December Archives - Page 13 of 35 - Tyrepress

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Avon Tyres Releases New Storm 2 Ultra at NEC Show

Avon Tyres will release a successor to its popular Storm ST family of sports-touring tyres at this year’s International Motorcycle and Scooter show at Birmingham’s National Exhibition Centre, later this week. The new Storm 2 Ultra builds on the performance of the Storm ST and, says Avon, improves upon it in a number of areas. Developed from the award-winning Storm ST tyre, the company says the new Storm 2 Ultra offers more mileage and improved grip in all weathers and road conditions.

25th November 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Goodyear Raising North America Prices

As of December 1 prices for Goodyear consumer replacement tyres will go up by as much as six per cent in North America. The company announced these increases are being made in order to offset higher raw materials costs. This is the first Goodyear price increase for this segment since September 2008, when a 10 per cent increase was implemented.

18th November 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Ex-Conti CEO Neumann Takes on VW Role

On December 1 Karl-Thomas Neumann, former chief executive of Continental AG, will start in a new role with Volkswagen. Neumann will take on the newly created role of group chief officer for electric traction, and in this position will report directly to VW CEO Martin Winterkorn. This is not the first time that Neumann, who left Conti in August, has worked with the carmaker – he held various positions within the Volkswagen’s electronics operation between 1999 and 2004.

13th November 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

GPX International to Sell Solid Tyre Business

GPX International Tire Corporation CEO Craig Steinke has announced the company’s entry into a “definitive sale agreement for its Solid Tire business and Starbright manufacturing facility in China”. Steinke states “an investor group will partner with members of the management team to purchase the operations and underlying assets of the Solid Tire business.” The transaction will include the MITL, ITL and Brawler brands, as well as the Gorham, Maine; Red Lion, Pennsylvania; and Hebei, China manufacturing facilities.

13th November 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Indian Truck Tyre Imports Rise Despite Restrictions

Imports of truck and bus tyres into India have risen sharply since may in spite of government restrictions. The Automotive Tyre Manufacturers Association (ATMA) reports 138,347 truck and bus tyres entered the country in August, up from 20,222 units in April. The majority of these were produced in China, the organisation adds – imports from China reached 100,772 units in August, a dramatic increase on the 9,594 tyres imported in April.

10th November 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

New Apollo Factory to Reach Peak Capacity by Mid-2010

Apollo Tyres’ new Rs 20 billion (£257 million) facility in India’s Chennai state is expected to be operational from the start of December, and the company states the plant should attain a peak daily capacity of 14,000 tyres by the middle of next year. Of this total, commented the company on November 8, 8,000 will be passenger car radials and 6,000 truck and bus radials.

9th November 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Bankruptcy Court Confirms Hayes Lemmerz Reorganisation Plan

On November 3 Hayes Lemmerz International announced that the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware has confirmed the proposed plan of reorganisation filed by the wheel manufacturer in July. Now that the go-ahead has been given, Hayes Lemmerz expresses confidence that the plan will significantly improve its balance sheet and reduce leverage. The company's total consolidated pre-petition funded debt of approximately US$720 million is now expected to shrink to approximately $240 million upon emergence from Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

4th November 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

US Tyre Demand 'Improving'

US replacement tyre demand increased 4 per cent year-on-year in September, according to RMA data. Analysts equated this to a 1 per cent growth in the third quarter 2009. Nevertheless sources report that 2009 demand (at 174 million consumer tyres) is still down 14.4 per cent in the year September. During the same period US truck tyre volumes fell 23.6 per cent to 10.8 million units.

Based on last year’s figures, Deutsche Bank analysts predicted that this trend would increase towards the end of the year: “Two of the past three months have posted positive year-on-year results and year-on-year comparisons also become much easier in the months ahead.” Replacement demand fell -15.8, -17.1 and -15.5 per cent in October to December 2008.

