An American law firm has filed a federal class-action lawsuit against Bridgestone Firestone North American Tires LLC and Bridgestone Firestone Corp, seeking damages and the recall of 30 million Firestone Steeltex tyres the firms says are defective. The action, filed last week in Los Angeles Federal Court by Lisoni & Lisoni, involves Firestone Steeltex R4S, R4SII and A/T tyres, local newspaper, The Whittier Daily News reported.
Approximately 320 tyres were stolen from RH Claydon’s Bury St Edmunds branch at the end of May. Thieves took advantage of the bank holiday weekend to gain entry into the depot before loading the products onto a stolen truck. 80 of the stolen tyres were truck products with the rest being comprised of various passenger car brands.
The stolen tyres are listed below, any distributor being offered these brands and sizes from an unusual source should contact Dick Anderson at raa@rhc.co.uk immediately.
11R22.5 148/145L MATADOR DR1 1
295/80R22.5 152/148M MATADOR DH1 15
295/80R22.5 152/148M MATADOR FR2 1
195/45R15 78V FEDERAL SS595 13
195/45R16 80V FEDERAL SS595 5
195/50R15 82V FEDERAL SS535 5
195/55R15 84V FEDERAL SS535 39
205/45R16 83V FEDERAL SS595 12
205/45R16 83W FEDERAL SS595 2
205/50R15 86V FEDERAL SS535 13
205/50R16 87V FEDERAL SS535 1
205/50R16 87W FEDERAL SS595 32
205/55R15 88V FEDERAL SS535 24
205/55R16 91V FEDERAL SS535 32
215/45R17 87W FEDERAL SS595 20
225/45R17 91V FEDERAL SS595 20
225/50R16 92V FEDERAL SS535 11
235/40R18 91W FEDERAL SS595 2
255/40R17 94V FEDERAL SS595 10
245/70R19.5 133/131M KUMHO RS03 40
295/80R22.5 152/148M KUMHO 964 10
295/80R22.5 152/148M KUMHO RD02 14
295/80R22.5 152/148M ROADLUX R210 1
38565R22.5 160K KUMHO 968 25
385/65R22.5 160K MATADOR TH1 4
425/65R22.5 165K KUMHO 958 5
Amerityre has announced that its full-size airless passenger car tyre has passed US Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 129. In April, Amerityre announced that non-pneumatic tyres for compact and mid-sized vehicles had passed the same standard. The prototype tyres, made from a proprietary polyurethane compound, have been developed for prospective use as temporary/spare passenger car tyres.
Continental Tire North America, Inc. (CTNA) has filed an unfair labour practice charge against the United Steelworkers union (USW) in relation to its Bryan Ohio OTR tyre manufacturing facility. The announcement follows attempts by Rodos Giants (part of the Roesler Group) to buy the plant. The union refused to enter into a labour agreement with the company.
Federal Tire has expanded its Federal Motorsport line with the introduction of the FZ-101, the first slick tyre in the FZ Combat Series. Exclusively produced in limited numbers for professional use only. Engineers at Federal are reported to have collaborated closely with Japanese racing professionals to deliver a tyre best suited to their needs.
(Akron/Tire Review) Michelin North America (MNA) has filed a suit in the federal court of Birmingham, Alabama, against Canadian distributor Dynamic Tire and Chinese manufacturer, Aeolus Tyre, claiming tyre design patent infringement. Robert Sherkin, president of both Dynamic Tire Corp and Aeolus Tire in North America was also named in the action.
“We will not tolerate look-alike tyres trading on Michelin expertise and will bring the full resources of Michelin North America to bear on those seeking to profit from our innovations,” said Luc Minguet, COO of MNA’s Michelin Americas Truck Tyres unit. MNA claims that the tread design of the Aeolus HN-308 medium truck tyre is identical to its patented design for the Michelin XDA-HT.
Federal Corporation held its annual shareholder meeting in Chungli, Taiwan last week announcing the launch of “Federal Motorsport.” The manufacturer’s new tyre lines, are a result of “years of intense research and testing by Federal Technical Center (FTC),” said Jamie Ma, president of Federal Tire.
Two distinct series’ will make up Federal Motorsport – the street-legal 595 Competition Series and the exclusive, limited production FZ Combat Series for professional circuit use.
Federal Tire’s subsidiary in Jiang Xi, China (JFT) will invest $30 million into equipment and people to double annual capacity to 5 million units a year, by the end of 2005. According to the company the investment is required due to an increase in demand for its tyres.
The majority of the investment will go towards the purchase of curing presses, tyre building, uniformity inspection equipment and mixers as JFT increases the size of its current tyres and finalises plans for new additions to its product line. JFT manufactures a range of Hero and Federal brand tyres including UHP, PCR, SUV, light truck.
(Akron/Tire Review) The Associated Press has reported that the US Supreme Court ruled that the government was within its rights to force beef producers to pay for a multimillion-dollar “Beef: It’s what’s for dinner” marketing program, despite disagreement by some individual cattle producers who disagreed with the direction of the campaign.
The court’s 6-3 decision stated that such checkoff campaigns are a form of “government speech” immune to First Amendment challenge.
There is no immediate word yet as to how the Supreme Court decision will impact efforts by TIA to formulate a similar program to support the tyre industry and tyre dealers, but it is expected that this will clear major legal concerns voiced by the Rubber Manufacturers Association and tyre makers and importers.
Federal and Nexen have announced price increases of up to five and 7 per cent respectively. Federal explained that some the announced price increases already took effect on the 1 April 2005.
Raw material price increases, rising energy and fuel costs, higher transportation costs as well currency appreciation have been cited as reasons for the price hike.
According to Federal, “the present price increase does not fully absorb and reflect its increase in costs.” The company has yet to decided whether or not there will be further price increases in the third quarter.
(Akron/Tire Review) Federal reported that it has achieved a new record for shipments in March. Total shipment value from the company’s Taiwan factory reached $11million, according to Federal.
(Akron/Tire Review) Federal Tire Co. has appointed Henry Lin as vice president of sales and marketing. Mr Lin had previously worked for Federal before leaving and then formally rejoining the company in March.
(Akron/Tire Review) The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co has announced it will receive $22 million as part of an insurance settlement for asbestos- and pollution-related claims it had filed. The $22 million, part of a settlement agreed upon 13 April, will be paid by Lloyd’s Underwriters and reinsured by Equitas Limited in the second quarter of 2005.
(Akron/Tire Review) Continental Automotive Systems has appointed David M. Mestdagh as director of the company’s North American aftermarket business.
Mestdagh will be responsible for overall business strategy, product quality and performance and will oversee development of sales and marketing activities for the company’s ATE brand.
Previously, Mestdagh served as national accounts sales manager for Visteon Corp.’s aftermarket group and has held various positions – including national retail sales manager, program group manager and sales and marketing development manager – at Federal-Mogul Corp.
(Akron/Tire Review) Reports out of Texarkana, Arkansas, indicate that a tentative agreement has been reached between Cooper Tire & Rubber Co and striking United Steelworkers of America (USWA) employees. No details of the agreement, believed to be a three-year deal, are available.
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