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Superior Industries’ Net Income Increased in Q1

Supplier of OE alloy wheels, Superior Industries International, have announced a decrease in net sales for the quarter period to March 31, 2008, but despite this a marked increase in net income. Net income, at US$3.71 million, delivered a result of $0.12 per diluted share compared to net income of $0.08 per diluted share for the first quarter of 2007. Commenting on these results, company chairman and CEO Steven Borick said: “The benefits of our hard work these past few years to optimise our manufacturing performance have continued into 2008. Reflecting our continued progress in improving production efficiencies in our plants, we delivered sharply higher gross margin for this year’s first quarter versus the prior year despite the impact of the American Axle strike on our shipments to GM.”

14th May 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Tyre Club Looking for New International Members

The exclusive, invitation only, International Tyre Club (ITC) will be looking for new Eastern European, Far Eastern and Middle Eastern members when the team exhibit at the Reifen show in Essen later this month. This year recognising change and meeting opportunities are the ITC’s watch words, according to ITC representatives.

Established almost a decade ago the Club is a member only organisation for tyre professionals from across Europe and the wider world. It hosts annual summit style meetings in some of Europe’s best venues where its members come together to generate mutually advantageous new business opportunities. ITC has regular participants from counties including France, Germany, UK, The Netherlands, Poland, Slovenia, Italy and are exhibiting Hall 2, stand 430 in Essen. cja

8th May 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone’s First Quarter Net Profits Down 18.4%

Bridgestone has reported an 18.4 per cent fall in first quarter net profits, compared with the same period a year ago. The company cited slow US demand and the strengthening yen as reasons for the slower performance. Net profits dropped to 22.96 billion yen ($220 million; 143 million euros; 111 million) from 28.14 billion yen in the same period last year. Meanwhile revenue rose 3.6 per cent to 797.84 billion yen ($7.7 billion; 5 billion euros; 3.98 billion pounds) thanks to steady sales in Japan and Europe. Sales in Japan account for almost 40 per cent of the company’s total revenue.

Sales in Europe increased 5 per cent over the previous first quarter to 126.6 billion yen ($1.3 billion, 612 million), while operating income decreased 75 per cent to 1.1 billion yen ($11 million, 5.32 million) due in part to increasing raw material costs and sales expenses.

8th May 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Dunlop SP Sport Maxx TT – A Touch Different

Dunlop’s latest addition to its uhp range is the SP Sport Maxx TT, the successor to the award-winning SP Sport Maxx and which incorporates a host of new features and advanced technologies.
The first of these is the addition of DuPont Kevlar Engineered Elastomer (EE) to apex of the tyre. Kevlar is a fibre that is five times stronger than steel, yet light in weight and its addition to the tyre apex compound creates a stiffer sidewall, which becomes more resistant to torsion, tension and heat and guarantees increased stability during cornering, as well as enhanced road feedback and more precision driving.
The compound is further enhanced by the use of motor sport-derived compound and fillers with particle sizes smaller than 100 nanometers – with one nanometer being one millionth of a millimetre. This ensures better bonding between the filler and rubber matrix, thus increasing the total surface, which in turn ensures that the tyre offers better performance in both adhesion and wear. The concrete benefits are numerous: improved wet and dry grip and braking, as well as longer mileage.

2nd May 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

New Wheels Mark Breyton’s 25th Birthday

BMW tuner Breyton is marking its 25th year as one of Europe‘s most respected tuning brands. To celebrate, it has released two new designs onto the market. The Race GT for all BMW fitments and the Flame Junior Sport for New Minis. Both are said to combine classical good looks with Breyton’s usual blend of build quality and integrity.

The Race GT brings the lines of a radial spoke DTM wheel to the road market. Available in a variety of finishes, including silver, black and ball-burnished in sizes from 8.5 x 19-inch up to 10 x 20-inch. Offsets and fitting kits are available to cover all road going saloon BMWs. Prices start at £349.45 including Vat for the 19-inch.

2nd May 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

RainSport 2 from Uniroyal – Because Rain Happens

Statistics show that Europeans can expect around 140 days of rain each year, say the people at Uniroyal. And if this isn’t enough to dampen the spirits of any driving enthusiast, the company adds that over 30 per cent of all accidents occur when it is raining. But the good news is that a wet road needn’t wash away a performance vehicle’s handling characteristics – the new RainSport 2, from Uniroyal, is one of a number of performance tyres specifically designed to accommodate Europe’s less than arid weather conditions.

