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Montupet Invest in North Irish Wheel Production

Automotive supplier Montupet S.A. (France) felt a recession of around three to four per cent in sales in 2004, or 423 million euros. However the company’s annual general meeting has reported a net profit of 17.72 million euros, but more importantly reduced its debts to 22 million euros. Investments including that into Renault engines, a Canadian plant for Chrysler/USA and the modernisation of a Belfast aluminum cast wheels factory, were valued at 26 million.

12th April 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Centenary of the Gordon Bennett cup

150 vintage vehicles from 11 countries will attempt to resuscitate the spirit of the Gordon Bennett cup 1905, with the support of Michelin and SATCAR. The event, the ancestor of today’s Grand Prix and Formula One races, will be held during the 2005 Automobile Club d’Auvergne2-5 June.

Participants will travel to Clermont-Ferrand from Germany, Austria, the UK, Ireland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, France, Switzerland, Mexico and United States to cover the same track as a century ago, a 140 kilometre (90 mile) track at the foot of Puy-de-Dôme at the heart of the Auvergne volcano park.

The line up of cars will include the five vintage cars that actually took part in the Gordon Bennett Cup: two Napier Gordon Bennett (1903), a Mercedes 60 HP 2-Seater (1903), which entered history when Jenatzy won the Gordon Bennett Cup in 1903 in Ireland, a Pope Toledo Gordon Bennett (1905), and a Panhard Levassor Z40 (1905) which will run for the first time since it was revamped.

11th April 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

BBS Sales Up, Earnings Down

Despite tough conditions overall, in 2004 BBS Kraftfahrzeugtechnik AG increased consolidated sales by 1.2 per cent to 190.4 million euros. This rise was exclusively driven by business outside Germany, which expanded 4.3 per cent from 94.6 million euros to 98.6 million euros. Consolidated EBIT fell from 10.5 million euros to 7.2 million, while consolidated net income for the year decreased from 4.4 million to 1.0 million euros.

24th March 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

European Aftermarket to Suffer 1.2 Billion Euro Dip

New research from independent market analysts Datamonitor suggests that Europe’s 146 billion euro light vehicle aftermarket is in decline. The analysts say that revenues could drop by one per cent compared with those of today – a 1.2 billion euro shrinkage.

23rd March 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Michelin’s Dundee Expansion Gets Underway

Work has begun on Michelin’s £1.2 million extension of production facilities at its car tyre plant in Dundee, the Evening Telegraph and Post has reported. The project represents the first phase of a planned £4 million investment programme aimed at increasing the daily output of tyres from the Baldovie complex by 20 per cent by 2007. The new facility is due to become operational in October.

15th March 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Goodyear to Supply Tyres for Airbus Aircraft

Goodyear has extended a multi-year contract for the supply of aviation tyres to Airbus. Specifically, the extended contract is between Airbus France and Goodyear Nederland BV, a Dutch (Tilburg) company. Goodyear will supply Flight Leader aircraft tyres for the Airbus wide-body family, the A300 and 310 models, as well as Flight Radial and Flight Leader aircraft tyres for the Airbus single-aisle family, the A318, A319, A320 and A321 models. Goodyear has not published any details of how many additional tyres it will supply.

8th March 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Hayes Lemmerz Appoints VP of Sales for International Wheel Group

Hayes Lemmerz International, Inc. has appointed Pieter Klinkers to the position of vice president of sales and marketing for the company’s International Wheel Group. Mr Klinkers replaces Marc Hendrickx who was recently appointed as vice president of the International Wheel Group’s Aluminum Operations. Mr Klinkers will report directly to president Fred Bentley. The appointment became effective on 1 March, 2005.

Pieter Klinkers joins Hayes Lemmerz from Michelin’s Wheel Group where he has worked since 1997. Mr Klinkers has served in a series of senior level marketing and sales positions with Michelin, most recently as director of sales and marketing, based in Paris, France. Fluent in Dutch, English, German and French, Mr Klinkers holds a Masters degree in Business Administration from Maastricht University in the Netherlands.

4th March 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Kwik-Fit to be Floated or Sold

Private equity group CVC Capital Partners, the owner of Kwik Fit, has appointed Deutsche Bank to advise on a possible sale or floatation of the retail business. CVC said it and the German bank would work together on determining the best course for Kwik-Fit, according to a BBC report. Kwik-Fit is expected to be valued at more than £700 million with some estimates reaching £1 billion. Analysts report the company has strong cash flows and would make an attractive takeover target.

