Lanxess, the Japanese subsidiary of the Leverkusen-based chemicals group, has inaugurated its new headquarters in Tokyo.
Referring to the ceremony, Dr Martin Wienkenhöver, Lanxess board member, who is in charge of Asian business, said that Japan is “the most important market in Asia.” The company manufacturers solid rubber for automotive tyres in Japan and other countries.
Tenneco Automotive is embarking on a new safety campaign called ‘Testing Days on Tour.’ The manufacturer is putting a fleet of testing vans on the road to travel across Europe, testing motorists shock absorbers, springs, exhaust systems and catalytic converters checked, free of charge at participating garages.
Automotive supplier Beru AG has announced that it will spend 5 million euros expanding its research and development facilities in Ludwigsburg. The plans will see the company’s R&D and test centre enlarged by a new extension building. As a result of the extension, the company will gain about one thousand square meters of usable space. In addition to quality management and control, the new building will also accommodate development for the company’s glow plugs and diesel engines as well as applications technology activities. Construction work will start in July 2005. The new building should be completed and put into operation by the end of the financial year in March 2006.
“This investment decision is fully in line with our long-term policy of maintaining BERU’s competitiveness by means of permanent innovation. Each year we invest around 10 per cent of our sales revenues for this purpose. This investment rate is one of the highest in the industry. In Ludwigsburg, we are expanding our R&D capacities in diesel cold-start technology and ignition technology for gasoline engines. We are delighted that this also enables us to create several highly qualified new jobs,” commented Marco von Maltzan, chairman of the executive board.
“Matador Group has completed another successful year,” said company spokesperson, Dušan Koblišek in a statement about its 2004 activities.
Describing Matador’s acquisitions and its move into the automotive supply segment as “a breakthrough period in the history of our company,” he went onto explain that the group’s initial consolidated results recorded a profit before tax of SKK 388 million (£7 million).
At the end of January point S, Germany’s largest cooperative, held its second annual meeting since it merged with competing buying group, VRG. Although more than two years have passed since the merger, the meeting revealed that the dust hasn’t settled yet, and, following a number of management changes, there is still plenty of strong feeling on the subject. Nevertheless, nearly 750 participants travelled to Leipzig’s Congress Center for the two-day meeting and heard about the organisation’s “courage for the future.”
Automotive supplier, Beru AG, has reduced its sales growth target, following lower than expected demand. The company now says that sales revenues should rise by at least 10 per cent in the current financial year with EBIT reaching at least 56 million euros. According to the company, an unusually warm winter, lower than expect demand for TPMS and lower sales in the field of diesel technology mean that its original 13 per cent sales goal will be unreachable.
Mahle International has increased its share in Izumi Piston Manufacturing Co, (Thailand) Ltd from 34 to 52 per cent. The company will now operate under Mahle Engine Components Thailand Ltd supplying the Thai automotive industry with 1.8 million pistons per year, predominantly for passenger car and commercial diesel engines. The 370 employees at the Bangkok location currently achieve sales of around 13.1 million euros. With 7 locations, Mahle now has a production capacity of 18 million pistons and is one of the largest suppliers in this sector on the most dynamic growth market. The announcement is retrospectively effective from 1 January.
In 2004 the value of China’s automotive exports, principally of components, reached $8.156 billion (£4.4 billion). The total equates to an increase of 73 per cent over 2003. China’s automotive components imports rose 13 per cent in a year that saw vehicle production decline in the last months, according to the latest data from the Mechanical and Electrical Department of China’s Ministry of Commerce. China’s trade deficit in automotive products was reduced from the $9.737 billion of 2003 to $8.177 billion last year. Customs statistics showed that in 2004 automotive imports reached $16.333 billion, the Xinhua China Daily reported.
Benecke-Kaliko AG has signed a joint venture agreement with Jiangsu Changshun International Trading Co in order to “expand production capacities considerably.” Approximately 10 million euros will be invested in a production site in the provincial town of Zhangjiagang City, 120 kilometres north west of Shanghai. The factory will produce PVC expanded sheeting and PVC leatherette for the Chinese automotive industry from mid 2006, creating 170 jobs
Research carried out by the US Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association (AAIA) shows that consumers rate product quality and trust above price when selecting a vehicle service provider. According to the Tire Review report, researchers discovered that the cost of service ranked seventh in the study. The report entitled “The Aftermarket Consumer: DIY or DIFM” looked into the factors affecting consumer decision making.
