Continental Profit Figures Continue To Improve
Continental’s profit figures have improved for the sixth time running. Group turnover was 9.13 billion Euros (including Continental Teves business for the first time). EBIT rose to 511 million Euros.
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Traiskirchen Factory Designated MMP Plant
Dr. Hans-Joachim Nikolin, Chairman of the Semperit supervisory board and board member of Continental AG, confirmed during a supervisory board meeting of Semperit Reifen Ges.m.b.H. in Traiskirchen in mid-December that the Semperit factory at Traiskirchen will play an essential strategic part in the introduction of a new manufacturing process. Continental has developed a European strategy for the Modular Manufacturing Process (MMP), envisaging three MMP factories, each responsible for the supply of one large European region. The Traiskirchen factory has been chosen to supply the South and East European markets. The decision about a second MMP location to supply Western Europe is said to be imminent, whereas a suitable supply plant for the North European region has not yet been found. The production plan for the year 2000 gives 1.5 million car tyres made by the standard and one million by the MMP process, a total number of 2.5 million units as originally planned. However, since the manufacturing process of MMP tyres is less complicated than the standard production process, a reduction in the workforce is inevitable and cannot be compensated for by the planned increased output of 825,000 commercial vehicle tyres in the year 2000. The MMP tyre is produced in modules allowing the cost-effective production of smaller lots, and a fast reaction to the requirements of the market. MMP is therefore primarily designed as a means of reacting fast to developments in the replacement markets, and only in exceptional cases would it be considered for original equipment. This production process does away with the necessity to make a large variety of products at the standard factories, thus freeing them for large-series production.
Save Gas With Goodyear
Goodyear’s Chief Engineer of Product Design has warned of the economic cost of tyre under-inflation as gasoline prices reach a new high in the USA. Petrol consumption and tread life are adversely affected. A Goodyear survey showed up to 28p.c. of vehicles had “seriously under-inflated” tyres.
Warranty Changes At Bridgestone/Firestone USA
In a step at rebuilding consumer confidence in the Firestone brand Bridgestone/Firestone announced an extension of its limited warranty and 30-day money back guarantee in the United States. The range covered by the warranty will be extended from 53 product lines to 97 covering almost all the company’s products. The programme will replace tyres that become unusable “for any reason attributed to workmanship or factory defect” for the first three years of ownership, the first four years after manufacture, or until the tyre tread depth is worn down to 1/16th of an inch, whichever comes first. The 30 day money back guarantee remains as it says, if the customer is unhappy, he will get his money back if he returns the goods within 30 days of purchase.
Joan Claybrook Attacks Goodyear
Whilst working at the National Highways Transportation Safety Administration in 1979 Joan Claybrook forced Firestone to recall the S 500 Tyre. Later, as president of Washington-based Public Citizen consumer protection group she was at the forefront of pressurising Bridgestone/Firestone into their second large scale recall. Now she is turning the guns on Goodyear and is joining the growing band of lobbyists for a Goodyear recall on Load Range E tyres. As reported previously in TYRES & ACCESSORIES, there have been 15 deaths related to tread separations on Load Range E tyres and a larger number of non-fatal accidents, with some 58 incidents being reported to the NHTSA. Goodyear emphatically deny that there is any tyre fault and cite the low number of accidents in relation to 27 million tyres sold since 1991. Two years ago the company recalled 600,000 tyres and has voluntarily recalled tyres on other occasions, on one instance the fault was as a result of faulty tyre fitting procedure at Chrysler, but Goodyear handled the recall. So why not this time? Now several consumer action groups, including Public Citizen, Strategic Safety and Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety are calling for a recall based on the existing accident statistics to prevent further incidents. They suggest that the reason for Goodyear not recalling the tyres is the tremendous cost involved in recalling an estimated 13 million tyres still in use. The cost would run to several hundred million dollars, much more than the costs Firestone have recently incurred. Again, Goodyear deny that this is the case, explaining that in the previous recalls there were clear faults with the tyres, this they say is different, the separations are, they claim, subject to many different causes and are not the responsibility of Goodyear.
Michelin Net Profits Slip
Michelin has announced a fall in net profits, from 535.5 million Euros to 154.4 million Euros for 1999. This is even lower than latest predictions of financial analysts. The figures were affected by the inclusion of a special provision of 370 million Euros, made to cover the entire cost of Michelin’s three-year restructuring plan. However, operating profit for the year rose to 1.23 billion Euros; an increase of almost 15%.
Michelin To Enter Formula 1
Speculations have come to an end: Michelin will participate in Formula 1 racing from the 2001 season. Initially, the company will supply tyres to the BMW/Williams team and, at some time before 2003, Michelin will team up with Team Toyota, who confirmed their entry into the sport earlier this week. Michelin has competed in F1 before, from 1977 to 1984, winning three Drivers’ and two Constructors’ titles. The reason for entering the sport now is to increase world-wide recognition for the Michelin brand.
