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Receivership Inches Closer Following Rejection of Kumho Pay Deal

The thumbs down given by workers at Kumho Tires to a plan outlining wage cuts may jeopardise the company’s ongoing viability. According to the JoongAng Daily, a Korea Development Bank official dealing with the Kumho Asiana Group stated that “Since the agreement between the union and management was rejected, the workout process cannot continue. Unless union workers agree to restructuring, they won’t be able to save their company.” The deal, part of a larger agreement between Kumho Asiana and its creditors, would have permitted a 10 to 15 per cent reduction in wages and the removal of incentives. This would, notes the Korean newspaper, lead to monthly pay packets being up to 40 per cent smaller.

12th April 2010/by Tyrepress Editors

Guangdong Greatoo Expanding Mould Production

Despite the effects of the global recession, Guangdong Greatoo Molds Inc is planning to increase its Chinese mould making capacity to 5000 moulds and 3000 containers by the end of 2010, up 25 and 20 per cent respectively from current levels of 4000 moulds and 2500. In order to do this, the company is adding “lots of direct engraving machines in our new plant and these machines are state of the art thus reducing the machining time substantially” in addition to the firm’s existing plans for 200 hydraulic curing presses and CNC machines, according to company representatives.

8th April 2010/by Tyrepress Editors

Interstate “Outpacing the Replacement Market”

Founded in 1972, Interstate Tires has expanded to the point that it has developed its own unique range. According to company literature, Interstate’s “successful execution of its unique marketing strategy has produced units sales growth that has consistently outpaced that of the replacement tyre industry.” With worldwide distribution and warehouses in Europe and Asia, Interstate ships to every major port and offer reportedly offers “great logistic service to…customers.”

7th April 2010/by Tyrepress Editors

MRF Comes Top In JD Power India OE Tyre Survey

Of the 3,874 drivers questioned in the latest J.D. Power Asia Pacific 2010 India Original Equipment Tire Customer Satisfaction Index (TCSI) Study, over 80 per cent who were highly satisfied with their original equipment tyres said they will purchase the same brand for their next set of tyres. Good news for tyremaker MRF, which came top of JD Power’s 10th annual study of this kind.

The study, which measures satisfaction among original equipment tyre owners during the first 12 to 24 months of ownership and is based on scores measured with a 1,000-point scale, found that customers who are highly satisfied are more than twice as likely as highly dissatisfied customers to recommend their original equipment tyre brand. It was fielded between May and August 2009.

6th April 2010/by Tyrepress Editors

Aufine Group Expects “Big Increase” in Tyre Prices

Aufine Group Company Ltd has warned customers that record high natural rubber costs mean it will have to implement significant prices increases soon. Writing in a customer newsletter, company representatives blamed the price spike on the “heavy drought” experienced in south China and other parts of the region in Asia: “As a result, the output of natural rubber is reducing sharply, which [has] caused the price of current rubber and rubber futures [to] have increased crazily…We estimate a big increase on tyre price will come soon.”

1st April 2010/by Tyrepress Editors

Hankook to Build or Acquire South Asia Plant

During an interview with US trade publication Tire Review, recently appointed Hankook Tire America president Soo Il Lee indicated the South Korean tyre maker is looking to extend its presence in the Asian region. “Our next consideration is the southern Asia market,” he stated. “We are trying to find a location there or to buy an existing company this year or next year.” Lee did not disclose what type of products would be manufactured at this new facility.

1st April 2010/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone Promotes Green Driving Through Mini-Documentary

Television audiences have the chance to pick up useful tips and information on ‘green’ driving techniques and technologies courtesy of Bridgestone and the National Geographic Channel. The tyre major and broadcaster have partnered to produce a mini-documentary series called Drive Green, which Bridgestone says is aimed at inspiring consumers to change the way they drive to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. According to Bridgestone, the series has a potential global audience of 315 million homes.

1st April 2010/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone Establishes Vietnam Tyre Sales Company

Bridgestone Corporation subsidiary Bridgestone Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd. (BSAP) has established a new tyre sales company for the Vietnamese market. Based in Ho Chi Minh City, the new company is named Bridgestone Tire Sales Vietnam Limited Liability Company (BSTVN) and is 95 per cent BSAP owned. The remaining five per cent ownership is held by Mitsubishi Corporation. Established with a capital of US$700,000, BSTVN employs 18 staff and is headed up by Tetsuro Chiba.

