John Bean and Hofmann, brands within Snap-on Equipment, have unveiled their new cabinet designs and equipment overhauls for the company’s ranges of wheel aligners, balancers and tyre changers. Hofmann has redesigned its high specification monty 3300 racing tyre changer, in order to allow it to handle run-flat and ultra high profile (UHP) tyres, while the John Bean range of aligners now features ergonomically designed cabinet fittings.
Lombard Vehicle Management has extended its long-standing business partnership with Kwik-Fit Fleet through to the end of 2009. The new agreement sees Kwik-Fit Fleet supply a range of fast-fit services through its 675-strong nationwide network of centres and 200-strong mobile operation to Lombard, which manages a fleet of more than 115,000 cars and light commercial vehicles.
Owners of Jaguar XJ40s and XJ6s from the late 80s and early 90s have had an impossible task locating their discontinued replacement tyres. However, Vintage Tyre Supplies is aiming to solve this problem with the re-introduction of the 220/65VR390 Avon CR39 Turbospeed. According to the vintage tyre specialist, Cooper Tire Europe (the home of the Avon brand) had been holding these moulds for the tyres in storage at its Melksham headquarters. So, following some mould refurbishment the first batches completed their test programme with flying colours and are now exclusively available from VTS
According to data released by Michelin, the European market (including the CIS) for OE passenger car and light truck tyres shrank by 21.3 per cent in October compared to the same month in 2007. Year to date, the original equipment market has shrunk 2.0 per cent in Europe compared with last year, and the replacement tyre market 4.2 per cent.
The European market for replacement tyres in this sector also reduced from a year earlier, by 9.9 per cent. In the truck tyre segment, the combined European and CIS region experienced 11.4 per cent decline in the OE market during October, and an 11.8 per cent shrinkage in the replacement tyre market. Year to date, the OE truck tyre market has grown 7.3 per cent in Europe compared with 2007, and the replacement tyre market reduced by 4.5 per cent.
ArvinMeritor reports achieving sales of US$1.72 billion in the quarter ending September 30, an increase of 8 per cent on the corresponding quarter of 2007. Operating income during this, the company’s fourth quarter, is reported as $40 million, up from the previous year’s quarterly loss of $16 million. The vehicle systems and components manufacturer’s net loss, however, was substantially larger than in the fourth quarter of 2007, standing at $153 million, as opposed to $62 million.
For the full financial year to September 30, sales were $7.167 billion, up 11.1 per cent from the 2007 year. ArvinMeritor attributes this improved result to strength in Europe and South America. The company’s operating income of $186 million showed a 251 per cent improvement, and net loss, at $101 million, was far lower than in 2007, when a net loss of $219 million was recorded.
Deldo reports that Tom Van Dyck is ‘back in business’ with the company, in the role of director, Sales & Organisation. The 29 year old initially joined Deldo in 2002 as sales manager for Germany, and later became sales manager for Germany, Austria and Switzerland. In 2007 he left the company and started working for the KBC Group as an internal consultant, where he actively participated on several strategic projects.
In his latest role at Deldo, Van Dyck will be involved in the management of eight sales teams, realising Europe-wide sales in the replacement tyre market. His activities include organisational optimisation in order to achieve both strategic and operational business goals.
Job cuts are said to be a possibility at Pirelli & C. SpA. According to Italian labour union Filcem, whose comments have been published by Bloomberg, the company will eliminate approximately 200 administrative jobs in Milan and will probably continue to idle plants to counter a global drop in demand.
The revolutionary Toyota iQ, the world’s smallest four-seater passenger car, has won the 2008 Japan Car of the Year award by a landslide over rivals such as the Citroën C5, Audi A4 and Jaguar XF. The innovative iQ scored more than double the points of the second placed, receiving top marks from 39 of the 65 jurors who voted.
The judges praised the iQ for its space efficiency and design, particularly the iQ’s capacity for seating four people within a body less than three metres long, as well as its combination of high levels of safety and low CO2 emissions.
Dunlop has announced that its SP Sport 600 tyres have been chosen as original equipment on Mitsubishi Motors’ new Lancer Evolution X. The high-performance vehicle comes with a new powerful all-aluminium 2.0 litre turbo engine, with power ranging from 295PS and 407Nm of torque to 359PS and 492Nm, depending on the model. Dunlop will meet the task of transmitting that power to the road with its SP Sport 600 in the size 245/40R18 93Y.
