US Success For German Cars
US auto sales in 1999 reached 17.4 million; a 9.1% increase over 1998. Audi car sales rose 39% to 65,959, Porsche sold 17,243 cars (+21%) and Mercedes 189,437 (+11.3%). Chrysler only achieved an increase of 5.1%.
Continue ReadingTyre Safety Check
During the so-called tyre safety month organised in Germany for May 2000 motorists are offered a free tyre check. Several associations (DVR, BRV, ADAC, ACE, DEKRA, TÜV etc.) are involved in this initiative as well as ten tyre manufacturers.
Continue ReadingMichelin Subsiduary Reduces Workforce In Poland
Michelin subsiduary Stomil-Olsztyn has announced that it will be reducing ist workforce by 120 people during this year. At the same time, a further 70 full time employees have reverted to part-time. Stomil-Olsztyn are located in the regions of Warmia and Mazury in northern Poland and employ around 4.000 workers who produce passenger, truck, light truck and agricultural tyres as well as tyre fabrics and curing moulds.
Continue ReadingMetzeler Honoured For Environmental Efforts
Pirellis German motorcycle tyre plant Metzeler has been accredited with ISO certification 14001 for environmental efforts.
Continue ReadingW.d.K.Announces Price Increases
The Wirtschaftsverband der Kautschukindustrie (German association of tyre and rubber manufacturers) is pointing out the necessity of price increases as soon as possible to offset ongoing increases in raw materials costs (rubber, oil, carbon black).
Continue ReadingGerman Car Producers Profit From Positive US-Market
Once more German Car Producers were successful in the USA becuase DaimlerChrysler, VW, Audi, BMW and Porsche have increased their shares of the worlds biggest car market in April. Leader in the growth rates is the VW-brand Audi with an increase of 43.7 p.c. The complete US car market grew 10.9 p.c. in April.
Continue ReadingCooper’s First Quarter Sales Higher Than Expected
Cooper Tire has announced higher-than-expected sales for the first quarter of the year. One explanation is increased selling activity by tyre dealers, trying to beat Aprils price increase of 3% to 5%.
Continue ReadingJoint-Venture Continental Teves And Nisshinbo
Continental Teves (51%) and Diversified Japanese company Nisshinbo Industries(49%) have brought together their activities in brakes and systems around the wheel in order to supply the Japanese and Korean markets.
Continue ReadingMIRS Tyres Produced In Milan
The first production line utilising MIRS technology (Modular Integrated Robotized System), was unveiled by Pirelli chief Marco Tronchetti Provera at an international press conference on 11 July at the companys Bicocca factory. The MIRS process is managed entirely on-line. In the next three years, four more MIRS plants will be opened in Germany, the UK, the USA and the Far East, representing an investment of 500 million Euro (excluding building and servicing costs). Total production capacity will be 10 million HP and UHP tyres a year.
Continue ReadingNew Arrangements For Bergougnan Distribution
After having acquired Monarch (USA), Bergougnan (Belgium) and Vorwerk (Germany, now Rotatec) the new parent company Trelleborg Wheel Systems has re-arranged the distribution in several countries. After changes in France and Italy now the German partner Wenzel-Industrie has exclusive distribution rights for the Bergougnan brand, which, up to May, it shared with Industriereifenkontor Lüdtke.
Continue ReadingHalf Year Loss Reported By Nokian Tyres
Following Goodyear and Michelin, Nokian Tyres has released its half year figures. Sales rose 25% over the same period last year to reach 152.2 m Euro but operating profit fell from 5 m Euro to a loss of 1.5 m Euro. Net profit was also negative at -4.1 m Euro. One cause was increased raw material prices (rubber, oil, carbon black) up 8% over last year. Despite the loss, Nokian is broadly on track because, as a Scandinavian company, it generally makes huge profits in the second half of the year.
Continue ReadingRacism At Goodyear Warehouse?
At a Goodyear warehouse in North Brunswick (N. J.) members of the all-white management discriminated against black employees, The Akron Beacon Journal reports, quoting court documents and statements of two Goodyear managers. The eleven workers have been in court for two years in order to get more than 100 m US-$ compensation for discrimination. Goodyear has denied the claim.
Continue ReadingNet Earnings From Bridgestone Decline Sharply
Bridgestone has announced a sharp decline in net earnings for the first half of this year, which were US$ 178 m. The reason for the decline is the voluntary tyre recall in North America. Sales were down 4.8%, reaching US$ 9.35 for the first half year. The decline in the tyre sector was 5.9% and that in the non-tyre sector was only 1%. Operating profit fell by 7.6% to US$ 890 m. Interestingly, operating profit in the most profitable country, Japan, climbed once more, but operating profits in the Americas and Europe were well down.
Continue ReadingNew Exhibitor Record For Automechanika
Automechanika – the International Trade Fair for Car Workshop and Service Station Equipment, Automobile Spare Parts Accessories – has set a new exhibitor record: 3,909 exhibitors occupied all of the approx. 300,000 square metres of indoor and outdoor exhibition space to present their latest products and technical innovations. The almost three percent increase in exhibitor numbers was the result of growth in the number of German exhibitors. 67 percent of all exhibitors came from outside Germany. The top five exhibitor nations were Germany and Italy, followed by Taiwan, the USA and Great Britain. The exhibition ran from 6 to 10 September 2000 and Messe Frankfurt welcomed around 150,000 trade visitors from all over the world during the five days of the fair, where exhibitors took many orders and transacted a lot of business. In contrast to this positive attitude at the trade fair, the background situation of the market does not look that good: The car boom of previous years came to a sudden end this year. The EU-Commission in Brussels is thinking about ending the exclusive distributor networks of car retailers. Parallel to this the car manufacturers - especially Ford and Mercedes-Benz – are restructuring their distributor networks, which means that they are reducing the number of their retailers. The pressure on the suppliers exerted by the car producers continues to increase and as a result they are showing a stronger interest in the aftermarket business. Furthermore Goodyear/Dunlops daughter company Pneumant was the fist tyre producer for several years to have a booth at the Automechanika. However, it is doubtful that this is the first example of a growing trend, as the Reifen exhibition, central event of the European tyre world, was held just a few months ago and it is to be considered that - in contrast to the alloy wheel business - the target audience of the tyre manufacturers is most probably not those who attend the Automechanika. In NEUE REIFENZEITUNG 10/2000 we review the show.
Continue ReadingPrices For Precipitated Silicas And Silicates Increase
Degussa-Hüls AG of Frankfurt/Main will again increase prices for precipitated Silicas and Silicates from their European operations effective from November 1, 2000 by 8 %. These products are used as an active filler or carrier in a variety of different applications, e.g. tyres. Degussa-Hüls has an annual capacity of more than 240.000 tons at seven production sites.
Continue Reading
