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South African Tyre Workers March Against ‘Captains of Industry’

Strife within the South African tyre industry continues with an estimated 4,000 workers expected to attend a protest march on September 20. NUMSA, the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa, has planned for the disgruntled employees to assemble at Jarhaman Hall in Korsten, Port Elizabeth to, as spokesman Mphumzi Maqungo explains, “hand over a memorandum of demands to tyre manufacturers' ruling oligarchy." According to Maqungo, the “throng” of workers anticipated to take part in the protest include those working for “imperialist owned Firestone, Continental and Goodyear.”

20th September 2010/by Tyrepress Editors

‘Weltmeister’ at Last – Thanks to Conti

Germany’s World Cup aspirations may have crumbled in a one-nil defeat at the deft and athletic hands of Spain in July, but the country has nevertheless gone on to achieve its own global football victory. On September 19, some two months after the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa drew to a close, the men’s team from Continental’s Korbach factory in the German province of Hesse emerged victorious in the ContiTeamCup 2010 after defeating Brazil by three goals to nil. In the women’s league Germany had to settle for second place, however, following a one-nil loss to Mexico.

20th September 2010/by Tyrepress Editors

Magna Tyres Goes Down Under

Netherlands-based OTR tyre producer Magna Group has entered the Australian earthmoving tyre market with the arrival of Magna Tyres Australia in partnership with ADG Global Supply Pty Ltd. What is clear is that Magna Tyres is set to provide the market with a new alternative to the big three tyre makers. And this is a significant change because this market reportedly has not seen any new competitors in decades. The official Australian launch was held today (15 September 2010) in Perth, with numerous tyres on display and the opportunity to meet the founders of the Magna Group from The Netherlands. The launch of Magna’s OTR and industrial tyre range is accompanied by the construction of a new website – www.magnatyres.com.au.

15th September 2010/by Tyrepress Editors

PCL to Show Nitrogen Inflation Gear at Brityrex

PCL’s inflation specialists have announced that they will be “driving home the benefits of nitrogen” to the sell-out crowd at this year’s Brityrex. All stands at the UK’s leading international tyre and equipment exhibition – which attracts the best of British, as well as suppliers and visitors from all around the world – have now been booked.

Top of the list of exhibits is the company’s Accura Nitrogen Analyzer – a nitrogen system that displays the percentage of nitrogen in your tyres. According to the company, other products on the market read only the amount of oxygen, therefore the PCL analyzer removes the need to convert the oxygen percentage into the figure for nitrogen.

13th September 2010/by Tyrepress Editors

Guizhou Tyre Aiming to Expand in UK and European Markets

Chinese tyre manufacturer Guizhou Tyre Company Ltd has maintained a relatively low profile in the UK up till now, but this is reportedly about to change as a result of the company’s decision to raise its profile with a stand at next month’s Brityrex in Manchester (5-7 October). Here’s how one company representative explained it: “The promotion of our brands within Europe and in the UK especially has been relatively low key in the past. We have now taken the strategic decision to expand our brand profile and distribution network across Europe in general and in particular the UK.” The Guizhou stand at Brityrex will exhibit products from the Advance range of radial/bias OTR tyres, radial truck tyres, agricultural tyres and industrial/fork lift tyres.

10th September 2010/by Tyrepress Editors

Apollo Reports African Operations Halted by Strike

Apollo Tyres has notified the Bombay Stock Exchange that employees at its factories in Africa have joined a nationwide industry strike organised by National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA). Apollo states that “consequent upon declaration of a general strike in tyre industry in South Africa, the workers of both the plants at Durban and Ladysmith of ATSA (Apollo Tyres South Africa) have also gone on strike.”

9th September 2010/by Tyrepress Editors

Union Calls for a “Strong Message” in Reply to South African Tyre Cartel

A spokesman for the South African trade union representing tyre industry workers has called for direct penalties against senior personnel at the tyre manufacturers and organisations accused of participating in cartel activities. In a statement, National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) national spokesperson Castro Ngobese articulated the union’s demand for “individual company directors and their CEOs to be dismissed and face prosecution for colluding and price-fixing.” This measure, he explained, will send a “strong message” that South Africa’s government will not tolerate corruption.

8th September 2010/by Tyrepress Editors

10% Turnover Penalty Requested for South Africa Tyre Cartel Participants

South Africa’s Competition Commission reports it has referred a complaint of collusive tendering, price fixing, information exchange and market allocation against the South African Tyre Manufacturers Conference (Pty) Ltd (SATMC) and the four tyre manufacturers and suppliers it represents to the Competition Tribunal for adjudication.

