ArvinMeritor, Inc. announced that Terry O’Rourke is resigning from his position as president and chief operating officer (COO), as well as from the Board of Directors, to pursue opportunities outside of the company. The COO position will be eliminated.
Federal-Mogul Corporation has announced that its Board of Directors has elected Robert S. (Steve) Miller, Jr., 62, as non-executive chairman of the board of directors effective January 11, 2004. Miller has been a member of Federal-Mogul’s board since 1993. He replaces Frank E. Macher, 62, who has been serving as chairman of the board since October 1, 2001. Miller’s election coincides with the expiration of Macher’s contract. The board members expressed their appreciation for Macher’s contributions during his tenure.
Bridgestone Americas Holding Inc. Chairman, CEO and President John Lampe has announced that he will retire on March 31, 2004. He will be replaced by Bridgestone/Firestone North American Tire LLC (BFNT) Chairman, CEO and President Mark Emkes. Emkes will retain his existing position as chair and CEO of BFNT. Lampe will remain on Bridgestone Americas Holding’s board of directors at the request of both Emkes and parent company Bridgestone Corp.
Cooper Tire & Rubber announced that John F. Fiedler (65) has stepped down from his post on the board. Fiedler had been a director of the Company since April 2002. Upon the announcement of his resignation, Fiedler commented, “It has been a privilege to serve on the Cooper board. This is truly a quality organization with solid leadership. I am proud of my affiliation with Cooper and the time I invested here.”
TYRE exporters in India may have cause for cheer now that the Central Government has allowed fixation of value caps for availing duty entitlement passbook (DEPB) on a per kilogram basis. This is as against the present system, where the Director-General of Foreign Trade fixes uniform value caps for each category. Thus, exporters of truck and bus tyres were eligible to claim 20 per cent DEPB on free-on-board value or the specified value cap of Rs 5,500 per pair (tyre plus tube), whichever was lower. To overcome the classification problems, the Government now fixed the value caps on a weight basis at Rs 90 per kg for all automobile tyres. There has, however, been no change to the DEPB rate, which has been pegged at 20 per cent.
Hayes Lemmerz International has received approval from NASDAQ to begin trading on The NASDAQ National Market under the symbol “HAYZ”. The Company’s shares previously were quoted on the OTC Bulletin Board and in the Pink Sheets under the symbol “HAYZ”.
Bridgestone/Firestone North American Tire, LLC (BFNT) and Bridgestone/Firestone Canada Inc. (BFCA) have jointly announced an “across the board” price increase of up to 5 per cent on the companies’ tyre products sold in the replacement and original equipment markets, including consumer, truck/bus, agricultural and off-the-road channels. This increase will be effective January 1, 2004, and affects Bridgestone, Firestone, Dayton, associate and private brand tyres.
ArvinMeritor Inc. has dropped its bid to take over Dana after Dana’s board of directors recommended share owners reject the offer. Just a week ago, ArvinMeritor raised its original offer from $15 a share to $18. CEO Larry Yost said the offer would expire Dec. 2 and was as high as the company would go. However, ArvinMeritor withdrew from the bid when Dana’s board recommended against the offer. In its letter to shareholders, Dana’s board called ArvinMeritor’s offer “neither attractive nor compelling.”
The ArvinMeritor, Inc., board of directors at a meeting has declared a quarterly dividend of ten cents per share on the common stock of ArvinMeritor, Inc., payable Dec. 8, 2003, to shareowners of record at the close of business on Nov. 24, 2003.
The Board of Directors of Bandag, Incorporated, (NYSE: BDG and BDGA) today declared an increase in the regular quarterly dividend from $.32 per share to $.325 per share on the Common Stock, Class A Common Stock and Class B Common Stock of the Company payable January 16, 2004 to shareholders of record at the close of business on December 19, 2003.
According to unofficial statements the Continental corporate group will pile up a three digit million loss with its North American tyre business this year. This heats up the speculation about the future of Continental’s problem-child, General Tire. A year ago, the German board is said to have even considered the sale of its truck tyre business. This plan had to be put aside because of a lack of potential buyers. Under the leadership of Manfred Wennemer Continental has positively strengthened its earning capacity, has reduced dept quickly and massively and is now capable for new acquisitions if there should be an attractive opportunity.
The Board of Directors of Titan International, Inc. (NYSE: TWI) has approved a quarterly cash
dividend of $.005 (one half cent) per common share for the third quarter of 2003. The cash dividend is payable October 15, 2003, to stockholders of record on September 30, 2003.
Lord Marshall of Knightsbridge has been named as non-executive Chairman of the Boards of Pirelli UK plc, Pirelli General plc and Pirelli UK Tyres Ltd., effective September 1st. Lord Colin Marshall is currently Chairman of British Airways and is also a member of the Board of HSBC Holdings, Chairman of the International Advisory Board of the CBI and Chairman of Britain In Europe.
Wheel manufacturer Hayes Lemmerz has made some new appointments at Director level. Gregory A. Kalin has been appointed Director of Internal Audit, having held similar positions with other leading companies. In another appointment, George T. Haymaker Jr. (65) has been named as lead director of the board, bringing the number of directors at Hayes Lemmerz to seven. Mr. Haymaker holds a number of other non-executive directorships and chairmanships.
The Board of Directors of Titan International, Inc has approved a quarterly cash dividend of $.005 (one half cent) per common share for the second quarter of 2003. The cash dividend is payable July 15, 2003, to stockholders of record on June 30, 2003.
If you would like the latest news from the Chinese tyre industry in Chinese, visit our partner site TyrepressChina.com. Or click below to continue on Tyrepress.
