compliance Archives - Page 9 of 11 - Tyrepress

Posts

Toyo Quarterly Results Marred by ‘Compliance Reporting Issue’

Toyo Tire & Rubber has announced its consolidated business results for the interim period of April 1, 2007 to September 30, 2007. Compared with the same period of the previous year, net sales increased by 24,017 million yen (£104.28 million) to 169,778 million yen (£737.11 million), an increase of 16.5 per cent. Operating income increased by 1,155 million yen (£5.01 million) to 7,086 million yen (£30.76 million, up 19.5 per cent, and ordinary income increased by 1,790 million yen (£7.77 million) to 6,194 million yen (£26.89 million, an increase of 40.6 per cent.

The company has also disclosed what it calls a “compliance reporting issue” discovered at its industrial products division involving urethane-based heat-resistant building construction materials, and initial estimates into the cost of replacing the subject materials stand at approximately 4,035 million yen (£17.52 million), therefore net income for the current interim period will decrease by 7,959 million yen (£34/56 million) to 637 million yen (£2.77 million), a sizeable 92.6 per cent drop.

15th November 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Hankook Issues Statement Regarding Worker Claims

(Akron/Tire Review) Hankook Tire has issued a statement in response to news reports that South Korea’s Ministry of Labour is investigating the relationship between the working environment at two of Hankook’s factories and the sudden deaths of 14 employees. The deaths being investigated occurred between May 2006 and October 2007, and workers at the company’s factories in Daejeon and Geumsan, claim the deaths can be linked to a toxic chemical solvent used during the manufacturing process – a claim Hankook reports it has examined but as yet remains unverified.

Hankook’s statement says:

13th November 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Amtel-Vredestein’s Voronezh Plant in Compliance

Amtel-Vredestein has reported that, contrary to the information given out by Russia’s Interfax news agency that the net assets of OJSC Tyre Complex Amtel-Chernozemye are less than its charter capital, OJSC Amtel-Vredestein confirms that its Voronezh manufacturing facility is in complete compliance with current Russian tax legislation, including the “Law about joint-stock companies”. As of 1 October 2007, and in accordance with reports submitted to the federal tax service department in the Voronezh region, OJSC Tyre Complex Amtel-Chernozemye’s net assets are 366 million roubles (£7.16 million) and its charter capital is 355 million roubles (£6.94 million).

OJSC Amtel-Vredestein is one of the largest investors in the Voronezh region and reports that it has successfully cooperated with its administration for many years. Loss reporting during a long-term investment period is a common Western business-practice. The “Long-term result of our investments are high-quality export-oriented products, based on high-technology, ecologically-friendly Russian facilities. In addition to the obvious advantages to the manufacturer in the form of higher competitiveness and profitability, our investments will also benefit the local economy by creating a higher tax base, additional employment and improvements to the social and economic level of the region,” said Petr Zolotarev, OJSC Amtel-Vredestein general director and Amtel-Vredestein N.V. CEO.

12th November 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Israeli Green Police Enforce Tyre Recycling Law

Israel has embarked on a national campaign aimed at enforcing the Tire Disposal and Recycling Law enacted on January 23, 2007. During the scrap tyre swoop on 25 September, the Ministry of Environmental Protection’s Green Police inspectors visited 114 tyre repair shops, provided explanations and distributed information sheets on the new law, and checked compliance with the law, especially in terms of proper storage and disposal of used tyres.

According to the government, tyre importers and Israel’s sole new tyre manufacturer (Alliance Tire Company Ltd.) have begun to collect used tyres from garage, but not necessarily fast enough. “On the one hand, this represents a major improvement in comparison to conditions prior to the law and demonstrates that steps are slowly being introduced to deal with the problem of waste tyres. On the other hand, in most of the shops – 87 out of 114 – flaws in compliance were discovered, mostly in relation to the storage of used tyres,” the Israeli environment department said in an official statement.

22nd October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Ireland Introduces new Tyre Recycling Regulations

As of January 2008 greater responsibility for waste tyres will be placed upon tyre manufacturers, suppliers, traders and retailers in the Republic of Ireland. This increased accountability comes courtesy of a new piece of legislation, the Waste Management (Tyres and Waste Tyres) Regulations 2007, signed by Ireland’s Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, John Gormley, on October 4.

