Autosport has reported that Pirelli’s driver for its Formula One tyre tests next week at Monza will be Romain Grosjean, a former GP2 driver. The motorsport news source says it understands Pirelli’s agreement with the Swiss covers only next week’s testing, meaning the position is – in theory at least – still up for grabs. Pedro De la Rosa, whose F1 Sauber seat Nick Heidfeld has taken over, was previously linked with the position.
Last month NR Evans put the first of three engineers through Bridgestone’s Roadside Technicians course. Martin Jones (based at NR Evans’ Aldridge site) became the 410th technician to complete the Bridgestone course and gain the National Roadside Scheme ID Card administered by the IVR UK Ltd (Institute of Vehicle Recovery).
Accuride Corporation has negotiated a new collective bargaining agreement with the unions representing 215 workers at the company’s aluminium wheel manufacturing facility in the US state of Pennsylvania. The existing agreement representatives with the International Union, United Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America was set to expire at midnight September 3, 2010. The new agreement for the Erie plant is effective September 4, 2010, through September 3, 2014.
Apollo Tyres reports the successful conclusion of negotiations with union representatives over the lockout at its Perambra factory in India’s Kerala state. After reaching an agreement with two of the three unions representing employees at the company’s so-called “mother” plant, Apollo has announced the end of the lockout which began on June 11.
Nick Heidfeld, who is busy testing tyres as part of Pirelli’s Formula One development programme, has thanked the Mercedes racing team for releasing him from his contract so he could carry out this work. “It’s a great privilege for me to join Pirelli in order to carry out this vital work and I am very grateful to Mercedes GP Petronas for releasing me from my contract to take on this role,” he said. “Through the experience I have built up over the years, I’m confident that I will be able to provide Pirelli with some important feedback regarding the development of next year’s tyres. I’ve got a lot to give but I haven’t been driving so much this year, so it is good to get started. Together, I’m sure that we can create a dynamic range of tyres that will make Formula One an even more exciting sport in the future.”
Visitors to the Dallas Cowboy’s recently completed 280,000 square metre Cowboys Stadium will bask in Yokohama Tire’s corporate presence following the signing of a one-year sponsorship agreement between the club and tyre maker. The deal includes stadium, pre-game, post-game and in-game spots on the team’s flagship radio station; in-stadium displays and in-game announcements on the public address system and on LED boards. Yokohama Tire Corporation will also be able to take advantage of hospitality opportunities at select games, and the tyre maker will partner with the team on its travelling Dallas Cowboy Museum Tour truck, which goes to more than 100 events per year.
Michelin has signed two 10-year contracts with the airlines Air France and KLM. Under the terms of these, Michelin tyres will be fitted on around 425 aircraft operated both by the Air France-KLM Group and by other airlines for which Air France and KLM provide maintenance services. These aircraft include 37 Boeing B777-300 ERs, 66 Boeing B737-NGs, 145 Airbus A320s and three Airbus A380s.
The Sibur Group has sold tyres through its Sibur-Russian Tyres subsidiary for the past eight years, but now it has also turned its attention to other vehicle components. In late June the group’s “Plastic JSC” operation signed a letter of intent with the Sollers group, a Russian manufacturer that produces Fiat, Isuzu and SsanYong vehicles under licence. The focus of the letter is to indentify the main direction future cooperation between these two parties could take in respect to the production and supply of automotive components.
A three-year cooperation agreement recently signed between Michelin and German agricultural machinery manufacturer Claas is expected to strengthen the two company’s collaboration in several areas, such as research, development and market intelligence. According to Michelin, the agreement demonstrates the two partners’ “confidence in today’s changing farm markets and their shared commitment to developing their operations in this sector.”
Following the naming of key suppliers for its new 400 million euro butyl rubber plant on Singapore’s Jurong Island, Lanxess states that the facility’s project execution phase, in which the infrastructure necessary for the plant’s construction is being set up, is now in “full swing”. The current construction schedule calls for the plant to be ready in time for production to start in the first quarter of 2013.
Yokohama Tire Corporation has published details of the new four-year contract signed with the United Steelworkers for its factory in Salem, Virginia. The tyre maker says that contract highlights include a ‘no closure agreement’ for the plant during the contract’s duration, an improved cost of living structure, continuation of the union’s current pension plan and safety and health measures.
In the US, Yokohama Tire and the United Steelworkers failed by exactly seven minutes to secure a last-minute deal regarding the tyre maker’s Salem, Virginia factory. Following a series of negotiations that began in March, a tentative agreement for a new, four-year contract was reached eight minutes before the existing contract’s expiry on May 16.
The Korea Development Bank has led a band of Kumho creditors in signing a 1.2 trillion won ($1.08 billion) agreement; half in a debt-for-equity swap and half in new capital. Ahn Yang-soo, senior director of KDB and the executive in charge of Kumho’s debt, told the Korea Times: “Creditors agreed to assist Kumho. We will switch company debts into stocks. We also will give additional capital to help the company manage its businesses. We think the rescue plan will provide Kumho the momentum to turn its business around.’’
In a vote held on April 21, unionised workers have accepted Kumho Tire’s proposed restructuring plan, including a cut in wages and bonuses. According to information published by the Wall Street Journal, the agreement paves the way for a 10 per cent reduction in salaries for 2010 and a further five per cent reduction before Kumho Tire’s exit from a debt-rescheduling programme in some two to three years’ time. In return, Kumho has withdrawn plans to lay off or outsource around 1,200 workers.
An agreement between management at Kumho Tires and the union representing employees has finally been reached. The Korea Times states that on April 18, during the 26th round of negotiations, both parties found common ground on all major issues. As per the terms of this final agreement, the decision to lay-off 189 Kumho Tires workers has been revoked on the condition that employees submit written assurances regarding the adherence to company regulations. The Korea Times adds that a further plan to outsource 1,006 employees will be cancelled should the agreement gain worker approval when voted upon.
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