Conti Management “Welcomes” Clairoix Court Decision
Continental’s decision to close its Clairoix factory in France was met with allegations the company had failed to correctly consult employee representatives beforehand, as required by French law. The plant’s joint works council instigated legal action against Conti, however these claims were dismissed by The Tribunal de Grande Instance (high court) of Sarreguemines on April 21. “Our Continental France subsidiary was ruled to have acted correctly throughout in informing and consulting with the members of the joint works council. We take the occasion of this court decision to emphatically reaffirm that Continental AG has consistently respected and complied with all legal stipulations,” declared Dr. Bernhard Trilken, in charge of worldwide production for the Continental Passenger and Light Truck Tires division.
Continue ReadingTyrexpo Asia 2009: “We have no Hesitation”
“In these hard times we are very happy that…” – So begins the organiser’s summary of Tyrexpo Asia, which during its seventh running attracted 2,985 visitors (a decrease of 5 per cent on the last time) and 135 exhibitors (an increase of 8 per cent) within an exhibition space unchanged from 2007. While these figures highlight how the exhibition developed, they only show a single snapshot. The sense of increased hesitation to spend money on travelling to and exhibiting at a show was in line with what one would expect in the current market situation. But what bare numbers do not depict is ‘visitor quality’, something that both the organiser and exhibitors noted to be “superior to very good.” Furthermore, Tyrexpo Asia also provided an ideal platform for tyre wholesalers and their suppliers.
Continue ReadingBright Puts Bridgestone Tyres on Hybrid
The new “green” concept vehicle from Bright Automotive will come equipped with Bridgestone brand tyres. The Bright Idea, a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle that the producer claims will reach 100 mpg, will feature Bridgestone Turanza tyres. Once in production in 2013, Bright Automotive plans to produce 50,000 of the cars, which will roll on Bridgestone Ecopia radials. (Tire Review/Akron)
Continue ReadingProviding Integrated Solutions
During the planning of a factory’s layout and manufacturing processes, the integration of process automation solutions and software at an early stage maximises cost and time savings for the customer. Rockwell Automation, a global leader in the supply of industrial automation power control and information solutions, is collaborating with German company TTC (Technical Tire Consulting) in order to do just that – deliver reduced integration costs, optimised capacity availability, safe product quality and ensured traceability. When Tyres & Accessories met with representatives from both companies during February’s Tire Technology Hamburg exhibition, they explained exactly how tyre industry customers stand to benefit.
Continue ReadingMulti-Platform Promotions Coming from Toyo
Toyo Tire USA has launched its new brand awareness advertising and promotion push for 2009. The effort includes all-new TV and print ads, as well as POS kits dealers. Toyo’s new 30-second TV ad, entitled “People Who Know,” features a Toyo dealer explaining the value of Toyo tyres, including the brand being voted the number one overall tyre brand for seven of the last nine years in Tire Review’s annual Tyre Brands Study. The spots will run during NASCAR events on ABC and ESPN2, NHL playoffs and Stanley Cup finals on NBC, and the shows Pinks on Speed, Modern Marvels on the History Channel, and American Chopper on TLC. The commercial is also online at http://toyotires.com/about-us/tv-commercials. The new print ads will run throughout the year in publications like Motor Trend, Car & Driver, Road and Track, and Automobile, as well as niche publications like Truckin, Dirt Sports, Car Craft, Hot Rod, Modified, and D Sport. The new dealer POS kit entitled “Natural Selection” is “loosely based on the Darwinian theme ‘only the fittest survive,’” said Toyo, and touts its light truck, high performance and luxury touring products. As in previous Toyo POS promotions, dealers can submit a photo of their store display to enter a contest to win prizes such as a mini HD video camera. (Tire Review/Akron)
Continue ReadingFreewheelers Volunteers to Ride on Avon Tyres
Cooper brand Avon Tyres has agreed to supply motorcycle tyres to the Freewheelers Emergency Volunteer Service, a registered Charity which provides emergency out-of-hours medical transport throughout the West Country. Freewheelers’ fleet of marked-up Yamaha FJR1300s, often referred to as “Blood Bikes”, provide lifesaving transport for urgently-needed items such as blood (as the name suggests) test samples, patient notes, X-rays and medical supplies. Avon will supply Storm-ST tyres, while JHS Racing at Keynsham will service Freewheelers’ duty bikes as well as fit them with the brand new rubber.