“Deutsche and CVC are going to evaluate the strategic options for Kwik-Fit, but no decision has been taken yet in terms of whether it will be a trade sale or an IPO (initial public offering) or in terms of timing,” said a spokesman for CVC. Famous in the UK for its “You can’t get better than a Kwik-Fit fitter” advertising slogan, Kwik-Fit is Europe’s largest independent auto parts, repair and replacement specialist. It has some 2,300 outlets including its mainland Europe subsidiaries – Speedy in France and Pit Stop in Germany.

28th February 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

2005 is the Year of ESP

The safety benefits of Electronic Stability Programs have now been felt on the streets for a decade. Now, after becoming the first supplier to initiate volume production of ESP, Bosch looks back at its achievements, while highlighting the technology’s bright future.

17th February 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Matador Truck Tours Europe

Matador is celebrating its 100th anniversary by touring western Europe with its presentation truck. The company first used its presentation truck in 2004 and will now use it to remember its long history and highlight its objectives for the future. The truck provides a suitable environment for presentations, training activities, business negotiations and has exhibited at exhibitions and motorsports events.

Last year the truck embarked on its central and southern Europe tour with the intention of focusing on training markets of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Greece. Mr Reich, head of the marketing department of Matador Tyre division described last year’s tour: “It is understood that our objective was to get closer to our customers. And I could say from my experiences of last season that this form of presentation got quite a warm welcome from our business partners.“ The presentation truck will be touring during April and has planned stops in France, Belgium and the UK.

16th February 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Michelin Sells Wheel Business to Mefro

Michelin is set to sell its wheel business to the German Mefro group. According to Michelin, the new owners will keep both manufacturing plants and their 1800 strong workforce intact. Mefro, a family-owned company, has an annual turnover of approximately 160 million euros and aspirations to become the “number one European wheel manufacturer.” Now in light of the recent purchase, the company sees itself as a significant competitor to European steel wheel producers Gianetti and Hayes Lemmerz.

16th February 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Slow Start to the Year for European Car Registrations

Total European passenger car registrations remained virtually flat, falling 0.8 per cent year-on-year. According to the ACEA, the association that processes the figures, “the relatively slow start to the year has been mainly driven by the drop posted by new EU member states (-12.7 per cent). Among the five main markets the UK (-8.2 per cent), Germany and Italy (-3.7 per cent) all reported losses. Meanwhile France and Spain both recorded increases of more than 6 per cent.

As far as manufacturers are concerned, Fiat Group registrations continued to drop (16.9 per cent year-on-year) as did DaimlerChrysler’s (-4.9 per cent) and Hyundai’s (8.9 per cent). VW and PSA group registrations both remained flat at 193,000 and 172,000 units respectively.

16th February 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Analysts Keep Cool About Michelin

While some newspapers reported analysts’ disappointment with Michelin’s weaker than expected fourth quarter sales, analysts from France, Morgan Stanley as well as Deutsche Bank do not see too much reason for concern. Although volumes were slightly negative, the positive effect of better product mix and prices has continued to be demonstrated from quarter to quarter. Obviously Michelin increased market share with winter tyres and truck tyres in the OE business. Analysts are also highlighting the fact that Michelin is to invest 500 million euros in its polish plant and is therefore ready for further expansion in Eastern Europe.

14th February 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Lion Forest to Buy Silverstone

Pulp and paper producer Lion Forest Industries Bhd (LionFIB) has proposed to acquire Silverstone Bhd, which manufactures tyres, The Star, Malaysia, has reported. Both Lion Forest and Silverstone Bhd are members of the Lion group.

In a statement given to Bursa Malaysia yesterday, Lion Forest said that wholly-owned subsidiary, Quay Class Ltd, had entered into an agreement with Silverstone Corp Bhd to acquire the entire equity in Silverstone Bhd for a total of 225 million ringgits (£31.31 million), to be paid for through a combination of cash and new Lion Forest shares. Silverstone Bhd is currently wholly owned by its holding company, Silverstone Corp, which is listed on Bursa Malaysia.

3rd February 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Conti: 'World Cup the More Efficient Investment'

Through its participation in the 2006 World Cup, Continental AG is aiming to further enhance its reputation and awareness of the Continental brand. This huge sporting event is said to be the ideal scenario in which to ‘emotionalise’ spectators. The World Cup offers another advantage, according to Lars Fahrenbach, marketing director at Continental’s passenger car division and responsible for the European replacement market: “Everybody else is in motorsports.”

26th January 2005/by Tyrepress Editors