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Tiger Automotive Offer Supported by 64.5% of Shareholders

According to media in South Africa, Tiger Automotive has declared that 64.5 per cent of shareholders had given a firm undertaking to vote in favour of the R1.05 billion (£76 million) offer made by Ethos Private Equity on December 12. To go ahead the transaction needs to approved by at least 75 per cent of shareholders and by antitrust authorities.

“TiAuto shareholders representing approximately 64.8 per cent of the shares eligible to vote at the scheme meeting have furnished irrevocable undertakings to vote in favour of the scheme,” Tiger Automotive said in a statement. The company added that it would not actively seek any rival offer while the Ethos offer remained on the table.

13th December 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone Aiming for 40% of Oman PCR Market

While visiting Oman for the launch of Bridgestone’s Adrenalin Potenza RE001 tyre, the company’s general manager for the Gulf, East Africa and Nigeria, Takahiro Mitsui, spoke about the company’s activities and ambitions for the region, and the measures being taken to ensure global supply keeps pace with demand.

According to Mitsui, Bridgestone holds 30 per cent of Oman’s passenger car tyre aftermarket. This high percentage, he believes, is in part the result of the predominance of Japanese cars sold on this market, most of which arrive fitted with Bridgestone as OE. The activities of Bridgestone’s regional distributor, Towell Auto Centre, is another key factor, said Mitsui. From a solitary outlet in 2001 the distributor has expanded to 16 outlets by 2007. However the general manager believes that, should a sufficient supply of tyres become available, Bridgestone could feasibly hold 40 per cent of this market segment. Across all market segments, Bridgestone currently holds 35 per cent of the market.

12th December 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

EU to Form Part of Larger Goodyear Strategic Business Unit

Executives at Akron have redrawn the borders on Goodyear’s global map, combining its European Union (EU) region with that of Eastern Europe,
Middle East and Africa (EEMA). The new grouping, to be known as Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), will be the manufacturer’s second largest geographic region and second largest, after North America, in terms of annual sales revenue. In 2006 the combined annual sales revenue for the two former regions was US$6.5 billion. The amalgamation of the two regions takes effect on February 1, 2008.

11th December 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Kanwar Reiterates Apollo Plans

Comments made by Apollo Tyres joint managing director and COO during his attendance at the World Economic Forum’s India Economic Summit on December 3 reiterate the tyremaker’s goals for the coming years. “As stated, we are looking to touch the two billion dollar sales by 2010 and we are looking to enter strategic markets in Asia Pacific and Europe in the passengers tyre segment,” commented Kanwar to media covering the New Delhi summit. When asked whether the company, who in 2006 paid £35.4 million in cash for South Africa’s Dunlop International, intended to support its expansion through further acquisitions, Kanwar replied that “both organic and inorganic growth will play important part as we aim to achieve our 2010 target.”

5th December 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Pirelli to Raise Prices in Several Export Markets

Pirelli Tyre reports that price increases of up to 10 per cent are planned for all passenger car, SUV and truck tyre lines sold in Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific markets, effective as of January 1, 2008. The manufacturer states that the increases have been necessitated by continued increases in the cost of raw materials and energy.

5th December 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone Announces Management Changes

Bridgestone Corporation announced on November 28 that its Board of Directors has approved the following proposals of the changes in Member of the Board and in Corporate Officers. The following board member will undergo changes in position and responsibilities, effective January 1, 2008.

– Toru TSUDA

New position and responsibilities: Vice president and senior officer responsible for products development, tyre products development, tyre research and material development.

Current position and responsibilities: Vice president and senior officer responsible for products development, tyre products development.

30th November 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Bringing the World to China

China at the start of the 21st century can claim to hold a position on the world stage enjoyed by Britain in the 19th – the People’s Republic is the undisputed ‘workshop of the world’, and its swelling output of manufactured products has seen the country grow to become the world’s fourth largest economy. Included in this swift expansion has been tyre industry production – recent figures indicate that China now produces some 330 million tyres annually. Of this amount 235 million are radial types, and two-thirds of these are destined for export. However, China has not merely grown as a production site for meeting the needs of global markets. The Chinese are quickly becoming a nation of consumers, and their appetite for vehicles is voracious. While only six Chinese out of every hundred own a car, research conducted by AC Nielsen indicates that China contains more people who aspire to own a car, but currently do not, than any other country. The outlook for tyre sales within China is thus good, and domestic demand is tipped to surpass export figures in about five years’ time. Whether buying or selling tyres, China is a country that provides many lucrative business opportunities.

21st November 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Apollo Planning European Factory & Distribution Chain

Apollo Tyres’ plans to double its turnover to US$2 billion by 2010 involve expansion in Europe, and Neeraj Kanwar, the company’s joint managing director and COO, has revealed further details of Apollo’s intentions to this end. Comments made by the senior Apollo executive have been printed in the Indian business newspaper, Mint.

The tyremaker is aware of Europe’s value as a market, and is planning its entry into the market carefully. Neeraj Kanwar said that Apollo views Europe “eventually as a domestic market.” Therefore, the company’s involvement in the region is “taking time because we want to get the service infrastructure and the back-end (operations) ready.” A previous attempt at European distribution, in cooperation with Netherlands based wholesaler Euro-Tyre BV, saw only a limited quantity of Apollo Tyres products sold in Europe, and this working relationship has now ended.

