Africa
Henk van Tuyl has been appointed director of Goodyear Dunlop Tires’ Tire Technology Commercial Tires – Europe Middle East and Africa division. Van Tuyl, who is originally from the Netherlands, has worked for the company for more than 21 years and took up his new post on October 1.
Petrol pumps are evil, so thank goodness then that we have a white, rotund hero prepared to do battle against this malevolent force. This dramatic scene, part of Michelin’s new global advertising campaign, is now appearing on a larger than life scale on the sides of buildings in New York and Los Angeles. The giant posters portray, in Michelin’s words, the “Michelin Man fighting an evil gas pump and coming to the aid of motorists in trouble.” In doing so, the Michelin Man – Bibendum to his friends – demonstrates that ‘the right tyre can change everything’.
The solitary remaining tyre manufacturer in Zimbabwe marked its 50th Anniversary on November 18, and company management have taken the opportunity to express their optimism for the future. At an event held by Dunlop Zimbabwe and attended by numerous dignitaries, company chairman Dr Luis Cenevis stated that the tyre maker had managed to survive the previous years’ trials and was looking forward to production levels returning to full capacity.
Pirelli reports that growing raw materials and energy costs are the reason for announcing a 10 per cent price increase for all car, motorcycle and truck product lines in its Middle Eastern and African markets. The price increase will being to take effect in the various markets in mid November 2009.
On November 16 a memorandum of understanding for a new manufacturing facility was signed between Michelin and the Tamil Nadu state government in India. The factory, to be established by Michelin India Tamil Nadu Tyres Ltd, will be built on a 290 acre site some 50 kilometres north of Chennai. The facility is to be erected in phases over a number of years, and the first truck and bus radials are expected to be produced there in 2012.
In the third quarter of 2009 Lanxess AG reports delivering a “strong operating performance”, with EBITDA pre exceptionals of 143 million euros. The specialty chemicals company had expected third quarter operating earnings in the vicinity of the 112 million euros earned in the second quarter. EBITDA pre exceptionals were down 26 per cent year-on-year but rose 28 per cent from the second quarter due to an improved macroeconomic environment worldwide, driven by China, as well as savings yielded by the company’s “Challenge09-12” package of measures, which are expected to cut Lanxess’s costs worldwide by about 360 million euros by 2012. Another key performance metric – EBITDA pre exceptionals margin – was 10.4 per cent; higher than the previous quarter and nearly reaching last year’s level.
Continental Commercial Vehicle Tires Retread Europe has become the latest company to join the Tire Retread & Repair Information Bureau (TRIB). Upon announcing the division’s signing up, Christian Beindorff, Head of Operations Retread Europe for Continental, commented: “We are pleased to be a member of TRIB and look forward to a long and mutually beneficial relationship between our organisations.”
For several years Dunlop Zimbabwe has operated a toll manufacturing agreement – an arrangement under which foreign firms provide raw material finances so that Zimbabwean companies can manufacture products for them – with the Apollo Tyres subsidiary in South Africa. At the time of the scheme’s launch in 2006 the toll agreement was necessary for the company’s survival, yet since then Dunlop Zimbabwe’s fortunes have improved. Now the company has announced it has sufficient funds to import raw materials on its own and sustain its operations, and thus it has ended its South African toll manufacturing agreement.
TRIB – that’s the Tire Retread & Repair Information Bureau for those of you playing at home – has announced the addition of three new international members. Commenting on their joining, TRIB managing director Harvey Brodsky, said “TRIB continues to add members as more and more companies in the new tyre and retread industries throughout the world realise that TRIB is the only international retread industry association representing new tyre manufacturers, retreaders, suppliers to the retread industry and tyre repair companies.”
To liven up the journey along the road to next year’s football world cup, sponsor Continental AG has launched a new contest on its www.contisoccerworld.co.uk football website. The ‘ContiFanContest’, which can be tackled in any of four languages, is a video contest in which six of eight tasks on offer must be completed. The main prize for all qualifying participants is one of 11 sets of three day all-inclusive trips for two to the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, including flights, hotel accommodation, a safari and tickets for a match in Johannesburg. The ContiFanContest will close on 04 December 2009, the date on which the groups will be drawn in South Africa for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
This year Automechanika Shanghai takes place between December 9 and 11 at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre, China. Despite the global recession, organiser Messe Frankfurt reports the show has already set a new record with over 2,200 exhibitors from 23 countries and regions, including Belgium, Brazil, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Singapore, Spain, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, UK and USA. As a result, the exhibition space has expanded to nine halls, with a total of more than 100,000 square metres.
On November 4 Continental AG announced the formation of an exclusive partnership covering the sale of its passenger car, light commercial vehicle and truck tyres in Saudi Arabia. This role will now be handled by Almutlak Trade & Industries. Continental reports its new MENENA business unit will focus upon business in the Near and Middle East and North Africa, a concentration of effort the German tyre major describes as “another logical step in building up a sales network.”
Kwik-Fit founder Sir Tom Farmer, who is credited with revolutionising tyre retailing in the UK, is to present a keynote speech at the TyrexpoAfrica industry conference in Johannesburg next March. Sir Tom is one of the most recognisable names in the global tyre industry. He founded Kwik-Fit in Scotland in 1971, developing it to become one of the world’s largest automotive parts repair and replacement specialists, before selling the company to Ford in 1999.
Among many honours, Sir Tom was awarded the CBE in 1990, received a Knighthood in 1997 and in the same year was made a KCSG (Knight Commander with Star of the Order of St. Gregory the Great). In 2009 he was created a Commander of the Victorian Order (CVO) in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours.
(Tire Review) Bridgestone Americas is disputing Liberian government claims that its Firestone rubber plantation is causing pollution in nearby creeks. Liberia’s Environmental Protection Agency closed out a lengthy investigation, finding high levels of orthophosphate being released into the water in creeks near the company’s natural rubber plantation and processing enter in Monrovia.
Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company’s third quarter 2009 financial report showed sales and income improvements in comparison with quarter two, but the results continue to reflect what the company calls “weak industry demand”. Accentuating the positive, Goodyear states that it “sees opportunities as markets recover”, an idea reflected in the company’s launch of 57 new products over the course of the first three quarters of 2009 (15 in quarter three), a figure that surpasses the full-year target. Additionally, Goodyear has improved its liquidity, made year-to-date savings totalling $540 million and reduced its inventories by more than $1 billion in the period, while producing a third quarter segment operating income of $275 million, a figure that shows improvement on 2008, with sales 11 per cent up from quarter two at $4.4 billion.
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