Last year the Michelin Fill Up With Air campaign showed 35 per cent of motorists to be driving around on dangerously under inflated tyres. Yet despite the French manufacturer’s very worthwhile efforts, the tyre safety message just doesn’t seem to be sinking in – Michelin’s 2009 Fill Up With Air campaign results reveal that this figure has crept up to 36 per cent.
China is the world’s largest consumer of rubber, and growth in the use of compound rubber – a substance containing 99 per cent natural rubber but attracting 15 per cent less tax than its pure 100 per cent counterpart – is colossal. This year the country is expected to import 950,000 tons of compound rubber, a leap of almost 71 per cent from last year. Many rubber exporters in Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia are now focusing on producing compound rubber more to take advantage of China's import duty structure. "Compound rubber import volume was increasing in recent years because the customs tax was lower than [for] natural rubber," the China Rubber Research Institute said in a report prepared for an international conference in Vietnam.
Continental may buy Schaeffler Group’s automotive assets (namely LuK clutches and/or INA bearings) and then float its Rubber Group to pay for it. That’s the view of Klaus Pflum, head of investment bank Nomura's European automotive mergers and acquisitions operations, who made this prediction at the Reuters Auto Summit in Paris. In his view Continental is more likely to opt for an initial public offering (IPO) and this route may raise more money than a divestment and direct sale: "I don't see any banks who are willing to finance a four to five billion euro debt ticket,” Pflum told the conference.
Kwik-Fit founder Sir Tom Farmer, who is credited with revolutionising tyre retailing in the UK, is to present a keynote speech at the TyrexpoAfrica industry conference in Johannesburg next March. Sir Tom is one of the most recognisable names in the global tyre industry. He founded Kwik-Fit in Scotland in 1971, developing it to become one of the world’s largest automotive parts repair and replacement specialists, before selling the company to Ford in 1999.
Among many honours, Sir Tom was awarded the CBE in 1990, received a Knighthood in 1997 and in the same year was made a KCSG (Knight Commander with Star of the Order of St. Gregory the Great). In 2009 he was created a Commander of the Victorian Order (CVO) in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours.
Shares in Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co experienced the sharpest fall in New York trading for 22 years following chief financial officer Darren Wells’ prediction that income in North America will decline between $75 million and $125 million compared to third quarter results in the period October-December 2009. The company therefore forecasts an operating loss in North America during the fourth quarter. Wells made the statement during a conference call with analysts today discussing the results of 2009’s third quarter.
German automotive technology supplier Bosch admits the recession has left a clear mark on its results. For 2009, the Bosch Group expects sales to decrease by 15 per cent, to some 38 billion euros. In its automotive businesses, the decline in worldwide sales will be as much as 20 per cent at year-end. Yet following the deep recession, Bosch Automotive Group chairman Dr. Bernd Bohr sees clear signs that the automotive business’s situation has stabilised. Orders have begun to improve and during the past few months Bosch has acquired major new projects. This is expected to support the company’s growth in the coming years. However, Bohr cautioned “it could take us until 2012 to return to the pre-recession levels of 2007."
The International Tyre, Rubber & Plastics Federation (ITRPF) has confirmed Alan Davis nomination as general secretary of the association. Alan Davis was originally nominated during a board meeting held at the Sheraton Conference Center at Frankfurt Airport on Monday 6 July 2009. Alan Davis has spent 36 years working in the tyre industry within various departments such as manufacturing, technical, tyre research, and purchasing. His last position was UK purchasing manager for Goodyear Dunlop. The federation is currently renewing its website and reportedly intends to intensify its activities and involvement in environmental concerns, technical and technological support, and industrial trends and development of tyre and rubber waste. The ITRPF is holding its next Annual General Meeting (AGM) on the 11 November at the InterCity Hotel in Celle near Hannover, Germany in conjunction with the AgriTechnica Show that will be held on 10 to 14 November 2009.
(Tire Review) The University of the Aftermarket and SEMA are collaborating on an accredited marketing program. University of the Aftermarket has accredited the SEMA “Online Marketing Conference,” a day-long business marketing workshop that will take place on Monday, Nov. 2 in Las Vegas, the day before the SEMA Show opens.
The Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries (ANRPC) is hosting its Annual Rubber Conference on 4 November 2009 in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. This year’s conferences’ theme is: “Beyond the Crisis: Emerging Asia and Opportunities for Natural Rubber.” Hosted by the Government of Vietnam, this one-day Conference will have three sessions followed by a panel discussion. The conference is being held in conjunction with the ANRPC’s assembly session and committee meetings to be held in the same week.
In the US, Goodyear has rescheduled an investor conference call to discuss its new, four-year master labour contract with the United Steelworkers union. The conference call, originally set for 28 September as was reported previously on Tyrepress.com, has been moved to 14:00 (GMT-5) on Tuesday, 29 September due to a scheduling conflict. Investors, members of the media and other interested persons may access the conference call on the company’s investor relations website: www.goodyear.com/investor or via telephone by calling (706) 634-5954 before 13:55 that day.
In remarks before the 28th Conference on Tire Science and Technology, Goodyear chairman and CEO Robert J. Keegan told attendees that a commitment to rapid innovation, aimed at addressing specific consumer needs, provides a significant “competitive advantage.” Furthermore, in today’s fast paced and economically challenging environment, such a commitment is “critical to a company’s very survival.”
(Tire Review) Following the ratification of Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co’s new, four-year master labour contract was ratified by members of the United Steelworkers union on 19 September, Rich Kramer, COO and president of Goodyear’s North American tyre unit suggested that, “This agreement reflects the commitment of Goodyear and the USW to continue to work together to achieve our common goal of world-class competitiveness.”
ExxonMobil Chemical will host Tire Symposium 2009 in Chengdu, China, for those interested in learning about new tyre innerliner technologies and opportunities for the Chinese tyre industry. The 18-20 October event is sponsored exclusively by ExxonMobil Chemical, and will feature product marketing and technology specialists discussing tyre innerliner technologies, including the company’s own Exxcore DVA resin-based innerliner.
Amtel-Vredestein N.V. has given notice that it will hold its Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders on September 2 at the Sheraton Amsterdam Airport Hotel and Conference Centre. The agenda for the EGM will, amongst other things, include the company’s 2008 financial statements and an update on Amtel’s financial affairs and bankruptcy. ABH Financial Limited’s restructuring […]
Dan Guiney, Yokohama Tire Corporation’s director of technical services, has been appointed a member of the Tire Society’s advisory board. “the Tire Society is a 29-year-old organization that’s widely respected within the tyre industry for its high-level technical and scientific endeavors,” said Jim MacMaster, Yokohama executive vice president and chief operating officer. “Dan’s the first Yokohama employee to sit on the board and all of us here congratulate him. He is a consummate professional with unmatched engineering expertise, so his appointment to the board makes perfect sense.”
The Tire Society, which is based in Akron, Ohio, has 200 members representing the tyre and automotive industries, as well as academia, government agencies, independent research organizations, private consultants, equipment manufacturers and software firms. Its mission is to “disseminate knowledge and to stimulate development in the science and technology of tires through seminars, technical meetings and publication of the journal, Tire Science and Technology.” The organization will hold its 28th annual meeting and conference, September 15-16, 2009, at the Akron City Centre Hotel.
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