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Goodyear Sees Demand for Two-Piece Tyre

(Akron/Tire Review – Topeka Capital-Journal) Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. continues to see demand for its innovative two-piece tyre used in the mining industry, the company said Thursday.

The company added “incremental capacity to produce two-piece tread belts last week in Topeka,” the company said in a statement.

Introduced in 2003, Goodyear’s Two-Piece Assembly gives customers flexibility in operating trucks in various conditions. The tread belts may be replaced to give the customer a different type of tread to operate in a mine.

The increased production will provide additional treadbelts for the Two-Piece Assembly used in off-the-road (OTR) tyre applications, particularly in the mining and construction industry.

2nd April 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

European Double Coin Sales Up

European Double Coin sales have increased “significantly” since Dutch wholesaler Inter-Sprint took over distribution in May 2006, the company has reported. Since then the European distribution channel has also enlarged to include: Poland, Hungary, Romania, Czech, Sweden, Finland, Estonia. Inter Sprint reports that it is also looking for distributors in the former Eastern Europe.

29th March 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone to Unveil “New Generation of Tyres” at CV Show

Bridgestone has announced that it will present a complete range of new generation tyres at this year’s Commercial Vehicle Show, at the NEC in April. Bridgestone’s pioneering collection will be revealed at this year’s show, encompassing the R249 and R168, as well as their most recent addition to the family, the M749.

The introduction of the Bridgestone M749 highway drive-axle tyre (first published in T&A September 2006) follows the launch of the R249 steer-axle and R168 trailer-axle tyres, and completes Bridgestone’s new generation long distance highway line-up. The range has been engineered to improve cost efficiency due to excellent rolling resistance and superior mileage as well as their capacity for future retreading.

29th March 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone Australia Locks Workers Out

In a continuation of the industrial action that has hampered operations at Bridgestone Australia since the start of March, on the evening of March 27 the tyremaker locked around 450 workers out of its Adelaide plant and suspended production for three days. The affected staff are mainly those working in a production or maintenance capacity at the plant.

Bridgestone claims its action was a necessary response to three weeks of union agitation, including strikes, overtime bans, and work stoppages. “This is about survival of the plant in a tough automotive manufacturing environment,” stated a Bridgestone spokeswoman.

Earlier in the day union representatives had met with plant management to discuss the dispute over pay rises, however the two parties failed to reach any agreement.

28th March 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Variety Act

South Wales based manufacturer ACT Wheels started 2007 on a high in January when it clinched the contract to supply wheels to Stagecoach as part of the bus operator’s maintenance of its 7000-strong fleet.

ACT supplies steel wheels for HGV/PSV vehicles through to off-road, site and agricultural applications in a range of sizes from wheels to fit eight-inch mower and forklift trucks through to 35-inch earthmover wheels. The firm has CAD design and production capacity to meet the needs of OEMs and operators, meaning it can handle anything from one-off replacements and conversions to production batches.

27th March 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Industrial Action Brings Bridgestone Production to a Stop

Industrial unrest is continuing at the newly privatised Bridgestone Australia plant in Salisbury, South Australia. The tyremaker has taken the decision to halt production at the plant while it tries to resolve its differences with the factory’s 600 workers. A union campaign in support of a new enterprise agreement began in early March.

The company stated on March 27 that the campaign – including overtime bans and four-hour stoppages – had caused significant disruption to production during the month. “Despite further discussions between the parties, an escalation in industrial action this week has forced the company to inform its employees that it has suspended production for three days, commencing this evening,” Bridgestone announced. However the company was quick to add that the decision would not disrupt customer supply and delivery.

Bridgestone also warned the workers of the consequences of continuing action that harmed the plant’s viability. Chairman and CEO Mac Ohashi said “Continuing industrial action may impact on the company’s capacity to pay future wage increases.”

27th March 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Russian Tyre Committee to Convene in April

The first sitting of a Russian government subcommittee focusing upon the development of the nation’s tyre sector will be held April 6. The deputy director general of Sibur-Russian Tyres, Igor Karavaev will be acting in the capacity of subcommittee chairman.

As previously reported in Tyres & Accessories, the subcommittee’s emphasis will be centred consolidating the efforts of Russian based tyremakers in order for them to participate effectively in the development of legislation and to provide equal competitive opportunities for tyremakers operating in Russia’s automotive market.

21st March 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Superior Industries Report Q4 and Annual Results

Superior Industries International, one of the world’s largest suppliers of OE aluminium wheels, announced on March 21 the company’s financial results for the fourth quarter and the 2006 year.

For the three months to December 31, 2006, revenue increased 3.0 per cent to US$212,169,000 compared with $205,901,000 for the fourth quarter of 2005. Results during the quarter were, however, affected – to the tune of $3,256,000 – by start-up costs for the company’s new facility in Mexico, and restructuring expenses placed a further $964,000 strain on the quarter’s figure. Superior’s share of profits from its joint venture aluminium wheel manufacturing operation in Hungary were almost double that of a year earlier, at $2,198,000.

