This week’s agreement between Goodyear Dunlop Tires France and the CGT union over the tyre maker’s Amiens Nord factory removes the major obstacle that blocked Titan International’s acquisition of the Amiens Nord agricultural tyre business. After hearing that the two parties have buried the hatchet, Titan CEO and chairman Maurice Taylor indicated he’s once again prepared to do business.
Ecobat Technologies has grown its battery business with the purchase of the battery collection division of German company Must GmbH and French battery distributor Batteries Accus Technologies. Through the acquisition of Must GmbH’s battery collection vision, the European market leader in lead-based battery collection and component recycling will increase its presence in northern, eastern and central Germany, while the French deal brings a fourth European battery distribution business into Ecobat’s Global Battery Distribution Division, which also consists of Manbat (UK and Republic of Ireland), Hefra (Netherlands), ACA (Belgium).
French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault and Minister of Industrial Renewal Arnaud Montebourg have welcomed the end of the long-term standoff over Goodyear’s Amiens Nord factory. In a statement issued on 22 January, Montebourg expresses confidence that the signing of a deal between Goodyear management and representatives of the CGT (Confédération générale du travail or General Confederation of Labour) union will end the plant’s occupation and seven years of tension.
Last weekend, Pirelli made its return to the World Rally Championship after a long absence. The tyre maker was sole WRC tyre supplier between 2008 and 2010 but left the series when it was opened up to multiple tyre suppliers for the 2011 season. It also supplied the WRC Academy until 2012. Its focus this year is privateer competitors, and Pirelli is offering these drivers an entirely-new range of rally tyres.
The lawsuit brought against Goodyear Tire & Rubber by the Works Council at the company’s Amiens Nord factory in France and the factory’s union representative, Michael Wamen, has been dismissed by the United States District Court in Ohio. Referring to a host of precedent cases, Judge Sara Lioi determined that Goodyear neither breached agreements made with the Amiens plant workers nor did it fraudulently represent reductions in plant output as temporary measures.
The European Tyre and Rubber Manufacturers Association (ETRMA) suggest the 2013 tyre replacement market stabilised in 2013 after a shaky start to the year. According to figures published 16 January, the car segment contracted 1 per cent to 192.699 million units in 2013. Total truck tyre sales were put at 8.849 million.
Figures released by the ACEA show that, with a 13.3 per cent increase in new car registrations in December 2013, the EU recorded the largest monthly year-on-year growth since December 2009 (+16.6 per cent). However, in absolute figures, the results were the third lowest to date for a month of December with a total of 906,294 units.
Public prosecutor for the French commune of Amiens, Bernard Farret, reports that management at Goodyear Dunlop Tires France have filed an ‘arbitrary detention and abduction’ complaint following the enforced detainment of two senior managers at its Amiens Nord factory earlier this week. Production manager Michel Dheilly and human resources director Bernard Glaser were held for almost 30 hours and only freed at around 3:30pm Tuesday after police entered the building.
The two Goodyear managers held against their will by workers at the company’s Amiens Nord factory in France have been freed, various news sources report. Their release occurred several minutes after police entered the facility. Related news: Amiens Nord workers protesting again Goodyear lodges complaint over managers’ ‘boss-napping’ Drug Sting Brings Arrests, Warrants at Goodyear […]
Commenting on the enforced confinement of two Goodyear managers at the company’s Amiens Nord plant in France, Titan International’s Maurice Taylor has made it clear that he considers the action a serious crime. The Titan boss, whose company recently reappeared as a potential buyer for the Amiens Nord agricultural tyre business, added that he views the French government’s lack of response to this ‘boss-napping’ as crazy.
While Britain has been batter by storms this winter, and while the environment minister announced today (6 January) that some 1700 homes have been flooded this season, it has been relatively warm with much of Britain being buffeted by storms and at the same time experiencing high single-digit temperatures. Tragic for some. Inclement for most. But not the kind of weather that traditionally leads to increased winter tyre sales. Nevertheless, the latest data from market analysts GfK suggests that November sales are significantly up on both the previous month and when compared with the same time last year.
The Federation Internationale de I’Automobile (FIA) Land Speed Records Commission has homologated Continental Tire the Americas’ world speed records for both ten kilometres and ten miles from a standing start. The tyre maker, in conjunction with Michael Shank Racing, Ford, Roush Yates Engines and International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) set out to break the records at Daytona International Speedway on 9 October 2013; the attempt was made by Colin Braun, who drove a Ford EcoBoost-powered Daytona Prototype (DP) fitted with Continental’s ExtremeContact DR (Dry, Race) tyres.
People in the UK tend to think they live in a heavily-regulated country, and when it comes to commercial transportation this is certainly the case. In addition to the safety laws that apply to all motorists, the professional driver and fleet operator must take a host of workplace health and safety and duty of care requirements into account – and on top of this come the regulations that apply to the vehicles themselves. Towards the end of October, Tyres & Accessories spoke with Tony Stapleton, commercial fleet sales manager for Continental Tyre Group, about the issues facing fleets and what the tyre maker can do to address this while minimising whole life tyre cost.
Tyre comparison site Rezulteo.com is claiming record traffic in 2013, with 1 million visits and 875,000 unique users in November – up 68 per cent. This means the firm has attracted a total of 6.4 million unique visitors in 2013 across the 20 countries it operates in – up 56 per cent. According to the company, this equates to 10 per cent of Internet searches performed by tyre buyers in Europe. In addition the website has also announced that it is partnering “Corriere dello Sport” in Italy.
On 16 December, Michelin chief executive officer Jean-Dominique Senard laid the foundation stone for the main building to be built as part of the company’s €270 million upgrade to its research and development facilities at the Ladoux site in Clermont-Ferrand, France. The stone-laying ceremony took place in the presence of members of Michelin’s Executive Committee along with representatives from architects Chaix & Morel and engineering group Ingerop.
If you would like the latest news from the Chinese tyre industry in Chinese, visit our partner site TyrepressChina.com. Or click below to continue on Tyrepress.