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Continental makes Rainer Strang responsible for ‘Public Relations Tyres’

Rainer Strang has been appointed to strengthen the PR team of the Continental AG’s two tyre divisions. He will is expected to begin his new position on 1 October, but will definitely start by 1 November 2004. Mr Strang succeeds Markus Burgdorf, who left the company in spring in order to work independently of the company. “I am looking forward to the vocational challenges in one of the most successful automotive industry suppliers in the world,“ comments Strang on his move to Hanover.

16th August 2004/by Tyrepress Editors

Sime to Increase Tyre Exports

Malaysian news sources are reporting that Sime Darby Bhd’s tyre division, Continental Sime Tyre Sdn Bhd, is planning to increase its production.

26th July 2004/by Tyrepress Editors

German Graduates Reluctant to Work in Asia Eastern Europe

Despite the recent expansion of the EU, German university graduates are relatively uninterested in developing their careers in one of the accession countries, a new report has found.

14th July 2004/by Tyrepress Editors

Steel and Rubber Price Increases Hit Industry

Rubber and Steel price increases are making a negative impact on businesses across Europe, according to analysts. In the last six months businesses have seen steel prices nearly double from $350 a ton in January to more than $617 a ton in June. This rapid growth is widely acknowledged to have been cause by high levels of demand for raw materials from the Chinese market.

7th July 2004/by Tyrepress Editors

Holert-Konz Confirms Restructuring Plans

A member of Goodyear Dunlop Germany’s executive board confirmed to Tyres & Accessories that Holert-Konz’s restructuring plans are underway. The move will see the company move its outlets into a franchise system under the Premio banner. Consequently around 15 of Holert-Konz’s 96 outlets have already been shut down. So far interested parties are negotiating for around 30 franchises. The remaining 50 outlets are still owned by Goodyear Dunlop, but the company also plans to franchise these.

30th June 2004/by Tyrepress Editors

New Passenger Car Registration Statistics

New passenger car registration in Europe reached 1,240,539 units in May this year according to statistics published by the ACEA today. These figures represent a rise of 1.2% in comparison with 1,226,000 units produced in May 2003. This marginal increase has been put down to fewer working days in most EU countries but also to declining consumer confidence in some countries. Cumulative figures for the first five months of this year show an increase of 2.8% in line with most predictions.

National figures for the month of May show increases in a majority of countries. Among the five main markets Italy (+12%) was the best performer, ahead of Spain (+8.9%) and France (+4.8%), while Germany (-7.3%) and the U.K. (-2.8%) posted decreases. Cumulative figures show increases in 11 countries with +2.7% in the U.K.

Registrations in the new EU Member States were down 5.6% with the Czech republic and Poland posting significant decreases, while Lithuania was the best performer.

15th June 2004/by Tyrepress Editors

Michelin is looking forward to next Formula One race at Nürburgring

Seven days after Monaco, May 28-30 Formula One is poised to return to another of its traditional venues – Germany’s Nürburgring. Michelin is approaching the seventh race of the season in a positive frame of mind: Jarno Trulli (Renault) and Jenson Button (B·A·R-Honda) scored a memorable one-two for the company in Monaco and Ralf Schumacher (BMW WilliamsF1 Team/Michelin) won at the Nürburgring in 2003, when he led team-mate Juan Pablo Montoya across the line. “We know the Nürburgring well and have achieved some good results here in the past,” says Pierre Dupasquier, Michelin Motorsport Director. “We finalised our tyre options for this race a couple of weeks ago, because there hasn’t been time to test since our tremendous victory in Monaco last Sunday. We will have three dry-weather compounds available and these all come from the softer end of our range, because the Nürburgring isn’t especially abrasive. It is what I would call a ‘balanced’ track. The loads on the front and rear tyres cancel each other out during the course of a lap so the wear rate tends to be very even,” adds Michelin F1 Programme Manager Pascal Vasselon. “It is always vital to have a suitable tyre compound at the Nürburgring, because conditions are very changeable, and I am confident Michelin will provide us with exactly that,” comments Ralf Schumacher with regard to the tyre set-up.

26th May 2004/by Tyrepress Editors

Hayes Lemmerz: European Headquarters stays in Konigswinter

Hayes Lemmerz, the number one wheel manufacturer in the world, is to retain its European Headquarters in Königswinter, Germany. This was confirmed by the European President, Fred Bentley, in an interview with Bonner Generalanzeiger. Königswinter has undergone a massive restructuring programme. Staff numbers have been reduced from 3000 to 690. But now the German plant is probably the most modern wheel plant worldwide. Bentley refused to confirm that Hayes Lemmerz is to invest a further 30 Million Euro. This was said by Bentley’s predecessor, Hans Buchel, who was fired in February this year. Bentley called it “a parting by mutual agreement”.

20th May 2004/by Tyrepress Editors

Conti and DaimlerChrysler Close Deal on Truck Tire Deliveries

Continental AG (Hanover, Germany) and Daimler-Chrysler AG (Stuttgart, Germany) have signed an agreement on the original equipment delivery of commercial vehicle tires in the 2005 to 2007 time span. With the scope of the deliveries contracted, Continental becomes a volume-production commercial-vehicle-tire supplier to DaimlerChrysler. The agreement contains an option for 2008. Continental will equip the light to heavy trucks in the Atego, Axor, Actros and Econic model ranges with17.5″ to 24″ tires.