12th October 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Jury Hits MNA for $12 Million in Tyre Case

International News

A Texas jury returned a $12 million judgment against Michelin North America, finding that a manufacturing flaw “substantially contributed” to a 31 December 2006 crash that killed six and left a 12-year-old boy paralyzed. The Willacy County, Texas, jury awarded the plaintiffs $11.96 million, ruling that a BFGoodrich brand tire failed due to manufacturing errors, causing the 2002 Ford F-250 pickup truck the victims were riding in to swerve into oncoming traffic and crash head-on into a Chevrolet Suburban. “The jury found that broken air conditioners and leaky roofs cause moisture to get on tires, which led to this tread- belt separation,” Mikal Watts, an attorney for the plaintiffs, said. “We are grateful the jury saw the evidence as it was. There was a manufacturing defect in this tire, and Michelin needed to pay for the damage it caused.” (Tire Review)

11th September 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Bendix, SmarTire Deal Done

Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems has completed its acquisition of parts of Canadian TPMS-maker SmarTire Systems. Bendix is taking on SmarTire’s commercial truck TPMS business.

21st August 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Kumho USA to Recall Light Truck Tyres

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has announced Kumho Tire USA’s recall of 36,292 Mohave A/T light truck all terrain tyres. The recall is restricted to the sizes LT225/75R16, LT245/75R16, and LT265/75R16 produces between December 7, 2008 and June 13, 2009. According to the NHTSA announcement, vehicles fitted with these tyres may experience “difficult” handling performance when operated under loaded conditions or when changing lanes. This condition, the announcement adds, may result in the vehicle swaying, resulting in the possibility of a crash occurring.

Kumho will notify owners and replace the tyres free of charge. A safety recall is anticipated to get under way during July.

30th June 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Michelin Announces Repurchase Results

Michelin has published the results of a recent repurchase procedure, however the company states that the information may not be published, distributed or transmitted into the United States of America. So if you are located in this country, do not even think of clicking on the “more” link…

25th June 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Kwik-Fit Debts Reach £822.1 million in 2008

Kwik-Fit has warned that it may risk breaching its banking covenants after being hit by increased debts and foreign currency effects in 2008. Kwik-Fit, which supplies around 5 million tyres a year in Britain, reported that net debts increased from £96.6 million to £822.1 million last year. Nevertheless Kwik-Fit reported flat operating profits of £75.7 million last year and managed to grow sales 9.8 per cent (up 0.5 per cent if you only count like-for-like sales) to £942 million despite the recession. However, according to a Sunday Times report on the company’s annual accounts, Kwik-Fit has already sold most of its freehold properties in an attempt to reduce its borrowings.

Directors and staff, led by the chief executive, Ian Fraser, own 11 per cent of Kwik-Fit’s shares. According to the Herald newspaper, Ian Fraser saw his pay and benefits surge by 40 per cent last year. Citing accounts filed at Companies House the report points out that the highest-paid director (assumed to be Ian Fraser) got a pay rise of £200,000 to £700,000 in the year to December.

17th June 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Brisa 2008 Results Show Sales Increase but Profits Down

Turkish manufacturer Brisa achieved net sales of 772,203,901 Turkish liras (£306.1 million) in the year ended December 31, 2008. This result disclosed in the company’s audited statement of income, represents a 2.9 per cent increase on the previous year. Operating income, at 48,709,571 liras (£19.3 million), was down 26.1 per cent on the 2007 financial year, and although profits of 31,795,956 (£12.6 million) liras were 49.1 per cent lower than the previous year, Brisa remained in the black during the year. The company’s domestic sales came to 610,590,748 liras (£242.0 million), a rise of 5.8 per cent. Exports declined 1.2 per cent during the year to 247,181,348 liras (£98.0 million).

11th June 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Titan Tire Faces Fines for Safety Violations

Titan Tire has been cited by the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration for violations of federal safety rules. According to Toledo based newspaper The Blade, the company’s Bryan giant tyre facility is facing tentative fines of US$24,500 for four serious violations at the site. The violations were observed during inspections in November, December, and February.

Titan has indicated it will appeal the charges.

9th June 2009/by Tyrepress Editors