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Reports: Schaeffler Wants Conti Chairman Out or New Board

The ongoing struggle between Continental AG and its major shareholder, Schaeffler Group, took a new twist yesterday when the Financial Times (FT) reported that Schaeffler wanted to force our Conti’s supervisory board chairman, Hubertus von Grünberg. According to FT, Schaeffler executives have fallen out with von Grünberg over his “systematic sabotage” of their plans.

FT reported that von Grünberg was told he should resign and make way for Schaeffler to be given four board seats, or the ball bearing maker would force an extraordinary shareholders’ meeting to replace all 10 members. Neither side has commented publicly about the reports.

21st January 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Goodyear Appoints New Luxembourg Tech Head

Formerly general director of the Goodyear R&D Technical Centre in the United States, Marc Junio, has been named the new general director of the company’s Luxembourg Technical Centre in Colmar-Berg. His appointment sees him taking over the role from Joe Zekoski, vice president Global Product Development & Technical Centre Operations, who will repatriate to Akron, Ohio.

19th January 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Continental Lithium-ion Technology Wins ‘Yellow Angel’ Award

Continental AG, along with vehicle manufacturer Daimler, has received the ‘Gelben Engel’ – Yellow Angel – award from the German automobile association ADAC for the lithium-ion battery technology that is to feature as standard equipment in the Mercedes S400 BlueHYBRID from mid 2009. The companies received their Yellow Angel in the ‘Innovation and Environment’ category for the battery’s contribution in the fields of road safety, automotive safety and traffic-related environmental protection.

16th January 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Automechanika Returns to Malaysia in March

Approximately 5,000 visitors are expected to attend the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre between March 25 and 28 for the sixth Automechanika Malaysia exhibition. The trade fair, formerly known as Automechanika Asia, is the only automotive parts and aftermarket trade fair organised in collaboration with Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation and is considered by many to be the leading automotive parts and aftermarket trade event in the ASEAN market. Exhibitors from 14 countries and regions including Australia, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Italy, Korea, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and the United Kingdom have confirmed their attendance. A total of 150 exhibitors are expected to take part in the biennial event.

16th January 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

European New Car Sales Fell 8% in 2008

Western European new car registrations fell 8 per cent in 2008, while the monthly figure for December plummeted 19 per cent. According to the European car makers’ association, ACEA, this is the sharpest annual fall since 1993. However, according to market analysts, the fact that there were two extra selling days in 2008 means that when 2007 and 2008 are compared like-with-like the results are actually worse than those published.

The UK market was one of the three worst affected in Western Europe, with registrations falling 21 per cent year-on-year and 11 per cent year-to date. The Spain was the only market worse affected than the UK. According to the ACEA figures, Spanish new car registration were 50 per cent down year-on-year and 28 per cent down year-to-date.

15th January 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Germany Supports New Car Market With Car Scrappage Scheme

German Chancellor Angela Merkel yesterday (13 January) announced a 50 billion euro package of measures designed to give the country’s economy a financial stimulus. One key measure sees the German government offer motorists 2500 euros to trade in over 9 year-old cars for new or 1 year-old vehicles. With 40 per cent of the German car parc (46 million vehicles) fitting into this category, Deutsche Bank analysts suggested that the measure could have a significant impact on automotive demand. This, in turn, is likely to impact replacement tyre sales.

“If 2 per cent (the estimated participation in the French scrappage scheme) were to take up these incentives, it implies a 12 per cent gross impact on demand (vis-à-vis 08 levels)…Given the substantially increased age of the parc, our current estimate of 2.8 million vehicle sales in 2009 (versus 3.1 million in 2008) might well prove too pessimistic,” the analysts commented. Deutsche Bank’s predictions are based on the assumption that the proposed measures get implemented quickly. This means a swift approval from Germany’s second house, the Bundesrat.

14th January 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Conti Appoints Tire Division R&D Application Management Provider

On January 13 it was announced that Continental AG has entered into an agreement with T-Systems (the enterprise customer division of Deutsche Telekom) and business process outsourcing provider Cognizant. The two companies will jointly provide application management services to the research and development operations of Continental’s tyre divisions in Hanover, Germany, beginning in 2009.

