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Nokian Employees Walkout in Protest of Production Adjustments

At midday on December 18, production personnel at Nokian’s heavy tyres factory in Nokia, Finland, walked out to protest against the company’s plans to adjust production capacity. According to an employees’ announcement, the workout will last until 10pm on Friday, December 19. Nokian adds that statutory negotiations regarding the adjustment measures are continuing and will end on Monday, December 22, 2008.

According to a previous announcement, Nokian Heavy Tyres is considering laying off some 100 employees for approximately 7-8 months as of January 2009.

18th December 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Pirelli Going Green in VW Race Series

Pirelli has been named the official tyre supplier for the 2009-11 Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup, the first zero-carbon racing series in the world. The Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup was founded in 2008 and is comprised of 30 factory-prepared and managed 2009 clean-diesel Jetta TDIs piloted by relatively unknown talented drivers aged 16 to 26. Volkswagen’s goal is to find drivers with the most talent and help them break into the world of professional motorsports.

“Pirelli is very excited to be the exclusive tyre supplier to the 2009 Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup, the world’s only carbon-free racing series,” said Rafael Navarro, Pirelli Tire North America’s director of motorsport and media communications. “This series is a very important part of our motorsport growth in North America as it provides a platform to introduce young developing talent to our brand while reducing the impact motorsport has on the environment.”

The series kicks off with a driver selection event on 1-4 February. Races will begin 24-26 April at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California, making stops in Ohio, Virginia, Illinois, Wisconsin, Ontario, and New Jersey before the series wraps up at Road Atlanta on 25-27 September. (Tire Review/Akron)

17th December 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Dunlop India Problems Becoming a Political Issue

Dunlop India is becoming something of a political hot potato in the run-up to the election in the Lok Sabha, the country’s house of representatives. With the support of West Bengal politician Mamata Banerjee, company chief managing director Pawan Ruia is reported by the Times of India to be perhaps placing political pressure on the West Bengal government to gain Dunlop India additional concessions of a nature normally reserved for ‘sick’ units; that is, companies that at the end of any financial year have accumulated losses equal to or exceeding their entire net worth. And the government, says the Times of India, is holding its tongue on political grounds.

12th December 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Goodyear Pausing Production at Fayetteville Plant

Goodyear will stop production at its Fayetteville, US factory between December 24 and January 2, reports the Fayetteville Observer. According to the newspaper, the week and a half pause was officially announced on 5th December, although it hardly came as a surprise. We’ve known it was coming,” the paper quotes Daryl Jackson, president of United Steelworkers Local 959, as saying.

12th December 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

West Bengal Government Denies Dunlop India Loan

Dunlop India’s bid for a 1 billion rupee “soft loan” to aid with the reopening of its Sahagunj plant has been turned down by the West Bengal government. The plant has been closed since 30 November and looks set to see in the New Year before work restarts. Labour minister Mrinal Banerjee told Indian news sources, including The Hindu, that the company cannot be helped as it is not “sick”.

Company chairman Pawan Ruia had demanded a series of incentives that he believed were due from promised state aid. The minister voiced the concerns of the factory’s 1,171 workers that Ruia would sell off the factory’s site. He told newspapers, “If he now sells the land with the support of a political party, we don’t know what will happen.”

12th December 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Cooper Tire Announces Tentative Agreement for Texarkana Factory

Cooper Tire’s four factories are still awaiting the company’s decision regarding its review of US operations, and each is naturally eager to place itself in the best position in terms of its long-term viability. Hot on the heels of the ratification of an agreement between Cooper and the USW regarding the Findlay, Ohio facility comes one for the factory in Texarkana, Arkansas. Cooper Tire announced on December 11 that it had reached a new tentative agreement with the USW Local 752L, which represents workers at the facility. Union members will cast their votes on the agreement on December 13. The USW chapter is currently working under an agreement that would not have expired until 2010.

12th December 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Tyre Production Resumes at Amtel-Vredestein’s Kirov Factory

Production at the Amtel-Povolzhye factory in Kirov, Russia has resumed as of December 8. Operations at the Amtel-Vredestein subsidiary facility had been suspended due to a lack of working capital following the foundering of merger talks between its parent company and Sibur-Russian Tyres. This pause in production was reported to have been scheduled only for the period between October 11 and 20, however the resumption of work was repeatedly postponed.

