Cooper Tire is launching a new Cooper-branded tyre in Europe, aimed at the small van and light truck market. The Discoverer AST II replaces the p-metric sizes of the Discoverer Radial AST and is available in twelve, S-rated sizes for 15 and 16 inch rims. The new tyre will be made at Coopers Findlay, Ohio factory.
The Tanzanian Government has restricted the import of tyres in a protectionist measure. A spokesman said that businessmen have been taking advantage of consumer ignorance by importing “cheap, sub-standard products” and also used tyres, which is illegal. This has threatened the country’s only domestic tyre factory, General Tyre (EA), which has been unable to sell all of its annual production of around 330,000 tyres.
Tyres smuggled into Ethiopia through the port of Djibouti cost the Government 64 m. Birr (8.8 m Euro) in lost import duty every year. The illegal trade has affected the Addis tyre factory, which has cut production and laid off workers. Losses incurred by the factory and importers are estimated at 196 m Birr (26.98 m Euro). The problem is a serious one: Berhanu Mewa, President of the Addis Ababa Chamber of Commerce, warned that failure to control the smuggling “would cripple the country’s economy”.
Cooper-Avon Tyres is to manufacture the Cooper Cobra VHP at its factory in Melksham. The tyre has been specially designed for European motoring and comes in H and V speed ratings, in 17 sizes and aspect ratios from 45 to 70 series. The Cobra VHP is the third Cooper brand tyre to be made at Melksham, joining the Sportmaster GLE and Discoverer Sport HP.
Marangoni S.p.A. has started production of precured tread rubber at Belo Horizonte, Brazil, in response to Brazil’s growing demand for retreads. The purpose designed, 14,000-sq.-ft. plant cost Marangoni around 13 million Euro to build and equip. Initial employment will be 60, but this should rise to 140 over time, Marangoni said. The company expects the new venture to generate sales of 6.1million Euro in the first full year of operation, rising up to 25.6 million Euro within four years.
Over the next five years, Continental will invest just over $51 million in its Continental Teves brake factory, located at Jicin in the Czech Republic. The investment will mean that the factory is amongst Europe’s largest brake system manufacturers and will mean another 670 jobs to the 900 already employed at the plant.
Disposal of scrap tyres in the UK has been boosted by the news that two more Blue Circle cement plants have received the official go-ahead to consume tyres. The factory at Dunbar in Scotland will take chipped tyres while the plant at Westbury, Wiltshire, will take whole car tyres. These plants join Blue Circle’s factory at Cauldon, which is already consuming chipped tyres.
There are reports that, in the USA, Bridgestone/Firestone Inc. will be re-engaging 330 of the 700 workers who the company laid off recently from its Oklahoma City factory. The plant manufactures passenger car tyres and the latest move is in response to a need to increase output because of rising sales.
Bridgestone’s tyre factory at Poznan, Poland, has been officially opened. It is the company’s sixth tyre factory in Europe and one of 46 across the globe. It produces 10,000 Bridgestone and Firestone tyres daily, mainly high- and ultra-high performance tyres, with a workforce of 540. The factory is a joint venture with state-owned Stomil Poznan SA.
A. T. Kearney and the weekly magazine Produktion held a competition for “the best factory of the year”. 80 plants were nominated and the winner of the first prize for “outstanding manufacturing processes” was the Conti Teves factory in Rheinböllen, which produces brake components.
A tyre expert hired by Bridgestone/Firestone has identified cracks in the belt skim – the rubber compound used to bond steel belts – as the cause of problems with some Firestone tyres. However, another tyre consultant, Rex Grogan, said that he told the company back in April 1999 that he had found the same problem. He blamed the use of inexperienced personnel working at the Decatur plant during a labour dispute.
The Italian Goodyear factory should close in March. EU officials have criticized the American company for not considering the rights of the employees involved.
Ford has announced that car production will end at its Dagenham plant by 2002, with the loss of 1,900 jobs. Dagenham is Ford’s largest UK factory, where the Fiesta and Courier vans are built. Ford also announced that 500 new jobs would be created at Dagenham over an unspecified period in the engine manufacturing operations.
Hayes Lemmerz International, the world’s largest wheel manufacturer, plans to invest 23 million US dollars with the objective of quadrupling the annual capacity of the Mexican aluminium wheel factory in Chihuahua to 1.2 million units by the year 2001.
The foundation stone for a MIRS-factory was laid in the presence of Ministerpräsident Koch from the area of Hessen/Germany. Pirelli is investing 100 million Euro to produce about 1.5 million ultra-high-performance tyres by the year 2005. MIRS will create 200 more jobs. In addition to its own investment, Pirelli will receive an additional government grant of about 15 million Euro for meeting special environmental requirements.
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