13th January 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Michelin Agri Range Designed to Offer Greater Productivity

Tests conducted by the tractor manufacturer New Holland have demonstrated fuel savings of 10 per cent using the Michelin XeoBib compared to an identical machine equipped with 65-series tyres.

Michelin’s agricultural range lays claim to providing something for everybody: its six ranges include the AxioBib for very high power machinery; the MachBib for machinery over 200 hp; the MultiBib 65 series; the standard 85 series AgriBib; the 2008-launched 70 series OmniBib; and the XeoBib, which has recently undergone a series of tests by tractor maker, New Holland.

12th January 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Interstate’s Newest 4×4 Tyre Now Available

Netherlands based Interstate Tire & Rubber reports that its latest 4×4 tyre, displayed at last May’s Essen show in Germany, is now on the market and available in six popular sizes between 16 and 18-inches. Called the Sport SUV GT, the tyre is Interstate’s first rolling resistance optimised 4×4 tyre, and Interstate thus reports that lower fuel consumption is attainable without compromising tread life or traction.

9th January 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Employees Give Conti the Thumbs Up

Unhappy in your job? Go and work for Continental. A survey undertaken in Germany indicates that workers at Continental are happier with their employer than the ‘industry benchmark’. And while Conti doesn’t state that its staff spring out of bed each morning with an unquenchable enthusiasm for the day’s work that lies ahead, it comments that the findings of the “BASICS live” employee survey conducted by the University of Manheim, in collaboration with the tyre and automotive components manufacturer, show Conti to have faired far better than the benchmark results in several subject areas.

8th January 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Angels and Dragons

At last October’s Intermot show in Cologne, Germany, Pirelli displayed a prototype of a new tyre that was, to say the least, eye-catching. Called the Angel ST, the resplendent tyre at the exhibition was shown off complete with a unique tread design featuring angel or devil patterns. At the time, Pirelli product manager Federico Bodini explained that the tyre maker had utilised angels and demons in the tread pattern as “it translates how the consumer wants to use their motorcycle.”

7th January 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Pelmar Engineering Annual Conference

Pelmar Engineering has announced that it is to hold its annual conference in Hamburg, Germany this year. The company is holding its conference alongside Tire Technology Expo 2009. According to a statement on the matter, the 2009 conference is the first time that the event will be held outside of Israel. “The main reasons are the vast international expansion and the increased sales and engineering contracts signed in Europe,” the statement explained.

7th January 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Former Conti Deputy Director Appointed to Autoliv Board

The Board of Directors of automotive safety systems specialist Autoliv Inc. has elected former Continental AG deputy chairman Dr.-Ing. Wolfgang Ziebart to the Board, following the announcement that Board member Per Welin will retire from the board at its 2009 AGM.

18th December 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Delticom Growing in Europe Despite Weak Market Conditions

Delticom AG’s client base may grow by as much as a quarter in 2009. In an interview, company CFO Frank Schuhardt said that Delticom’s retail customer base could reach three million by the middle of the year, compared with 2.4 million at the end of September 2008. Sales at the German company for 2008 will be “in the middle” of a range of 240 million euros to 260 million euros, he added.

18th December 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Beissbarth UK Introduces Automatic Wheel Washer

Beissbarth UK is introducing a new easy use Drester W-750 fully automatic wheel washer to their range which cleans in approximately 30 seconds. Additionally, the company showcased its new hope for the future of wheel alignment, the Easy 3D, at the Automechanika Show. Beissbarth believes that the machine will save workshop space, requiring little room in which to work and easy storage capabilities.

The Drester wheel washer gives wheels a low environmental impact wash that aspires to generating a show-room sparkle. The company claims that the relatively short payback time on the machine can also have a similar effect on the balance sheet, boosting profits in a comparatively short space of time.

16th December 2008/by Tyrepress Editors