September new car registrations for Western Europe rose by 4.4 per cent over last year across the main five markets (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK), which was better than many industry analysts had forecast. Over the 15 EU members, figures were broadly similar (+4.5 per cent). In unit terms, registrations totalled 1,363,206 units.
The company, based in the South of Germany and founded in 1924, has 50 outlets, of which are 4 in Austria and 2 in the Czech Republic, and makes a turnover of more than 100 million Euro with 500 staff. Due to the ongoing poor business situation there have been rumours in the market that Schwarz would sell to Bridgestone, as an emergency measure. Now the management was forced to admit during a meeting of creditors that Bridgestone has surprisingly withdrawn. It is said that the expectation of the Schwarz Family regarding a goodwill payment was far too high. Schwarz might possibly apply for insolvency early next week. Suppliers such as Dunlop, Pirelli and Bridgestone have already collected the remaining tyres which Schwarz had in stock. This magazine’s information is that there will be a meeting on Tuesday next week with creditors. In the meantime, it is said that the Schwarz family will establish a rescue company.
Ford is aiming to lose 1,700 jobs in Europe, by offering voluntary early retirement to workers at two factories in Germany. A similar move is expected at the Ford factory in Gent, Belgium, while workers in the UK have already been offered early retirement.
Murray & Roberts has sold 50% of the business of AWI South Africa to Borbet GmbH of Germany, with effect from 1 July 2003 and subject to approval by the competition authorities.
While not one of the world’s giant tyre manufacturers, Kumho is in the top ten and the company realised some time ago that it needed to concentrate on its overseas activities if it were to grow, but this is easier said than done. There is no doubt that established brands have a terrific advantage – everybody knows their name and they have decades of history behind them. Of course, this has not been achieved overnight and is the result of many years of effort and considerable financial outlay and it is a daunting task for a comparative newcomer into a market to try to get its name known, especially when the target is a considerably shorter time frame than decades.
So the question is how to boost awareness in a number of diverse markets across the globe in a manner which makes economic sense? Different countries have differing cultures and tyre requirements, but Kumho realised that a common factor – and one popular in most countries – was that of motorsports. Thus it was that, in the 1990s, Kumho began to develop its involvement in international motorsports, in a strategy that was to become central to the worldwide marketing of the Kumho brand.
This strategy is by no means unique – after all, the Yokohama brand established a reputation for high performance in the UK after cars shod with its tyres won four consecutive British Touring Car championships from 1990 to 1993. However, the biggest pitfall in such a strategy is that, if you are going to go down the motorsports route, then you have to be sure that you are going to be good at it and you need implicit faith in the product. You also need to divert considerable resources towards R&D and to provide the technical back-up that so many motorsports events require nowadays – the tyre manufacturer has to do so much more than merely provide tyres.
This, then, was the route that Kumho decided to pursue and the quality of the racing product has been proved in competition over the years. Perhaps the highest-profile recognition came when Kumho ECSTA S700 tyres were adopted as the control tyre for the Formula 3 Euroseries, which is a series of 10 races, taking place in five different countries (Germany, France, Italy, Austria and The Netherlands).
Further recognition came in 2002, when Kumho signed a five year contract as the official tyre supplier to the Marlboro Masters of Formula 3, which brings together the best drivers from various European national championships. Last year Kumho was the control tyre for the first time and the lap record at Zandvoort in The Netherlands was broken – a dream start for the Korean company.
This year’s Marlboro Masters was contested by 49 drivers from 20 countries and for some of them (notably those from the British and Italian championships, which use another make of tyre) this was their first experience of racing on Kumho tyres. The race took place on a blisteringly-hot day at the Zandvoort track, attended by 55,000 spectators. Kumho branding was much in evidence and, indeed, the company has a very close association with the venue, having adopted a corner at the circuit in order to capitalise on the estimated TV audience of up to 800 million for last year’s event.
Bridgestone will return to the Frankfurt IAA in 2003, after a 12-year absence, with an innovative display of its latest tyre technology and achievements. The 310 m2 booth will be located in Hall 8, nr. A18. The famous red Formula One Ferrari catches the eye, but there’s more to the stand than motorsport glitter. “We wanted to show that Bridgestone develops world-class tyre technology”, says Mr Günter Unterhauser, Managing Director of Bridgestone Germany. “The IAA is one of the most prestigious motor shows in the world and certainly the top show in Germany. It is not only for end users. It gives us the chance to invite loyal dealers and our First Stop partners, to convey the message that we are a high tech company and to show them the new range.”