Released in February 2008, Uniroyal’s latest-generation sports rain tyre outperforms or matches its predecessor in all key performance criteria. Technical comparisons conducted by the manufacturer shows resistance to aquaplaning in bends to have improved by five per cent, and by three per cent on straight roads. The RainSport 2 produced a four per cent better result for wet road braking tests than the RainSport 1, handling was two per cent better and mileage an impressive eight per cent superior for the new tyre.

2nd May 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Race to Touring Car Victory from Home with Yokohama

Racing fans that spend more time in front of the computer screen than behind a windscreen can now participate in their own global race series. Yokohama has announced its partnership in the new Virtual World Touring Car Championship (V-WTCC), an online championship for motorsport enthusiasts.

V-WTCC, explains Yokohama, is an online version of ‘RACE 07 – The Official WTCC Game’. Participants from around the globe can demonstrate their skills, competing for the title of V-WTCC Champion. After successfully competing in the earlier knockout rounds, six lucky qualifiers will receive invitations to the Grande Finale, held at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza in Italy. The V-WTCC winner will make his or her way into the simulated racing history books and receive a yet-to-be revealed grand prize.

30th April 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Sumo Firenza Increasing its European Profile

During the past 18 months or so Sumo Firenza has steadily increased its European profile through exhibiting at a number of international tyre exhibitions and introducing its flagship Sumo Firenza ST-08 pattern. The company reports that its sales performance in the UK, Ireland and Europe continues to grow; here in the UK Bond International has been appointed sole distributor, and in Ireland this role is handled by Daly Tyres.

The Sumo Firenza ST-08 pattern includes a low aspect ratio pattern and base compound intended to absorb and combat road noise and straight wide grooves for water drainage at speed. The tyres are, adds Sumo Firenza, manufactured with state-of-the-art Japanese technology, and the ST-08 range is available in 28 size options from 195/55R15 V through to 215/35ZR18 W. This range, reports the manufacturer, will increase in due course to include 19 inch and 20 inch fitments.

28th April 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Sales, Income Up at Goodyear

Goodyear on April 25 reported that its first quarter 2008 sales were US$4.9 billion, a 10 per cent increase vs. the same period last year, and a higher net income that was driven by higher prices, better product mix and favorable currency exchange rates. At the same time, the company’s tyre units sales were down compared to the first quarter of 2007. Unit sales for the first period of 2008 were down 1.7 million tyres compared to the same period in 2007, with North American unit sales down 1.5 million tyres. The company said the lower volume came primarily OE sales in North America and soft consumer replacement demand in North America and Europe, particularly for low-end tyres.

Net income for the period was $147 million, and improvement of $321 million year-over-year.

25th April 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Gori: EC Standards may Agitate Problem of Low Quality Imports

Pirelli chief executive Francesco Gori, in his capacity as president of the ETRMA, has voiced concern that planned European Commission standards will hinder European tyre manufacturers in their competition with Asian rivals. In an April 23 interview reported by Reuters, Gori commented that Asian manufacturers who produce low-cost tyres can easily circumvent the standards, and the costs involved in conforming to them, as the volumes in which such tyres are arriving in European ports makes it difficult to effectively monitor product quality.

“There are not enough resources to control this invasion of products that do not conform to European standards,” said Gori. “It’s very complicated to find a solution.” While Gori does not object to the standards’ aims of improving tyre safety and environmental footprint, his objection lies in the fact that only products made in Europe must conform. “You can use cheaper materials if you make tyres that do not meet the standards. We would want that even the tyres that are imported in Europe met the same standards.”

According to Gori, Asian manufacturers hold between 10 and 20 per cent of Europe’s tyre market, and this figure is increasing by a double-digit figure annually. He added that 20 per cent of replacement tyre sales in Europe were in the budget segment where Asian made products are the strongest.

Should the proposed standards fail to deliver safeguards against tyres that do not conform, Gori said that approaching authorities in major European national markets to discuss potential means of deterring the sale of these tyres was a possible option. He spoke of strong penalties being dished out on offenders as an example to others, and raising consumer awareness of tyre safety and quality.