Approximately 3 million tyres make their way onto Ireland’s roads each year and an estimated 35,000 tonnes of waste tyres are generated annually. “It is time that we had a proper database on this waste stream and I believe the new system that my Department has agreed with the tyre industry will effectively address that deficiency,” commented Mr. Gormley. “These new regulations will now provide a proper regulatory framework for comparing quantities of waste tyres arising with the amounts placed on the market and for tracking the movement of waste tyres from the time they are discarded until they are either reused or processed for recycling.”

5th October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

UK University Offers First Postgraduate REACH Course

With the Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals (REACH) legislation in effect since June 1, it is important to ensure that personnel responsible for implementing and managing their company’s compliance with the legislation have a correct understanding of what is required. The use of chemicals will have to be registered with a technical dossier and some substances will also require a chemical safety report and assessment.

The University of Hull is currently the only university in Europe to be offering an accredited Postgraduate course in the management of the Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals (REACH). The first day of teaching in the initial course began only days after the legislation came into force, on June 4, 2007, and each course consists of four one-week modules delivered by leading experts, as well as an industrial placement that can be carried out at the delegate’s own workplace. The course can be completed in full, as individual modules or on individual days. The cost is £300 for one day or £4,000 for the full course, exclusive of VAT. A Postgraduate Certificate is awarded upon completion of the full course.

24th September 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

TM Logistics Trial Michelin Tyres

TM Logistics Ltd is conducting an “extensive” tyre trial across its newly delivered fleet of 10 tractor units. The test will be carried out using 10 identical Euro 4 MAN TGA tractors operating at 44 tonnes; five specified with Michelin ‘E’ segment regional tyres (XZE2+ / XDE2+) and five with low rolling resistance Michelin Energy ‘A’ segment tyres (XZA2 / XDA2), as part of an ongoing equipment utilisation programme for the company’s mixed MAN and Scania fleet.

The company operates approximately 170 commercial vehicles, ranging from 7.5 tonne rigids to 44 tonne tractor units, as well as a fleet of 300 trailers. “As a company, we are constantly looking at ways of reducing our carbon footprint and with vehicles averaging 100,000 miles a year, the biggest challenge is to increase the fuel saving potential of each vehicle,” explains Adam Purshall, Head of Engineering and Compliance at TML.

11th September 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Himalayan Sure-Footedness with Federal

Taiwan’s Federal Corporation have been producing winter tyres since the start of the decade, and for the coming winter months are offering UK drivers a choice of two cold weather tyres to choose from.

The Himalaya WS1 is aimed at the performance market and features a compound of tensile synthetic SBR rubber mixed with silica, a combination Federal claims lends itself to prolonged working life. The tread contains v-shaped longitudinal grooves and wide channel grooves for traction-improving water and snow dispersal, and the straight centre rib with cross sipes is designed to improve straight line stability and passenger comfort. The shoulder blocks on the Himalaya WS1 have been beefed up to provide an appropriate level of handling stability and steering response on winter surfaces.

10th August 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Dunlop India Embroiled in Factory Land Dispute

Dunlop India’s fortunes continue to slide to a new low as the company, on top of the recent cessation of production at its Sahagunj plant, becomes entangled in a land dispute. The quarrel with real estate company VGN Enterprises surrounds a small portion of the 60.86 acre Chennai plant plot auctioned off by Dunlop India in 2004 in compliance with a Board of Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR) rehabilitation scheme.

The tyremaker claims the land in question could not be sold under the BIFR scheme, however the buyer, VGB Enterprises managing director V N Devadoss, is adamant that any right Dunlop India may have once had to the land has been relinquished. VGB Enterprises paid Rs 234.4 million (£2.96 million) for the parcel of land, and plans to develop the land into an integrated township. Mr. Devadoss has supported his ownership claim with the land’s title deed, court cases settled in his favour and an affidavit filed by Dunlop India in support of the sale of the land to him.

3rd August 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

TRA Launches Annual Award to Honour Commitment to Recycling

A new award, to be known as the ‘TRA Responsible Retailer of the Year’, is to be presented for the very first time at the Tyre Recovery Association’s 2007 Rubber Industry Dinner on 5th October. The award will honour tyre retailers who have demonstrated consistent concern for the responsible recycling of end of life tyres.

Nominations for the award will be forwarded by TRA members to a selection panel set up by the Association. The final selection criteria will include matters such as overall appearance of the premises, availability of new tyres and retreads (RMA Green Dealer Programme) as well as a clear commitment to regulatory compliance.

