Commercial Vehicle Tyres
What of the major vehicle markets? We kick off with what has been happening in the automotive world in the first three months. Additional figures are now available from the International Rubber Study Group (IRSG) for tyre production in the main markets for 2002 for car tyres and for commercial vehicle tyres.
Every professional truck driver or motorist knows about the problem arising from wet roads. Especially overtaking a truck in the wet, which can be compared to a leap in the dark with a high level of risk when the rainwater is being splashed aside by the steer axle tyres. It’s this dangerous splash Michelin aims to counteract with a world-first: the patented Anti-Splash tread pattern. With the introduction of a deflector into the tyre’s design, comprising a small horizontal rib on the shoulder between the sidewall and the tread of the tyre, the splash will be deflected back down towards the road surface. The bow wave effect, which is responsible for the visibility, and thus the safety, of the truck and the car drivers, will be minimised.
Continental has turned in a good performance in the first quarter, despite a sluggish automotive sector market. Sales rose 3.2 per cent over 1Q 2002 to 2.82 billion Euros (2.73 bn). If these are adjusted for currency fluctuations, the increase was 9.7 per cent. Net profit was up 28 per cent to 87 million Euros, giving a margin of 6.5 per cent. Passenger tyre revenue was up, as were sales at Continental Automotive Systems and ContiTech, but turnover on truck tyres was down.
Kumho UK has been awarded a contract to supply tyres as original equipment to specialist van manager LDV. 70 per cent of LDV’s annual production of Pilot and Convoy vans will be equipped with Kumho’s radial 857 commercial van tyres in sizes 185 R14 and 205 R14. The contract follows a rigorous quality audit at Kumho’s Kwangju plant and tyre testing at the MIRA proving ground in the UK, resulting in the Korean manufacturer being awarded Approved Supplier status.
Last year, on the 21st December, the Gütersloh police force released a press statement concerning their intervention concerning a car-and-trailer combination which had become stranded. The trailer had broken down due to overloading and one of its tyres was flat. According to its documents, the trailer had a maximum total loading capacity of 200 kg, but a weight check showed the load it carried weighed no less than 2000 kg. Granted – this example is extreme. However, practice shows that many car-and-trailer drivers are oblivious to the danger of overloading. Not only are tyres being put under unnecessary strain, but at the same time, the driving performance is bound to be greatly impaired by trailer overloading also. As far as the tyres are concerned, the problems become even more acute due to the fact that drivers tend to worry about the round black rubber things on their trailers even less than they do about the ones on their cars. Caravans represent a big potential danger. For most of the year, they are left in some parking lot, only to be loaded up to the full at the beginning of the holidays, then hooked up behind a car, and out they go for long journeys on the motorway. The ADAC and the Association of Caravan and Mobile Home Builders as well as other institutions close to the camping business, are regularly and emphatically warning about the possible dangers concerning tyres: dangers not only due to overloading, but also due to tyre obsolescence, as well as to incorrect tyre pressures, which are mostly too low.
MRF was established in Chennai, India, in 1946 as a general rubber goods manufacturer and gradually progressed into tyre production in 1961. Today, the company enjoys the distinction of being the largest tyre company in the Indian subcontinent and the 13th largest in the world. The Far Eastern Economic Review “Annual Review 200”; rated MRF as one of India’s top ten companies and among the 200 most admired companies in Asia, for the last seven years consecutively. MRF was also rated the No. 1 Ethical Company in India by the Business World magazine. MRF operates six manufacturing plants in India at Tiruvottiyur, Arkonam, Kottayam, Goa, Medak, and Pondicherry and manufactures the largest range of tyres in India´s heavy duty truck/bus tyres, light commercial vehicle tyres, passenger car tyres, off-the-road/industrial tyres, 2-wheeler tyres and farm service tyres. Five of these plants and the conveyor belting factory at Arakonam are ISO 9002 certified. The plant at Pondicherry is QS 9000 certified. MRF Tyres are exported to over 65 countries in the Americas, Africa, Middle East, Australia and Asia. With the focus on exports, the company plans to increase market share and start operations in several new countries. MRF also manufactures conveyor belts and precure tread rubber, and its subsidiaries manufacture toys, speciality paints, leather and leather products.
Continental has released provisional figures for 2001. Sales increased by 11.1 per cent to 11.2 billion Euro (2000: 10.1 bn). The Automotive Services Division increased turnover by 31.8 per cent and the tyre division’s sales rose by 2.2 per cent. Good sales of passenger car tyres in Europe compensated for falling sales of commercial vehicle tyres and in the turnover of Continental Tire North America. A one-off restructuring cost of 468 million Euro adversely affected the 2001 figures and the end result is a deficit for the year of 258 million Euro, compared with a surplus for 2000 of 205 million Euro.
