Vacu-Lug Traction Tyres Limited is one of the latest group of successful companies to join a leading edge scheme, designed to help industry improve its safety record. The Grantham, Lincolnshire-based firm recently received accreditation from SAFEcontractor, a programme which recognises high standards of health and safety practice amongst UK contractors.
In a jointly-issued statement, Pirelli and Sibur-Russian Tyres announced that, in line with the agreement signed between the two tyre makers and Russian Technologies on 25 July, the transfer of the Kirov plant from Sibur to the joint venture set up by Pirelli and Russian Technologies was finalised on 14 December.
Bridgestone Americas appears to be seeking a five-year tax break as an incentive for it to make a planned US$20 million capital investment at its OTR tyre plant in Bloomington, Illinois, reports Tire Review. A proposal before local authorities would see property tax on the plant locked into its current rate for five years, even when the tyre maker makes improvements to the facility – Bridgestone intends to add plant equipment that would enable the manufacture of 25-inch OTR radials in Bloomington.
In announcing details of its recently-signed fleet agreement with contract hire and direct rental firm Alltruck, Bridgestone UK comments that securing the deal was not achieved solely on cost. Rather, the combination of a state-of-the-art account system and the durability of its products were the major factors in helping land the contract.
Following the failure of Cooper Tire and the United Steelworkers to reach an agreement on a new long-term contract for unionised workers at Cooper’s Findlay, Ohio factory, the tyre maker announced on 28 November an immediate lockout of USW members at the facility.
A buyer for Sibur Holding’s tyre business may be announced before the end of this year, Bloomberg reports. New owners Leonid Mikhelson and Gennady Timchenko are apparently “close” to securing buyers for Sibur-Russian Tyres plus the company’s Sibur-Fertilizers business; their sale forms part of the owners’ new focus on specialty chemicals, Bloomberg states.
Findlay, Ohio-based news source The Courier states that Cooper Tire & Rubber reached a tentative three-year labour agreement on 23 November with the representative chapter of the United Steelworkers union, Local 207L. No specific information has been disclosed about the agreement, which covers unionised workers at Cooper’s Findlay factory and succeeds the old agreement that expired on October 31. Local 207L members will meet on 26 November to hear details of the agreement and a vote on the deal will take place the following day.
Following its US launch, the point S network has announced its entry into another new market – this time in Scandinavia. On 23 November, point S Development management signed a contract with the independent dealer network “Fagdekk”, which is made up of 43 service centres throughout Norway.
Unionised workers at Cooper Tire & Rubber’s Findlay plant in the US state of Ohio remain on the job, even as its leadership continues contract negotiations. Ohio-based industry publication Tire Review reports that workers represented by the United Steelworkers’ Local 207have been working for three weeks without a contract as the two sides continue negotiations – and these negotiations have been described as “getting intense.”
On 21 November, Hong Kong-based Bermuda corporation China Enterprises Limited announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its share in tyre maker Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber Company to a company called CZ Tire Holdings Limited. According to China Enterprises, CZ Tire Holdings will pay RMB 600,000,000 (£59.6 million) for the 26 per cent share in Hangzhou Zhongce.
On 18 November Goodyear Tire & Rubber held a topping ceremony for its new corporate and North American headquarters in Akron, Ohio, seven months to the day after its groundbreaking. A steel beam signed by hundreds of Goodyear’s Akron employees was put in place today as many of them, along with chairman and CEO Richard J. Kramer, watched the event live via video feed. The Goodyear blimp was also on hand to provide aerial coverage.
The Russian Legal Information Agency reports a Russian court has ordered Amtel-Vredestein N.V. to pay TIRE Invest the 42.3 million euros sought in relation to an unpaid loan. In 2007 the former owner of the Vredestein brand entered into a loan agreement with Nomos-Bank, and this was set to mature in 2009. When Amtel-Vredestein failed to repay the loan in due time, the bank filed a lawsuit against the borrower and its guarantors.
Trelleborg has decided to postpone its Capital Markets Day, originally scheduled for November 30, 2011, until next year. The company says it will announce a new date for the event at a later stage.
The F3 Euro Series will announce a new tyre supplier for 2012 as the existing deal with Korean manufacturer Kumho will not be renewed, Autosport.com reports. The website reports that the championship's managing director Walter Mertes says the amicable ending of the supply agreement meant the championship had lost “an always loyal partner”.
Pirelli has committed itself to support road safety campaigns in Italy, particularly those aimed at students and young drivers, through a number of joint projects with the Italian government. On October 6 the tyre maker signed a protocol of intent with Italy’s Interior Ministry and the Ministry for Education and Research to select and support joint projects and other initiatives. Under the terms of the agreement, Pirelli will work with the two government bodies on various road safety projects for at least three years.
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