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ThyssenKrupp Sells Elastomertechnik

ThyssenKrupp subsidiary, ThyssenKrupp Technologies has sold its Elastomertechnik business. ThyssenKrupp Technologies sold the tyre production machinery firm to the Lubeck based Possehl Group. The new owners have applied for the purchase to be registered retrospectively from the 1 October 2004. Elastomertechnik owns facilities in Hamburg and Freudenberg (Germany) plus Topeka/USA and Belisce/Kroatia. The company made a turnover of 145 million euros in the 2003/2004 financial year.

16th March 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Alcar Takes Over Italian Steel Wheel Maker

The Austrian Alcar group has taken over Italian wheel manufacturer Consud, Srl. Although the acquisition took place some months ago, the news has only just become public. In total, the new factory and the group’s existing Ambrosetti plant will produce 2.5 million units annually. Hayes Lemmerz is another large source of the group’s steel wheels. Alcar is the European market leader for passenger car steel wheels, sellng 5.6 million units in the last financial year. Of these, 90 per cent were produced by either Hayes Lemmerz or the company itself.

15th March 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

2004 Results – Michelin Reports Another Powerful Year

In 2004 Group Michelin achieved a turnover of 15.6 billion euros ($21.07 billion) and an operating income of 1.299 billion euros, 8.3 per cent of the company’s total turnover. At the same time, net income rose to 527 million euros ($705 million). Put simply, last year’s figures don’t contain any big surprises.

In spite of significant price increases in several areas, Group Michelin proved its lasting profitability. At the end of 2004 Michelin had net debts of 3.2 billion euros, a number which is broadly in line with what the financial world expected. The largest proportion of the operating income came from the passenger car/SUV tyre division, which brought in 731 million euros. The truck division’s operating income totalled 548 million euros, a relatively high figure considering that the segment’s turnover is significanly lower than the passenger car division. For the first time, the group’s ‘other activities’ division, found its way into the black, reporting 20 million euros of operating income.

15th March 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Automotive Suppliers Face Uphill Struggle

(Akron/TR) Cutbacks, fast rising raw material costs and marketshare battles by US automakers have created a crisis among auto part and component suppliers, according to a Detroit News report today.

11th March 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Commercial Register Entry Seals Phoenix Takeover

Continental AG, Hanover, can now proceed with the integration of the Hamburg-based Phoenix AG into its ContiTech AG subsidiary. The control and profit and loss transfer agreement between ContiTech AG as con-trolling enterprise and Phoenix AG as dependent enterprise was entered into the commercial register on 9 March, 2005. The agreement, approved at an extraordinary meeting of Phoenix AG shareholders on 28 December, 2004, can therefore go to effect.

10th March 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Aviva Buys RAC for £1.1 billion

The RAC has agreed to a £1.1 billion takeover approach from insurer, Aviva. Aviva said buying the RAC would boost its Norwich Union insurance business “creating a powerful new combination in insurance and motoring services.” It added that combining Norwich Union and the RAC would allow cost savings of at least £80m a year in 2006. On Tuesday, RAC shares jumped 19 per cent after it said it had received a bid approach. Aviva, UK’s largest general insurer, could be interested in developing the RAC’s promising financial services business, observers said. The company declined to comment.

9th March 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Conti’s Discusses Building New Factory

Continental is currently considering plans to build a new tyre factory in Europe, according to Dr Alan Hippe, chief financial officer. If demands continue to be as strong as they are today, it would be the next logical step, said Dr Hippe speaking at the Geneva Motor Show. Such a new facility would have to be built in Eastern Europe, possibly in Lithuania, writes the Berliner Morgenpost. Recently Continental invested a considerable amount of money in Eastern Europe in order to cut production costs.