Net loss for the fourth quarter of 2006, taking the above factors into account, came to $4,827,000, or $0.18 per diluted share. In the fourth quarter of 2005 the company recorded a loss of $19,943,000, or $0.75 per diluted share.

21st March 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Sibur – Russian Introduce New Heavy Vehicle Tyres

Russia’s leading tyre producer Sibur-Russian Tyres has announced the introduction of their latest range of all-steel truck tyres, TyRex AllSteel and a new range of traditional combined truck tyres, TyRex CRG. The TyRex AllSteel Range employs metal cord construction techniques to provide lower cost-per-mile and increased overall mileage. The result is a tyre that is highly suited to high-speed and long distance driving. Furthermore, Sibur report that the carcass can accommodate multiple retreading.

Sibur-Russian plan to modernise and expand the production facility where the AllSteel is manufactured, and following the completion of this upgrade production capacity for the TyRex AllSteel line-up will reach 370,000 units per year. The AllSteel range is available in the following types and sizes:

19th March 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Dash Selects Granutech-Saturn For New Tyre Recycling Facility

Recycled rubber products manufacturer Dash Multi-Corp has selected Granutech-Saturn Systems to provide equipment and support for its new crumb rubber facility in Portland, Oregon. The 72,000 sq ft facility, that has cost more than US$13 million to build and is expected to become operational in the first quarter of 2008, will be fitted with parallel crumb rubber lines manufactured by Granutech-Saturn. This equipment will produce around 3.5 million pounds of crumb rubber per month when it initially comes online, an amount that should exceed 5 million pounds a month when full capacity is reached.

16th March 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

WTO Interim Panel Rules for EU in Brazil Retread Dispute

A WTO panel has reportedly made a preliminary ruling in favour of the EU’s complaint against Brazil’s retread import restrictions. According to local news sources, a confidential interim report circulated to the two parties on 12 March ruled that Brasilia’s policy of allowing imports from its Mercosur trade bloc while banning them from the rest of the world was not consistent with WTO rules. It is extremely rare that WTO dispute panels reverse the findings of their interim rulings.

Despite the apparent setback, Brazilian officials have expressed some satisfaction with the decision, suggesting that the findings would, if maintained, allow them to retain the measures with only modest adjustments.

16th March 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Ceat to Build Third Indian Facility

India’s Ceat Tyres is investing approximately £70 million to £80 million in the establishment of the company’s third domestic Greenfield plant. The decision to build such a facility has been prompted by the global demand for commercial vehicle tyres, which the company intends to produce at the new site. Passenger car radials will also be produced at the facility. The Ceat group is presently looking for a suitable site in the states of Maharashtra, Gujarat or the excise-free zones of Uttarakhand. The new capacity will boost the company’s current overall capacity by 100 tonnes per day to 400 tonnes per day.

15th March 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Interview with Kumho’s Dave Hudrlik

(Akron/Tire Review) Dave Hudrlik is vice president of sales for Kumho Tire USA Inc. During the recent Kumho Dealer Meeting, he sat down for an interview with David Moniz, publisher of Tyres & Accessories’ American partner magazine Tire Review.

In the past, Kumho has expressed interest in Formula One racing. Is that still of interest?

“Sure, but that is a lofty goal. We have a desire to go to Mars, and one day we might get there. We have done the development work and we have created a tyre, but there are many other things that go into Formula One. You have to have a lot of infrastructure to support it, not the least of which is brand. So, once the brand gets to a certain level, you can support it. The cost of actually participating in Formula One is huge. So, it’s a work in progress.”

In terms of your fill rate, which you said was around 62%, you want to bring it back up to 97%. And during the meeting you mentioned Kumho is building additional plants in China and Vietnam, and projected how they probably help improve fill rates. What is the timeframe for all of these plants to come on-stream?

14th March 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Hayes Lemmerz Subsidiary Expanding in India

Hayes Lemmerz International, Inc. has strengthened its market position in India and bolstered export capabilities following the completion of expansion work on its Indian subsidiary’s steel wheel production facility. The Kalyani Lemmerz Limited factory is located in the city of Pune, approximately 100 miles from Mumbai, and following recent expansion work it possesses an annual capacity of 800,000 units. Kalyani Lemmerz intends to add a further 200,000 units of capacity during 2007 through an additional US$10 million investment.

14th March 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Prodrive Founder buys Aston Martin

One of the UK’s oldest automotive marques has changed hands for US$848 million. Aston Martin, founded in 1913 and most recently owned by Ford, has been sold to rally driver and founder of prodrive David Richards plus several smaller stakeholders. Ford retains a minority shareholding in the carmaker.

13th March 2007/by Tyrepress Editors