Marc P. Frissora Is New Tenneco Chairman
Marc P. Frissora, President and CEO of Tenneco Automotive since April 1999, succeeds retiring Dana G. Mead as Chairman of the US manufacturer of shock absorbers and exhausts.
Marc P. Frissora, President and CEO of Tenneco Automotive since April 1999, succeeds retiring Dana G. Mead as Chairman of the US manufacturer of shock absorbers and exhausts.
Continental AG and Robert Bosch GmbH, together with a number of other companies, intend to create an electronic communication and transaction exchange. The reason is to simplify and speed up business transactions between automotive companies and their suppliers.
Tenneco Automotive, the manufacturer of Monroe shock absorbers and Walker exhaust systems, has laid off 285 salaried workers at four sites in the USA. The move follows a steep fall in operating profits and is part of a world-wide programme of up to 700 job cuts. Tenneco has 70 factories in 21 countries.
The Anderson Consulting Supplier Index recently carried out a survey to establish the most stable and competitive US automotive suppliers and ranked Hayes-Lemmerz joint second alongside Federal Mogul. Top performer was Tower Automotive.
Delphi Automotive has exclusively ordered membranes from ContiTech Elastomerbeschichtungen GmbH. They are to be used in pressure sensors for fuel injection systems. This year ContiTech will produce 40,000 of these membranes for the US-based automotive supplier, in 2001 the number will be doubled.
Goodyear has developed an agreement with Phase IV Engineering of Boulder, Colorado aimed at fully developing a tyre pressure monitoring system. After the recent agreements with Michelin and Cycloid Systems this is the third such agreement Goodyear has completed. The long term aim of this strategy is not only to develop a fully operational system, but to extend Goodyear beyond the automotive tyre field.
Meritor Automotive, a subsidiary of the Rockwell group, has announced the expansion of production at its wheel plant in San Luis Potosi (Mexico) to two million units annually. The expansion is necessary because of increased demand in the North American OE market for light truck and pick-up wheels and includes the completion of assembly facilities. A major consumer is Daimler Chrysler (Dodge Ram).
Hayes Lemmerz International, one of the world’s leading suppliers of wheels, brakes, powertrain, suspension, structural and other lightweight components to the automotive and commercial highway markets, has announced that its Board of Directors has approved the repurchase of up to an aggregate of $30 million of its outstanding Common Stock. “Based on current market prices, our stock is at a historical low and we believe that the repurchase program is a good investment of available funds,” said Ron Cucuz, Hayes CEO and Chairman of the Board.
Automotive hose manufacturers Phoenix and Goodyear Engineered Products have agreed to use each other’s factories to meet increasing demand on a global basis. Phoenix has six plants in Europe and GEP has six in North America and Mexico. The companies expect to expand the agreement to cover Asia and South America.
The ContiTech division of Hanover-based Continental AG experienced the most successful business year of its history in 1999, according to the company.”The year 1999 marks a big step forward – in results, globalisation and concentration on core businesses”, was the way the year was summed up at a press conference by Manfred Wennemer, board member of Continental AG with responsibility for the ContiTech division and chairman of ContiTech Holding GmbH. In 1999 ContiTech increased its turnover to 1.72 billion Euro (previous year: 1.70 billion Euro), a plus of 0.7 p.c. This would have been about 2.5 p.c. but for changes in the contributing units,some of which were sold. Turnover per employee amounted to 112,000 Euro, approximately four per cent higher than the 107,000 Euro of 1998. In non-automotive sections the general economic situation led to some decline, but business with Europe’s car makers was approximately four per cent above the previous year’s level. The 1999 ContiTech turnover was made up about 64 p.c. in the automotive sector and 36 p.c. outside it. Operating profit (EBIT) also improved. The strong growth can be attributed, among other things, to a significant reduction in the extraordinary items and reserves for restructuring, which had depressed the 1998 result. On the contrary, the 1999 year saw one-off profits, especially from sales of individual segments. Wennemer emphasised that these positive effects on the results were caused by ContiTech’s restructuring measures. Read more in NEUE REIFENZEITUNG 5/2000.
Arvin Industries and Meritor Automotive, among other things an important steel wheel manufacturer, have now merged to form ArvinMeritor, thus creating a $ 7.5-billion automotive supplier. ArvinMeritor has formed a corner module assembly group to integrate its complete line of undercarriage components.
Michelin and TRW Automotive Electronics have agreed to develop advanced tyre pressure monitoring technology, hand in hand with Michelin’s PA System Technology. The companies displayed their linked technology . The technology is being displayed at the Convergence 2000 International Congress on Transportation Electronics, being held in Detroit. The TRW system will give drivers advance knowledge of underinflation and allow them to remedy the fault before pressure falls to a dangerous level. In the event of a fast puncture the PAX system ensures the tyre stays on the wheel. The TRW system uses a sensor mounted in a high tec valve that sends details by radio signal to the on board control unit. The agreement will see both companies working towards the most effective method of alerting the driver to possible problems.
As reported by the Indian magazine Rubber Asia, Pirelli has sought the expertise of Citybank for a cost evaluation of the Birla Tyre company, which has a 15 per cent share of the Indian truck and automotive tyre market. The deal, if everything goes well, is likely to be struck sometime this month.
In the UK, the National Tyre Distributors Association and the Tyre Industry Council have given their backing to InterTyre. InterTyre is a trade exhibition, organised by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, which will run in conjunction with the European Automotive Trade Show at the end of April next year. The Tyre Industry Council is also a sponsor of Tyrexpo Europe, the rival exhibition which will take place six weeks earlier.
Kwik-Fit is to buy Silver Shield Screens Ltd, the automotive glass repair and replacement company. Silver Shield has 57 branches and 225 company-owned and franchised mobile fitting vehicles, providing a 24-hour windscreen repair and replacement service. The purchase price was £6 million, with up to another £2 million, dependent on future events. Silver Shield is number three in its market, with annual sales of more than £20 million.
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