Conti Names Commercial OE Account Manager
Continental Tire North America has named Wyatt Hamilton its key account manager for original equipment sales in the commercial vehicle tyre division. Hamilton is based in CTNA’s North American headquarters in Indian Land, South Caroline, and will service truck and trailer manufacturers for the eastern USA and Canada, said Tom Fanning, CTNA’s director of OE sales for the Americas. Hamilton was previously a key account manager for aftermarket tyre sales and has been with Continental for five years. “Wyatt’s expertise in commercial tyre sales will assist us with increasing our OE sales in these key territories,” said Fanning. “His overall knowledge of the Continental brand will be invaluable in providing excellent service to our existing manufacturing partners, as well as developing new relationships that support our growth strategy.” Hamilton, a native of Charlotte, is a graduate of North Carolina State University and holds a bachelor of science degree in business management. (Tire Review/Akron)
Continue ReadingYokohama Kicks Off Dealer Training Program
Dealers across the USA will get a chance to test many of Yokohama’s tyres – including the all-new ADVAN Neova AD08 – in a series of 10 specialized training programmes beginning this month. Cities on the 10-city training tour include Los Angeles, Las Vegas, San Antonio, Texas, Orlando, Atlanta, Pittsburgh, Detroit, Kansas City, Memphis and Albuquerque. The ADVAN Neova AD08, an updated version of Yokohama’s ADVAN Neova AD07, will be available in the US in May in 32 sizes ranging from 15 to 19 inches. (Tire Review/Akron)
Continue ReadingBlue is New Green for Canadian Tire
Following the success of Canadian Tire’s 2008 “Buy a Bulb, Plant a Tree Campaign,” Canadians can again help the environment by purchasing an environmentally-friendly Blue Planet product and having a tree planted in their name. The promotion will take place from 11 April to 8 May at Canadian Tire stores across Canada, in partnership with Trees Ontario. Like the 2008 campaign, it is expected that the Blue Planet Program will result in the planting of an additional 100,000 trees. “Together with our customers, we are part of the solution for creating a sustainable environment. Through product innovation, Canadian Tire provides customers with quality merchandise that meets their needs and supports their personal environmental goals,” says Reg McLay, senior vice president of marketing and sourcing services for Canadian Tire. “This initiative not only offers customers environmentally-preferred product solutions for their home, but also allows us to give back to the communities across Canada through the planting of trees.” The Blue Planet product line includes items such as natural household cleaning products, CFL light bulbs that use 75 per cent less energy, rechargeable batteries, energy meters and more. (Tire Review/Akron)
Continue ReadingTMD Friction Acquired in Equity-backed Management Buy Out
On 3 April TMD Friction was bought out in an all equity acquisition led by its senior management team and Pamplona Capital Management, a London-based investment fund. According to a company statement, the move will safeguard approximately 3,800 jobs worldwide. Completion of the acquisition is expected by the end of April. TMD Friction manufactures disc brake pads and drum brake linings for passenger cars and commercial vehicles, together with brake pads for racing cars, and friction materials for industrial and rail applications. TMD Friction supplies global automotive and commercial OEMs across a wide range of vehicle platforms. The company is also one of the largest suppliers to the global aftermarket with its Textar, Pagid, Mintex, Don, Cobreq, and Cosid brands. The company operates from locations across Europe, the US, Brazil, Mexico, China and Japan.
Continue ReadingPrison for Tyre Dumping Ex-Policeman
A former Police inspector faces a year in prison for his role in the dumping of 175,000 tyres. Geraint Evans, who retired from the Police in 2005, was one of three people sentenced at Cardiff Crown Court on April 8 for illegally disposing of tyres at sites in England and Wales. Also sentenced were Norman Cassidy, who received an eight-month prison sentence, and Evans’ partner Marilyn Hanks, who has been ordered to perform 240 hours of community service. You are thoroughly unscrupulous men with no regard whatsoever for the financial consequences of those you exploit,” commented Judge Stephen Hopkins QC, referring to Evans and Cassidy. You were deliberately dealing in waste without a licence for purely financial reason and its had a substantial impact on the community.
Continue ReadingKlarius Releases Biggest Ever Timax Catalogue
Klarius Group recently published its biggest ever catalogue of Timax branded exhaust products. Timax, the only UK replacement exhaust manufacturer to gain type approval for all it’s exhaust products sold in the UK and abroad, says the new brochure shows the thousands of items available, including hundreds of new systems for this year.
Continue ReadingPirelli Announces Further Carlisle Redundancies
It appears as if Pirelli is seeking further voluntary redundancies amongst it production staff in Carlisle. The company has confirmed this in a statement, however at this stage it is not clear how many positions will be cut. Pirelli says it has informed senior trade union officials at both its Burton on Trent and Carlisle plants that it is willing to consider voluntary redundancy applications from production workers and supporting services. Information about the cutbacks was given as a second five-day shutdown, the result of falling demand, began on April 8.
