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Bridgestone Firestone North American is recalling 25,600 of its tyres. The ‘voluntary safety’ recall follows concerns that “a small percentage” of Dueler A/T 693 tyres, size LT285/75R16, load range D, imported into the US from Japan, could suffer belt detachment.
The Titan Tire Corporation, a subsidiary of Tian International, has been awarded two multi-year contracts by TACOM (Tank Automotive Command). Together the contracts total an estimated value of $40 million and cover the US Army’s anticipated requirements for tyres used on 2.5 and five ton military trucks, for the next five years.
“We are proud to continue our tradition of supplying products to support the US military and are appreciative of the confidence placed in Titan,” stated Maurice Taylor Jr, Titan president and CEO. “This is further evidence of Titan’s recognised expertise in the off-highway sector.”
In a strange request, Pierre Dupasquier, head of Michelin Motorsport, suggested that Formula 1 teams should not only be able to use any rubber compound, but also be free to choose which manufacturer’s products they will use. The proposal would give teams the freedom to decide from race to race whether to use Michelin or Bridgestone tyres.
Within a couple of weeks of the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Polish government abandoned its centrally planned economy and replaced it with a liberalised system based on free market thinking.
Today, 14 years after those first steps towards a western economic system, Poland and most of its business sectors are dominated by change. This progression is true of the tyre business too. In early June, the members of the new Polish tyre retail association, Auto-Kompleks, met in Bogumilow in order to discuss its plans for the future and to correct the mistakes of the past.
Since its foundation in 1999, the 40 or so members of Auto-Kompleks have met once a year in south-west Poland. After five years in existence, the association is still searching for a fundamental direction. Although Auto-Kompleks calls itself an “association” it is not entirely clear whether the title means the same as it would in the UK.
For example, one legacy from the organisation’s foundation period is that two members from the same town are prohibited from joining. This kind of territory protection, which is usually bestowed upon retailers or wholesalers by the industry, suggests that Auto-Kompleks was initially formed in order to act as a retail co-operative that could strengthen the individual members’ buying power. Indeed the initiator and founder of Auto-Kompleks, Kazimierz Mazurkiewicz, who was elected as the group’s president in June, told Tyres & Accessories that the foundation was formed as a reaction against the attempts of Polish wholesalers to sell directly to the end-consumer.
Auto-Kompleks was perceived to be the smaller and less powerful retailers’ best defence against the price dictating power of the tyre industry. Although the organisation was originally conceived to represent the interests of independent tyre dealers in Poland Mr Mazurkiewicz has to admit that Auto-Kompleks’ efforts have only been halfway successful. We are learning through experience, the new vice president Ryszard Maguder added. Although still “in discussion”, explains the tyre dealer from Kruszyn; a change of Auto-Kompleks’ admission policy is just a matter of time.
Sumitomo Rubber Industries Ltd (SRI) is going to invest £25 million into the increase of production capacities in several of its factories.
According to a German online service, Sumitomo, the second biggest tyre manufacturer in Japan after Bridgestone, wants to respond to growing demand for their products. £15 million will be invested in SRI’s factory in Japan, the remaining £10 million will be allocated to factories in China and Indonesia. The tyre manufacturer says the production capacity will go up by 12 per cent although the time scale in which this will happen is not clear.
In Japan Sumitomo Rubber produces Dunlop brand tyres.
Reuters news agency is reporting that there has been a fire a Bridgestone’s largest tyre factory. The news of the blaze comes less that a year after a huge fire at the Tochigi factory north of Tokyo dealt a significant blow to the firm’s earnings.
The labour dispute between the United Steel Workers of America (USWA) and Michelin appears to have come to an end as the two sides have reached a tentative agreement.
The English round of the Le Man Edurance Series, held at Silverstone, ended in victory for the P.Kaffer/A.McNish. The Audi Sport UK/Veloqx vehicle won the race running on Michelin tyres.
The ongoing rivalry between Michelin and Bridgestone is having too much effect on the outcome of races, according to a BBC interview with Sauber team owner, Peter Sauber.
Goodyear Dunlop Europe has been selected to supply replacement tyres for Volvo’s European truck tyre business through its chain of close to 1,000 truck dealers and workshops. According to Henry Johnson, managing director of Goodyear Dunlop’s European truck tyre business, Volvo customers will have the option to benefit from the one-stop shopping approach.
Following reports of Goodyear’s first quarterly profit in almost two years, JPMorgan Chase & Co are deciding whether to increase a loan to the company and to trim the interest rate it will pay.
There is a new question of the month on the Tyres & Accessories web site. This time it refers to the changing world of the truck tyre market.
As dealing with truck tyres becomes more and more professional, and as retail businesses are forced to adapt to the market, T&A asks for the opinions of those at the centre of the action.
To read the question of the month and to add your own views, click here
Michelin is to invest $31 million (£17 million) in plans to upgrade and expand production at its Bridgewater and Waterville tyre plants situated in Nova Scotia, according to the Nova Scotia Economic Development Ministry, which is providing $3 million to help secure the project.
Following year-long negotiations Maxxis International has won an OE contract to supply General Motors. A new multi-year contract specifies that Maxxis will supply its brand of light truck tyre, LT225/75R16, to a General Motors ‘vehicle programme’ in the third quarter of 2006.
Pirelli has announced its preliminary first half results showing what it claims as “a strong improvement of all economic indicators.” While the results were in line with 2004-2006 targets, its net financial position is negative by approximately 2,050 million euros, against 1,745 million euros at year end 2003.
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