Africa
German wholesaler Baro is making its first appearance at Tyrexpo Africa 2014, with the express purpose of seeking new distribution partners for its European manufactured ranges of car, truck and agricultural tyres.
When Vipal opened up European sales offices in 2005, the Brazilian retreading materials supplier was just starting out in the collection of disparate markets that make up the continent. Now European sales make up nearly 15 per cent of the company’s global turnover. With this in mind and with growth still top of the agenda, Tyres & Accessories asked Vipal Europe general manager Alessandro Bottesini Campos how this happened and what is happening next.
The English-language version of the Bridgestone Group’s CSR Report 2013 have been released and is now available for download from the company’s website. The 63-page document covers the period from 1 January to 31 December 2012 and, in addition to covering initiatives related to Bridgestone’s 22 CSR Focus Points, it broaches the Japanese firm’s CSR activities from three perspectives, which it presents as ‘special features’.
A new management role, that of ‘general manager operations’, has been created at Pirelli, and Gregorio Borgo has been appointed the first incumbent. Borgo, currently head of Pirelli’s Asia-Pacific region, will report directly to company chairman and chief executive officer Marco Tronchetti Provera in his new position.
Marc Preedy, commercial director for Goodyear Dunlop Tyres UK has just completed a 335km bike ride for the international development charity, Transaid. The cycle ride, which saw Marc conquer the roads of both the UK and Holland in just three days, has seen him raise an impressive £4000 for the charity.
The Zeetex tyre brand launched a new website on Thursday 12 September 2013. According to the company, the site has been “aesthetically upgraded, is user friendly and boasts of enhanced functionality and dynamic tools”. The goal appears to have been to create a “visually appealing, polished and professional website – which also offers region-specific capabilities.”
Brazilian retreading products manufacturer Vipal has launched its VT160 tyre tread, designed specially to improve the traction of heavy vehicles in snow. The tread was first presented at Autopromotec in Bologna, when Vipal said the tread was suited best to heavy vehicles travelling on a variety of surfaces.
ContiTrade Africa, a newly founded entity of Conti Global Holding, has bought eight Jody’s Tyre Group fitment stores in Johannesburg, South Africa. ContiTrade Africa is responsible for franchise and retail operations in Africa with two main systems, FIT&GO and Best Drive – some of which are company owned while others are franchise stores. Of the eight stores recently acquired three will be converted into FIT&GO and four into Best Drive with one store trading by the name, Jody’s Tyres.
The DC, located in Los Angeles Vipal is opening a new distribution center (DC) in the city of Los Angeles, California in the USA. The company reports that it will serve the Western regions of the United States and Canada. Vipal already has two other DCs in the US – one in Florida and another in Virginia. With the addition of this new investment, Vipal will have a structure with a capacity of 1,500 positions for pallets. The Los Angeles DC is being run by local partner JAS Forwarding (which also operates the Florida DC).Vipal describes the move as a way of boosting its presence in the country, which will enable further growth in the world's largest market for retreaded tyres, the US.
On 1 August, Andreas Penkert, former CEO and director of Continental India Ltd, the former Modi Tyres operation acquired in 2011, has taken over leadership of sales and marketing for Pirelli in Germany. In his new role Penkert reports to Pirelli Deutschland GmbH CEO Michael Schwöbel and Pirelli tyre S.p.A. Central Europe CEO Daniele Deambrogio.
Dunlop has announced a new cooperation with the Red Bull-sponsored FMX4Ever freestyle motocross team, for whom the manufacturer will provide advanced off-road motorcycle tyres for the team. FMX, or Freestyle Motocross, focuses on aerial manoeuvres – or jumps and stunts – known as tricks. Dunlop’s hard terrain Geomax MX71, which will be provided to FMX4Ever, have directional front and rear patterns, optimising performance under braking and acceleration – exactly what is needed on ramps and on jump receptions. The FMX4Ever team will use the Geomax MX71 90/100-21 as front tyre and the MX71 110/90-19 at the rear.
Shareholder response to Apollo Tyres’ acquisition of Cooper Tire & Rubber has been mixed and several institutional investors petitioned the tyre maker in July to reconsider its decision. Apollo’s share price currently hovers around Rs 61, about two thirds the going rate before the company announced the planned purchase. Against this backdrop, company chairman Onkar S Kanwar’s address to shareholders at the Apollo Tyres 2013 annual general meeting framed the US$2.5 billion transaction as a necessary response to changing market conditions.
Irish haulier Tarrant International Transport has declared itself impressed with the longevity of Continental’s new HD Hybrid truck tyre. The drive axle tyre is designed for combined regional and long-haul use, and having achieved 280,000 km already Tarrant is confident that 300,000 km will be reached before the tyres require replacing. Donagh Tarrant, transport manager at the Cork based family-run firm said the performance was “exceptional and well beyond the mileage that we have been getting out of another premium brand.” In fact, he expects nearly to double the mileage achieved by previously fitted tyres.
Following on from its acquisition of Cooper Tire & Rubber, Apollo Tyres intends to focus investment where it anticipates growth – and vice-chairman and managing director Neeraj Kanwar has identified one such area as Eastern Europe.
Birla Tyres says it is ready to get its passenger car tyre factory project back on track, and the Indian tyre maker also intends to target export markets, including Europe, with its agricultural and other niche products.
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