Bridgestone has released its unaudited consolidated business and financial results for the first three quarters of the present fiscal year ending 30 September. In its tyre segment it recorded operating income of $983 million on sales of $12.6 billion. The manufacturer claims “strong sales supported by surging demand, mainly in markets outside Japan, offset the effect of rising raw materials costs on profitability.”
July 2004 saw the completion of a joint venture between Slovakian tyre manufacturer Matador and the Addis Tyre Company (ATC) of Ethiopia. The initial discussions began in the year 2000 when Matador management visited Ethiopia to talk about mutual co-operation and technology transfer.
A basic agreement was signed in July 2002 between Matador, ATC and Addis Ababa and Public Enterprise Supervising Authority (PESA) to establish a joint venture with capital inputs for the production and sale of bias ply truck tyres, bias ply light truck and passenger car tyres, plus radial passenger car tyres.
Matador sees the joint venture as an opportunity to develop the Addis factory and at the same time to take advantage of reduced operating costs. The Puchov plant is scheduled to cease production of bias-ply tyres by the end of March next year, which will enable capacity to be increased in passenger and light truck radial and obviate the need for redundancies.
April this year saw the signing of the “Agreement on the Establishment of Matador-ATC Joint Venture for the Production of Tyres” at a ceremony at the Sheraton Hotel in Addis Ababa. Capital holdings in the JV are 61 per cent Matador and 39 per cent ATC. The agreement was signed by Mr Ing Stefan Rosina, president of Matador and Mr Ato Girma Biru, minister of industry and trade for the Ethiopian Federative Democratic Republic (EFDR).
The latest meeting was held in early July to launch production of the tyres and this time Matador was represented by Mr Ing Stefanom Rosinom, chairman of the board of directors of Matador and Doc. Stefan Prekop, general director. The Slovak delegation was received by the President of the EFDR, Mr Girma Wolde-Giorgisa.
President Mr Girma Wolde-Giorgisa said: “Ethiopia is the heart of the African continent and its development and prosperity depends on the increase of the technological level of industry, education, know-how and capital imports from foreign investors. I believe that the successful establishment and functioning of the Matador – ATC joint venture will become an example and a challenge for other foreign companies. I am glad that Matador has established its activities in our country” he concluded.
For Matador, Mr Ing Stefan Rosina said that the company “had found good partners in Ethiopia.” He added: “Conditions of business oriented towards the development of the domestic industry and market are good, but also conditions of export possibilities and the purchase of raw materials. I am convinced that the joint venture will achieve a good standing and importance like our joint venture in Omsk, Russia.”
Autocar magazine has published its annual tyre tests this week, with Goodyear dominating the results. The independent tyre test compared five leading tyre brands in the UK, across two categories of car.
Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company has announced that it will expand availability of its Assurance tyre. The company will add three more sizes of the product, which features TripleTred Technology.
Nokian Tyres and Giti Tire (China) have signed an offtake agreement which will see Giti Tire manufacture passenger car tyres on Nokian’s behalf. Based in Shanghai, Giti Tire is one of the biggest producers in China and is part of the Indonesian Gajah Tunggal group.
Bridgestone Corporation has announced that it will introduce a ‘next-generation’ production system to the company’s Hikone Plant.
Cooper Avon Tyres Ltd has confirmed that it has developed a 330/30R17 motorcycle tyre. The new product will be available for sale in early 2005.
Carlos Redondo has been Pirelli’s CEO for Latin America since the beginning of 2003. Before that he was CFO for Pirelli Tyres worldwide. With a turnover of approximately 1 billion euros, about one third of Pirelli’s total worldwide turnover Mr Redondo is successfully piloting his division from its headquarters in Sao Paulo. Tyres & Accessories met Mr Redondo last month in Usuhaia, south Argentina, in conjunction with the launch of its new Sottozero winter tyre. To download the whole article as a PDF file, click here.
In the first few years of the new millennium Goodyear made losses of around $2.2 billion (£1.2 billion), but now the management can breathe deeply for the first time in years because CEO, Bob Keegan and president Jon Rich seem to have made a turnaround in Goodyear’s North American home market. To download the whole article as a PDF file, click here.
Far eastern news agency, Asia Pulse, has reported that Kumho Tire Co has signed a preliminary deal to build its second Chinese factory.
Amtel Holdings Holland has announced a 64 per cent increase in profits as part of its consolidated results for the 2003 financial year.
Following reports of Goodyear’s first quarterly profit in almost two years, JPMorgan Chase & Co are deciding whether to increase a loan to the company and to trim the interest rate it will pay.
Bridgestone Corporation has announced its first half results showing increased sales figures almost across the board.
After passing US Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards Amerityre is set to launch its polyurethane car tyres into the market within the next 12 months. The American corporation believes that it will initiate a conversion from rubber to polyurethane tyres throughout the whole industry and estimates that the complete conversion will take 12-15 years. Tyres & Accessories will take a look at this unique concept and in particular at the manufacturing differences and advantages that it holds over its rubber alternative.
Bert Stellinga has now been installed at Vredestein’s Wellingborough UK headquarters for two years. In that time Vredestein have launched new high performance tyres and taken steps to develop the brand awareness in the enthusiasts market in the UK, whilst at the same time developing their share of the agricultural tyre market. It has very much been steady as she goes for the Dutch tyre manufacturer.
Bert Stellinga told T&A that the UK is a major market for Vredestein and that progress was being made in both the UK and the Irish markets. However, to get a better picture of the company it was important to understand the wider position of Vredestein as an organisation.
2003 saw Vredestein’s year on year sales on the increase and the company managed to record a profit, very close to that earned in 2002. During the year there was also a stock reduction exercise which released funds and made the whole business more profitable. “The fact that Vredestein is making a profit,” says Stellinga, “enables the company to invest in people and product, to develop new services. For instance, in some markets in the European Union we have our new Internet Ordering facility in place. This allows customers to access stock records, place orders and arrange delivery on line, at their convenience. The strength of being in profit also allows us to develop our marketing with advertising and of course attendance at events such as the Autosport International Exhibition.
“One of the biggest developments for the company last year was the return to private ownership. Having removed the obligation to the shareholders that put the company in a position where it could increase its flexibility and invest in research and development. At present we are in a transitional period but the move will have positive consequences in the future. This will be seen in the investment in new lines this year with a new winter tyre arriving later in 2004.”
One question that arises about Vredestein is its ability to stand alone. Other smaller manufacturers are working together with off-take agreements to fill capacity, or enable ranges to be extended. There is a deal of technology exchange and shared product development. As an independent, manufacturer can Vredestein continue to develop its own products as a stand alone business?
“Vredestein is very much a self contained operation and I don’t think that we would envisage such close co-operation with competitors. Our own R&D facility swallows a considerable element of the finance budget but we need to develop products that the market appreciates and wants. We produce niche products that appeal to specialised markets – Sportrac and Ultrac are the only designer tyres in the world and our cooperation with Giugiaro Design is proving to be very successful, for instance. We do not need vast volumes because we are selling premium quality products where we can maintain good prices for everyone in the chain. We do not deal with OE in passenger car tyres, so we can survive on our limited capacity. Our OE market is strictly agricultural and again, we offer a premium brand tyre to a specialised market,” says Bert Stellinga. “We are determined to go it alone and I can’t see any reason why we shouldn’t.”
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