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Yokohama Awarded for Performance in Philippines

Established in 1996, Yokohama Tire Philippines was the first international company to establish a presence in the Clark Freeport Zone, the redevelopment of the United States Air Force’s former Clark Air Base. In acknowledgement of its long-term contribution to the zone in terms of investment, employment, environmental management and employee heath and safety, on July 13 the company received an Outstanding Recognition for Overall Performance award from the Clark Development Corporation (CDC). At the ceremony, Philippines president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo presented the certificate of commendation to Yokohama Tire Philippines president Takayuki Hamaya.

23rd July 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Kinforest Tyre: Putting On A Show

International News, Product News

Kinforest Tyre is one of China’s ever-growing legion of tyre manufacturers. Although the company Kinforest Tyre Co. Ltd was set up only at the end of 2007, the organisation’s history goes back to 2000, when it bought tyre-making technology from Firestone. In 2006/2007, there was co-operation with Continental until the establishment of Kinforest Tyre at the end of the year.

The Kinforest factory employs around 2,500 workers, producing passenger, UHP, light truck and winter tyres under the brand names Kinforest, Mayrun and Starlake. The tyres comply with a number of test requirements, including DOT, ECE, NOM, INMTRO, SABSAND and GCC. Kinforest also says that it was the first Chinese tyre manufacturer to achieve the ECE rolling sound certification.

16th July 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Birmingham Show to Host Tyre Munching Panther

In the past T&A has reported on a cheetah snacking on tyres in a Cambridgeshire backyard – see our November 2008 story for details of this surreal occurrence – and now we’ve caught wind of a panther heading in our direction. This particular creature also chomps readily upon the black rubber objects, yet there is no cause for concern….rather than being a zoo escapee, the panther in question is a boon for the tyre recycling industry.

15th July 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Apollo to Launch Full Range into Europe in 6-12 Months

Despite the fact that the Apollo/Vredestein takeover contracts were signed just a month before Tyres & Accessories visited Enschede, the integration process is said to be already well underway. What’s new is the announcement that in less than a year a full range of Apollo tyres will be launched into the European market. The newly merged Apollo Vredestein will be responsible for sales and marketing of all group brands in Europe. Of course when it comes to making major changes to the Apollo brand strategy this will have to be done in consultation with Delhi, but to all intents and purposes Vredestein will be masters of their own and Apollo's destiny within the bounds of the continent of Europe and the USA. In return Apollo will take the lead when it comes to selling Vredestein-branded tyres into the new Asian market territory the recent combination of the two companies brings.

2nd July 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Breaking Down NHTSA’s Tyre Fuel Efficiency Scheme

Last week NHTSA issued its 148-page long initial proposal for a national tyre fuel efficiency testing rating and education program – nearly two full years after it was mandated in the 2007 Energy Act. To be sure, developing even the first pass version was no easy task. While the core requirement was to create a simple, straightforward means to help consumers find the most fuel-efficient tyres, getting there will still take some doing…and leave a few people disappointed.

There are some interesting points in NHTSA’s proposal. For instance, it suggests that with the advent of this proposal NHTSA recommends doing away with the current UTQG system, saying that the new rating program would be a more effective alternative.

NHTSA also estimates that it would take between two and nine years to test every single passenger tyre SKU, so it will allow tyre makers to basically test one tyre within a family (make/model/size range) and use those ratings across the rest of that model. Even then, NHTSA experts only 25 per cent of replacement tyre to be labelled at the time the program would formally launch. (Tire Review/Akron)

29th June 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Enjoy The Best of China

International News

Enjoy Tyre is a young, Chinese company trading in the wheel and tyre sector, which has built up an export business supplying companies in more than 60 countries in less than five years. Turnover in 2008 was US$ 46 million.

The product range includes good quality Chinese tyres, including a number of brands that are becoming increasingly familiar names in Western Europe. Among these are; Linglong, Chengshan, Westlake, Goodride, Taishan, Double Star and Jintong. Miss Xu Xia, managing director of Enjoy, told T&A that the company has global exclusivity for the distribution of the Rotalla brand of passenger car and high/ultra high performance radial tyres, which are being actively marketed across Europe.

25th June 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

The Clock is Ticking

If you are not sure whether your stock is s-marked or not, you need to read this. With just a couple of months left before s-marking comes into force, there could be as many as 2.5 million non-compliant tyres left in the supply chain.

2009 has seen the tyre business rush to interpret and apply tyre various different legislation affecting manufacturers, wholesalers, importers and distributors alike. Arguably this year has seen more new focus on this subject than in any of the five years preceding it put together. However, conflicting opinions in the market place, announcements of formal “first readings” and the general legal complexity of the texts have led to more than a little confusion in the marketplace.

