The Accuride Corporation has announced that its stock has been added to the Russell 2000 Index. The annual reconstitution of Russell’s 21 US equity indexes captures the 3,000 largest US stocks, ranking them by market capitalization to create the broad market Russell 3000 Index. This year marks the 21st anniversary of Russell’s US indexes.
Snap-on Tools is celebrating its 40th anniversary of the opening of its UK operation this year.
“Today we are clear brand leaders in the UK automotive tools market, with a commanding market share,” said Terry Barcham, Snap-on Tools UK managing director, at a recent press conference.
Goodyear UK’s MD Dick Johnston recently paid a visit to Ireland’s Modern Tyre Service to congratulate directors and staff on their 40th anniversary.
Having started in 1965 the company now operates through two headquarters based in Newry and Enniskillen. Following extensive investment, and the acquisition of several new depots, Modern Tyre now has a total of 26 branches making it the largest independent tyre retailer in Northern Ireland. The company services the private, fleet and wholesale markets with all major brands of tyres as well as batteries, exhausts and alloy wheels.
The Toyo Environmental Protection Fund has decided to expand its giving to not-for-profit orgnisations beyond Japan. Coinciding with the 60th anniversary year of Toyo Tire & Rubber’s foundation, this move demonstrates the collective commitment of the Toyo Group to playing a public service role commensurate with its growing presence in the world.
(Akron/Tire Review) Continental is set to launch three new General brand truck tyres at the Mid-America Trucking show between 31 March and 2 April in Louisville, Kentucky. According to CTNA, the launch will help commemorate the 90th anniversary of the General brand. No further details about the new tyres were provided by CTNA.
A changing market environment and growing consumer demand in Russia has encouraged Matador to target the increasing opportunities offered by the market. The Slovakian tyre manufacturer is preparing for the future by initiating a new brand strategy and further investments into its Russian joint venture in Omsk. 2005 is an appropriate year for Matador to contemplate future development of its tyre business, as it will celebrate two important anniversaries during the coming months. In May the company will celebrate its 10th year at the Russian factory Omskshina, followed by its 100th anniversary in the autumn.
Matador is celebrating its 100th anniversary by touring western Europe with its presentation truck. The company first used its presentation truck in 2004 and will now use it to remember its long history and highlight its objectives for the future. The truck provides a suitable environment for presentations, training activities, business negotiations and has exhibited at exhibitions and motorsports events.
Last year the truck embarked on its central and southern Europe tour with the intention of focusing on training markets of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Greece. Mr Reich, head of the marketing department of Matador Tyre division described last year’s tour: “It is understood that our objective was to get closer to our customers. And I could say from my experiences of last season that this form of presentation got quite a warm welcome from our business partners.“ The presentation truck will be touring during April and has planned stops in France, Belgium and the UK.
BMTR celebrated its 85th anniversary at the end of 2004 and to mark the occasion Group Tyre hosted a special dinner and presentation eveningat a prestigious hotel in Sutton Coldfield.
For BMTR, motorsport involvement began in the years after WW2, when motor racing commenced at Silvestone and Goodwood. The pattern continued in the 1950s and 1960s when Don Smith successfully raced Jaguars. Paul Smith Followed in his father’s tyre tracks by competing with Nigel Mansell, Derek Warwick and Geoff Lees in Formula Ford. Progression into Sportscar racing saw two class wins at Le Mans and subsequently a successful move into Thouroughbred Grand Prix cars, one of a number of UK and European race series that BMTR supplies.
“BMTR has been a pillar of the West Midlands motoring scene for longer than any of us can remember, and yet it is a company that has matched the latest technology with its heritage provide a unique depth of service. At Group Tyre we want to pay tribute to what is a continuing industry achievement and to congratulate our colleagues at BMTR,” said Group Tyre chairman, John Church, commenting on the company’s anniversary.
On another side of the business, the company continues its policy of “expansion on all fronts,” with the recent acquisition of an additional 20,000 square feet of new warehouse space. Paul Smith explained that this is geared towards the wholesale area of the business, enabling increased levels of stock to be held across both front line and budget brands. “This initiative is better enabling us to offer service to both our existing and new customer base. Service support radiates around 40 miles from Birmingham city centre. Our aim is to continually improve service to enable us to give better first time availability on all Group Tyre supported brands,” he said.