1st April 2010/by Tyrepress Editors

New Thailand Logistics Provider for Continental

In Thailand, Continental Tyres has concluded a contract with the local operations of logistics provider Kuehne + Nagel for the national distribution of its tyres. In the scope of the agreement, Kuehne + Nagel Thailand will support Continental Tyres’ original equipment and aftermarket dealer business in Thailand. The service to be performed for Continental Tyres Thailand includes receiving and unloading import containers, checking of manufacturing date, storage, in- & out-handling, picking & packing, inventory management and nationwide distribution to its dealers and end users. The operations are being implemented at Kuehne + Nagel’s shared facility in Theparak.

31st March 2010/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone to Invest £357 million in Second Tyre Factory in India

Bridgestone Corporation has announced that its Indian subsidiary (Bridgestone India Private Ltd) is to invest 50 billion yen (£357 million; 401 million euros; US$539 million) in a second tyre production plant in the country. According to the company, the latest factory will be built near the city of Pune, Maharashtra State, 170 km southeast of Mumbai.

This new plant is slated to begin passenger car radial tyre (PCR) production and truck and bus radial tyre (TBR) in January 2013 and August 2013 respectively. The company is aiming for capacity 10,000 units per day (PCR) and 3,000 units per day (TBR) by 2020.

30th March 2010/by Tyrepress Editors

Production Halted at Kumho’s Gwangju Plant

South Korea’s JoongAng Daily reports the production line at Kumho Tire’s Gwangju factory has stood idle since last week due to the unavailability of rubber. The company planned to secure emergency funding from its creditor to purchase additional supplies of the commodity, however this action has been delayed due to disagreements with the union representing Kumho Tire employees.

29th March 2010/by Tyrepress Editors

Yokohama Rubber Raises Sales and Earnings Projections

Yokohama Rubber has raised its projections for consolidated net sales and earnings in the fiscal year to March 31, 2010. The company now projects a net income of 9.4 billion yen (£69.2 million), compared with a net loss of 5.7 billion yen in the previous fiscal year. It projects that operating income will rise 49.9 per cent to 19.2 billion yen (£141.3 million), and that net sales will decline 9.1 per cent, to 470.0 billion yen (£3.5 billion). The projection for net income is 34.3 per cent higher than the projection announced on October 30, 2009; the projection for operating income is 12.9 per cent higher; and the projection for net sales is 1.1 per cent higher.

24th March 2010/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone Europe Names New CEO and President

On March 30, the role of CEO and president of Bridgestone Europe will be handed over to Makio Ohashi. The 30-year Bridgestone veteran succeeds Toro Tsuda, who currently holds the position of chairman, CEO and President of Bridgestone Europe. Upon his return to Japan, Tsuda will take on the position of vice president and senior officer of Bridgestone Corporation.

22nd March 2010/by Tyrepress Editors

Michelin Green X Challenge Starts Second ALMS Season

The Michelin Green X Challenge is described by the tyre maker as a ‘race within the race’ at motorsports events such as the American Le Mans Series (ALMS). The idea behind the challenge is summed by Michelin as “if fast is good, then faster and cleaner is even better,” and the company notes that this approach paid off for 12 of the 20 ALMS Michelin green X Challenge winners last year, as they also won their respective class on track. The 2010 US based round of this environmental motorsport awards programme gets underway at the Twelve Hours of Sebring on March 20.

18th March 2010/by Tyrepress Editors

Lanxess ‘Confident’ About 2010 Following Strong Q4

After finishing the 2009 financial year on a high note in the last quarter, specialty chemicals group Lanxess has expressed confidence for the 2010 year. This sense of optimism, it says, is supported by the company’s development within the Asia/Pacific and further boosted by savings generated from its “Challenge09-12” package of measures. “We therefore expect a significant year-on-year improvement in earnings, even if there is currently no sign of a self-sustaining upswing,” said Axel C. Heitmann, chairman of the Lanxess AG Board of Management.

17th March 2010/by Tyrepress Editors