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US Defence Spending Allocated to Goodyear

The US House of Representatives approved a military spending bill that, amongst numerous projects, earmarks US$1.2 million for Goodyear’s production facility in Topeka, Kansas for the production of tyres for the military. The Defense Appropriations bill was approved by 400 votes to 15 on November 8, and now proceeds to the US Senate for a second vote.

Upon final approval of the bill Goodyear will be commissioned to manufacture tyres for the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle, a unit designed to replace the military’s Humvee. This new vehicle – intended to provide greater versatility and survivability in the event of an attack than existing designs – is still currently at the prototype stage, with military officials considering various options from 18 different manufacturers. The Joint Light Tactical Vehicle is not expected to enter production until 2012, at which stage up to 160,000 of the vehicles will most likely be produced.

9th November 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Two Trelleborg Execs Plead Guilty to Price Fixing Charges

Two executives from Trelleborg Industrie S.A.S in France have pleaded guilty to participating in a marine hose price fixing conspiracy. On November 6 a one-count felony charge was filed in the US District Court in Fort Lauderdale, Florida against Christian Caleca, president of Trelleborg’s Industrial Fluid Systems business unit, and Jacques Cognard, the company’s product area manager for oil and marine products.

Plea agreements have been worked out for both men, subject to court approval, and under the terms of these each will serve 14 months in prison – and will provide their full cooperation in the US Department of Justice’s ongoing investigation. Additionally, Caleca has agreed to pay a US$75,000 fine and Cognard a $100,000 fine.

8th November 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Accuride/Snap-on to Present at Baird Industrial Conference

Accuride Corporation and Snap-on have announced that they will each make presentations at the Baird Industrial Conference in Chicago. John R. Murphy, Accuride’s President and Chief Executive Officer, along with David K. Armstrong, Accuride’s Chief Financial Officer and General Counsel, will speak to the investment community.

6th November 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Cabot Announces Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year Operating Results

Carbon black producer Cabot Corporation has announced a net income of US$24 million ($0.36 per diluted common share) for its fourth quarter of 2007 period, including $5 million after-tax ($0.07 per diluted common share) of charges from certain items and discontinued operations, compared with net income of $27 million ($0.39 per diluted common share) for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2006, which included $16 million after-tax ($0.25 per diluted common share) of charges from certain items, discontinued operations and the cumulative effect of an accounting change.

For the full fiscal year 2007, the company announced a net income of $129 million ($1.90 per diluted common share), including $22 million after-tax ($0.32 per diluted common share) of charges from certain items and discontinued operations, compared wit the company’s full fiscal year 2006 net income of $88 million ($1.28 per diluted common share), which included $36 million after-tax ($0.54 per diluted common share) of charges from certain items, discontinued operations and the cumulative effect of accounting changes.

2nd November 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Evonik Acquires Degussa Engineered Carbons

Evonik Industries has acquired the remaining 50 per cent of shares in its former carbon black Joint Venture – Degussa Engineered Carbons (DEC), effectively 29 October 2007. DEC will now be a 100 per cent owned subsidiary of Evonik. Financial details of the transaction have not been disclosed.

“Carbon black is one of our strategic growth areas that we are systematically expanding. This transaction underlines Evonik’s commitment in the North American market and will add significant value to our Group,” said Dr. Klaus Engel, Member of the Management Board of Evonik and responsible for the Chemicals business area. Thomas Hermann, head of Evonik’s Advanced Fillers & Pigments Business Unit, commented: “The acquisition is an important step to consolidate our position in one of our key strategic markets, and will help us to serve our global key accounts even better.”

1st November 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Goodyear Closure Deadline Looms

(Akron/Tire Review – Tyler Morning Telegraph) By Thursday November 1, Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. employees at the Tyler plant may know more about what the company plans to do with the facility – and their jobs – at the start of the New Year. Then again, they may not know a whole lot more than they do now. In December 2006, the United Steelworkers ratified a three-year master contract with Goodyear that stipulated the company would keep the Tyler plant open at least one year. The next month, Goodyear, in a Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, indicated it might close the plant in the first three months of 2008. Companies must file a Form 8-K to announce major events of which their shareholders should be aware.

29th October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Michelin Receives Best Annual Report Prize

On October 18, Michelin received the Best Annual Report 2006 Prize in the CAC 40 category during the 53rd Financial Communication Venue organised by two of France’s foremost financial newspapers: ‘la Vie Financière’ and ‘Les Echos’. The prize is given to CAC 40 companies – the forty largest Paris Bourse listed stocks in terms of market capitalisation on the stock exchange – whose annual reports contain the clearest and most transparent information on the company’s economic situation and future prospects.

To quote Mr. Carlos Ghosn, who chaired the panel responsible for selecting award recipients, the four principal qualities of Michelin’s report were “the quality of the group’s business and environment review; the usefulness of background information based on multiple and documented forecasts; the shareholder focus through a Shareholder booklet which in itself is a benchmark document and the clear and lively layout (and the latter two qualities are known to be difficult to achieve in the particular field of financial communication).”

26th October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Apollo Tyres Names New Board Member

Former chairman of the State Bank of India, Mr. Arun Purwar, has been named to the board of directors at Apollo Tyres. Company chairman and managing director Onkar S Kanwar, commenting on his appointment, said “It is an honour to have Arun on our board of directors. He brings with him a wealth of global financial and management expertise and his long list of achievements with India’s largest and most successful bank.”