Deutsche Bank analysts reported that Continental’s presentation was both “bullish“ and “striking.” In his presentation, Dr Hippe explained that Continental had revised its ESP penetration expectations for the US market to about 18 per cent in 2006, lifting the volume target to 1 million units. The CFO also suggested that the German manufacturer could be in a net cash position as early as the end of 2005. According to the analysts, “the bottom line is the growth and free cash story continues (at least 600-700 million euros per year).”

3rd March 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Michelin Invests in ATS Euromaster

Michelin has confirmed that it will be injecting a multi-million pound investment package into its UK service chain ATS Euromaster this year, so that it can continue to develop its added value customer focus started in 2004. According to the company this 10-year programme is part of a wider investment schedule that will be introduced and rolled out throughout the coming years.

3rd March 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Goodyear/Titan – Update

In the aftermath of yesterday’s not-too-surprising announcement that Goodyear will sell its agricultural tyre operations to Titan International, more details have come to light, reports Tire Review.

Goodyear agreed to sell the assets of its agricultural group, including its farm tyre plant in Freeport, Illinois, to Titan for approximately $100 million. The deal also gives Titan the right to produce and market agricultural tyres under the Goodyear brand name. However, under Goodyear’s current master contract with the United Steelworkers of America (USWA), any facility sale is contingent on the union and the prospective new owner reaching agreement on a new contract for the plant in question.

2nd March 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Imports Take Their Toll on Bridgestone SA

Bridgestone Firestone Maxiprest fell deep into the read last year, the South African Business Day has reported. The group reported a headline loss of 44 million rand (almost £4 million) for the year to ended December, compared with 2 million rand (£177,000) profit for the previous year. According to the report, the company’s losses were caused by product shortages, competition from imports and the expense payments made to former directors.

2nd March 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Michelin Proposes Michel Rollier For Managing Partner Role

Michelin managing partners Edouard Michelin and René Zingraff will propose that Mr Michel Rollier takes up the position of managing partner, according to a company statement. The existing managing partners will formally make the proposal when the company has its annual general meeting on 20 May.

2nd March 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Pirelli Boosts Operating Results

Pirelli has boosted its 2004 operating result to 380 million euros, a 42 per cent increase compared with the 268 million achieved in 2003. Last year’s figures show consolidated revenue of 7,130 million euros up 6.9 per cent on 2003’s results. The manufacturer’s net financial position settled at -1,475 million compared with -1,745 in 2003.

28th February 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Industrial Action at Remix Plant

Around 400 workers at Michelin’s Stoke-on-Trent Remix plant will start industrial action at the end of next week, the Financial Times has reported. The work force is to ban overtime, work to rule and withdraw co-operation. The new follows workers’ decision to reject a non-consolidated pay rise of £650, or around three per cent.

25th February 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Beru Expands Ludwigsburg Development Facility

Automotive supplier Beru AG has announced that it will spend 5 million euros expanding its research and development facilities in Ludwigsburg. The plans will see the company’s R&D and test centre enlarged by a new extension building. As a result of the extension, the company will gain about one thousand square meters of usable space. In addition to quality management and control, the new building will also accommodate development for the company’s glow plugs and diesel engines as well as applications technology activities. Construction work will start in July 2005. The new building should be completed and put into operation by the end of the financial year in March 2006.

“This investment decision is fully in line with our long-term policy of maintaining BERU’s competitiveness by means of permanent innovation. Each year we invest around 10 per cent of our sales revenues for this purpose. This investment rate is one of the highest in the industry. In Ludwigsburg, we are expanding our R&D capacities in diesel cold-start technology and ignition technology for gasoline engines. We are delighted that this also enables us to create several highly qualified new jobs,” commented Marco von Maltzan, chairman of the executive board.

25th February 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Kwik-Fit ‘Worth Up to £1 Billion’

Kwik-Fit could be worth up to £1 billion if it were auctioned in the coming months, according to media reports. CVC Capital, which acquired the business from Ford in 2002, is thought to be ready to appoint financial advisers. The Financial Times reports that Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley are all vying for the mandate.

21st February 2005/by Tyrepress Editors