Phase II of Yokohama Rubber’s “Grand Design 100” medium-range financial plan has been announced. The next stage of the plan, which began in the 2007 fiscal year, is scheduled to commence in April 2009, following the end of Phase I in March. The company says it will determine the details of Phase II, valid for the 2010 to 2012 financial years, and release its contents, including financial targets, in March 2009.
National Tyres has been named as a finalist in the North West England and North Wales region of the Bank of Scotland Corporate £35 Million Entrepreneur Challenge. National will now compete with four other entrepreneurs to secure a £5 million funding package, free of interest and charges for three years.
The next stage will see business partners Alan Revie, John Caldwell and John Taylor present their business case to a judging panel featuring two well-known and incredibly successful entrepreneurs. Matthew Riley, the national 2007 Entrepreneur Challenge winner from Daisy Communications, and senior representatives from Bank of Scotland Corporate and Deloitte. The panel will question National Tyres and the other finalists on their future business plans, as well as looking for someone with the entrepreneurial flair, spirit and vision that sets them apart from the rest and makes them an outstanding choice to receive the once in a lifetime funding package that could change the face of the business.
Following the recent launch of its Monityre tyre pressure monitoring system in the UK, manufacturer Safe Europe plc is now looking to develop a network of the distributors and agents across Europe. After attending several key European trade exhibitions, Safe Europe plc reports several interested parties are considering distributor status in both Germany and the Benelux countries.
According to Paul Marriott, Operations Director at Safe Europe plc, “the proven benefits of Monityre, in terms of improved fuel economy and its green credentials, are equally as important to operators across Europe as well as here in the UK. Already we have attracted interest in our product from certain European countries and we are now a position to make further ongoing distributor appointments throughout Europe.”
Dunlop has been selected as an OE supplier for Audi’s R8. The German sports coupe (dubbed by Audi the “slowest car we’ve ever built” due to its labour intensive, non-production line manufacture) will receive two top of the range Dunlop products, the UHP Dunlop SP Sport Maxx GT and for the upcoming winter season the Dunlop Winter Sport 3D.
According to sources reporting to Israel based business daily Globes, Alliance Tire Company has laid of dozens of temporary employees and intends to lay off “a considerable number of veteran employees”. This action is being taken, reports Globes, following a sharp fall in orders.
Logistics provider DHL is introducing across Europe a new patented solution for transporting tyres to market. The company calls the product ‘DHL Tyrebox’ and reports it is a convenient, cost saving and environmentally friendly method of packaging. The Tyrebox, says DHL, offers a unique solution to the conventional challenge of transporting tyres, turning them from a non-conveyable shipment into a conveyable one, allowing tyres to be easily stacked together and delivered flat-packed.
It appears that the current auto industry woes are by no means restricted to North America and Europe. In India, the Hindu Business Line reports that major manufacturers of medium and heavy commercial vehicles have reduced their OE tyre offtake projections by about 40 to 50 per cent during the current financial quarter.
The ContiTech Power Transmission Group has issued a new catalogue specifically for Asian vehicles. The range covers over 96 per cent of the Asian vehicle parc in Europe. The compilation helps workshops and dealers quickly locate the right belts as well as the range of deflection and tensioning pulleys and kits for Asian passenger cars.
The leading e-Commerce tyre retailer in Europe, Delticom, has announced that it is to merge its current car fleet business with the company’s buff new online portal. The change means that trader fleet owners can now purchase tyres through user-customised settings at the e-tailer’s online presence, www.flotten24.de.
The site will allow any user wishing to buy tyres from Flotten24.de to register free; following which visitors will be able to access the site’s comprehensive web-based catalogue of tyres and accessories. In this way, car tyres, lorry tyres, light truck tyres, motorbike tyres and high-quality motor oils will be offered in the fleet shop, while a personal sales contact will give advice to fleet customers and negotiate individual fleet solutions. In addition to these services, Delticom states that a network of professional service partners – which currently numbers over 5,700 in Germany alone – is available to fit online purchases. The average delivery time, the company adds, is between 48 and 72 working hours.
On October 28 Michelin announced its plan to make operations in Italy more competitive. More than 200 million euros will be invested between now and 2013 to upgrade the company’s production facilities in the country, in order to make them more productive and specialised.
Production capacity will be significantly increased in Cuneo; following this expansion the Michelin plant will be the largest premium passenger car tyre production facility in Europe. Car tyre production will end at the company’s Stura workshop in Turin at the end of 2009. Semi-finished products will continue to be manufactured there, however, and the site’s logistics centre will operate following the transfer of the Vercelli warehouse.
Yokohama announced today (Tuesday, 28 October) that it has diminished its projections for consolidated net sales and net income in the six months period between April 1 and September 30, 2008 (the first half of the fiscal year to March 31, 2009). Now the company has reported that it expects to see net sales increase by 1.4 per cent over the same period of the previous year to 257 billion yen (1.7 billion pounds sterling – assuming 1 GBP = 149.138 JPY). It also expects operating income to decline 54.6 per cent, to 5.5 billion yen (36.9 million GBP) and for net income to decline 96.2 per cent, to 500 million yen (3.4 million GBP).
The revised projection for net sales is 2.7% lower than the projection Yokohama announced on 12 May, 2008, when the company announced its results for the previous fiscal year. The projection for operating income is unchanged from the earlier projection, and the projection for net income is 75 per cent lower.
Finland’s Nokian Tyres has acquired two retail locations from Monro Muffler Brake, and plans to convert them to its Vianor retail tyre outlets. The new Nokian properties are located in Brattleboro, Vt., and Keene, N.H. The two new locations gives Nokian 12 Vianor stores in the U.S. Nokian has some 470 Vianor stores in Europe. (Tire Review/Akron)
One of Europe’s leading distributors of winter tyres, Belgian wholesaler Deldo is offering a catalogue of 25 brands, detailing its complete product range of premium and private labels. The company already delivers to around 10,000 clients throughout Europe, and will this winter hope to increase that number by offering what the company calls an “interesting mix” in its budget label line-up.
Thanks to experience gained over many years importing tyres from Asia, Deldo is able to offer several attractive product lines. Minerva is a long-established brand name, and was introduced in 1992 as a private label. From this year Minerva is being produced by two new manufacturers, offering approximately 15 new sizes. With Rockstone (Deldo’s new exclusive brand for Europe) the budget segment has been further extended. Thanks to the introduction of the new CP-661 Roadstone (Nexen) pattern, 15 new sizes have been added to Nexen’s (already) large size range.
Goodyear is highlighting the safety aspects of its products through a new integrated advertising campaign. The advertisement, created by London based agency Leagas Delaney, utilises the iconic Goodyear blimp, portraying the airship as a flying laboratory housing a team that looks after drivers on their journey.
The safety message is bolstered by statistics highlighting the safety benefits of Goodyear’s innovations, and the campaign also introduces a new endline – ‘Safety Together’ – and a new corporate identity. The campaign will be shown across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, encompassing TV, print and point of sale.
Continental AG should remain European, says Michelin. The Dow Jones news service reports that the French manufacturer’s co-managing partner Didier Miraton expressed this opinion to journalists at the sidelines of a Michelin press presentation on October 17.
It is “important for us that Continental remains in Europe,” said Miraton, referring to speculation that Conti may be a potential target for competitors from Asia, such as Hankook Tire. He added that Michelin will conduct talks with interested parties about Continental, but noted that anti-trust regulations represent a considerable obstacle.
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