21st November 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

New Potential Tiger Auto Buyer Appears

South Africa’s Tiger Automotive has confirmed it received a written expression of interest in purchasing the company from prominent South African private equity manager Ethos Private Equity. The company has offered to pay R 1.05 billion (£76.2 million) for Tiger Automotive. However, Tiger Automotive added that this document is in no way a binding offer, nor is it a notice of firm intention to make an offer on the tyre and wheel distributor.

15th November 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

New Appointments at Goodyear SA

South Africa’s tyre industry has recently completed a short round of musical chairs, with a couple of senior executives switching companies. Former Continental Tyre SA senior manager Dustine Gascoyne has joined Goodyear South Africa as marketing director. “The Port Elizabeth-born marketing executive has gained solid experience in the tyre industry after spending the past 14 years at Continental,” said Goodyear in its announcement. Gascoyne added: “I am delighted to be on board at Goodyear. The company feels open and team-oriented.”

Goodyear recently split the sales and marketing directorship portfolios into two separate roles, and former Hi-Q managing director Andrew Bowren has taken up the position of sales director at Goodyear South Africa.

14th November 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Agarwal Rubber: Driving Ambition

Agarwal Rubber Limited was incorporated in 1983 and is part of the Agarwal Group; one of the leading private business groups in India, with interests in a number of fields, including automobile rubber products, tyres, tubes, flaps, cement manufacturing and real estate. Agarwal Rubber was the first company in India to exclusively manufacture butyl rubber tubes and flaps – products which had traditionally been manufactured by tyre companies – and the initial capacity was 200 tubes per day. This has risen somewhat, as today’s daily production capacity stands at 30,000 tubes.

The company is already well known for its Maruti brand of products, which include tyres and tubes for everything from two wheelers through passenger cars and LCVs to trucks and even tubes for aircraft wheels. Agarwal Rubber has recently extended its range with the addition of a new brand, ARL.

13th November 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Tyre Technology – What’s Next?

(Douglasdale, South Africa/SA Treads) People often ask me what drew me to the tyre business. Why, the dynamism, creativity and sophistication of the industry, I promptly reply. At that, I’m usually met by blank stares and looks of incredulity, as if the notion of designing and making a tyre is akin to watching grass grow. But they can be forgiven for their misplaced scepticism as they’re likely unaware of the research, development and design genius that takes place long before a tyre leaves the production line. Modern tyre technology is not only sophisticated, it’s setting new, previously inconceivable benchmarks. So where is tyre technology headed and what will the tyre of the future look like? We ask those in the know.

When it comes to strategic focus and future developments, every global tyre maker has its own agenda, but our investigations revealed a number of common buzz words around this issue, primarily, interactive, green and fuel-efficient. Evidently, these are the main trends driving tyre technology today.

12th November 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Mining Director Predicts OTR Tyre Shortage Over in 2008

According to global diamond mining giant De Beers, the shortage of large OTR tyres that has plagued mining operators in recent years will be over by the end of 2008. The South African publication Mining Weekly has reported De Beers director Debbie Farnaby as saying the success of Chinese manufacturers in the area of radial OTR tyre production will end the shortage sooner than previously anticipated.

China’s traditional output of cross-ply tyres was deemed unsuitable by many mine operators, and numerous estimates of the tyre shortage’s duration were based upon the assumption that this type of OTR tyre would be the mainstay of Chinese production for some time. “But they’re making radials as well, and we’re testing some at Venetia (De Beers’ largest diamond mine in South Africa) at the moment,” Farnaby said.

2nd November 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Goodyear Sales Up Despite Lower Volumes

The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company has reported record third quarter sales of US$5.1 billion, up 3 per cent from last year. The company’s Asia Pacific Tire, Latin American Tire, European Union Tire, and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa Tire divisions all achieved record sales during the quarter despite Latin America being the only region to actually sell a greater volume of tyres. Goodyear claims it has successfully offset lower volumes through price increases and a richer product mix. These price and product mix changes in all five business units led to a 7 per cent increase in revenue per tyre over the 2006 quarter, and Goodyear adds that the quarter’s lower sales volume – 51.7 million tyres worldwide as opposed to 55.8 million in third quarter 2006 – reflects the company’s strategic decision to quit “certain segments” of the North American private label tyre market, along with other weak markets.

Total segment operating income from continuing operations was $382 million in the third quarter of 2007, another all-time high and up 35 per cent from the 2006 period. All five business units had higher segment operating income compared to last year, with Asia Pacific Tire and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa Tire setting records for any quarter.

30th October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Apollo Results Show Growing Profits & EU Presence

The board of directors at Apollo Tyres made public details of the company’s unaudited second quarter and half-year results on October 26, figures that indicate strong profits. Combined India and South Africa net sales for the quarter between 1 July and 30 September were recorded as Rs 10,848.97 million (£134 million), slightly lower than the same period a year earlier (Rs 10,903.43 million). However, profits trebled: The Rs 182.18 million (£2.25 million) profit gained in second quarter 2006 swelled to Rs 576.09 million (£7.11 million) this year. Half year profits for the six months ended September 30 showed a similar trend, growing from Rs 298.69 million (£3.69 million) to Rs 1,122.5 million (£13.86 million).

26th October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors