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Pirelli Factory a Potential Terrorist Target?

A report published by Italy’s La Stampa newspaper on August 12 suggests a possibility that Pirelli’s tyre manufacturing plant in Turin may be a planned target for terrorists. An anti-terror investigation has begun in Italy after police discovered detailed architectural plans for the Turin factory. While the report does not make clear where the plans were found, reference is made to an “encampment” inside a highway tunnel that is used by local homeless people.

13th August 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Conti OE for Dacia Sandero

Continental reports that every second new Dacia Sandero, the latest model released by the Romanian manufacturer, rolls off the production line equipped with its tyres. The majority of these are ContiEcoContact 3 in size 185/65 R15 88T, produced at Conti’s Timisoara facility in Romania. This latest OE homologation continues a supply partnership between Dacia and the Timisoara factory that began in 2005.

“Tyres of the last technological generation have an important contribution to traffic safety,” commented Thierry Wipff, general manager of Continental’s Timisoara plant. “For us, the safety of our customers is of highest priority, a core criterion in conducting our activity and an important part of Continental’s vision.”

11th August 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Goodyear to ‘Adjust Inventory’ Through Temporary Shutdowns

Goodyear’s Gadsden factory will stop producing tyres for 16 days from August 16, and four other Goodyear consumer sector tyre facilities in North America are also reducing tyre production. Goodyear Gadsden communications manager Jackie Brehm Edmondson said the Goodyear plant will shut down at 1pm August 16 and reopen at 7am September 2 for an ‘inventory adjustment.’ Plant employees were told of the plans on August 1.

7th August 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Ceat Chooses Consultancy Over Strategic Partner

Ceat Limited is reportedly no longer seeking a strategic partner for its planned radial facility in Baroda, India, and is instead receiving technological assistance and know-how from a US based consultancy firm. The tyremaker has sought a partner for assistance in setting up a more than Rs 6 billion (£72.6 million) truck and bus radial factory for more than a year, and in February Sales and Marketing vice-president Arnab Banerjee felt confident enough on the likelihood of this to say that Ceat “should be able to finalise the partners soon.”

6th August 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Workers at Iran’s Kiyan Tire Resume Strike Action

Employees at Iran’s Kiyan Tire have gone on strike for a second time this year due to pay related disputes with the factory’s management. The striking workers have threatened not to return to work until management meets their demands. This latest action echoes strike action on April 13, in which workers that had not been paid for several months burned used tyres to block the highway between Tehran and the city’s western suburbs.

29th July 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

BBS OEM Wheel For Performance Lexus

BBS of America has released its latest OEM alloy wheel fitment. The custom designed 10-spoke, 19-inch forged alloy wheels are intended for the 2008 Lexus IS F, the luxury division’s first high-performance sports sedan to carry the new F marque. “The IS F comes standard with serious performance credentials, and the BBS brand’s decades of motorsports success made it the ideal wheel partner for us,” said Brian Bolain, Lexus national engagement marketing manager. “IS F owners enjoy the car’s aggressive character, and BBS wheels ensure that performance is on complete par with style.”

The Lexus IS F’s satin-finished, dark-grey BBS wheels are up to 40 per cent lighter than cast aluminium wheels of the same size, and they are designed to meet rigorous Lexus factory performance standards as well as exceeding stringent international TUV/JWL certification requirements. The BBS engineers have focused on superior light wheel weight, balanced by exceptional strength, the result being a high-performance wheel with an good stiffness to weight ratio, which helps to absorb hard acceleration, forceful cornering and aggressive braking.

29th July 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

The Right Alignment Equipment is Essential – Supertracker

Offering a wheel alignment service is arguably essential for any garage workshop or fast fit operation wishing to remain competitive. When customers request this service it is important to make sure the correct equipment to carry it out is at hand, and, says Supertracker Limited, if they’re not asking for wheel alignment, it should be a service that is on offer and actively promoted.

The wheel alignment system manufacturer recommends that garage and fast fit operators make this a part of every customer visit. Tyres should be visually checked for uneven wear and customers asked if they have noticed any handling problems, such as whether the steering wheel is straight when the car is driven. Offering such a free inspection service will generate income, Supertracker adds.