After a seven-year gap, Continental AG, Hanover, is back in Dax. On September 22 the international automotive supplier will return to the German’s stock market’s blue chip index. The announcement was made yesterday by the Deutsche Börse AG in Frankfurt/Main. Continental, a founding member of the index, thus becomes the first company in Dax’s fifteen-year history to stage a comeback into the circle of Germany’s 30 largest companies.
Lassa has announced the appointment of John Westwood as the new senior director responsible for the running of its London-based European export sales operation. He joins the company after a long and distinguished career with Goodyear in a variety of senior sales and marketing positions. Mr. Westwood will replace Gunduz Akin as European Sales and Marketing Director, responsible for all Lassa brand sales in Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Sweden and the UK. Mr Akin has returned to Turkey to work for Lassa’s parent company, Brisa.
The Nordic Market is very different from the highly developed mass markets of the UK or Germany – both of which are recognised as the most highly developed markets in Europe. The Nordic market might be considered to cover essentially Norway, Sweden and Finland, and possibly Denmark – depending upon your point of view or your business strategy. In any of these countries logistics would give most typical regional wholesalers nightmares. In the case of the three northern countries deliveries are hampered by long distances, less developed road networks, and for around half the year, bad weather conditions – not to mention fjords and ferries in Norway. Denmark, being more densely populated and considerably less mountainous has a better transport system, but also relies heavily on ferries between the islands that make up much of the country.
Leif Kristiansen has a long history in the tyre trade and in 1993 was working with Vianor when he saw the need for a tyre retailer group that not only served as a buying point for tyres, but as a much wider partnership aimed at helping the independent tyre retailer compete in a market increasingly dominated by equities.
Leif Kristiansen says, “Dekk Partner is owned by the members, each with one share so that there is no controlling member. That is very important. There are no suppliers involved in the group and no producer can buy shares. We want Dekk Partner to be fully independent.
“Our members are free to buy and sell what they want from whoever they wish but we do have a loyalty rebate scheme for our members that encourages them to buy within the group. It is highly successful. With respect to the suppliers, there are none with a contract any longer than two years. So irrespective of the brand or the manufacturer, we work on two year contracts to keep the standard of service provided as high as possible.”
Marangoni’s much delayed official launch of the Zeta Linea came at Italy’s Adria race Circuit at the beginning of June. Already, the Zeta Linea has been receiving considerable press coverage in Germany where tyre tests are popular features in motoring magazines, and with the tyre trade. In most tests the Zeta Linea is performing at least as well as the benchmark tyres from leading manufacturers and in some tests exceeding their performance. These test included excellent results from the ADAC UHP tyre test. The presentation of the tyres was led by Christophe Huss, Marangoni Tyre Export Manager. Mr. Huss began by highlighting the sluggish growth in the European tyre market over the past decade, an average of 3.4 per cent. Plant facilities had fallen in number from 111 to 83, a drop of 25 per cent. This he compared with Marangoni Tyre’s growth rate over the same period an average of 22.4 per cent; a performance that he put down to Marangoni’s specialisation in high value products; snow tyres, and UHP for example. Before taking the tyres to market they were thoroughly tested by TÜV in Germany, RDW in the Netherlands and by German tuning expert Franz Engstler. Marangoni tyres have also been used in the Marangoni Junior Trophy Championship on VW Polos racing in Italy. On the Scuderia del Portello Alfa Romeo in the Carrera Panamericana. The sporting heritage of the Marangoni product is growing rapidly alongside its market success in Europe. T&A has already discussed the marketing process using local dealers as equal partners in the marketing team in the November 2002 issue. However, to recap, some 200 local distributors and agents all take part in the decision making process with Marangoni. They have the close contact with the market and by listening to them Marangoni can work with the market, as it is developing. Angelo Priori, R&D Director for Marangoni presented the key PST issues, the tyre cavity design; processing development; and materials development. Mr Priori explained the new tyre profile with a narrower section and tread arc width for improved aquaplaning and more controlled progressiveness (the adaption to changes in road surfaces); reduced ply length for improved response, reduced weight and greater construction flexibility. A larger curing width to the tyre improves rim seating and minimises moulding defects. The deflection point in the side wall is also higher than before giving a larger response are. The tread has pitch sequence optimised for noise control, whilst the cap/ base is a combination of three compounds. A firmer cap layer to give the required characteristics for the tread pattern, a cushioned base layer for comfort and a wing compound to give the required shoulder and sidewall compounds. This required the development of tyre building machinery specifically adapted to the needs of Marangoni, and although the underlying tyre builder is one used by many tyre manufacturers, Marangoni’s equipment division has developed modifications to the plant to specifically handle the production of the new Vanto and Zeta Linea tyres.
