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Ford Acknowledges Loss Likely On Kwik-Fit Sale

According to the Financial Times, Ford is admitting for the first time that it will face a substantial loss when it disposes of Kwik-Fit. The FT says it has seen documents from Ford’s auditors, warning that the proceeds from any disposal will not be in line with the book value. The UK parent of Kwik-Fit (and other companies such as Jaguar and Aston Martin) – Ford Automotive Holdings – recently filed its year 2000 accounts, which include the first year’s contributions from Kwik-Fit. These show pre-tax losses of 356 m GBP (580 m Euro) on a turnover of 9.42 bn GBP (15.35 bn Euro). 1999’s pre-tax loss was 175 m GBP (285 m Euro) on a turnover of 8.71 bn GBP (14.2 bn Euro).

25th March 2002/by Tyrepress Editors

InterTyre 2003

InterTyre will be officially launched on the 1st May during the Commercial Vehicle Show at the NEC, Birmingham. The exhibition will run alongside Auto 1. “These restyled shows promise to transform the way that the automotive aftermarket is presented”, said Tim Maunder, Head of Events Operations at the SMMT.

18th March 2002/by Tyrepress Editors

“Waltzing Matilda”

Almost 14,000 applied for the Dunlop Drivers Cup, but only 30 have been the lucky ones to realise their life’s greatest driving adventure. Ten days travelling through Australia guided only by a roadbook – on sand (with a Toyota off-road vehicle) and asphalt (with a TT roadster), through the outback, along the majestic coastline of the Great Ocean Road, crossing/passing the Snowy Mountains up to the spectacular finish in front of the famous Sydney Opera House. Between start and finish the “Dunlop Drivers” had to travel a distance of almost 4,000 kilometres and to pass difficult test sections containing elements of motor-sports.With this event the tyre producer wanted to create interest in the topic of driving safety within the main target group of the sporty drivers, interested in motorsports. The second motive is to demonstrate the influence of tyres on safe driving.The next Dunlop Drivers Cup (DDC) will be held in Malaysia in 2003, but there will be a major change in the concept: the DDC will take place with international teams. It is already clear that teams from Italy, Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Czech Republic, Australia and the United States will join the event in February 2003. There is also a question-mark over the contribution of France, Poland and Hungary. “In the end the number of teams could grow from 15 up to 20 or 25”, said Dieter Seibert, Director Advertising Europe at Dunlop. General Motors is preferred as the official partner from the automotive side.Seibert’s midterm ideas for the future of the DDC go far beyond this point: he aims to reach a closer co-operation with the original equipment customers. Furthermore there could be scope for virtual race experiences supported by the computer. “Another idea is to connect the DDC more strongly with the topic of tyre and car development, for instance by visiting production facilities, technical centres or by using company owned proving grounds. The regional qualifications for Malaysia will be held from June to August, the national qualifications will take place in September – as usual.

18th March 2002/by Tyrepress Editors

Tire Pressure Control At CeBIT

IMST GmbH (Kamp-Lintfort/Germany) and Automotive Technology NOLEX AG (St. Motitz/Switzerland) claim its jointly developed Tire Pressure Control (TPC) system to be a highlight of its own booth at the CeBIT computer show in Hanover. According to IMST the system is the first equipment of this kind for passenger car and truck tyres with bi-directional communication. In contrast to the current systems this allows to read out directly the sensors inside the tyres, giving the opportunity to receive the actual pressure situation at a touch of a button – independently of automatic intervals. This new system is a one-antenna-only design, which can reduce the time needed for installation. Due to the special housing design with a variable docking to the valve the tyre module can – as IMST and NOLEX say – be used for every wheel form without mechanical adjustments. It is ready to operate world-wide by only small amendments. TPC also opens up the possibility to combine tyre pressure control with keyless entry with the pressure data transmitted to the remote control key when opening the car.

18th March 2002/by Tyrepress Editors

2001 Provisional Figures From Conti

Continental has released provisional figures for 2001. Sales increased by 11.1 per cent to 11.2 billion Euro (2000: 10.1 bn). The Automotive Services Division increased turnover by 31.8 per cent and the tyre division’s sales rose by 2.2 per cent. Good sales of passenger car tyres in Europe compensated for falling sales of commercial vehicle tyres and in the turnover of Continental Tire North America. A one-off restructuring cost of 468 million Euro adversely affected the 2001 figures and the end result is a deficit for the year of 258 million Euro, compared with a surplus for 2000 of 205 million Euro.

11th March 2002/by Tyrepress Editors

First B-11 RFID Tags Announced

Intermec Technologies Corporation has announced the commercial availability of RFID tags and readers that immediately support the new B-11 standard established by the Automotive Industry Action Group’s (AIAG). The B-11 standard will guide further introduction of RFID technology into the auto industry. Among the first planned applications will be inclusion of an RFID tag on new-car tyres, allowing car and tyre manufacturers and tyre retailers to track product throughout production, assembly and distribution.

