Technology Developers Rhodia & Dow Corning to Exhibit at Expo
Rhodia and Dow Corning Corporation are to exhibit together at Tire Technology Expo, which is being held in Hamburg, Germany, between February 17 and 19. The two companies can be found in Hall 1, at Stand 4140. The companies’ joint appearance at the exhibition follows last November’s announced agreement to develop and market new tyre industry silica/silane products. The aim of the agreement, according to Rhodia, is to develop and commercialise innovative silica/silane combinations, principally for the tyre industry where the association of precipitated silica and silane is used in low-energy tyres to help reduce rolling resistance. Silane is the component that enhances the interaction between polymer and silica.
Continue ReadingUS Goodyear Plant Gets Help, Another Faces Sharp Cuts
One Goodyear tyre plant is getting financial assistance, while another may see sharp reductions, according to various news reports. The Fayetteville Observer reported that Goodyear will receive $1 million over the next decade from the city of Fayetteville, the money intended to help retain jobs at the plant. Meanwhile, Goodyear plans to announce a restructuring and cost-cutting plan on 18 February, when company executives and union leaders meet later this week to discuss the future of the companys Danville, Virginia plant. Goodyear executives and union officials have this week held a series of meetings concerning the future of the tyre maker’s Danville, Virginia truck tyre plant. The Danville Register & Bee reported that company executives arrived Monday and are expected to be in Danville through Wednesday.
Continue ReadingToyo Makes Radical Incisions
Following the release of Toyo’s latest financial results, the company has announced a host of measures to stem its financial haemorrhaging. The company reports being in the midst of business conditions that it expects will grow ‘more stringent’ and be reflected in further deteriorating earnings for the 2008 financial year. The sources of these woes, the company adds, are the global economic slowdown and the yen’s appreciation. Toyo reports a review of its Japanese and international manufacturing systems is underway, and on the back of this it will reduce the number of employees at manufacturing operations to match current production levels. As part of its reorganisation, Toyo says it plans to transfer employees from administrative departments to manufacturing departments.
Continue ReadingApollo Targets 10% Domestic Alloys Market
Leading Indian manufacturer Apollo Tyres has launched a range of alloy wheels under the brand name Acelere Wheelz to be sold through its passenger car tyre dealers in Dehli, Bangalore, Chennai and other major cities. At the launch, the company stated that it was “confident of capturing between 7 per cent to 10 per cent of the alloy wheels market in India,” and that it plans to release a new collection of rims every six months. You don’t have to be an osteopath to realise that the company is adding muscle to the existing bones of its tyre business, but to underline the point Apollo plans to make Acelere Wheelz available in “combo” offers with the company’s Acelere, Acelere Sports, Aspire and Hawkz passenger car tyres. At present, the Indian alloy wheels market stands at an estimated figure of around 90,000 per month, of which 40 per cent is aftermarket, says Apollo. As yet, only 15 per cent of these come from the organised sector, with the rest imported.
Continue ReadingAdvanced ID Restructuring to Affect UK Operations
A letter to shareholders in Advanced ID Corporation, sent by company chairman Seymour Kazimirski on February 9, indicates that changes to the firm’s UK operations are afoot. Specific details of these changes and what they mean to the company’s Derbyshire based Pneu-Logic subsidiary, however, were not set out. “As we enter the New Year, I would like to take this opportunity to summarise the goals we have established for 2009,” began Kazimirski. “You are all well aware of the challenges we faced in 2008 with the systemic breakdown of the capital markets worldwide. More specific to Advanced ID, we experienced the meltdown of the auto industry, which has greatly impacted the tyre industry. Estimates of decreased global tyre production are upwards of 40 per cent. We are working to meet these challenges.”
Continue ReadingJohnson Announces Retirement, Berry to Lead ATD
Bill Berry has been tipped to be American Tire Distributors’ new CEO and president with the pending retirement of Dick Johnson, who will step down on 5 April. Berry, currently president and COO, joined ATD in 1998 when ATD (then Heafner Tire) merged with Itco Tire Co. He became executive vice president and COO in January 2002 and was named president and COO in May 2003. Johnson will remain as chairman of the company for the next two years. He became chairman and CEO in May 2003, and during his tenure ATD doubled its sales to more than $2 billion and led the acquisition of numerous tyre distributors, including Am-Pac in late December. “It has been my privilege to work closely with Bill Berry and the rest of the leadership team over the past decade to build a company that is stronger than ever and ready to shape the future of our industry,” said Johnson. “The changes announced today are the result of a succession plan developed over several years and designed to ensure a seamless transition and strength, stability and continuity of leadership for our company.” (Tire Review/Akron)
Continue ReadingMichelin MBA Network Strength Outlined at Dealer Meeting
Business owners and senior managers from nearly 70 Michelin accredited independent truck tyre distributors across the UK and Republic of Ireland gathered in Paris on 30 January for the third annual Michelin Business Advantage (MBA) dealer conference. What the representatives from the MBA network heard during their time in France was music to the ears in these difficult times for the automotive sector. “The latest figures from Europool highlight that whilst the replacement market for new truck tyres dropped by 10 per cent in the UK in 2008, Michelin continued to gain market share and is still the number one selling brand,” said Phil Baldock, MBA manager at Michelin. “We also bucked the trend in the market for retread tyres, with our penetration increasing in a marketplace which also fell by 10 per cent.