Continue ReadingMichelin Delivers a Le Mans 24 Hours One-Two Win
Following an eight-year absence, Michelin has marked its return to motorcylings Endurance World Championship with a one-two finish in the 2009 Le Mans 24 Hours on April 19. The French manufacturer came back to the series this year alongside Yamaha Austria Racing Team, winner of this weekends race in France, and with the factory Honda that finished on the second step of the podium. The 32nd edition of the Le Mans 24 Hours, notes Michelin, was marked by particularly taxing weather, including non-stop rain throughout the night from Saturday to Sunday. Paradoxically, it adds, it was these extremely slippery conditions that enabled the top two teams to pull clear of their rivals – and Michelin attributes this ability to its tyres, developed especially to provide all-important grip on cold, wet tracks.
Continue ReadingHankook Covers Europe With the BBC
Hankook Tire is set to arrive in millions of homes across Europe courtesy of a new advertisement to be screened by BBC World News. The 20-second commercial, produced by the BBC Worldwide Client Solutions, focuses on Hankook’s enfren and Optimo 4S tyres, the first of which is due for its European launch next year. The new campaign will run on BBC World News’ European feed from April to December 2009 in conjunction with Hankook’s global TV clip. “It’s great to welcome Hankook Tire as a first-time advertiser on BBC World News, and we hope that it will be the first of many campaigns they choose to broadcast on the channel,” commented John Williams, regional director Global Advertising Sales, BBC World News.
Continue ReadingTrelleborg Fined US$11M for Cartel Involvement
Sweden’s Trelleborg Group reports it has reached an agreement with the US Department of Justice regarding investigations involving marine fenders and marine oil hoses. These investigations, Trelleborg adds, commenced in 2005 and 2007 respectively, and it has been awaiting a decision from the authorities “for a lengthy period.” The agreements entail that the two Trelleborg Group subsidiaries in question shall pay a combined fine of US$11 million to the US authorities. The agreements are to be approved in court. The Group’s French subsidiary has previously paid close to $2 million in damages to aggrieved customers as settlement of a class action, which concerned Trelleborg and other companies, for alleged illegal price fixing concerning marine oil hoses.
Continue ReadingKumho Wins US Tyre Test Plaudits
Korean manufacturer Kumho’s US division has been awarded two “Best Buy” recommendations by US magazine Consumers Digest following the publication’s latest round of tyre tests. The Solus KR21, an all-season tyre made primarily for coupes and sedans and the Ecsta STX, a tyre for sports utility vehicle and light truck drivers, were given the gongs in the Touring Cars and Performance SUV categories based on independent test results in addition to technical expert opinion and road-based evaluations. Rick Brennan, Kumho Tires vice president, sales and marketing stated, “all of us at Kumho are excited about the recognition these tyres have received. Earning Consumers Digests “Best Buy” award is a key indicator of Kumhos pledge to value and performance.” The awards add to the company’s previous success in Europe, where British consumer magazine Which? told its readers that the company’s Solus KH17 represented “Exceptional Value”.
Continue ReadingMalhotra Growing in the Radial Business
Not many companies successfully negotiate the transition from retreading to the new tyre industry. India’s Malhotra Rubber Ltd., however, is one such firm. The company began producing cold cure retreading materials more than fifty years ago, but it was only in the late 1970s that it began the manufacture of new tyres. Much later, some five years ago, the Indian company entered the radial market with a commercial vehicle tyre intended for the domestic market. Despite this, the company’s offering in European markets continues to focus on the supply of cold cure retreading materials, which are sold under the ‘Malhotra’ brand name. The company stressed at Tyrexpo Asia that it also supplies materials for the as-yet not widespread Indian mould cure retreading industry – a line-up that includes bonding rubber and repair patches.
