The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company will report fourth quarter 2011 financial results before markets open on Tuesday, 14 February. The announcement will be followed by the customary investor conference call at 08:30 (13:30 GMT) with Richard J Kramer, chairman and chief executive officer, and Darren R Wells, executive vice president and chief financial officer.
Schaeffler AG, which currently controls what is effectively a 60 per cent stake in Conti, has announced plans for new credit worth around 8 billion euros. In addition to this refinancing, the company announced plans to issue 2 billion euros of bonds.
According to financial analysts at Morgan Stanley, this all comes around the same time as ratings agencies Stand & Poor’s and Moody's are planning to publish official credit ratings. And all follows Schaeffler’s decision to change its legal form into AG back in September 2011 in order to gain better access to capital markets.
Although Michelin reportedly needs to increase output at its Nyiregyhaza plant in Hungary at least 400 per cent to remain competitive, a question mark now hangs over when and if previously planned expansion work will take place. On 25 January business daily Vilaggazdasag quoted the general director of Michelin’s Hungarian unit, John Young, as saying the tyre maker had put its expansion plans on hold due to legal and financial uncertainties in Hungary.
Swedish firm Trelleborg has already indicated its intention to focus more intently on specific aspects of its business, and another move towards this goal is the divestment of its French light-vehicle component operation. The business, a unit within Trelleborg Automotive, has been sold to Germany’s Bavaria Industriekapital AG; financial and other details regarding the divestment will be published in Trelleborg’s Interim Report on 15 February.
Farm buying group AtlasFram has signed an exclusive supply agreement with Goodyear. All of AtlasFram’s 1250 farmer/landowner Members have now been enrolled in the exclusive Goodyear AGRI Club, which offers a number of financial and technical benefits to members.
Members receive a quarterly newsletter which contains the latest news about Goodyear tyres plus the current issue includes a voucher giving up to £150 discount when purchasing a set of Goodyear tractor tyres or up to £100 off a set of telescopic handler tyres. These vouchers can be redeemed at one of the company’s 76 approved agricultural tyre outlets.
A survey commissioned by the UK’s largest fast-fitter suggests the country’s motorists are more likely to return to a garage they trust than to shop around for a lower-priced deal. Kwik-Fit’s survey also suggests that only one in five views convenience as the most influential factor in selecting the garage they want to maintain their car. Over three quarters (78 per cent) of those asked will stay with one garage where possible, and one in three (30 per cent) said they wouldn’t switch at any price. The survey was conducted by ICM Research amongst a nationally representative sample of 2001 UK adults.
The Trelleborg Group has named its replacement for Carolina Dybeck Happe, who during the first quarter of this year will step down from her position as chief financial officer in order to take up a similar role with another company. Ulf Berghult, who returns to Trelleborg from automotive, caravan and marine product manufacturer and supplier Dometic Group, will assume the position of CFO during the second quarter of 2012.
Automotive industry charity, BEN will hold its inaugural BEN Blades Summer Ball on Thursday, 21 June 2012 at Sywell Aerodrome in Northamptonshire. The event, raising money for the charity, will include two aerobatics displays, with the opportunity for attendees to take a ride in one of several classic flying machines. This will be followed by a Champagne Reception and a three-course meal.
On 29 December the Sibur petrochemical holding company completed the sale of 100 of its OAO SIBUR-Russian Tyres (SRT) business to a group of investors including the management of SRT and Vadim Gurinov, former CEO of the company. No financial details relating to the sale have yet been released.
The sale follows the restructuring of SRT with the sale of two of its non-core plants: OAO Sibur-Volzhskiy, a manufacturer of synthetic fibres, which was acquired by CJSC Gazprom Stroy TEK Salavat and OAO Volzhkiy Nitrogen and Oxygen Plant, which specialises in commercial grade gas production and was sold to the ROEL Group.
South Africa is on the verge of introducing a levy on all tyres manufactured in, or imported into the country in order to finance the creation of a waste tyre collection network. REDISA (Recycling Economic Development Initiative of South Africa) is a government approved scheme to establish a sustainable waste tyre collection infrastructure for South Africa. The financial levy of Rand 2.3 (0.22 Euros) per kilogram of manufactured or imported product, will apply to all tyres, including those fitted to imported equipment, from the beginning of February this year.
There was a positive start to the year for TyreSafe with the announcement of a new member – Adrian Flux Insurance Services is one of the UK’s leading motor insurance firms and the first TyreSafe member from the insurance sector.
Bad news for hauliers and logistics companies from RMI Petrol, as their fuel price monitoring system, BIG OIL, has seen the steepest and fastest ever rise in wholesale costs over the festive period. From Monday 19 December to Thursday 5 January the cost of diesel increased by nearly 4.50ppl and unleaded petrol by as much as 5.00ppl with 20 per cent VAT to be added.
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company has announced that it will webcast its presentation at the 2012 Deutsche Bank Global Auto Industry Conference in Detroit, Michigan, on 10 January. Darren R. Wells, executive vice president and chief financial officer, will provide a business overview and discuss the company’s strategies for approximately 40 minutes.
ATS Euromaster has been named Van Equipment Supplier of the Year in the Fleet Van Awards 2011. Judges praised the organisation for standing out as “the best example of a totally van fleet-focused company”. The Award recognised ATS Euromaster’s £10 million investment during 2010 and 2011 in extending its offer to the van (and car) market, with new services including nitrogen tyre inflation, air-conditioning recharging, computerised wheel alignment, fault diagnostics and electronic brake servicing.
Cooper Tire & Rubber has appointed Cynthia A. Niekamp to the company’s Board of Directors. Niekamp is senior vice-president of PPG Industries’ automotive OEM coatings business, a position she has held since 2010. She joined PPG in 2009 as vice-president of the automotive OEM coatings business.
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