Workers at Pirelli’s plant in Carlisle have been given increased hours, according to local newspaper, News & Star, continuing that the Italian manufacturer has lifted its suspension of the ‘guaranteed week’ thanks to a “stabilisation” of orders in the European market. The company also sounded a note of caution, saying that the situation could fluctuate in the coming months with the market.
Carlisle Companies has opened Carlisle Tire and Wheel Europe BV a distribution centre and sales office strategically located in Zevenaar, Netherlands. According to the company the move is designed to provide better, faster service to Europe. Writing in an official statement detailing the opening , Garry Dietz Sr. (director of European Business Development at Carlisle) said: “The establishment of Carlisle Tire and Wheel Europe BV adds yet another stronghold…This addition to Carlisle’s portfolio of global companies will stimulate even greater operational synergies in the delivery of product and service to our customers, everywhere.”
Earlier this year Cumbrian operator John Miller Limited selected Uniroyal tyres for use in its general haulage fleet. The reason? The tyres stood up to real-life tests consisting of frequent journeys of up to 20 miles on unpaved forest tracks as part of the company’s timber fleet. Now they’re fitting them to steer axles on Mercedes-Benz Actros tractors on general haulage work and looking to achieve up to 180,000 kilometres of life before they go for regrooving.
Carlisle Tire & Wheel (CTW) plant has announced that it will close its Carlisle, Pennsylvania plant during the next 12 to 15 months. The closure affects about 340 employees and will be phased in local newspapers quoted Fred Sutter, group president of CTW as saying. The announcement follows parent company Carlisle Companies Inc’s decision to consolidate its Carlisle plant with the former Bowdon, Georgia manufacturing plant and portions of its Chinese operations into a newly acquired 568,000 square-foot facility in Jackson, Tennessee. The new Jackson operation is described as “bringing 440 jobs to the area.” CTW will reportedly continue to operate its 260,000-square-foot distribution facility in the two, which employs about 67 people.
Carlisle Tire and Wheel has employed between 600 and 800 people in recent years, although layoffs are said to have reduced that number over the past year. About 20 per cent of plant workers are salaried while 80 per cent are hourly. Last year turnover totalled about $290 million, according to the company’s web site.
A further temporary closure of Pirelli’s Carlisle factory is scheduled for late June. The company reports that reduced demand for tyres in European markets is the reason behind the June 27 to July 1 shutdown.
Production at the Carlisle site had been increased in May in response to anticipated market stabilisation, however company management reports that short-term demand has reached their “optimistic prediction.”
Pirelli Industrial reports that its Carlisle tyre plant will return to contractual hours from the 2 May 2009 – July 2009.
As part of a dedicated Bimson Haulage contract with metals stockholder Aalco, Scottish based haulier Lochmaben Transport employs one of its Volvo FH12 tractor units for the Birmingham to Aberdeen run, on which it covers approximately 830 miles per day. Since its delivery in 2007 this Volvo 6×2 tractor unit has covered more than 400,000 miles in total – all on the same set of Michelin XDE2+ drive axle tyres.
All Terrain Vehicles are so named due to the broad and diverse range of off-road and increasingly on-road applications for which they are used. These machines are becoming ever more sophisticated with electric start, selectable four wheel drive, lights, power take off drive shafts, more powerful engines and differentials to improve traction and ride in the turns. Aside from their use in recreational pursuits a variety of accessories, attachments and implements are available enabling the machine to perform many duties such as weed control, pest control and hunting, livestock feeding, snow clearance, haulage duties around the farm, estate, park, garden or wherever they are used.
Of course, alongside the wide offering of parts and peripherals, the different roles the machines undertake and the varied terrains on which they are used have led to the development of a wide range of tyres. Tyres for sports machines tend to have a flat profile while utility machine tyres usually have a round topped profile. The sports tyres lend themselves to powersliding and provide good stability on medium to hard surface trail riding while the round-top tyre will perform better in soft terrain, biting deeper while also providing a softer ride. Many of the new generation of tyres designed by Carlisle are now of radial construction to offer increased traction, better puncture resistance and improved ride comfort.
The city of Carlisle will reverberate to the sound of throbbing motors and tyres traversing gravel on the weekend of April 17 to 19 when 150 cars compete in no fewer than five Pirelli International Rally events. Topping the bill is the second round of the MSA British Rally Championship, an event that is bringing an international field of competitors to Cumbria.
Ahead of the crews lies two days of action over the fast gravel tracks in the border forests where any slip can land a car in one of the many deep ditches, leading to instant retirement. But with vital championship points at stake, the drivers will be no doubt give every ounce of effort to wring every second out of their times.
It appears as if Pirelli is seeking further voluntary redundancies amongst it production staff in Carlisle. The company has confirmed this in a statement, however at this stage it is not clear how many positions will be cut.
Pirelli says it has informed senior trade union officials at both its Burton on Trent and Carlisle plants that it is willing to consider voluntary redundancy applications from production workers and supporting services. Information about the cutbacks was given as a second five-day shutdown, the result of falling demand, began on April 8.
A report in the Cumberland News indicates that 20 more jobs are to go from Pirelli’s factory in Carlisle. According to the paper, employees have been informed of the redundancies. Pirelli is said to hope that the positions can be eliminated through voluntary redundancies.
Additionally, two further temporary plant shutdowns are scheduled, and the factory will close for five days during March and a further five in April.
Although production at Pirelli’s factory in Burton has lately been at a standstill, plant management are speaking positively about the future of the site and the jobs there – however it seems some level of cooperation from the worker’s unions will be needed.
Pirelli’s Carlisle tyre production plant has today halted production for two weeks. An official statement issued by the company explained that the factory has been forced to close until 4 March in combat the effects of the global economic downturn. It is the second shutdown at the plant, which employs around 1000 people, this year. Further shutdowns have not been ruled out.
“Pirelli Industrial in the UK has already taken steps to mitigate the effect on employees by reducing to zero overtime, an extended Christmas and New Year break, and announcing a further shutdown in February 2009,” the statement explained, blaming the “spectacular fall in production experienced in the car industry.”
Carlisle Companies Incorporated has reported net sales from continuing operations of US$623.5 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2008, a 1 per cent decline in net sales from continuing operations of $631.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2007. The company says that a downturn sales in its Transportation Products segment, which includes Carlisle Wheel and Tire, along with its Construction Materials segment offset growth in other areas of the company’s business. For the full-year ended December 31, 2008, net sales from continuing operations were $2.97 billion, an 11 per cent increase over net sales from continuing operations of $2.68 billion in 2007. Sales increased in all segments, says Carlisle and organic sales growth was 3 per cent.
In a statement released February 4, Pirelli has confirmed plans to reduce the working week of employees at its Carlisle plant until the end of April. “The full impact of the global economic slowdown is being felt by many businesses in and connected to the car industry who have introduced long term lay offs and reduced working weeks,” the company said. Local media had previously reported that the 40-hour working week would be reduced to 32 hours per week.
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