22nd February 2002/by Tyrepress Editors

Losses At Tenneco Automotive

Tenneco Automotive has reported an 8 million dollar loss in the fourth quarter of 2001, this completes a 130 million dollar loss for the year, compared to a 40 million dollar loss for the previous year. The company is to close eight facilities worldwide, with the loss of 900 jobs. This will form part of a global lean manufacturing and distribution initiative.

1st February 2002/by Tyrepress Editors

ISO 14001 Recommended For Goodyear NA

All of Goodyear’s North American manufacturing plants have been recommended for certification to ISO 14001 Environmental Management System standard. The plants were audited by Lloyd’s Register Quality Assurance Ltd. John Loulan, vice president of North American Tire operations said, “North American Tire is well ahead of the requirements set by major automotive manufacturers and also ahead of internal goals set for the end of 2002.” ISO 14001 is an international standard defining the requirements for environmental management systems used by an organisation to identify and manage potential impacts on the environment from its activities.

17th January 2002/by Tyrepress Editors

Hayes Lemmerz Completes Sale of its System Service Division

Hayes Lemmerz International announced the sale of its non-core System Service business to Schedl Automotive System Service Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH & Co. Verwaltungs-KG, in Germany. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Hayes Lemmerz acquired the System Service business in 1997 in connection with the acquisition of Lemmerz Holding GmbH. The business has approximately 250 employees and operates five tire and wheel assembly operations, one of which is a 49% joint venture (51% Continental in Portugal). These facilities are located in Belgium, Germany, the Czech Republic and Portugal.

15th January 2002/by Tyrepress Editors

Superior Industries’ Wheel Production To Rise By 30 Per Cent, Say Analysts

A report from automotive analysts at UBS Warburg forecasts that aluminium wheel manufacturer Superior Industries will increase production capacity by 30 per cent by the end of next year, to 17 million wheels. This is despite a predicted slow down in US auto sales. Superior sells wheels to OEMs and 85 per cent of its business is with Ford and GM, supplying around half of their aluminium wheel requirements. The recent filing for Chapter 11 of Hayes Lemmerz is seen as a factor in the forecast production increase.

10th January 2002/by Tyrepress Editors

First Quarter Results From Amcast

Amcast, the automotive parts manufacturer (aluminium wheels), has reported results for its fiscal 2002 first quarter, which ended on December 2 last year. Sales were down 5 per cent compared with last year, at $131.2 million. The net loss for the quarter was $5.5 million. Sales at Speedline, the company’s European operation, were up 9% on the previous year, benefiting from a strong vehicle market and favourable exchange rates.

4th January 2002/by Tyrepress Editors

New Polish Factory For Tenneco Automotive

Tenneco Automotive has officially opened a new factory in Gliwice, Poland, to supply shock absorbers to European-based vehicle manufacturers. The facility is 21,000 square metres in area and will make six million units annually by the year 2005, eventually employing 120 staff. Tenneco says that the $20 million investment is the latest stage in the company’s strategy to expand in Eastern Europe.

28th December 2001/by Tyrepress Editors

New Member for SupplyOn

Siemens VDO Automotive is to join SupplyOn, the internet marketplace for the automotive supply industry. Among the other members are companies such as Bosch and Continental. SupplyOn represents a buying volume of around 35 billion Euro.

28th December 2001/by Tyrepress Editors

Gloomy Outlook For Asian Auto Makers

A report from automotive consultants autopolis is predicting tough times ahead for most of Asia’s car markets this year, due to falling currencies, lower prices, declining exports and political uncertainty. The average fall is expected to be 7%, with markets outside Japan falling by more than 10%. For Japanese sales, a 4% decline is expected. Sales are expected to fall in most places, excluding China, with South Korean and Indian markets being particularly hard hit.

30th November 2001/by Tyrepress Editors

Rebuilding Continental: Slowed Down Or Failed?

For 125 years, Continental has been in a position to feel pleased with its identity as a tyre and rubber producer until, under the Physicist von Grünberg, it was steered on to a different course. The plan, which at first sounded sensible, i.e. to use the available human and technical resources to search for and explore technically sophisticated products, in order to present itself increasingly as a partner in development with the automotive industry. That plan suddenly changed when ITT-Teves (Bremsen Teves, from where von Grünberg had come to Continental AG), came up for sale early in the summer of 1998. Teves was acquired for about Euro 1,700 million (1998 sales Euro 1,950 million) which corresponds to 18 times EBIT. The corporation had plunged into debt and now, analysts who had at first applauded the German Corporation’s initiative, points out Continental as an ideal take over candidate, or states that, alternatively, the corporation will collapse under its debts or can be expected to be broken up. The groundwork for this article had already been completed before Continental’s boss Kessel was dismissed. This only goes to show that any speculations about the impact the terrorists’ attacks on New York, for example, may have had on the world of Continental, are totally beside the point; the decline had begun long before that.

30th November 2001/by Tyrepress Editors