25th April 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

GITI Tire’s UHP Range – 80 Sizes and Steadily Growing

A greater presence in this part of the world is planned for GITI Tire, as comments made by GITI Europe marketing manager Peter Foulkes regarding May’s Reifen exhibition testify: “GITI intend to use their presence at the show to officially launch and take forward to the next progressive stage, the company’s growing sales presence in Europe (including the UK and Ireland).” Mr. Foulkes adds that, at the show, GITI plans to show off a number of products not yet seen here, including a new asymmetric ultra high performance tyre – the Champiro HPY.

And while we must await the Essen show for further details on this new product, GITI is already well established as a manufacturer of performance tyres. The company reports it is continuing to expand its position within the UHP sector of the market, and now offers more than 80 sizes, with many further additions in the final stages of development.

23rd April 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Conti Previews Upcoming New Braking System

Continental plans to launch a new-generation electronic brake system in 2011. Named the MK100, this new system will centre around a modular product family possessing a range of functions that can be scaled to suit whatever functionality and level of performance is required, from a motorcycle ABS system with or without an integral braking function right up to high-end ESC electronic stability control designs with powerful, low-pulsation pump variants. Conti believes this design concept will produce added functional value even for price-driven, entry-level versions of the system.

The MK100 ESC system even in its basic form is said to provide precise, comfortable and gentle control interventions, and the system can be readily extended in terms of functionality and performance. The range of safety and assistance functions that, depending on what a vehicle manufacturer specifies, can be incorporated into the MK100 ESC extends from Active Rollover Protection (ARP) via Trailer Stability Assist (TSA), Hill Start Assist (HSA) and Full Speed Range ACC (FSA) through to complex, autonomous overlay functions for stabilising the vehicle. The MK100 also makes servicing much simpler, says Conti – the braking system is permanently monitored by the electronics, which will automatically detect and configure any components that have been exchanged. There is thus no further need for time-consuming calibration procedures, thereby adding to the system’s robustness and reducing time spent in the workshop.

22nd April 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone Acknowledged as Top Porsche Supplier

Every year Porsche recognises its ten best performing suppliers at the Porsche Supplier Awards, and for 2008 Bridgestone has been honoured as an award recipient. Bridgestone Europe Original Equipment key account manager Stephan Rambow accepted the award in the presence of 300 guests at a ceremony held by the automaker in Weissach, Germany on April 3.

Three categories of business partner are eligible for a Porsche Supplier Award– production material, non-production material and logistics – and awards are given in recognition for achievements in sales, engineering and quality. Bridgestone was the only tyre manufacturer amongst the eight production material suppliers nominated for an award from the Stuttgart based sports car manufacturer.

21st April 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

New Sales Appointments at Cooper Tire Europe

Cooper Tire & Rubber Europe has announced two new appointments to its UK team. Brian Sprott, an 18-year company veteran, is to take on the role of UK sales manager for Retail Accounts. In this position, Mr. Sprott will report to Steve Cundy, European Business Development Director.

Before this latest appointment Sprott has held several different sales and management roles within the UK sales team, including divisional sales manager and UK retail manager – West. During his time at Cooper Tire Europe he has also acquired his Diploma in Management Studies, in 2002.

21st April 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Prominent European OEM Wheel Lock Supplier Making UK Inroads

Europe’s leading supplier of OEM automotive fixings, Altenloh, Brinck & Co GmbH & Co, is entering the UK market through its wholly owned French subsidiary, ADL s.a.s. The company, which supplies most German and European car manufacturers, will introduce into the UK a range of security wheel locks marketed under the Blocky brand name.

Established in 1973, ADL has quickly become European market leader in the design and production of security wheel locks, which it sells under several different brand names (including Blocky). In the past, however, Britain has not been a major market for ADL products. ADL sales manager Hans Dietmar Fiedler thus is confident Britain presents itself as a major opportunity for the company, as he believes the quality of many wheel lock products currently available here to be substandard. He emphasises the importance of not compromising on product quality in this area, as a security locking wheel bolt is an important component in car safety as well as for security.

21st April 2008/by Tyrepress Editors