24th June 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Continental Expects Global Tyre Demand to Reach 1.25 billion Units in 2010

Continental AG passenger car tyre head, Nikolai Setzer predicts that global demand for passenger car tyres will grow to 1.25 billion units in 2010 from 1.2 billion units this year, according to an interview published in German motoring magazine Auto Motor und Sport on Thursday. The total expected to rise again to 1.3 billion units in 2011. The same article quoted Guglielmo Fiocchi, head of Pirelli Tyre’s German operations, as saying he forecasts a 7 to 10 per cent decline in global demand this year.

According the interview, Fiocchi expects the market to bottom out in or before 2010, with growth return after that. Pirelli reportedly predicts annual growth of up to 6 per cent after this. Meanwhile, the German Pirelli Tyre boss said he expects the German summer tyre market to fall 7 – 8 per cent with “better development” in winter tyre business.

19th June 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Michelin Cuts 1093 Jobs in France

Michelin is planning to reduce its French workforce by a total of 2,900 over the next three years. The job cuts, which include 1093 losses this year, equate to around 10 per cent of the tyre manufactures total domestic workforce. Michelin said it is cutting the positions in order to concentrate on the production of higher specification and higher margin truck and passenger car tyres at its Montceau and Tours plants. In addition, Michelin will negotiate 1,800 voluntary departures over the next three years. Of the 1,093 employees affected by the labour reorganisation plan, 495 positions are set to leave through early retirement. Michelin says it will then offer the remaining workers at least two other positions elsewhere. The remaining 1,800 additional job cutbacks will be spread across all operations in France.

17th June 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Conti Outlines Clairoix Redundancy Package

The deal for Continental’s Clairoix workers first made public by the French CGT union in late May has been officially confirmed. Conti reports that an agreement between its French and German management and trade union and French government representatives was reached on June 6. Upon announcing this agreement, Continental’s Dr. Thomas Winkelmann declared “we are pleased that we have already come up with a solution before the end of the four-week negotiation phase.”

An understanding, as Conti noted in a press statement, was not reached without difficulties. According to the German company, French union representatives “impeded the entire negotiations by rigidly focusing on negotiating the highest possible uniform one-off severance payment” for all affected employees. “The one-off payment of 50,000 euros for each employee is now a component of the overall solution – not more, but also not less, commented Winkelmann.

9th June 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Indian Tyre Dealers Voice Opposition to Import Duty

Trouble is brewing between Indian tyre manufacturers and dealers. A duty on passenger car tyres imported from China is expected to be introduced by the end of June, and the two parties hold differing views on the matter.

“We have invited views from all concerned. We will look at all representations before taking a decision. However, on the face of it, there does seem to be a case for application of safeguard duties,” a government official told India’s Economic Times newspaper on condition of anonymity.

9th June 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

“Headway” Made in Conti Clairoix Negotiations

Negotiations between Continental AG’s French and German management and representatives of the French government and the CGT trade union have, reports Conti, “made a bit of headway.” The respective parties met in Paris on Tuesday May 26 to discuss solutions for the company’s Clairoix facility, and further talks are scheduled for later in the week.

“We entered into a detailed discussion of the offer presented last week and argued for an adequate overall solution that takes into account seniority at the company and further training measures,” remarked Dr. Thomas Winkelmann, who represents Continental’s German management in his role as HR manager for replacement market passenger car tyres in Europe and Africa. “So far, union representatives have concentrated on uniform one-off severance pay for all employees affected. In the next round of negotiations we intend to talk over a detailed package solution.”

27th May 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Apollo Concludes Vredestein Banden Acquisition

The Apollo Tyres acquisition of Vredestein Banden BV, now officially concluded, has been described by Vredestein Banden CEO Rob Oudshoorn as a “win-win combination for both companies.” With all regulatory approvals and place and consent from the Judge of the Dutch Courts granted, Apollo now holds a 100 per cent share in the Netherlands based manufacturer. While official statements on the acquisition give no purchase price for Vredestein-Banden, the Wall Street Journal notes that a ‘person familiar with the situation’ disclosed a sum of 175 million euros.

18th May 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Apollo’s Vredestein Acquisition Worth $300 Million – Analyst

The Apollo Tyres acquisition of Vredestein Banden, which should be finalised in late May, is said to be a deal worth in the vicinity of US$300 million. This figure was put forward by India’s Hindustan Times and was provided by an industry analyst who wishes to remain anonymous.

“Vredestein was bought over by Amtel in 2005 for $260 million so this acquisition would at least amount to $300 million,” said the analyst. “The deal is a win-win situation for Apollo as it not only gets access to high-end technology which it can also bring into India, but also a firm marketing and sales foothold in Europe.”

7th May 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Classic Tyre Company Uses 21st Century Methods

Another member of the elite classic tyre fraternity is North Hants Tyres, which was founded in 1948 when company founder John Pettifor senior realised that there was a market for tyres and second hand spare items that were hard to obtain in the post-war Britain.

7th May 2009/by Tyrepress Editors