Africa
Continental’s employees are on the run – for a good cause. During ContiRunningWeek 2012, which is now underway, around 18,000 Continental employees at 90 sites will set off on runs or walks to raise money for charity. A number of local fundraising activities have been arranged, and Continental Corporation will donate the proceeds from its activities to Welthungerhilfe, a German charity that combats hunger and health issues around the globe.
Apollo Tyres is one of the brands featured in the CoolBrands book Around the World in 80 Brands, which aims to share stories with opinion formers around the world. Part of an overall concept that includes online seeding and sharing via social media, guest lectures at universities and workshops, the book includes articles about visionary people, smart brands and trendy destinations. “Apollo Tyres is pleased to be part of this global storytelling project,” comments Rob Oudshoorn, CEO of Apollo Vredestein.
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Tyrexpo India 2013 is aiming to act as a global trade interchange offering companies access to the booming Indian tyre market when it is held 9-11 July 2013.
According to Tyrexpo India organiser Paul Farrant of ECI International, next July’s exhibition will encourage both inward investment and export opportunities.
Concirrus Ltd has announced that it will add PressurePro’s Tyre Pressure Monitoring System technology to its Mobile Devices Telematics Market Place. The company is the developer of the open telematics OS and telematics hardware, and under the agreement, facilitated by Concirrus, Mobile Devices will integrate PressurePro’s tyre pressure information into the Morpheus embedded framework, allowing users easy access to the pressure data through a new set of standard APIs. The company says the agreement was prompted by the increasing need for reducing costs and risks related to under-inflated tyres, and to respond to legislation in Europe and the US promoting pressure checks and penalising those running on under-inflated tyres.
Advantage PressureProTM, LLC and Concirrus Ltd. are partnering to bring PressurePro’s TPMS options to the European commercial vehicle markets. According to the companies, the partnership agreement was prompted by the rapid increase in interest and need for reliable tyre pressure monitoring solutions in the commercial vehicle markets. The deal will draw on the value of the PressurePro products and the expertise of Concirrus' founders in the commercial vehicle telematics market.
The US edition of CIO magazine, a publication aimed at senior IT executives, has named Goodyear Tire & Rubber one of its 2012 CIO 100 winners. Upon receiving the accolade, Goodyear vice-president and chief information officer Jim McKinnon said “winning the CIO 100 award is tremendous recognition for the success of our multi-year project, which has aligned all of the company’s operations in Europe, the Middle East and Africa on a common business platform.”
The inaugural plant manager of Continental’s still under construction Sumter plant in the US has been named. South African Craig Baartman, a 18-year Conti veteran, will be responsible for the factory’s overall leadership of the facility which, according to Continental Tire the Americas’ CEO Jochen Etzel, is scheduled to open in late 2013.
The Recycling and Economic Development Initiative of South Africa (REDISA) has appointed Continental SA sales director Eddie Jordaan and Alliance Tyre Africa managing director Piet Swart to key positions within the fledgling recycling scheme. Both men take up their posts with REDISA on 1 September.
Stamford Tyres Corporation and Sumitomo Rubber Industries have commented further on their plans to set up a joint venture sales company in India. Yasutaka Ii, director and senior executive officer of Sumitomo Rubber, said “India is a market with huge potential. We are delighted to continue our partnership with Stamford Tyres which has a strong distribution track record, as part of our group’s expansion into new markets. This new joint venture will allow the two companies to leverage on their expertise to address the needs in the Indian market and tap onto this market’s huge potential.”
Specialty chemicals Group Lanxess reports continued growth in the second quarter of 2012, with EBITDA pre-exceptionals rising 6.8 per cent year-on-year to 362 million euros. Sales increased 8.1 per cent to 2.42 billion euros. Commenting on the results, company CEO Axel C. Heitmann said “we believe these results confirm our view of the seasonal development, and we are therefore adhering to our target of raising EBITDA pre exceptionals by five to ten per cent for the full year. Our focus on megatrends and growth regions, combined with our technological expertise, provide stability in an increasingly challenging environment.”
In addition to discussing strategic plans for the coming years, today’s Apollo Tyres annual general meeting saw the release of the company’s approved unaudited results for the first quarter of India’s 2012-13 financial year, the three months to 30 June 2012. During the quarter, net sales rose 12 per cent to Rs 31.65 billion (£367.5 million) and operating profit increased 48 per cent year-on-year to Rs 3.61 billion (£41.9 million). Net profit jumped 79 per cent to Rs 1.38 billion (£16.0 million); Apollo attributes this rise to “a more judicious product and customer mix.”
If an article in one South African newspaper is correct, the concept behind the country’s new tyre recycling scheme was stolen from another organisation. The New Age has printed claims made by Jeff Osborne, CEO of industry association the Retail Motor Industry (RMI). According to The New Age, Osborne says the REDISA plan, approved by the South African government last week, was “stolen from under their noses by the former chairperson of a sister organisation.”
In a speech at Apollo Tyres’ annual general meeting, company chairman Onkar S Kanwar named several regions the company has identified as potential future “home markets” and sites for manufacturing facilities. He shared that Apollo increased its revenues 37 per cent to US$2.5 billion last year and is currently growing at above local industry rates in its current home market regions of India, Europe and South Africa – and therefore the company feels the time is right to expand this base. He cautioned, however, that such plans may squeeze profit margins in the short-term.
Production at Tanzanian tyre maker General Tyre East Africa will reportedly resume within a year. Last year management of the company – which hasn’t produced a tyre since 2007 – was placed in the hands of Tanzania’s National Development Corporation, and the corporation’s corporate affairs manager now says that investors from China, Malaysia and South Africa have shown interest in the getting the company up and running again.
Continental has cut the ribbon on a new £8.5 million mixer at its Port Elizabeth tyre making plant in South Africa. Nikolai Setzer, member of Continental's Executive Board and head of the company’s global tyre business, was on hand to do the honours. Continental says the new mixer, which was imported from Germany, allows for superior temperature control during the mixing cycle, enabling a more accurate reproducibility of compounds and better dispersion of the fillers.
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