During a Challenge Bibendum press conference in Paris on Saturday 10 June, Michel Rollier stressed that he is Michelin’s only managing partner at the moment and there are no current plans to name a second “gérant.” The executive board will remain as it is, news sources quoted Rollier as saying.
Dr Alan Hippe has admitted that retreating from the North American tyre business is an option. This is the first time a top-level manager has made such an assertion. Dr Hippe, board member responsible for finance, controlling and law – and also Continental Tire North America (CTNA) president and CEO – told German daily Die Welt: “In principle, if there is no more prospect of profitably working in the US passenger car tyre business, in the long run we will withdraw the US market.” CTNA’s US passenger car tyre business has been in the red since 2000.
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company will report first quarter 2006 financial results before market opens on Thursday, May 4, to be followed by an investor conference call at 11:30 a.m. EDT. Participating in the conference call will be Robert J. Keegan, chairman and chief executive officer; Richard J. Kramer, executive vice president and chief financial officer; and Darren R. Wells, senior vice president, business development and treasurer. They will review Goodyear’s first quarter results.
(Akron/Tire Review) According to a release issued by Pirelli Tire North America (PTNA), Guy Mannino, PTNA president and Myles Kovacs, president and co-founder of Twenty Inch Strong Wheels will “unveil something big” on 13 April before the start of the New York International Auto Show.
(Akron/Tire Review) TIA reported that its 51st annual OTR Conference broke attendance records, with 411 attendees for the event, held in Orlando in late February. TIA said next year’s conference will be held at the Rancho Bernardo Inn in San Diego, California from 22 to 24 February to 2007.
At a special “Pit Stop China” press conference running alongside the A1 Grand Prix in Shanghai at the weekend, Cooper Tire announced that the Cooper brand would shortly be available for the Chinese market. Cooper is the official tyre for the A1 series.
Amtel-Vredestein NV has announced that it has selected Oracle E-Business Suite for its corporate information system at a press conference held in Moscow at Oracle’s APPS FORUM 2006. Based on Oracle’s E-Business Suite platform, the new system will help to enable centralized and effective financial and logistics management, strict cost allocation and price control at all stages of production.
(Akron/Tire Review) Following up on its announcement at the recent OTR Conference, TIA will host a Tire Privatization Industry Day on 9 March at the Defense Supply Center in Columbus, Ohio. The meeting is in accordance with the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure statute, and the meeting will “discuss establishing a performance-based logistics approach for the supply chain management of tyres for the Department of Defense,” said TIA.
(Akron/Tire Review) The Tire Industry Association (TIA) has partnered with Australia’s Klinge & Co. Pty Ltd. to develop an earthmover tyre technician training and certification programme. The deal was announced at TIA’s recent OTR Tire Conference.
Continental AG representatives say they are aiming to finalise plans for a 300 million euro investment in a tyre plant in China by the second quarter of this year. Speaking at a news conference marking the official opening of the company’s Asia-Pacific headquarters in Shanghai, the executives said that Continental expects to double Asian sales within five years for its automotive systems division.
When Burton Albion held Manchester United to a draw at the new Pirelli Stadium, the team and its sponsors earned more than simply a third round replay. In addition to a replay with one of the world’s best-known teams, Burton will earn an estimated £500,000 from this single appearance. And this cash is expected to virtually wipe out the debts accumulated in the building of the Pirelli stadium, providing the opportunity for the club to safely increase its revenue.
Cooper is celebrating the premiere of a new look that the company says is designed to embody its “position as a leading tyre brand.” The new look was unveiled at a press conference held at the SEMA exhibition in Las Vegas. “The transformation of our brand reflects our uncompromising commitment to compete with the best in the world as a manufacturer and marketer of great tyres for all consumers, regardless of what they drive, on the road or off. It’s time for our logo to reflect the exciting things we’ve been doing at Cooper, and SEMA is the perfect venue to unveil our new image,” said Tom Dattilo, chairman, president and CEO.
Michelin is to report a sales increase of 4.5 per cent when the French manufacturer hosts a quarterly conference call this evening. Deutsche Bank analysts said the increase was entirely attributable to an improved price/mix effect. The analysts also pointed out that, with regards to EBIT, the improved price/mix effect should more than offset the “raw material price headwind” which is estimated at 80 – 90 million euros. The company is also effected to benefit from its policy of high-cost workforce reduction.
Bridgestone Corp has announced huge expansion plans, which could see the manufacturer spend as much as 200 billion yen (£990 million) every year between now and 2008.
Bloomberg has reported that Bridgestone is pre-empting a stagnation in the domestic Japanese market by increasing investment in new factories and upgrading equipment. The company is aiming for sales of 3 trillion yen (approximately £15 billion) by 2008, with a profit margin of 5 per cent, company president Shigeo Watanabe told a Tokyo press conference. “We are aiming to capture about 20 per cent of the global market share for tyres” by 2008, from the current share of “between 18 per cent and 19 per cent,” he said.
The 30th Annual Tire Mechanics Short Course is to be held concurrently with the Tire Technology Expo and Conference in Stuttgart, from 6 –9 March 2006. According to the organisers, this four-day educational and developmental course will provide engineers and scientists with an in-depth, intense study of developments surrounding tyre engineering.
If you would like the latest news from the Chinese tyre industry in Chinese, visit our partner site TyrepressChina.com. Or click below to continue on Tyrepress.