Birmingham based tyre wholesaler and distributor BMTR Group has announced the appointment of Gary Hickman as director and general manager. Mr Hickman will be based at the group’s Perry Barr site.
As part of the NTDA’s series of 75th anniversary celebrations, association chairman, Martin Rowlands, and director, Richard Edy invited NTDA members to ‘walk the halls of power.’
On a sweltering midsummer’s evening the Houses of Parliament provided the backdrop for NTDA members to rub shoulders with parliamentarians. The evening reception was held at the invitation of David Lidington, Member of Parliament for the NTDA’s home constituency, Alylesbury.
In their welcoming speeches Mr Lidington and Mr Rowlands encouraged dialogue between the industry and government. “We value our relationship with both government MPs and the civil service and will continue to represent our members interests on government working groups covering scrap tyre disposal and road safety. As one of the guest MPs said: ‘it is important that a trade association has a voice and that we parliamentarians have an organisation with whom we can talk’,” said Martin Rowlands.
Throughout the evening guests had the opportunity to network with influential members of the tyre business and, in chairman Martin Rowlands’ words, “bend the ear of politicians, with a particular interest in our industry.”
As part of the association’s celebrations of its 75th anniversary, the National Tyre Distributors Association is holding a reception and buffet in the House of Commons. The reception will be attended by a number of MPs who have interests in the tyre sector and key industry figures. Tyres & Accessories will be there too bringing you coverage of the event from the nation’s capital.
As part of the NTDA’s 75th anniversary celebrations, association chairman, Martin Rowlands, and director, Richard Edy invited guests to ‘walk the halls’ of power and attend an evening reception in the Houses of Parliament. The reception was held at the invitation of David Lidington, member of Parliament for the NTDA’s home constituency, Alylesbury.
At its AGM, which coincided with the company’s 100th anniversary, Ford shareholders rejected proposals that would have weakened the Ford family’s hold over the company had they been accepted. Ford family members own four per cent of the company’s shares but control forty per cent of the voting rights. A further proposal, to set up a committee to investigate possible conflicts of interest between the Ford family and other shareholders, was also rejected, but attracted almost twenty per cent of the vote.
Michelin’s Dundee plant is to manufacture the new Michelin Energy 3 tyre being launched this week. This is good news for the workers at the Baldovie plant. The future of the plant had recently been the subject of speculation as Michelin moved production to cheaper labour cost centres in Eastern Europe. However the announcement of the selection of Dundee to manufacture the new tyre brings a boost in confidence. Plant manager, Trish Bailey said, ” This is a very positive signal for the Dundee factory going into the future. The new tyre is at the very heart of the Michelin range and we are going to play a very important role at the centre of its production. This will contribute to job security for the workers in Dundee.”
Over the past two decades, many things of interest have happened in the tyre industry, reported in the pages of NEUE REIFENZEITUNG and our twentieth anniversary is a good time to look back over some of these events. It is not our intention to produce an historic overview, rather to remind you of some of the significant happenings in the market which were important at the time and are still having an effect today. For example, we have seen many takeover attempts of tyre companies – both friendly and unfriendly – from which we have learned that biggest is not always best. Fifteen years ago, the Goodyear group was worth more at the Stock Exchange than today; now it is worth $4 bn, fifteen years ago, Goldsmith offered $6 bn. There have been many changes in the tyre trade too, and methods of selling tyres have changed significantly. Cooperations have been successful, but above all we have seen the development of Partnerships between the industry and the trade; today the basis for these agreements is more rational than emotional. Last but not least there are a lot of people who have made the news over the past twenty years. Among these are tyre dealer Schütze, the man who awarded himself numerous academic qualifications, and tyre dealer Hesse, who was the brightest shooting star of the early 80s, and bankrupt in 1984. On the other hand there is the tyre dealer from Weiden, Peter Unger, who had a big success story with his ATU stores; a success which is still on-going. Among the many other personalities worth mentioning is Horst W. Urban, the man whose actions ensured that Continental has remained an independent company, and Marco Tronchetti Provera; probably the most successful tyre company manager over the last decade.
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