UK Equipment Ltd has appointed Warren McKay as its area sales manager for the North-West. He has over twenty years experience in the automotive industry, primarily in the wheel service and parts industry.
For most, January marks the beginning of a new year, but for Federal 2005 represents the end of its golden jubilee. During 2004 the company celebrated 50 years of a business that has grown significantly since its earliest days and announced that it would expand its total production capacity to 8 million units in 2005.
In recent times, a number of companies have investigated the possibility of manufacturing in China. Federal too has sought to take advantage of this emerging market. Federal’s explanation for moving to the people’s republic is because of Taiwan’s “high labour costs.” Now, although work at the Federal Taiwan plant continues, the company also produces in China. According to the company, “the potential of the China plant is massive with capacity growing from 1.5 million units at the end 2003 to 2.5 million in 2004. “This figure will soar to 3.5 million by 2005 and the trend will continue until Federal’s total capacity, including its Taiwan plant, reaches 8 million units. The major expansion will take place in the China plant, which provides huge opportunities for any potential OE business in China,” says Jamie Ma.
With the growth in automobile manufacture in China and with most manufacturers intent on securing a manufacturing base, the potential of emergent companies such as Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp and China Brilliance have attracted Federal.
Commenting on the Chinese market Mr Ma said: “High-tech tyres such as the Hero Milanza UHP will definitely be a tyre that should generate great market demand. We intend to market the tyre, not simply by emphasising its price competitiveness, but rather by its trendy look and remarkable performance.”
One advantage Federal believes it has over other manufacturers is its delivery times. “Unlike many large-scale manufacturers that have delivery lead times of 90 days from order, Federal’s delivery time is typically one month. Although the unprecedented huge order volumes received earlier this year affected the delivery time, urgent measures have been adopted to cope with this increased demand and our customers will confirm that the delivery service is returning to previous levels,” explained DaWu Chen, senior manager at Federal’s global business department.
Now, half a century down the line from its beginnings, Federal wants to expand its influence around the world. “We intend to bring this same reputation for ultra high performance tyres to Europe and particularly for markets that have a significant demand for UHP tyres. The extended territory and market size of the EU provides a considerable growth potential and Federal plan to explore every new opportunity in this area,” said company president, Jamie Ma.
Federal won’t be drawn on where its marketing focus is, instead its states that its concentrates “on a general basis worldwide.” DaWu Chen suggests that other expansion into other European markets may follow a similar pattern to the how things have worked in the UK. “The kind of partnership seen in the UK, where an independent wholesaler has taken a proactive lead with aggressive marketing and promotion of the brand and the targeting of key customer groups, is fundamental to future market expansion in other European markets.”
Continental AG is expanding its automobile manufacturer and supplier engineering services. “For 2005 we are aiming to achieve corporate sales volumes in the double-digit million range,” said Continental executive board member, Dr Karl-Thomas Neumann. “In the area of vehicle dynamics and suspension control in particular we are filling a niche that to date has hardly been tackled by engineering service providers, as only very few companies have the required broad technical knowledge of automotive brakes, chassis, electronics and tyres,” explained Dr Neumann.
The future of western European car manufacturing is at risk unless the industry takes steps to improve its international competitiveness, a senior Ford executive has warned.
“The fact of the matter is, these days it is not a very competitive place to do business,” said Mark Fields, executive vice president of Ford’s Premier Automotive Group.
Bridgestone UK’s assessment centre has gained the Institute of Motor Industry (IMI), approval, making it the first tyre company to hold the status for all its training modules.
The award follows a detailed audit by the IMI of Bridgestone UK’s training resources and assessment procedures. It will now mean that a technician qualifying through one of the company’s training schemes will achieve recognition from the IMI via its Quality Assured Awards (QAA) initiative.
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