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. will voluntarily replace up to 200,000 size LT245/75R16 tyres on passenger vans and ambulances, starting in March, as a preliminary investigation of the tires by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) concludes. NHTSA believes tread separations in the four-ply tyres may have led to 11 fatal accidents and numerous injuries. The program involves 16-inch Load Range E tyres made between 1996 and 2000 and encompasses 51 different lines. Goodyear says the tyres are not defective. NHTSA began investigating Load Range E tyres in November 2000. Goodyear is contacting registered tyre owners through direct mail and other methods. It will replace the tyres with same size, six-ply units. “This is a proactive tyre replacement program,” say Goodyear officials.
As part of the Southam’s ongoing development of the successful Roadhog Supreme private brand, three new van tyre sizes are being introduced 225/70R15 8 ply, 195/75R16 8 ply and 205/65R15 6 ply. Southam Tyres who have recently been acquired by Micheldever Tyre Services plc, also confirmed further advances with their budget brand, Autogrip. Both the Roadhog Supreme and Autogrip range are marketed by Southam Tyres’ national independent dealer network, Autostop.
Cooper-Avon has introduced the Avanza AV9 range of tyres, designed for transit and express vans. The tyre is available in 15 sizes, R and T speed ratings and aspect ratios of 65, 70, 75 and 82.
Continental Tyre Group is to set up a new UK truck network, comprising independent businesses with exclusive territories, managed by Continental. This will obviously affect the commercial division of Conti’s subsidiary National Tyre Services. Some will be sold, while some will be taken over by existing staff – a number of these are expected to join the new truck network, which will be called ContiNetwork.
Dr. Hans-Joachim Nikolin, Chairman of the Semperit supervisory board and board member of Continental AG, confirmed during a supervisory board meeting of Semperit Reifen Ges.m.b.H. in Traiskirchen in mid-December that the Semperit factory at Traiskirchen will play an essential strategic part in the introduction of a new manufacturing process. Continental has developed a European strategy for the Modular Manufacturing Process (MMP), envisaging three MMP factories, each responsible for the supply of one large European region. The Traiskirchen factory has been chosen to supply the South and East European markets. The decision about a second MMP location to supply Western Europe is said to be imminent, whereas a suitable supply plant for the North European region has not yet been found. The production plan for the year 2000 gives 1.5 million car tyres made by the standard and one million by the MMP process, a total number of 2.5 million units as originally planned. However, since the manufacturing process of MMP tyres is less complicated than the standard production process, a reduction in the workforce is inevitable and cannot be compensated for by the planned increased output of 825,000 commercial vehicle tyres in the year 2000. The MMP tyre is produced in modules allowing the cost-effective production of smaller lots, and a fast reaction to the requirements of the market. MMP is therefore primarily designed as a means of reacting fast to developments in the replacement markets, and only in exceptional cases would it be considered for original equipment. This production process does away with the necessity to make a large variety of products at the standard factories, thus freeing them for large-series production.
Nokian Tyres’ turnover last year reached 322.6 m Euro (28% higher than 1998) and an operating profit of 42.1 Euro (1998 32.2 m Euro). Profit before tax was 35.5 m Euro (1998 29.9 m Euro) and net profit 25.7 m Euro (1998 21.6 m Euro). The company invested 85.7 m Euro (1998 72.7 m Euro), this was mainly in production (30 m Euro). There was also expansion in retail equity with the purchase of the Finnish company ISKO.
In the last week of March Yokohama Rubber Co. presented the new A 539 tyre to the European trade press at the Japanese D-Parc (Daigo Proving Ground and Research Center). Thirty-three sizes of this tyre will be available in Europe, about 20 of them are already in the market, the remaining sizes to be introduced within the next four weeks. The A 539 has an asymmetrical tread pattern and, according to the manufacturer, the excellent qualities of sportiness, quiet running and good cornering stability on dry and especially on wet roads.
An article in the newspaper Handelsblatt suggested that Continental is about to open a tyre factory in Moscow and that negotiations were close to final agreement. An investment in the region of 30 million Euros was reported. In September last year, Neue Reifenzeitung reported on negotiations between Continental and Moskauer Reifenwerke, which was very close to bankruptcy, although the financial situation may have improved as the main shareholder Yukos has sold its stake in the company. NEUE REIFENZEITUNG asked Continental for more details, but the company said it was not in a position to comment and could not confirm the figures quoted. Continental is only one of the tyre companies involved in negotiations in this area, with Michelin being another.
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