New Zealand Speed Limits For Space Savers
New Zealand’s land Transport Safety Authority is proposing that space saver tyres be limited to maximum speeds of 80kph. Other recommendations are that they only be used in emergencies, only one is fitted to a vehicle at a time, they are used in accordance with manufacturer’s instructions and to the correct tyre pressure. Recently, a parliamentary committee stated that it was concerned about the use of spacesaver tyres, but they did not want to see them banned.
Scrap Tyre Open Forum
Around forty people from all sectors of the tyre industry, the waste collection industry and the trade press met in an open forum meeting to discuss the different aspects of the scrap tyre situation and to examine market trends. Among the topics on the agenda were retreading, recycling and re-use. Retreading in the UK (especially car tyre retreading) is going through what is probably its worst-ever period for sales. The situation at the forum was described as “an environmental disaster” by one delegate. Recycling suffers from a lack of investment; backers are scared off by the instability of prices in the scrap tyre collection market, at least at local level. Re-use brought up the subject of part-worn tyres, the UK market for which is estimated at around three million units. The futures for landfill engineering and energy recovery were also discussed at length. It was not only the various disposal methods that were under discussion – there were complaints about whether the playing field was as level as it should be and the Environment Agency was criticised by some for the length of time it took to evaluate test results. Possible future statutory control measures were discussed, particularly the fear that these might be imposed on the industry as a whole, or on one sector. Unless the industry can come up with an effective voluntary scheme, this was regarded as inevitable. More about this in TYRES & ACCESSORIES’s March issue.
Good Half-Year Results At Trelleborg
The structure of the Trelleborg group (Sweden) has changed because of several acquisitions and sales of business units within last twelve months. The tyre and wheel business – included in the business unit Trelleborg Wheel Systems (TWS) and in which Pirelli is a joint venture partner – has improved sales by 7% (compared with the first half year 1999) and profits by 28%. OE business in agricultural tyres was positive, but the aftermarket continued to be slightly weak. Industrial tyres were in strong demand in North America and Korea, while the European market recovered slightly.
Brazilian Carbon Black Plant For Degussa Hüls
German company Degussa Hüls is building what it says will be one of the most modern industrial carbon black plants in the world at Paulinia, near Sao Paulo, Brazil. Production will begin in early 2002 and initial annual capacity will be 60,000 tonnes. Degussa Hüls says the new site will strengthen its role as a global partner of the rubber industry.
Titan Announces Dividend
Titan International (Quincy, Illinois), manufacturer of wheels and tyres for off-highway vehicles, has announced a cash dividend of $ 0.015 for the first quarter of 2000. In 1999 Titan’s sales declined and a net loss was recorded.
German Retreader Invests in Berliner Reifenwerk
The medium-sized German retreader RuLa (Schraden) is to invest in Berliner Reifenwerk (BRW) and resume the retreading of truck tyres. BRW is under public administration after becoming insolvent. Car tyre retreading will not be resumed and negotiations with investors regarding the recycling facilities are under way. Because there are still uncertainties about who is the owner of the land on which BRW stands, negotiations are complicated.
Tuning in Germany – History, Market Volume, Industry Trends
During the last three decades the tuning sector has become a sizeable branch of the German economy. A survey of the Verband Deutscher Automobil Tuner (VDAT) in 1994 recorded about four hundred businesses directly connected with the tuning sector. From 1994 to 1998 total turnover in the tuning industry showed an annual growth rate of just under three per cent. Compared with a 1994 turnover of 7.0 billion marks, latest estimates of the 1998 figure showed a total industry turnover of 7.7 billion marks. More recent figures are not yet available. A positive trend was also forecast for the year 1999 and estimated to be between two and three per cent to reach a figure of approximately 7.9 billion marks. This positive balance, however, is not exclusively generated by the tuning businesses, part of it is contributed by the manufacturing industry. Low-profile tyres (aspect ratio < 60) sold by the tyre manufacturing industry, for instance, are incorporated in the figures. Until the seventies the dominating theme in the industry was optimisation of engine performance, but during the last 20 years the tuners have more and more concentrated on a complete personalisation and harmonisation of the vehicle. In this context tyres and wheels take a decisive role, since this product group with its 27 p.c. turnover share in all VDAT member companies can claim the largest slice of the lucrative tuning cake.
Global Players – An In-Depth Analysis
More and more nowadays, we hear that the tyre industry is becoming increasingly global and ever-more companies describe themselves as “a global player”. But what exactly makes a company a true global player? An in-depth article in TYRES & ACCESSORIES 6/2000 looks at the criteria by which a so-called ‘global player’ should be judged and concludes that the only three companies that merit this term are Bridgestone, Goodyear and Michelin. The article examines in detail each company’s performance in the world’s most important markets, their market shares and turnover figures, their strengths and weaknesses and their prospects for the future. The article goes on to examine the home markets of the global players (USA, Europe and Asia) and discusses the performances of the lesser players and what is likely to happen to them. Today’s global tyre market is one of acquisitions and alliances, mergers and new technological advances. Competition is intense and, in terms of market share, none of the big three seems able to leave its rivals standing, neither is the gap between the big three and the second three growing. Having said that, none of the second three stands a realistic chance of becoming a true global player in the future. The article gives a detailed, objective assessment of today’s tyre industry, together with some speculation concerning what might happen in the future.