In order to align its production levels with demand in the European market, Tata Steel subsidiary Corus announced in October plans to reduce its third quarter (October to December 2008) production by one million tonnes of crude steel, the equivalent of 20 per cent of its output. The company has now decided to extend the production cuts beyond December. Corus says it expects to produce about 30 per cent less crude steel than planned during the two quarters to the end of March 2009.
To meet this planned reduction Corus, currently Europe’s second largest steel producer, will temporarily idle one blast furnace at each of its IJmuiden (Belgium) Port Talbot and Scunthorpe facilities, the last of which manufactures steel rod from which tyre cord is produced. The company will also adjust output levels on its downstream production units to suit market conditions in respective regions and end-use sectors.
Bridgestone has announced that its Ecopia EP25 tyres will be supplied as original equipment for Toyota’s ‘iQ’ model, which is scheduled for release in Japan on November 20 and in Europe in early 2009. The iQ will be fitted with the low rolling resistance tyre in 175/65R15 84S size.
In a press statement announcing the OE deal Bridgestone says it believes the company can make a significant contribution to addressing worldwide environmental issues such as global warming through the development of tyres that provide greater reduction in rolling resistance, and thus improve fuel efficiency and reduce carbon dioxide emissions. In calculating carbon dioxide emissions at each stage of the tyre lifecycle, from raw materials to disposal, Bridgestone discovered that 87 per cent of total emissions occur during the usage stage.
With the battle cry of large investment plans, Apollo is continuing its march towards the company’s goals of becoming a “Top Six” international manufacturer and turning over $4 billion in the next five years. The major Indian player is already in the process of setting up new factories in Chennai and Eastern Europe, though the company has yet to confirm the location of the latter.
Apollo vice chairman and joint MD, Neeraj Kanwar told the Press Trust of India, “We will invest about Rs 3,000 crore [£4.07 billion; 1 GBP = 73.7 INR] over the next five years. Me and my whole team’s desire is to be amongst the top six players of the world.” Meanwhile, Business Standard reports that Apollo is considering Slovakia and Poland for the location of its first European plant, having hit difficulties in Hungary (as reported on Tyrepress.com earlier in the year).
Before Kwik-Fit invested in a National Distribution Centre, there was a problem with tyre deliveries. All of the fast-fit chain’s main suppliers were delivering to all of its 670-odd active branches two to three times a week, which was expensive for the delivering manufacturers and disruptive to the Kwik-Fit branches. The answer? Build a specialist centre in cooperation with a leading third party logistics supplier and deliver all the brands in one go. Keen to get an effective new service up and running as soon as possible, Kwik-Fit GB Ltd appointed CEVA Logistics to manage and operate the new Corby-based National Distribution Centre (NDC) and its transport operation in June, before stocking up the site and getting systems up to speed this summer. In October, four months and somewhere in the order of £10 million of investment later, Tyres & Accessories met with Kwik-Fit Fleet sales director, Mike Wise; head of supply chain, Neil Arnott; and Toby Leybourne product director-tyres for an exclusive tour of the state-of-the-art site.
Looking back to the 1970s and 1980s Kwik-Fit sold just 25 different sizes. As anyone in the trade knows, today it is a completely different story and there are up to 700 different size and brand products in the premium segment alone. Something that, according T&A’s Kwik-Fit tour guides, is “a monster to control.” At the same time the floor and storage space available to individual Kwik-Fit branches remains pretty much the same as it was two decades ago. Toby Leybourne summarized the pragmatic thinking behind the project like this: “Having 90 depots inside the M25, for example, means logistics is key, but now Kwik-Fit’s nightmare has become an opportunity.” Head of Kwik-Fit Fleet, Mike Wise added: “Virtually every new vehicle launched comes to the market with a new tyre size…The proliferation of tyre sizes has made it a necessity that Kwik-Fit has its own distribution operation and is not reliant on tyre manufacturers to deliver tyres to centres, which can take several days.”
There is a new man at the helm of Hankook’s European operations. On November 13 the South Korean manufacturer announced the appointment of Mr. Jin-Wook Choi, executive vice president and member of the board of Hankook Tire Co, Ltd. to the position of Head of Europe Headquarters. Mr. Choi brings to the position more than 33 years of international business experience with Hankook, including more than eight years at top management level.
Affinia has completed the acquisition of 85 per cent of Chinese brake component maker HBM Investment Ltd., owner of Longkou Haimeng Machining Co. Located in Shandong, China, Longkou Haimeng produces brake drums and rotors, and has a strong OE and aftermarket presence in Asia and Europe. (Tire Review/Akron)
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