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Production to Continue at Ellerbrock Despite Fire Damage

Easter was not such a joyous affair for the German retreading materials producer Ellerbrock, whose facility near Hamburg was partially destroyed by fire on Easter Saturday morning. The factory was not operating over the Easter break, however two employees from the nearby production plant heard a fire alarm sound at about 11am and attempted to extinguish the fire themselves. When it became apparent that their own efforts would not be sufficient, the fire department was called.

25th March 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Tata Raises $3 billion to Buy Jaguar and Land Rover

Tata Motors is a step closer to buying Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford, having raised a reported $3 billion dollars in order to finance the deal. As a result of raising the cash, the transaction is now expected to close next week, according to the Financial Times. According to the newspaper, the financing is considerably above the earlier predicted purchase price for the two UK car marques, which was estimated at about $2 billion.

19th March 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Tipper Fleet Switches to Michelin/ATSE

Hull-based demolition/tipper hire fleet DJ Broady Ltd has switched to an ATS Euromaster/Michelin tyre policy across its mixed fleet of 11 tippers, following a six month Micheline trial. The new agreement will see ATS Euromaster work in partnership with DJ Broady’s in-house maintenance team fitting Michelin XDY3 tyres – replacing a previous policy which saw tyres fitted by a local independent tyre dealer.

19th March 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Analysts: OTR Tyre Markets Remain Strong

The US credit crunch may have caused turmoil in global financial markets, but, according to Deutsche Bank analysts, the OTR tyre segment at least continues to go in the “right direction.” As a consequence of continuing high raw material prices, strong demand remains for Earthmover tyres, particularly premium brand products. According to the analysts, Michelin is planning to increase its OTR production capacity by 25 per annum over the next 4 years, and their current projections suggest that the current shortage will remain until 2012. In 2007, this business generated revenues of 1 billion euros (or 6 per cent of Michelin’s total sales). EBIT margins in this segment are reported to be approximately 35 per cent.

19th March 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Pirelli Buys Back 38.9% Share in Tyre Division

Pirelli & C. SpA has confirmed that, on March 11, it reached an agreement to acquire the entire share capital of Speed SpA. Speed, a company held by the financial institutions Intesa Sanpaolo, Banca Leonardo Group, UniCredit, One Equity Partners, JP Morgan Group, Lehman Brothers and Mediobanca, has since August 2006 held a 38.9 per cent stake in Pirelli Tyre SpA, which it acquired for 740 million euros. The share was bought back for a cash payment of 434.4 million euros, a sum financed by available liquidity. The purchase price takes into account Speed’s debt of approximately 401.1 million euros. The transaction thus attributes the Pirelli Tyre shareholding, Speed’s sole asset, an equity value of 835.5 million euros.

12th March 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Pirelli Buys Back 38.9% Share in Tyre Division

Pirelli & C. SpA has confirmed that, on March 11, it reached an agreement to acquire the entire share capital of Speed SpA. Speed, a company held by the financial institutions Intesa Sanpaolo, Banca Leonardo Group, UniCredit, One Equity Partners, JP Morgan Group, Lehman Brothers and Mediobanca, has since August 2006 held a 38.9 per cent stake in Pirelli Tyre SpA, which it acquired for 740 million euros. The share was bought back for a cash payment of 434.4 million euros, a sum financed by available liquidity. The purchase price takes into account Speed’s debt of approximately 401.1 million euros. The transaction thus attributes the Pirelli Tyre shareholding, Speed’s sole asset, an equity value of 835.5 million euros.

12th March 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

SmarTire & Siemens Reach Infringement Agreement

On March 4 SmarTire Systems Inc. announced it had settled the patent lawsuit it filed against Siemens VDO Automotive Corp., now known as Continental Automotive Systems US, Inc. Prior to the February 20 settlement the lawsuit had been pending in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. The terms of the settlement and license agreement between SmarTire and Siemens have not been disclosed, with SmarTire claiming the information to be confidential. In addition, Siemens has also acknowledged the validity and enforceability of SmarTire’s United States Patent No. 5,231,872 in a judgment that was entered by the district court on February 21, 2008.