28th July 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

BBS Announces Closure of Former Hayes Lemmerz Plant

The management of BBS International GmbH (‘BBS’) has announced it intends to close its aluminium wheel manufacturing facility in Hoboken, Belgium. BBS management adds the company will follow the relevant legal procedures in doing so, and will attempt to bring about “an acceptable solution for all the parties involved.”

The Hoboken plant, formerly the Belgian subsidiary of Hayes Lemmerz International, was acquired by BBS on 16 June. The factory produces wheels for passenger cars and currently employs 258 people. According to BBS, the operation had been running at a loss for a “considerable time”, and the closure decision has now been taken as “management no longer wanted to keep its staff in a state of uncertainty.”

25th July 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

USW Members Approve Early Closure of Goodyear’s Tyler Facility

The Goodyear factory in Tyler, Texas, will close earlier than originally anticipated following a union vote on July 18. United Steelworkers union members have chosen to waive the clause that required the facility, which has been used as a rubber-mixing centre following the end of tyre production in 2007, to remain in operation until after the closure of the company’s plant in Valleyfield, Canada.

22nd July 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Redundancies Could Be Voluntary: Pirelli Carlisle

Hopes are high that the 60 redundancies announced last week for Pirelli’s Carlisle plant could be filled by volunteers. The MP for Carlisle, Eric Martlew praised Pirelli for their continued investment in the factory despite the job cuts, revealing to local news sources that he was confident that the redundancies could be filled without forcing anyone to leave their job.

The move to cut the jobs comes as a response to decreased demand for products produced at the plant and the ability to manufacture identical items elsewhere. Pirelli released a statement promising to “strive to minimise the impact on our workforce” and that the action – alongside the company’s investment in new technology at the plant – would “help safeguard” its future.

22nd July 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Employees to Vote on Early Goodyear Plant Closure

The 60 remaining employees at Goodyear’s Tyler plant in East Texas are to vote on Friday whether to close the factory early, prior to the expiry date of the master union contract. Currently this document – in effect until July next year – forces the company to close its plant in Valleyfield, Quebec, but union members can choose to waive this agreement.

Both plants provide additional mixing capability to other Goodyear plants, but – with demand for rubber down and all plants able to mix themselves – its has become unnecessary for the manufacturer to run both operations. At present there are no plans to close the Quebec site.

The terms offered to the union by Goodyear, should the vote result in early closure, remain undisclosed.

16th July 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

UPDATE: Goodyear Plans Commercial Tyre Unit for China

Following reports on Friday that Goodyear is planning to build a new plant in Dalian, China, T&A can confirm that plans are indeed afoot for a new facility, though Ron Castro, Director of Communications at the company, could not disclose plant capacity figures and forecasts:

“The new factory will build both consumer (passenger) and commercial (MRT) tyres. In fact it will be the first time we will manufacture commercial tyres in China, allowing us to grow our business in the largest commercial vehicle market in the world… The production will mainly be for domestic demand, while a portion will be exported mainly within Asia Pacific… In China, both in the current and future facility, we cater to both replacement and OE passenger markets.”

14th July 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Michelin Sponsors 2008 Ballymena Business Award

The Michelin Athletic Club in Ballymena, Northern Ireland has played host to the launch of the Ballymena Business Excellence Awards 2008. Michelin is the event’s sponsor and enjoys a major role in the local community. Their truck and bus tyre manufacturing plant is one of the area’s largest employers and the firm has recently invested a further £14 million in new machinery for the factory.

8th July 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Reifen 2008: Interstate Tire & Rubber Co.

Participating for the seventh consecutive time at Reifen Essen, Dutch manufacturer Interstate Tire & Rubber Co. used the exhibition to introduce a new line of tyres; the Interstate SUV Sport GT, a full line of modern SUV tyres with unique tread pattern. The range boasts SUV tyres sized between 16-inch and 18-inch, including ISST noise technology for low noise and low rolling resistance. Also displayed was the new range of UHP tyres, the Interstate Sport IXT-1 in 19 and 20 inch and also the new sizes in the Interstate Winter IWT-2 line.

4th July 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Kumho Workers Strike Over Wage Dispute

Partial day strike action at Kumho’s two main South Korean facilities is likely to cost the company about KRW 2.98 billion (£1.4 million) a day in lost output. Strike action initiated by the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) began on July 2, and Kumho stated in a filing with the Korea Exchange that the strike calls for each shift and the factory to remain idle for four hours a day.

2nd July 2008/by Tyrepress Editors