Commenting on this new TRA initiative, TRA Secretary Peter Taylor said it was now clearly necessary to ‘raise the game’ on the responsible collection and handling of used tyres and to do so by publicly congratulating those tyre retailers who subscribed to tyre recycling best practice in its broadest sense.

2nd August 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Recalled Tyres Met Standards – Hangzhou Zhongce

Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber Co. Ltd. has defended the quality of its tyres to the NHTSA. Through its lawyers the company told the transportation safety body on July 11 that “the light truck radial tyres referenced in the Foreign Tire Sales Inc. defect report met or exceeded all US safety and quality standards during [their] development.” The tyremaker is now in the process of collating tyre information for the NHTSA, and claim it “looks forward” to providing the information needed to independently confirm its belief that the almost half a million tyres sold to Foreign Tire Sales were not defective.

Regarding the tyres in question, Hangzhou Zhongce claims “the original design and each design enhancement were subjected to durability testing and were validated for compliance with the applicable US federal motor vehicle safety standards before being released for serial production.”

13th July 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Goodyear Release Statement Regarding Ledbetter Lawsuit

In light of the widespread media attention the pay discrimination case involving former Goodyear employee Lily Ledbetter has received, the US tyremaker has been prompted to release a statement outlining the company’s position on the matter. The statement reads as follows:

First and foremost, let us assure you that Goodyear has a long-standing policy prohibiting discrimination in employment and pay.

Goodyear encourages associates to report concerns as soon as possible, so they can be fairly reviewed and remedied. It’s easiest and simplest to correct a problem early, before it grows into a bigger problem years later. We encourage you to access our compliance policies.

Second, there are just a few facts from the case we’d like to highlight. Goodyear presented evidence at trial supporting Ms. Ledbetter’s pay level. During her employment, she had two extended layoffs and was not eligible for pay increases those years. In other years, Goodyear showed that Ms. Ledbetter and lower-rated male supervisors received comparable increases. Like most companies, pay increases at Goodyear are based on performance. In fact, there was a judicial finding of no discrimination with respect to the merit increases Ms. Ledbetter received in the years just before she took an early retirement.

26th June 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Techking Tires Gains ECE Approval

Techking Tires Limited has launched its ECE approved crane tyre, the 16.00R25. According to the company, the Techking 16.00R25 is the first product amongst similar Chinese crane tyres to receive the three-star ECE rating. In July, Techking plans to launch additional 14.00R24, 14.00R25, 17.5R25 and 20.5R25 sizes for mobile crane application.

“Our intended design, from day one, is to have this product be in compliance with ECE requirements. Our engineering department ran a lot of internal tests. Thanks to the above, we receive the ECE mark without any back and forth revision or redesign,” said Tony Jiang, the R&D manager, who is the team leader for the project.

“With the engineering sources and expertise we have, we try to stay always one step ahead of our competitors. We focus on only radial OTR and try to be a specialist in this category. We source the materials from the best-in-class suppliers. With our “all for rugged” design philosophy, our 16.00R25 crane tyre is competently ready for heavy load and high speed”, said Tech Wang, President of the company.

18th June 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Get Smart With Ayce

Smart Repairs are a smart option for those wanting to restore the appearance of their vehicle without sinking a large sum of money into the process – and an even smarter option for those in the automotive refinishing industry. This is a fact well known to Ayce Systems, a leading UK supplier of smart repair systems, consumables and aftermarket support. And given that this company’s client list includes some well-known names – the UK operations of Renault, Peugeot and Fiat are but three – it’s safe to say Ayce Systems knows a thing or two about the smart repair business.

The company’s product range is sizeable and includes numerous smart repair systems for vehicle bodywork and interiors, but the Ayce Systems display at Brityrex, naturally enough, focused upon their alloy wheel repair line-up, including the WheelRite Pro, an item Acye says incorporates everything needed to repair and refurbish kerbed, scratched and corroded alloy wheels up to repainting stage.

31st May 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Yokohama: Hose Division Inspected by Fair Trade Commission

Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd., has published a statement confirming it was subjected to on-site inspections of the Japan Fair Trade Commission at its head office and its Hiratsuka factory in connection with marine hose transactions.

“The company, including its group companies, has been carrying out the compliance with laws and ordinances without exception. The company faces gravely the fact that it was subjected to the on-site inspections of the Japan Fair Trade Commission and will fully cooperate with the authorities on the investigations,” the statement read

The company refrained from commenting on the details, explaining that this is because the investigation is still ongoing.

11th May 2007/by Tyrepress Editors