Continue ReadingBKT Announces Further Significant Investment
When 95 per cent of a company’s sales are achieved in export markets, it would be well advised to ensure its presence at international exhibitions. This is the view held by Balkrishna – also known as BKT – the central business unit of India’s Siyaram Poddar Group. The last two years in particular have been a time in which the agricultural, earthmover, industrial, ATV and small tyre manufacturer has been able to distinctly expand its market share in Asia. As executive director Anurag Poddar explained during an interview with Tyres & Accessories, the company intends through its own marketing plant to further increase sales in the region. During the Tyrexpo Asia exhibition in Singapore the company displayed the first steel belt radials for earthmoving equipment to be produced in an Indian factory, and this landmark product can be used to symbolise the company’s sizeable ambitions for the Asian markets.
Continue ReadingMarangoni Benefitting From Its Differentiated Structure
Times are hard; for some they are even too hard. During the prevailing financial and economic crisis plenty of steps need to be taken if a company wants to successfully weather the hardships involved. In an exclusive interview with Tyres & Accessories, Massimo De Alessandri, CEO of the Marangoni Group, explains how his company is facing the current situation, why its prospects are quite good, and why there won’t be any long-term damage to the group. TYRES & ACCESSORIES: The economic environment in Europe has been difficult in recent months, to say the least. How has the Marangoni Group been affected by this?
Continue ReadingUK Batteries Appoints Higson as Marketing Manager
UK Batteries, the company behind the Platinium brand of aftermarket batteries, has appointed Mark Higson as marketing manager. Higson joins UK Batteries from TMD Friction where he was marketing manager for over three years and was responsible for the development of the company’s various aftermarket brands. The 26-year-old has taken over the role of UK Batteries’ marketing manager from James O’Connor who has moved into the company’s OE and key accounts department to play a leading role in the development of new and existing accounts.
Continue ReadingHankook Becomes Elite Northampton Saints Sponsor
Hankook has strengthened its links Northampton Saints Rugby Club by joining its group of elite sponsors. Hankook has had a visible presence at the team’s Franklin’s Gardens ground since January, when it became one of the stadium’s biggest advertisers. However, the tyre manufacturer has since decided to increase its commitment to the club and this new deal will see Hankook’s logo appear on all the Saints’ playing shirts for the next three years. Hankook’s UK headquarters are in Daventry, Northamptonshire where the company now employs more than 50 people on these premises. It also has more than 1,000 retail locations throughout the UK.
Continue ReadingTyre Market in Line for a Sell-in Bounce
Market analysts are predicting tyre industry sell-in sales volumes will improve sharply in the second quarter of 2009. Morgan Stanley experts explained in an investor’s note issued on 9 April that production cuts of between 40 and 60 per cent in OE and 10 to 40 per cent in replacement tyre production in January and February were “far more draconian than anticipated,” but nonetheless “deliberate and forthright” action. “We estimate Michelin’s sell-in tyre volume through the first two months of the year has declined approximately 20 per cent, assuming constant market share. Simply put, we believe this pace of volume decline is not sustainable,” the analysts commented. The theory is that dealers that de-stocked tyres rather than purchase additional products at the beginning of 2009 are currently, or will soon, run low on inventory and therefore tyre factories must start running again. “We forecast Michelin tyre volume down 6.6 per cent for the full year, implying rest-of-year volumes down 3.9 per cent. At a minimum, we expect the extraordinary pace of volume decline to diminish sharply and soon.”
Continue ReadingAnsteel-Bekaert JV Steel Cord Plant Opens
Last May Belgium’s Bekaert and Chinese steel producer Ansteel established a strategic partnership, and several months later set up a 50/50 joint venture called Bekaert Ansteel Tire Cord (Chongqing) Co., Ltd. Almost a year after the partnership was first announced, the companies have celebrated the official opening of their 150 million euro joint steel cord production plant in Chongqing, China. The new facility is intended to meet rising local tyre industry demand for steel cord, and at present 130 people are employed at the site. This number, says Ansteel and Bekaert, will grow in line with market demand and the realisation of further investment phases.
Continue ReadingConti PremiumContact 2 Tops Which? Rankings
Continental’s PremiumContact 2 was ranked best in the recent Which? tyre rankings, earning the tyre maker its seventh and eighth “Best Buy” recommendations from the consumer advice magazine’s website. The ContiPremiumContact 2 received the highest overall performance score in the two tyre sizes featured in this month’s (April’s) report. In the 205/55R16W review, Which? said; “The ContiPremiumContact 2 offers first-rate handling on dry roads, good wet and dry braking and good resistance to aquaplaning in bends and on straight roads.” Testers commented that the 185/60R14 H size offers “excellent handling on dry roads, good wet and dry braking and decent wet grip in bends and on straight roads”. In total the tyre, designed for medium-sized family cars, has now been given four “Best Buy” gongs in 205/55R16V (the UK’s most popular size), 205/55R16W, 185/60R14H and 195/65R15V.
Continue ReadingVanstyle Encourages Van Owners to “Tame the Beast”
We’ve been bombarded with a multitude of Trinny & Susannah style homely to comely shows and home renovation programmes along the lines of ‘Changing Rooms’, but to date vans have been largely left out of this makeover mania. One UK company – Vanstyle – intends to change all this. While it won’t be coming to a television near you any time soon, the company is calling upon all van, SUV and truck drivers to join its campaign to give the nation’s vans the once-over with new wheels and accessories. Ultimately every van or truck driver chooses his or her vehicle for its functionality, and this naturally shouldn’t be overlooked at makeover time. But Vanstyle says this “doesn’t mean the beast can’t be tamed”. In other words, why not make your machine look good?
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