6th March 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Pirelli Buy Back Expected Within Days

Thomson Financial reported on March 5 that Pirelli SpA will pay 850 million euros to buy back 38.9 per cent share in its tyre business. The repurchase, expected within a few days, according to the report, will come in lower than the expected 900 to 950 million euro estimate. In 2006, Pirelli sold the stake in its tyre operations to a group of banks for some 740 million euros. (Tire Review/Akron)

6th March 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Cooper Sees Full Year Sales, Profit Improvements

Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. posted 2007 sales of US$2.9 billion, up 13.9 per cent versus 2006, while net income reached $120 million, up from 2006’s loss of $78 million. Cooper’s North American tyre operations contributed $2.2 billion in sales and $119 million in operating profit for the year. Profits for the unit were up $159 million from 2006, Cooper said, including a $26.5 million gain from the sale of its Oliver Rubber Co. business to Michelin North America.

3rd March 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Goodyear Appoints New Corporate Controller and CIO

Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company has announced the appointment of Richard Noechel as vice president and corporate controller, replacing Thomas A. Connell, who in turn was named vice president and chief information officer. Noechel, 39, had been chief financial officer of Goodyear’s South Pacific Tyre subsidiary in Australia since 2006. He began his career with Goodyear in 2004, serving as assistant controller at the company’s corporate headquarters in Akron.

Prior to joining Goodyear, Noechel was vice president and controller for The Kmart Corporation from 2001 through 2004. He also worked for DaimlerChrysler in various positions from 1997 through 2001 and for Price Waterhouse LLP from 1991 through 1997.

28th February 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Hankook to Raise Prices 10%

Hankook Tire intends to increase operating profit by 32 per cent this year, a target it will reach through the increased sale of high performance tyres and by raising prices to counter higher raw materials costs. Chief financial officer Cho Hyun Bum told media in Seoul that the company intends to charge 10 per cent more for tyres, a necessary measure if it is to achieve its targeted 2008 profits of 348.5 billion won (£188.7 million). Last year the company made profits of 263.6 billion won (£142.7).

22nd February 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Emphasising the “Good” in Goodyear

The most recent list of the “100 Best Corporate Citizens” to appear in the US magazine ‘Corporate Responsibility Officer’ (CRO) features at least one very familiar name. Goodyear Tire & Rubber made its debut appearance in this who’s who of good business, being counted as number 72 of the 100 best US headquartered public companies.

This is the ninth year in which the Best Corporate Citizens list has been published, and in compiling its “100 Best,” CRO, in partnership with research and consulting firm IW Financial, ranked the corporate responsibility efforts of companies in eight categories: climate change, employee relations, environment, financial, governance, human rights, lobbying and philanthropy. CRO determined the final ranking as a weighted average of the eight categories. Goodyear was the only tyre company honoured with a berth in the top 100.

21st February 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

2007 Another Record Year for Conti

Continental AG is boasting its sixth consecutive year of record sales and earnings figures in 2007, and the company’s Executive Board chairman has expressed confidence this favourable pattern will continue. “We intend to consistently continue our record streak this year,” said Manfred Wennemer at a press conference on February 21. “Despite the clouds hanging over the economic environment, we are setting clear targets: strengthened by our Siemens VDO acquisition, in 2008 we intend to improve the total calculated sales generated in 2007 of around 26.4 billion euros….With Continental in its traditional setup, we have kept the promises we made. In the new company era, this will not change.”

21st February 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

2007 Another Record Year for Conti

Continental AG is boasting its sixth consecutive year of record sales and earnings figures in 2007, and the company’s Executive Board chairman has expressed confidence this favourable pattern will continue. “We intend to consistently continue our record streak this year,” said Manfred Wennemer at a press conference on February 21. “Despite the clouds hanging over the economic environment, we are setting clear targets: strengthened by our Siemens VDO acquisition, in 2008 we intend to improve the total calculated sales generated in 2007 of around 26.4 billion euros….With Continental in its traditional setup, we have kept the promises we made. In the new company era, this will not change.”

21st February 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Rubber Exports Causing Indian Tyre Manufacturers Angst

Voices of concern amongst India’s tyre industry have been raised in response to the national Rubber Board’s perceived encouragement of rubber exports. A three per cent decrease in domestic natural rubber production before the end of the current fiscal year (March 31, 2008) has been projected, and it is this, along with dramatically higher rubber exports, that is creating a sense of unease. Natural rubber exports almost doubled in January to 7,522 tonnes, compared with 3,886 tonnes in December 2007, on the back of lower domestic prices.

Currently the price for India sourced rubber is about £0.10 a kilogram lower than prevailing world prices, and experts believe that if current global prices continue their upward journey a total of more than 40,000 tonnes of rubber may be exported from India during the current financial year. Given that India’s tyre industry consumes 55 per cent of local natural rubber supplies, and difficulties already exist in meeting domestic demand, the industry’s concern over additional exports is understandable.

20th February 2008/by Tyrepress Editors