Continue ReadingTurbulent Times for Conti’s Dr. Nikolin
Dr. Nikolin, responsible for both Continental AG’s passenger tyre and commercial vehicle tyre divisions since the departure of Alan Hippe, is in the bad books with a sizeable chunk of the company’s workforce. He is, of course, the man who recently simultaneously announced the closure of two facilities – the first in Clairoix, France and the second in the company’s home city of Hanover, Germany. Since this time the road along which he’s travelled has been, to put it nicely, a little bumpy. High-level politicians both in France and Germany, with the saving of jobs in mind, have grabbed hold of the issue. The blame for the planned closure of the Clairoix facility can’t really be pinned on Nikolin; this was already in the pipeline at the end of last year. But regardless of whose decision it was, the response from Paris is that the French President, a popular target for demonstrations during his two years in office, really can do without further news like Conti’s in the Paris region. Sarkozy’s economic policy is geared towards enhancing the country’s competitiveness, and amongst other measures this includes a future extension of weekly working hours. Such increased demands on the French workforce have also come from management at Continental, and have to a large extent already been implemented – around two years ago workers agreed to a longer working week to boost production when demand was high. Yet the very clear signals coming from “French politics” in recent times appear to have been enough to make Hippe hesitant and relegate the matter to the backburner for the time being. Vehement protests now seem to be inevitable. It looks like Continental will at any rate have to weather serious damage to its image in France, and perhaps there is nothing it can do about it.
Continue ReadingRubber Estimates Suggest Price Decreases on Horizon
New figures published by the International Rubber Study Group of Singapore suggest that the rubber price rebound of 42 per cent over the past four months is coming to an end. The Group estimates that tyre manufacturers’ sales will see a slump of 6.8 per cent in 2009, in line with the general worldwide decline in the figures of the automotive industries. 67 per cent of global output was used in the manufacture of tyres in 2008, making the industry the biggest consumer of natural rubber. Top exporter Thailand is about to increase its supply following its seasonal drop, with prices at $1,530 per tonne – 18 per cent higher than oil-based alternatives – says Bloomberg. The financial news source quotes Goodyear spokesman Keith Price’s assertion that the company would be able to convert 20 per cent of its rubber consumption to synthetic alternatives “without impacting tyre performance”. The manufacturer is keen to enhance its ability to cut costs through synthetic substitution, a sign – alongside increased supply – that natural rubber costs may be on the verge of a downturn.
Continue ReadingChina Provides Optimistic Rubber Counterpoint
China has increased its rubber imports from 180,000 tonnes in the first two months of 2009 to 190,000 in March, Bloomberg has today reported. A rise of 10 per cent in automobile sales year-on-year (according to figures from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers) has led to the rise following government subsidies. Incentives to the industry Japan, Germany and France are also offering incentives. Bloomberg suggests that any revival in rubber demand from recovering car sales may be mitigated as tyre-makers switch to cheaper oil-based alternatives. The mix of synthetic to natural rubber in tyres is roughly 60 to 40 per cent, said Lawrence Orlowski, an analyst at S&P Equity Services in New York. Usually about 5 to 10 per cent of a tyre’s material can be switched, he said. (Tire Review/Akron)
Continue ReadingMaxxis Extends Football Sponsorship to Liverpool
Following its sponsorship of Everton, Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur, Maxxis has signed a deal with Liverpool FC to display its branding at Anfield until the end of this season (2008-09). The new partnership offers Maxxis worldwide exposure using the LED perimeter advertising system at the stadium for against Arsenal (21 April), Newcastle (2 May) and Tottenham Hotspur (24 May), in addition to the victory over Blackburn Rovers 11 April. The partnership package includes prominent Maxxis Tyres advertising on Liverpool FC’s official website the UK’s most popular football website with 1.6 million registered users and up to 2.9 million unique visitors per month. “The Barclays Premier League title run-in will be very close so we are delighted to have the opportunity to raise awareness of our brand at Liverpool FC games that will not only be sell-outs, but which will also be the main focus of TV’s football coverage for the remainder of the season,” said Maxxis Tyres UK’s managing director Derek McMartin.
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