Continue ReadingToyo Results Highlight Financial Difficulties
Toyo Tires has released its consolidated business results for the first three quarters of the 2008 financial year, revealing results down on those a year earlier. Net sales for the nine month period were 269,357 million yen (£1.98 billion), just under one per cent less than for the first three quarters of the 2007 year. Operating income, at 611 million yen (£4.5 million), plummeted 95.3 per cent from last year’s figure of 12,951 million yen, and net loss for the nine month period amounted to 9,990 million yen (£73.57 million) as opposed to 6,946 million yen in 2007.
Continue ReadingCooper Tire Appoints Silverline International to UK Distributorship
Cooper Tire & Rubber Company has appointed Warwick-based Silverline International as one of its official UK distributors. Silverline International has been in business since 1988 and is, says Cooper, one of the UK’s leading centres for UHP and SUV wheels and tyres. “We are delighted that Silverline International will be representing Cooper Tire,” said Cooper Tire divisional manager, Andy Harris. “They are one of the UK’s leading and most respected independent suppliers of tyres in the country.”
Continue ReadingSchaeffler Appeals for Investment
Schaeffler Group is reportedly fighting against the possibility of a company breakup, as the automotive supplier struggles under the weight of 11 billion euros of debt it acquired when buying Continental AG. Over the weekend the owners of the Schaeffler Group, Maria-Elisabeth Schaeffler and her son Georg Schaeffler, commented on the situation in a public statement which saw them deny the company gambled on the purchase of Continental AG and appeal for outside support. “…Schaeffler Group requires support for a limited period of time. Our talks with politicians are about securing interim financial aid in a special exceptional situation for a company that is sound at the core,” the statement read, adding: “The Schaeffler Group will present a viable concept to the federal government and the states. We are well aware that the viability of this concept will be scrutinized by the responsible public authorities to ensure that an interim financial aid package will not burden the taxpayers, and we realize that the Schaeffler Group must pay the statutory interest and fees incurred due to the bridgeover.”
Continue ReadingMichelin Announces Participation in 3 Motorcycle Championships
Michelin has announced its participation in three motorcycle speedway racing competitions in 2009 – the Endurance World Championship, along with national speed championships in Spain and Italy. This year, Michelin will provide tyres for the Yamaha Austria Racing Team, which finished second over all in the six-race 2008 Endurance World Championship. The partnership, says Michelin, will enable the company to measures its tyres against its competitors products. And while this is Michelin’s main reason for taking part in the competition, it comments that racing also serves as an important testing ground for developing tyres for the consumer market. With this in mind the company will enter – for the first time ever – a motorcycle displaying its own colours in all Endurance World Championship events. The Michelin Power Research Team, with riders William Costes, Hugo Marchand and Josep Monge, will focus on gathering technical data to be used in designing the brands future motorcycle tyres.
Continue ReadingChina Expresses Concern Over India Investigations
The Chinese Ministry of Commerce has voiced deep concern over the Indian government’s trade investigations into and import restrictions upon Chinese products. On February 9 Ministry spokesman Yao Jian stated that vice commerce minister Zhong Shan had expressed Chinas concern to India’s Ambassador to China, Nirupama Rao, during a recent meeting held at Chinas request. Mr. Zhong told Ms Rao that China hopes to bring the trade disputes to an end through government and industry level communication and exchange between the two countries.
Continue ReadingMichelin Releases First Green Guide Japan
With its manga, animated films, video games and sushi, Japan is, after the US, the world’s second largest exporter of cultural goods and is increasingly present in day-to-day life, especially in youth culture. Since the launch in 2003 of the “Visit Japan Campaign,” which set a target of 10 million visitors to the country in 2010, Japan has seen a rise in tourism. In 2008, Japan hosted 8,351,600 visitors.
Continue ReadingTitan Tire Promotes Two
Titan Tire Corporation has announced two senior staff promotions. Jeff Kramer, previously operations manager for the company’s Des Moines, Iowa facility, has taken on the role of vice president of manufacturing engineering, and Dave Fines is taking Kramer’s place in Des Moines. Jeff Kramer has been with Titan for 13 years and has held positions in tyre engineering, curing area management and production management. As vice president of manufacturing engineering, Kramer will oversee manufacturing engineering projects at all Titan Tire locations.
Continue ReadingApollo Tyres Launches New Alloy Wheel Range
Apollo Tyres has launched its new alloy wheel brand, Acelere Wheelz. The first products in the range, the ‘Fall-Winter’ collection, are already available through tyre dealerships across India. Apollo Tyres says that a new collection will be introduced onto the Indian market every six months, in line with its concept of the wheels as fashion accessories. The company comments that the Acelere Wheelz range is a ‘natural extension’ to its tyre range.
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