Purwar served as chairman of the State Bank of India between 2002 and 2006, and spearheaded the bank’s retail expansion and modernisation, backed by robust IT systems.

26th October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

John Kemp Passes Away

Axle Group Holdings Ltd has announced the death of John Kemp, Partner, at the age of 53, following a year long battle against illness. John Kemp was a popular and well respected figure, having worked in the tyre industry for 30 years. He began his career with Birkenshaw International as Finance Manager, based in Glasgow and during this time helped oversee the merger of the southern based wholesaler, Viking Express to form one of the country’s largest tyre wholesalers, Viking International.

In December 2001, Mr Kemp joined Alan Revie, John Taylor and John Caldwell in the highly publicised management buy-out of National Tyres and Autocare and Viking International, from Continental AG. In his capacity as Group Financial Director, John Kemp played a pivotal role in the dramatic turnaround of the company’s finances.

25th October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

T&E Releases Position Paper on Tyre Noise Regulations

The European Federation for Transport and Environment (T&E) has released a position paper on improving tyre noise in response to the European Commission’s invitation for public consultation on the topic, made in preparation for the drafting of new regulations. The submissions are intended for the new ‘Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on Advanced Safety Features and Tyres’, a regulation that would most likely be used to replace most of the separate safety-related directives that currently come under the vehicle type-approval Framework Directive.

In its response, T&E urges the European Commission to propose, without delay, effective standards to reduce noise emissions from passenger and commercial vehicle tyres. “It must be kept in mind that road traffic noise is first and foremost a serious and widespread public health problem,” reports T&E. “Noise is often at the top of the list of citizen’s concerns over their quality of life and living environment.” The organisation adds that more than 200 million EU citizens are exposed to levels of road noise, the major source of environmental noise in Europe, that potentially pose risks to their health.

24th October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

T&E Releases Position Paper on Tyre Noise Regulations

The European Federation for Transport and Environment (T&E) has released a position paper on improving tyre noise in response to the European Commission’s invitation for public consultation on the topic, made in preparation for the drafting of new regulations. The submissions are intended for the new ‘Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on Advanced Safety Features and Tyres’, a regulation that would most likely be used to replace most of the separate safety-related directives that currently come under the vehicle type-approval Framework Directive.

In its response, T&E urges the European Commission to propose, without delay, effective standards to reduce noise emissions from passenger and commercial vehicle tyres. “It must be kept in mind that road traffic noise is first and foremost a serious and widespread public health problem,” reports T&E. “Noise is often at the top of the list of citizen’s concerns over their quality of life and living environment.” The organisation adds that more than 200 million EU citizens are exposed to levels of road noise, the major source of environmental noise in Europe, that potentially pose risks to their health.

24th October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Goodyear, Cooper Set to Announce Results

(Akron/Tire Review) Goodyear and Cooper will both announce their third quarter financial results in coming weeks. Goodyear plans to release its financials before the markets open on October. 30. Cooper will wait until after the SEMA Show and release its financials before the markets open on November 6.

19th October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Conti to Close Credit Facility for Siemens VDO Purchase

Continental AG is closing the syndication of a €13.5 billion loan package, supported by a consortium of international banks. The credit facility will provide the long-term financing for its purchase of the Siemens VDO Automotive unit. Despite what Conti calls ‘challenging conditions in the financial markets’, the transaction was well received and will be healthily oversubscribed. Continental further adds that a total of 39 banks are participating in the financing, which has been led by Citi and Goldman Sachs.

15th October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Indian Domestic Manufacturers Hit by Strong Rupee

The growing strength of the Indian rupee against the US dollar has been squeezing the export margins of tyremakers in the subcontinent for some time. A more recent development, however, is the strain India’s increasingly robust currency is placing on companies producing tyres for the domestic market.

Imports have become cheaper with each rise in the rupee, and those domestic market products with cut-price overseas equivalents have struggled to remain competitive. This phenomenon is not restricted to the tyre industry; the Hindu Business Line reports that a number of manufacturing sectors, including chemicals, textiles and automotive components, have been affected.

The Indian financial daily quoted Ashish Bharat Ram, managing director of SRF Ltd, as saying, “the rupee appreciation is adversely impacting those domestic manufacturers where the product is substitutable by imports.” This even applies to imported raw materials. “Imports of raw material from China, for instance, are of special concern as the yuan has not been revalued, and this puts pressure on margins even further.”

3rd October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Senior Management Changes at Bridgestone

On September 28 Bridgestone announced that its board of directors has approved the following proposals of the changes in member of the board and in corporate officers.

1. Changes in position and responsibilities of members of the board (effective October 16, 2007)
– Tatsuya Okajima
New position and responsibilities: Senior vice president, advisor to the president
Current position and responsibilities: senior vice president, chief compliance officer, responsible for original equipment tyre sales and quality management; concurrently chief risk-management officer

– Masaharu Oku
New position and responsibilities: Vice president & senior officer, advisor to the president. Oku has been seconded to Bridgestone Cycle Co., Ltd where he will serve as chairman.
Current position and responsibilities: vice president & senior officer, responsible for production technology

3rd October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors