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Goodyear GB Sells Wolverhampton Site

Goodyear Great Britain has sold its Wolverhampton manufacturing site to Birmingham-based St. Modwen Developments Limited and entered into a 10-year, extendable lease-back agreement which will enable production to continue. Financial details were not revealed. Wolverhampton was Goodyear’s first factory outside North America, opened in 1927. Production has fallen due to lack of competitiveness and clerical jobs have been relocated to the new HQ at Tyrefort in Birmingham. The sale/lease arrangement allows production to continue and for Goodyear to release value from the 88.6 acre site.

8th October 2002/by Tyrepress Editors

Goodyear To Lay Off 450 Workers In Tennessee

On Monday, Goodyear will lay off 450 workers at its plant in Union City, Tennessee, blaming the economic slow down. Plant Manager Jim Davis explained that industry replacement tyre shipments were down 8 per cent on last year andGoodyear’s shipments were below this figure. 450 workers make up almost 12 per cent of the factory’s workforce.

27th September 2002/by Tyrepress Editors

Continental President Wennemer Not Enthusiastic

The economic situation in the Chinese market needs to be evaluated carefully, Continental’s President Manfred Wennemer told the German Press Agency (dpa). Volkswagen as a client is currently more valuable than the entire Chinese market. To supply Volkswagen does not entail building a tyre factory or buying a tyre manufacturer. On the other hand, Continental is interested becoming involved with its brakes technology in this potentially lucrative market and will work together with partners in this area.

10th September 2002/by Tyrepress Editors

Toyota “Will Build Fifth Plant In US”

Toyota President Fujio Cho has said that the company will need to build a fifth factory in the US if things go as planned in North America. The company wants to sell two million vehicles annually in the US by 2005 and is aiming at a 15 per cent share of the US market by 2010 – its current share is almost 10 per cent. In addition to the four existing US plants, Toyota has a factory in Canada.

9th September 2002/by Tyrepress Editors

Last Roller Rolls Off Crewe Production Line

The last Rolls-Royce to be made at the factory in Crewe has rolled off the production line, marking the end of 56 years of manufacture of the luxury car at the plant. In future, Rolls-Royces will be made at BMW’s factory in West Sussex and the Crewe plant will be renamed Bentley Motors Ltd. next month. The final vehicle was a unique two-door Silver Storm convertible Corniche, worth an estimated 250,000 Pounds.

30th August 2002/by Tyrepress Editors

New Factory For Porsche SUVs In Leipzig

Porsche yesterday opened a new 127 million Euros factory at Leipzig, eastern Germany, to produce the new Cayenne SUV, a vehicle developed in conjunction with VW. The new factory, next to a 4km test track and customer centre, will also produce the Carrera GT sports car from the middle of next year.

21st August 2002/by Tyrepress Editors

Return To Algeria For Michelin

By forming a company – Michelin Algerie – Michelin has made the first move to re-open its factory in Algeria, which was closed in 1993. A Government-led privatisation programme has been aimed at attracting foreign investment and Michelin is said to be “waiting for some answers from Government” before deciding whether to re-start production. Should this happen, the factory will employ 500 people and manufacture truck tyres, 60 per cent of which will be exported.

21st August 2002/by Tyrepress Editors

Fire At Goodyear Factory

Arsonists have been blamed for a fire at Goodyear’s Wolverhampton UK factory, in which 4,000 truck tyres and three lorry trailers were destroyed. 120 firefighters took two hours to bring the 70 ft-high flames under control and residents were told to stay indoors with windows closed against the emissions. Although the fire has been put out, experts have warned that the tyres could continue to smoulder for up to two days.

16th August 2002/by Tyrepress Editors

No Merger For Honda

Japanese car manufacturer Honda has revealed details of a three-year business plan, in which it rules out any chance of a merger with another manufacturer. Of Japan’s five biggest car manufacturers, only Honda and Toyota are independent. Honda also revealed that it will increase production outside Japan, including the building of a second factory in China.

12th July 2002/by Tyrepress Editors

Continental Shows Interest In Sime Darby

Malaysian conglomerate, Sime Darby Berhad is to concentrate its tyre businesses and float it independently from the parent company (sales of around 3.2 billion US dollars). Key elements of these companies are tyre maker DMIB Berhad with a factory in Selangor and Sime Tyres Int. with factories in Alor Setah and Kedah. A spokesman for Continental confirmed that the German tyre giant wishes to buy 30 per cent of the tyre business, and signed a letter of intent with Sime Darby Berhad on the 26th June. Continental will have the opportunity to increase its share at a later date. This follows an earlier agreement in January between Continental and DMIB and Sime Tyres to share technical support. A former agreement between the Malaysian manufacturers and Sumitomo Rubber Industries had at that point concluded.

27th June 2002/by Tyrepress Editors

First Homologation For MIRS Motorcycle Tyre

A motorcycle tyre produced by Pirelli’s MIRS system has received OE homologation from bike manufacturer Aprilia for its RSV 1000 model. MIRS production modules are due to be installed at the Metzeler factory in Breuberg, Germany, shortly.

20th June 2002/by Tyrepress Editors

Kwik-Fit Sale Before Factory Closures

In an interview with German newspaper “Handelsblatt”, Nick Scheele, President of Ford Motor Company, said that the sale of the Kwik-Fit chain was in its final phase and would provide a cash injection for the car maker. Scheele also announced that there would be a number of factory closures (both the number and locations were unspecified) in autumn 2003.

18th June 2002/by Tyrepress Editors

Possible Closure For Goodyear Mould Factory

There is uncertainty over the future of Goodyear’s mould factory at Stow, in the Akron area. The plant has been operating at around 30 per cent capacity, producing mainly moulds for experimental and motorsports tyres. There are 117 hourly-paid workers at Stow, who have been notified that the plant is likely to close. Goodyear has upped mould production to lower wage-earning factories in order to cut costs. Talks between management and unions last week broke up without agreement.

17th June 2002/by Tyrepress Editors

Apollo To Build New Radial Plant

India’s second-largest tyre manufacturer, Apollo Tyres, is to invest 1.1 billion Rupees (24.7 m Euro) in a plant to make radial truck and bus tyres. The plant will be sited at Baroda, in Gujarat, next to an existing Apollo factory and will use technology from Continental, with whom Apollo has an existing collaboration. Apollo claims a 25 per cent share of the truck and bus tyre market but poor infrastructure and a large number of two-axle vehicles mean that radialisation in this sector is a very low 2 per cent.

8th May 2002/by Tyrepress Editors

Production Back To Normal After Fire At Hankook Factory

Production is back to normal after a fire at Hankook’s state of the art tyre factory in Kumsan, Korea. Details are sketchy, but it is believed that the fire started in, and was confined to, the mixing area, but production continued using materials brought from other factories. The effect on supply of product was minimal.

17th April 2002/by Tyrepress Editors