samsung Motors, of South Korea, to buy the latters Pusan plant (production capacity 200,000) for Euro 400 million. Renaults daughter company RVI, made an offer to Daewoo to buy its truck operation (production capacity 20,000) and bus operations (production capacity 6,000 units) for Euro 700 million. Renault has already bought a 37% stake in Nissan for around Euro 5 billion and the new plans will bring the companys investment in Asia to more than Euro 6 bn.
Continue ReadingAt Last The Number One Again – “Goodyear, All Systems Go!”
Imagine the scene; Goodyear chairman Sam Gibara addresses an audience of 144 leading managers from around the world, telling them of Goodyears ambition to be not only the worlds biggest tyre manufacturer, but also the most profitable. He tells them of the reasons behind the Dunlop joint ventures and spells out the goals for which the Goodyear family has to strive to achieve the companys aims. What lies in store for Goodyear? Does size matter? What changes are needed in management attitudes, distribution policy and brand strategies if Goodyear is to be the best? How important is the adoption of a mullet-brand strategy in the various world-wide markets? These and other thought-provoking questions are discussed at length. As we said earlier, imagine the scene. The truth is there was no meeting in Hawaii and Mr. Gibara did not make the speech - but he certainly could have. The article can be downloaded in full length as PDF file (size: 2.84 Mbyte, Adobe Acrobat Reader required).
Continue ReadingBridgestone Aims To Gain Market Shares In Brazil
Japanese tyre manufacturer, Bridgestone is going for more market shares, especially in the truck tyre segment. This could effect the market leader Michelin, who has about 30% of the market. Bridgestone is also increasing the prices in Brazil for the replacement market by 8% and the OE market by approximately 10%. The only option to the price increase is to walk away from a losing money business.
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