11th December 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Cooper Tire Agreement with Findlay USW Union Ratified

During voting that took place on December 7 and 8 the United Steelworkers of America Local 207L ratified a new three-year contract with Cooper Tire & Rubber. The contract, set to expire on October 31, 2011, relates to Cooper’s Factory in Findlay, Ohio.

“This contract was very different from any negotiations we have faced before,” said Mark W. Krivoruchka, Cooper’s senior vice president, Global Human Resources. “The Local 207L committee needed to adjust wages and working conditions in a way that makes Cooper more cost competitive in the marketplace. I would like to thank the local and international union leadership as well as membership and acknowledge the good work they provided to approve and ratify a contract that positions the Findlay plant more competitively in today’s uncertain economic environment.”

10th December 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Two Milestones Reached at Michelin’s Spartanburg Truck Tyre Plant

To mark the passing of two million work hours without a single serious injury amongst employees, Michelin North America’s truck tyre factory in Spartanburg, South Carolina was recently presented with a Michelin Global Safety Award. The facility thus becomes one of only four Michelin plants worldwide to earn this distinction. In a ceremony at the factory, Pete Selleck, president of Michelin’s worldwide truck tyre business and member of Michelin Group Executive Council, presented the award to plant manager, Tom Whalen.

10th December 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Union Official, Politicians Lash Out at Dunlop India Chief

Dunlop India chief managing director Pawan Ruia has been reportedly accused of cheating the company’s workers. This accusation, printed in the Times of India, was made by Centre of Indian Trade Unions state secretary Kali Ghosh and members of parliament Rupchand Pal and Shantosree Chatterjee (both from the Communist Party of India (Marxist) party). The union official and two politicians, says the newspaper, are of the opinion that Dunlop’s Sahaganj facility should be handed over to India’s Ministry of Defence.

9th December 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Sevalco’s Bristol Carbon Black Plant to Close

Columbian Chemicals is to close its Sevalco carbon black facility in Avonmouth, Bristol, with the loss of some 88 jobs anticipated. The company says that the demand for carbon black has reduced significantly in recent months, and the decision to close the factory came only a day after it was announced that manufacturing activity in the UK had shrunk at a record pace during the last month.

8th December 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Conti to Review Romania Production as OE Orders Decrease

Production output at Continental’s Timisoara factory in Romania will be reduced due to falling orders from OE customers. Numerous vehicle manufacturers, including Dacia and Volkswagen have temporarily suspended production in recent weeks, and Michelin has already announced a planned two-week pause in production at its Romanian facilities during December.

Conti has not specified the extent of its changes to production output, but company representatives indicate that production will not be halted. While original equipment sales are down, the replacement tyre market has been more resilient. “Moreover, Romanians have started becoming more interested in acquiring winter tyres,” reported Continental Romania market manager Martin Zaloudek. “This has also been felt on the market and, according to Continental estimates, the winter tyre market will hit 800,000 units this season, up 40 per cent year-on-year.”

4th December 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Continental Sime Relocates Retreading Facility

Continental Sime Tyre is relocating its retreading operations. The majority Conti owned Malaysian joint venture company will move the plant from Alor Gajah in the Southern Malay Peninsula to Petaling Jaya, near Kuala Lumpur, in a series of stages, starting early 2009. The relocation is expected to be completed by March 2009.

3rd December 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Dunlop Nigeria to Cease Local Production

International News, Product News

At Dunlop Nigeria’s Annual General Meeting on December 2 the company formally announced it will end local tyre production. This announcement comes half a year after production was cut back, and operating conditions within Nigeria, including an unreliable power supply, are said to be key factors behind the decision.

3rd December 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Government Can’t Intervene in Dunlop India Crisis

The labour minister in the Indian State of West Bengal has admitted there is not much the state government can do to resolve the problems between Dunlop India and union groups. This disclosure, reports the Times of India, came after the minister received a letter from company representatives explaining their decision to suspend production.

Mr. Mrinal Banerjee, the labour minister, said he would meet with union leaders on December 2. “We will talk separately with unions and the management and then plan a tripartite meeting,” he said. “But this is all we can do. For, this is not a sick company and the management is simply saying that it has failed to run the factory.”

2nd December 2008/by Tyrepress Editors