12th May 2004/by Tyrepress Editors

Goodyear Sues Over Price Fixing

Goodyear has filed lawsuits against 12 chemical companies, accusing them of price fixing and overcharging for the synthetic rubber EPDM (Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer) during the period from 1994 to 2002. EPDM is used in tyres and hoses as a strengthening agent and to provide resistance to ozone and ageing. The 12 companies are based in the USA, Germany, Italy and The Netherlands and one – Crompton Corp. of Connecticut – is reported to have already pleaded guilty to conspiring to fix prices of rubber chemicals and is to pay a $50 million fine.

11th May 2004/by Tyrepress Editors

Porsche Sets 911 Launch Date

Start saving up now: Porsche has announced that its new 911 series Carrera and Carrera S sports cars will be launched in mainland Europe on July 17 and in the UK and US markets in early September. Pretax prices in Germany will be 64,700 Euro and 73,300 Euro respectively.

11th May 2004/by Tyrepress Editors

Danish wholesaler expands in Germany

Danish wholesaler, NDI is proving popular in Germany having opened its second retail outlet in five months. Founded by Benny Kristensen, the company now has stores in Dortmund and on the outskirts of Hamburg. Managing Director, Michael Andre claims the company´s success will be based on meeting NDI´s next day delivery service. The Danish firm has also enlisted the services of Hamburg-based off-road expert, Viggo Meyer-Bernitt, as the firm continues to develop its share of the off-road tyre market.

21st April 2004/by Tyrepress Editors

The 4×4 tyre market: still growing

Back in 1990 or thereabouts Pirelli had just bought Armstrong and were busy launching their own 4×4 range and relaunching the Armstrong Tredloc Kevlar belted tyre for the 4×4 market.

The motoring press was busy telling the world that the 4×4 sector had peaked and would be on the decline by the following year. So much for the crystal ball gazing of the motoring press.

Today the 4×4 sector holds some 5 per cent of the UK market share – it may seem more as most 4×4 vehicles have a longer shelf life that their conventional counterparts, so probably hold a slightly larger share of the overall car parc. It would be interesting to know what the DVLA figures would be on that enquiry.

Throughout Europe there is no let up in the demand for 4×4 vehicles – even in markets where an off-road excursion could find the driver in serious trouble with the law. The 4×4 has developed from a serious tool for the military and agricultural sectors to a plaything and fashion symbol for the wealthy and the aspirational. Figures from Goodyear show that the utility sector of the market, the pick up and hard core 4×4 enthusiast has hardly shown any movement over the past four years, nor is it expected to in the coming years. The value market has dropped to a steady level at 90,000 units per year across Europe, the middle market too is stable. However, the luxury and crossover sectors of the SUV market are starting to show tremendous growth with the luxury sector doubling its volume from the 2000 figure of 101,000 units by 2007 whilst crossover vehicles will quadruple their volume in the same period it is these two sectors almost alone that will take the 4×4/SUV market from its current 706,000 units per annum to 840,000 units per annum by 2007.

In tyre terms this reads as growth in every sector – winter, S and T, and H and V rated, the market volume jumping from a total of 2,089,000 units in 1997 to 7,885,000 in 2007.

The two largest markets in Europe for 4×4 tyres are the UK and Germany, followed by Spain, Italy and France each having in excess of 10 per cent of the market. Scandinavia, Benelux, Switzerland, Greece, Portugal and Austria each have shares between 2 and 7 per cent of the market. With the whole of Eastern Europe taking only 4 per cent of the sector.

That 4 per cent for Eastern Europe suggests that, as with other sectors of the tyre market, the developing markets in Eastern Europe offer a phenomenal capacity for growth in this sector. In fact, if the move to car ownership in the East matches that ion the west, then the ultimate volume of the market could make Goodyear’s figures appear conservative.

8th April 2004/by Tyrepress Editors

Fire at Goodyear Philippsburg premises

At 3.00 a.m. this morning a fire broke out at temporary storage facilities at Goodyear’s Philippsburg plant in South West Germany. Rapid reaction by the emergency services quickly brought the fire under control. No-one was injured during the incident but due to the volume of smoke people were asked to keep doors and windows closed. There was no reported release of toxic chemicals. Some 40,000 tyres were in storage at the time of the fire. Other areas of the plant, including the key Central European storage facility with some two million tyres were not affected by the fire. The extent of the damage and the cause have not yet been determined but distribution is not being affected by the incident.

10th March 2004/by Tyrepress Editors

Vice President For Pirelli Canada

Anthony Ensor is returning to Pirelli Tire Inc. of Canada, where he began his career in 1985, as Vice President and General Manager. He has spent the past decade with Pirelli’s European operations in Italy, Germany and the UK. Ensor replaces Nicola Ruccolo, who has spent 28 years with Pirelli in Canada and North America, and who is leaving the company to pursue other interests.

26th February 2004/by Tyrepress Editors