7th September 2010/by Tyrepress Editors

Tariffs, Regulations on Agenda at Fourth Reifen China

Since 2007 the world’s biggest tyre industry show, Reifen has had an annually-held Chinese twin event named Reifen China. 25-27 November, 2010 sees the fourth “Asian Essen Tyre Show” taking place at the Shanghai New International Expo Center in Pudong, Shanghai in a joint-organised event between the China United Rubber Corporation and Messe Essen, the latter coming off the back of another successful Reifen expo in Germany back in June (see Tyres & Accessories, July 2010). As always, Reifen China will be held in parallel with the latest Rubber Tech event and cover manufacturers, distributors, repair shops, recycling, waste disposal and retreading in relation to the Chinese and wider Asian market. A programme of technical seminars will run concurrently, with past subjects including tyre proving and testing, retreading trends and tariffs imposed on exported Chinese products.

1st September 2010/by Tyrepress Editors

South African Tyre Industry Experiences Factory Strikes

Strike action based on the demands for a minimum wage of 20 rand per hour for motor industry workers have begun today in South Africa, affecting plants belonging to Dunlop, Bridgestone and Continental, news sources have reported. Strikers are also demanding double-digit wage increases in the sector, with garage and component workers joining the action on Wednesday, 1 September.

31st August 2010/by Tyrepress Editors

Apollo Commissions Dunlop Zones TV Ads in South Africa

As the parent company of the Dunlop brand in South South Africa (SA), Apollo Tyres SA has launched a new campaign to highlight its Dunlop Zones retail network’s commitment to striving for “precision tyre fitment,” in line with the Dunlop brand’s positioning of “Driven by Precision.”

25th August 2010/by Tyrepress Editors

How do Mobile Apps fit into Tyre Sales and Marketing?

Buying tyres was originally an exclusively face-to-face experience. But it didn’t take long for the role of the telephone to become an integral part of consumer tyre buying research. The latest technological step forward saw the Internet become a sales channel in and of itself, not to mention a vital tool for wholesalers with the right business-to-business e-commerce systems. Now with some sources putting online tyre market share just shy of double figures, could the fast-growing mobile Internet market driven by the latest generations such as the Apple iPhone represent another new sales and marketing territory for tyre companies?

With mobile phone technology accelerating at a rate of knots, and following the recent high profile launch of Apple’s iPhone 4, Tyres & Accessories took the opportunity to survey the two leading online application markets for a glimpse into the future of online tyre selling. Apple’s App Store and its only real competitor, Google’s Android Marketplace boasts tens of thousands a quarter of a million applications between them. These small pieces of software offer users handy utilities, games and – crucially for this market – shortcuts to news, information and shopping services. Well-known online auction site, a system that has been used to market significant numbers of tyres and wheels for years now, has been offering both iPhone and Android versions of shopping platform for sometime now, allowing uses to bid on the move, however so far there have not been too many moves in this market from tyre companies. That said, some of the biggest players in the tyre industry have got in on the act with their own mobile phone applications and here is a brief look at some of the best available today.

16th August 2010/by Tyrepress Editors

Continental Supplies Adidas With Sole Rubber

Tyres, conveyor belts and latterly sensors and drive train components – all products Continental AG is well known for. But did you know that the European market leader in the car tyre segment is supplying Adidas with the latest rubber compounds for sports shoes? The two companies, both Official Sponsors of the recent 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa and the forthcoming 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil recently signed a co-operation agreement to solidify the deal.

4th August 2010/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone & Towell Open Oman Bandag Retreading Plant

Bridgestone and its exclusive distributor in Oman, Towell Auto Centre LLC, have jointly opened a Bandag retreading facility near the capital city Muscat. The plant, located in Mabella, has the capacity to retread 26,000 tyres per annum. Bridgestone Middle East & Africa FZE president Shoichi Sakuma indicates that approximately $1.5 million has been invested in the facility. “This is our fifth retread facility in the region,” Sakuma commented. Bandag also operates plants in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. The new factory will, in accordance with local regulations, restrict its retreading activities to commercial vehicle tyres for 20-inch and larger rim sizes.

3rd August 2010/by Tyrepress Editors

Goodyear “On the Right Path” in Second Quarter

According to company president and chief executive officer Richard J. Kramer, Goodyear “pulled the right levers” during the economic downturn and is thus well positioned for growth opportunities presented by the recovery. “During the second quarter, we achieved significant progress across all our businesses, driven by a combination of sales growth and cost actions,” said Kramer during a conference call on July 29. “Versus the comparable prior year period, sales were up 15 per cent, units up 10 per cent and segment operating income was $219 million, an improvement of more than $190 million from the second quarter 2009.”

2nd August 2010/by Tyrepress Editors