Disaster For Pirelli
The tenth race of the Pirelli Porsche Cup in Spa has been called off because, during practice, the tyres showed dramatic failures. The Pirelli tyres, it was said, peeled like onions. Following failures in Silverstone, Barcelona and Monaco, Porsche felt compelled to cancel the race in the interest of driver safety. Porsche is blaming Pirelli for inferior production process and the use of faulty compounds.
Continue Reading‘Misrepresentation’ In Article Claimed By Goodyear
Goodyear claims that an article in the Washington Post entitled Explorer has higher rate of tire accidents misrepresented the role of Goodyear tyres in accidents. The article examined data from the Florida Highway Patrol used to identify potential causes of accidents and the tire-related category consisted of blow-outs and punctures. Both of these could be caused by road hazards, argues Goodyear, which has nothing to do with the manufacture and quality of the tyre. The company also says that its own claims data show no correlation between tyre performance and accidents involving Explorers.
Continue ReadingClosure Of Bridgestone US Factory “Cannot Be Ruled Out”
Quoted in the Asian Wall Street Journal, Bridgestone President Yoichiro Kaizaki said that the companys factory in Decatur could be temporarily closed, should improvements need to be made. Mr. Kaizaki also said that permanent closure of the plant could not be ruled out.
Continue ReadingJapanese Car Output Rises
Toyota, Nissan, and other Japanese motor manufacturers are reporting strong growth in global production for the first half of the year. This comes amid massive restructuring of the industry as European and American manufacturers take shares in Japanese businesses. However, the growth figures are tempered by across the board decreased in production in September, suggesting signs of a slowdown in the market.
Continue Reading“Truck Force” At The Starting Line
Goodyear has got on well with their integrated truck service concept, as stated by the group. Whereas, by the end of last year, 65 partners have been using this Goodyear service for commercialising truck tyres, the figure has currently raised up to 90, which means another step closer to the target of an area-wide service network in Germany. As estimated by Frank Titz, Manager Sales & Marketing Truck Tires at Goodyear Germany, around 150 service points will be necessary, of which 120 are already covered by their 90 partners. Because of continuing merging activities within the forwarding business, foreign markets have to be considered, too. All big freight vehicle fleets are on the road all over Europe, so that service may not end at the frontiers, Titz is explaining the motivation for the European-wide extension of the concept, named Truck Force. By the end of 2001, we want to be represented at all main international traffic arteries, either from Portugal/Spain to Scandinavia and from France versus Eastern Europe. Advantages are not only suggested for trade, but for Goodyear itself, of course. In fact, according to Titz, in Germany more than 50 per cent of all new truck tyres have been sold so far by their partners.
Continue ReadingFurther Price Increases Necessary Soon
Recently announced price increases effective from the 1st November have not been sufficient to compensate for constantly increasing costs. The Continental Group therefore sees the necessity to increase prices again. The company expect to announce rises of around four to five percent early in the new year, Jescow von Puttkamer told NEUE REIFENZEITUNG.
Continue ReadingPirelli Sells “Terrestrial Optical Networking Systems”
Cisco has agreed to buy Pirellis Terrestrial Optical Networking Systems for US$ 2.15 bn and also plans to invest US$ 100 million to take a 10% stake in Pirellis Submarine Optical Transmissions. The Photronic Business accounts for a turnover of 395 million Euros.
Continue ReadingPirelli in Motorcycle Sports
Pirelli is to be the exclusive tyre supplier to the European Superstock Championship 2000.
Continue ReadingGoodyear Sued By Customer
In the USA, Goodyear is defending a product liability lawsuit brought against the company by former customer Heatway Systems. Heatway alleges that Goodyear supplied it with millions of dollars worth of defective hoses, used in heating systems for buildings, which caused up to $2 bn of damage. Heatway has already paid $6.5 m to settle 119 claims.
Continue ReadingMichelin Open For Alliances
Edouard Michelin, CEO of the French tyre giant, can see opportunities for technical alliances with competitors, a French magazine reports. As an example, he cites the new tyre and wheel system Pax, which will be presented jointly by Michelin and Pirelli in Geneva.
Continue ReadingPirelli Buy Energy Cable Activities From BICC General
With the acquisition of the energy cable activities from BICC General for US$216 million Pirelli is strengthening its world-wide leadership in this particular business which will bring it up to US$ 3.4 billion in turnover. Their nearest competitors are Alcatel (sales - US$2 bn) and Sumitomo (sales - US$1.5 bn).
Continue ReadingCooper-Avon To Shed Jobs
Cooper-Avon has announced that it will be making 80 staff employees redundant in Europe. Locations affected are the Melksham (UK) HQ and offices in Switzerland, France and Germany. The cuts are blamed on the high level of the Pound and large numbers of imported tyres from the Far East and have been made, says Cooper-Avon, to reduce costs and increase job security for the remaining 900+ employees.
Continue ReadingRussian – Made Tyres For Conti?
An article in the newspaper Handelsblatt suggested that Continental is about to open a tyre factory in Moscow and that negotiations were close to final agreement. An investment in the region of 30 million Euros was reported. In September last year, Neue Reifenzeitung reported on negotiations between Continental and Moskauer Reifenwerke, which was very close to bankruptcy, although the financial situation may have improved as the main shareholder Yukos has sold its stake in the company. NEUE REIFENZEITUNG asked Continental for more details, but the company said it was not in a position to comment and could not confirm the figures quoted. Continental is only one of the tyre companies involved in negotiations in this area, with Michelin being another.
Continue ReadingStrength in Unity: The MFP 2000 Annual Meeting in Karlsruhe
The fifth annual meeting of the MFP partners, held by invitation of Michelin this year at Karlsruhe, had new performance standards for market progress, Markt-Förderungs-Programm (MFP), and current products as the main themes of its agenda. Approximately 500 guests had gathered under the slogan Gemeinsam am Markt erfolgreich (Successful in the Market Through Unity). Patrice Kéfalas, as spokesman for Michelin Germany’s sales management and the person responsible for the car and transporter tyre division, combined in his welcoming address the question: What added value can the MFP partner expect from the Michelin group? with a short résumé/look ahead, We have increased our car and truck tyre production capacity considerably and improved price competitiveness. Now we are vigorously investing in our high-performance tyres. We shall also rejuvenate the Kléber and Riken products and their brand images. And we are doing all this with the aim of being successful with our partners and more successful than the competition. The strength of the Michelin group with its more than ten per cent worldwide turnover growth last year also safeguards its partners’ future security, he said. Of increasing importance for the Clermont-Ferrand tyre manufacturer is the high-performance tyre market, not only because of the company’s commitment to Formula One. The market in fast tyres is booming, and Michelin is determined to emphasise its strong presence in this market with the new Pilot Primacy and Pilot Exalto. In order to be successful in the market through unity Michelin offers quite a number of solutions, which are described in the May issue of NEUE REIFENZEITUNG.
Continue ReadingDedicated Dunlop Tyre Lines Available At Goodyear Retailers
In the USA, Goodyear has announced that three new dedicated Dunlop tyre lines will be available from Goodyear and Gemini outlets. These are the Dunlop Citation, the Citation HP (both for passenger cars) and Dunlop Pioneer for 4x4 vehicles.
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