Latest Truck Initiatives From Michelin
In June, Michelin UK appointed Thierry Martin as Commercial Director – Truck and, in an exclusive interview with TYRES & ACCESSORIES, he spelled out the latest efforts of Michelin to woo customers in the competitive truck tyre market. The emphasis has switched from merely supplying product to providing a comprehensive service for customers. A good example is the Michelin Euro Assist breakdown programme, where customers with tyre problems in any of 17 countries across Europe can dial one number for 24-hour help. Today’s service advisors aim to significantly cut costs for customers across the total package and double digit savings are not uncommon. Michelin’s technical advisors monitor maintenance and diagnose problems in order that the customer gets optimum usage from his tyres. Of course, in a fixed-price contract, increasing tyre life benefits the manufacturer too. The importance of the service element was underlined when Michelin won the contract to supply tyres to Transamerica Trailer Leasing (which has 21,000 trailers in its European fleet) for the next five years. The clinching argument was not the price, but the availability of service and back-up across Europe. Michelin has extended its Michelin Business Advantage (MBA) scheme, originally aimed at car tyre customers, to truck tyre buyers. MBA is a scheme whereby independent customers and Michelin sit down together to discuss how they can work together to improve the service on offer to customers, thereby benefiting all three parties. This leads to what Thierry Martin describes as a win, win, win situation.
Continue ReadingFord Award For Hankook
The Ford Motor Company in Dearborn has bestowed its Q1 award on Hankooks tyre plant in Taejon, which produces light truck tyres for Ford. The factory is located 130 km south of Seoul and produces 65,000 passenger car and light truck tyres daily.
Continue ReadingStatistics Query Firestone as Cause
According to the Washington Post, the Ford Explorer has a higher than average accident rate compared to other SUVs. The report was based on statistical analysis of national and Florida state crash statistics. The report suggests that there is evidence that there may be a vehicle related problem contributing to the accidents.
Continue ReadingHigh Brand Recognition For Goodyear During Recall
In a survey in the US, it seems that OE pull-through is an important factor and that the tyre recall has – according to Goodyear – stimulated interest in tyres. Before the recall, 36.7 per cent of respondents said they would choose Goodyear tyres and 21.4 per cent Firestones. During the recall, these figures changed to 55.2 per cent and 4.1 per cent respectively.
Continue ReadingTalks On Future Of Nissan UK Factory
The future of Nissans plant at Sunderland, UK will be decided by the company in. It hinges on whether the plant is chosen to build the new Micra, but Chief Operating Officer and President Carlos Ghosn has hinted that costs may force the group to make the car in France or Spain.
Continue ReadingCost-Cutters Instead Of Architects – Goodyear Facing The Year 2001
There was much celebration when Goodyear announced its joint venture with Dunlop, designed to make the group the biggest in the world. Since then, things not been going according to plan, with Goodyears share price plummeting. A new president has been appointed and an in-depth article in our January issue which can be downloaded in full length as PDF file (size: 1.20 Mbytes, Adobe Acrobat Reader required) argues that the group desperately needs to reorganise and change the way that decisions are made, to get closer to the market and to re-define areas of responsibility. An increase in size has brought inflexibility and a slowness to react, which is stifling the companys chances of future growth. Our article suggests one possible solution to this problem, but it is one which will involve a radical change of philosophy and methods of operation.
Continue ReadingTyre Experience Lands Testing Job
Former F1-Minardi driver Marc Gene has become a test driver at the BMW-Williams team due to his extensive experience in testing new tyre developments. BMW-Williams will start on Michelin tyres next season.
Continue ReadingGoodyear Supply Problems Continue
Goodyears fill rates in the USA remain low. Dealers are very unsatisfied and are making their opinions strongly known.
Continue ReadingPirelli: Investments In Telecommunications And Internet
According to Italian financial analysts Pirelli will use the US$ 2.15 bn received from the purchase by Cisco of their Terrestrial Optical Networking Systems for investments in telecommunications and the Internet.
Continue ReadingNew Managing Director at Vergölst
Frank Jung (40) will take over as Managing Director at the Conti subsidiary Vergölst, following the departure of Andreas Scheiba. Jung was previously responsible in-house for the German tyre replacement business at Continental.
Continue ReadingMelber back again
Italian brand Melber had to leave the German aftermarket for alloy wheels last year. In co-operation with Euro Consulting and sales manager Josef Holder the company is now planning a relaunch of the brand in the German market.
Continue ReadingPacific Dunlop Announces Drop In Net Income
The Australian Conglomerate, Pacific Dunlop Ltd., cannot reach its income figure from 1998 of A$ 188m. In the first half of 1999 the company reached a net income of A$74.5m compared with A$ 101.7 million for the first six half of 1998.
Continue ReadingMorgan with SmarTire
The Morgan Motor Company has decided to fit the new Morgan Aero 8 with the tyre pressure control system SmarTire. The 260 km/h top speed Aero 8 will have no spare tyre fitted.
Continue ReadingBMW Chief Milberg Does Not Convince The Press
It seems that BMWs CEO Joachim Milberg may be close to being dismissed. The German magazine stern reports that the major shareholder - the Quandt family - has lost confidence in Milberg due to his mis-handling of the problems associated with daugther company Rover. The BMW boss also left many questions unanswered at a press conference on 17th March. For example, he and his colleagues neglected to mention the planned sale of Land Rover to Ford. Milberg also responded with no comment to the question why had three colleagues been forced to leave the company over the Rover fiasco when Milberg himself and the boss of the Supervisory Board Doppelfeld had been the ones responsible? The Quandt family owns over 40% of BMWs shares and they have said that they would never entertain a take-over bid for the company. In the light of recent events, many people are sceptical of such statements.
Continue ReadingPirelli With Great Ambitions in Africa
Pirelli’s truck tyre division generated a 1999 turnover of 466 million Euro and an EBIT of approximately 38 million Euro (eight per cent of turnover). For the current year the division has set itself the firm target of breaking the 500-million-euro barrier. The commercial vehicle tyre business accounts for almost 20 p.c. of Pirelli’s tyre turnover, in which the truck tyre factory in Alexandria/Egypt plays a key role. (The group also has commercial vehicle tyre production in Settimo Torinese/Italy, Izmit/Turkey and Santo André/Brazil). The enterprise started in 1990 with a mere 11 p.c. Pirelli participation in the 150 million dollar investment. And even that was not in hard cash but in know-how about building a new truck tyre factory and research and development data for the product. Other investors were local, both private and public finance consortiums. As Egyptian legislation was liberalised, it became possible for the Italians to increase their share to 60 p.c. by capital raising measures and to take the industrial leadership. Only two years after the start of building the first truck tyre was produced at the Alexandria factory. In 1995 the annual capacity was 100,000 truck tyres, today 330,000. In two investment stages capacity is to be increased to 550,000 tyres in the short term and to 800,000 tyres per year by 2003. But the plans do not only involve volume growth; new products are also part of the project, for instance the tubed tyres FG85 and TG85 for on/off application in Africa and the Middle East, introduced on the Truck Tyre Day 2000. The total investment plan is for 140 million Euro. Currently only a third of the truck tyres produced in Alexandria go to export, but in future exports will account for about half the output. Read more in NEUE REIFENZEITUNG 5/2000.
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