Apollo Tyres Ltd has formally concluded the process of acquiring Dunlop Tyres International (Pyt) Ltd (Dunlop South Africa) in a £36 million all cash deal. Apollo’s board of directors had approved this acquisition on January 31, 2006, at a board meeting in Mumbai, India. All regulatory approvals in India and South Africa alongside the transfer of shares have already been completed.
Avon Tyres’ competitive debut in the British GT Championship is being hailed as a resounding success by teams and drivers alike at Oulton Park, Cheshire last weekend. Race winner, Chris Niarchos in his Scuderia Ecosse Ferrari 430, said: “The race was good all round…[the car] ran faultlessly and credit to Avon. The tyres were brilliant….they allowed us to push very early in the race which, historically to be fair, we’ve never been able to do that much.”
In the past three years Goodyear has improved its position amongst the growing number of importers supplying tyres to the Russian market, not to mention the replacement market itself. In 2002 the American manufacturer exported some 960,000 Goodyear, Dunlop, Fulda and Sava branded tyres to Russia. According to the Discovery Research Group based in Moscow, this has already grown to 1.39 million units. At the same time Goodyear’s share of the total number of tyres imported into Russia has increased from 12 per cent in 2002 to 17 per cent now, based on a total import market of 8.2 million units each year.
Goodyear Dunlop has announced the appointment of two new Regional Managers to further strengthen their service provider TruckForce.
A major investment has been made in Goodyear Dunlop’s new truck tyre service provider network for the road transport industry. TruckForce focuses on the commercial vehicle and bus market with planned, preventative tyre maintenance and on-site service with each region having a central TruckForce hub with a network of satellite service points and stock holding locations supporting these.
North Eastern Tyre & Exhausts has recently completed an extension to its main distribution centre’s warehousing and sees itself as a prime example of a company geared up to distribute high and ultra high performance tyres. Following several years of continuous focus on developing its product portfolio the company is now building its reputation as a specialist in this area of the market.
Dunlop India is planning to set up an industrial rubber products plant at its existing truck and bus tyre manufacturing facility at Ambattur in Chennai. The company currently has an industrial products division at Sahagunj facility in West Bengal, the Indian Hindu Business Line Newspaper has reported.
(Australian Tyre Dealer) Stuckey Tyre Service in Victoria and Kostera Tyre Service in Western Australia have been appointed as distributors for Dunlop, Avon and Waymaster brand vintage tyres in Australia.
Chris Marchant, managing director of Vintage Tyre Supplies UK (exclusive worldwide distributor for Dunlop, Avon and Waymaster brand vintage tyres), has made these appointments in order to service its exclusive range of Vintage and Classic tyres in Australia.
Deutsche Bank analysts have reacted cautiously to the news that Goodyear is closing its Dunlop Tyre factory in the U.K. and ceasing production of bicycle tyres and inner tubes at its Poland plant. The company expects these actions to generate after-tax savings of between $30-$40 million per year. Goodyear has previously announced that it is targeting $250-$350 million in annual cost savings from reducing high cost capacity and shifting production to lower cost markets.
Vredestein Hi-Trac tyres bested those of its international competitors – including those manufactured by Goodyear, Continental, Pirelli and Bridgestone in independent tests which compared braking distances, overall speed & handling and resistance to aquaplaning on wet roads. The tyre took first place on average in 10 tests.
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. on Wednesday said it plans to close an automobile tyre plant in the United Kingdom and a bicycle tyre plant in Poland (Debica) in order to achieve combined annual savings of up to $50 million. The largest U.S. tyre company, which is based in Akron, Ohio, said it has begun discussions with union employees as a step toward shutting its Goodyear Dunlop United Kingdom passenger tyre factory in Washington, northeast England. This action is expected to create annual savings of approximately $20 million and result in charges of between $75 million and $85 million ($55 million to $65 million after-tax). The cash portion of this charge is estimated to be $35 million to $40 million.
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company has announced the addition of new Dunlop tyres to its offering, aimed at filling out its commercial tyre line. The company is rolling out new tyres and sizes in mixed-service to go along with its full line of Dunlop line-haul, regional and urban tyres. Mixed-service tyres, which can be used on- and off-road, feature severe-service tread compounds and improved belt packages for improved resistance to cutting, chipping and tearing when the tyre leaves the roadway. The tyre’s open lug design provides countless tread edges for grip, and yet, tyre technology is used to deliver ride comfort and quietness on the road, company officials said.
National car care operator, Hi-Q has said farewell to its founder, Jack Blacklock, who sadly passed away recently. Jack, who was 87, founded Tyre Services in 1949, starting the company from premises in Denton Holme, Carlisle. He leaves behind a daughter, son-in-law and grand-daughter.
All roads lead to the Snetterton race track in Norfolk for the inaugural round of the Dunlop ‘Great & British’ Festival series. Spectators will see drivers of Radical, Ginetta and Mini race cars battle it out in the opening round of their respective championships.
The Dunlop ‘Great & British’ festival brings the respective championships together under one banner and highlights from each round will be shown on Sky Sports TV. The event gets underway on Saturday morning, the first wheels turning at 9:00 am with the day dedicated almost entirely to qualifying and the first race of the meeting, starting at 5:00 pm.
(India/Rubber Asia) At the end of what seems like an agonizingly endless wait, the gates of the Dunlop factory at Sahagunj, in the eastern State of Communist-ruled West Bengal, and the one at Ambattur near Chennai in the southern State of Tamil Nadu, are set to re-open in April, if nothing else intervenes in between, local media reports said.
“Maintenance work will start probably by early early-April at both the units,” an official spokesman for the Ruia group, which now controls Dunlop India Ltd. (DIL), has said.
The new Dunlop Sportmax Qualifier scored another significant victory in its second major international comparative tyre test; this time by German magazine PS.
The test confirmed the result published last month carried out by US magazine, Sport Rider, which compared the top road tyres on the market. The Dunlop Sportmax Qualifier was pitched against the latest offerings from Michelin, Pirelli, Bridgestone, Avon, Metzeler and Continental in a gruelling assessment of traction, braking, steering response and general handling qualities.
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