T&A attended the 15th Slovak Rubber Conference to find out what made it so popular with the delegates. As rubber conferences go the topics of conversation can be a source of stunned amazement to the layperson. The idea that people gather from across the continent, or indeed the globe, to discuss the rubber industry is beyond their understanding. If you tell them that the conference is in Paris or Hamburg, they smile knowingly. They understand, they believe, that it is a couple of days of high living on company expenses under the guise of a trade conference. Tell them that the event is in Puchov, in the Slovak Republic and their knowing smile turns to sheer incredulity. Where, they ask, is Puchov? And why would anyone go there? The where is Slovakia, close to the Czech border and the home of Matador. As to why anyone would go there, that may be because the Slovak Rubber Conference is an event of growing interest. The fact that some 200 delegates paid for the privilege of attending suggests that the event has a value beyond a night out sampling Parisian or Hamburg nightlife. Delegates came largely from Eastern Europe and the CIS, but also from the UK, Italy, Finland, Netherlands, Germany and doubtless several other nations. More than one delegate told T&A that the background of the event was of interest. It was generated by the Slovak Rubber Institute supported by Matador. The conference, although a flag flying exercise by Matador, was less commercialised than most others and the emphasis is on technology and business developments rather than an extended sales event – though needless to say some of the presenters and delegates had indeed something to sell. That lack of commercialism left delegates free to discuss the subject matter, make contacts and seek out technological partnerships, rather than face a barrage of sales talk from commission paid representatives. Indeed, one presenter made a rather obvious sales pitch that was greeted with some dismay by the organisers – this was not what they has intended, though inevitably commercialism will penetrate any successful event. The conference was opened by Stefan Rosina Jnr, who has stepped into the position of President of Matador upon the retiral of his father, Stephan Rosina Snr. He highlighted and thanked the delegates for their support of the 15th Slovak Rubber Conference. An event, he said, that represented a coming together of experts from the rubber industry with a growing global importance. It was relevant that this was the penultimate conference prior to European Union entry and he touched on the positive and negative impacts of EU entry both to Slovakia and to other states about to join the EU. “Most of the effects will be positive,” he felt assured, “There would be an access to markets, to technology and the reduction of trade barriers.” For the Conference he could envisage it reaching a wider audience once Slovakia was a member of a wider European Union. This should give the conference an even greater stance in the rubber industry. ”The negative effect though was one that posed a real threat to the industries of the new states. It made acquisition by larger foreign investors more of a possibility, but more immediately it could create a flow of qualified engineers to the West – drawn there by higher salaries, better conditions and a higher living standard. However, ultimately even that negative could be turned into a positive if these skilled engineers were to return in later years with a wider experience and greater skills base.”
Falling car sales in the USA have led VW to announce a cut in output at its plant in Mexico by 23 per cent. The move will entail laying off around 2,000 workers and contrasts with news earlier in the week that VW has approved an increase in production at its Chinese operations. Last year, China took over from Germany as VW’s largest single market.
Auto Shanghai 2003, the 10th International Automobile and Manufacturing Exhibition, proved to be a great success, with 730 exhibitors from 23 countries and a show area of 81,000 square metres. The event ran from 21st to 25th April and attracted almost 200,000 visitors to the Shanghai New International Expo Centre. The 200 or so exhibitors from the automotive supply industry included a group of 50 companies from Germany. The show was held against a background of rising numbers of cases of SARS and in view of this problem, the organisers took a number of precautionary measures. Shanghai’s municipal authorities took the decision to close the show three days early in order to avoid the expected floods of visitors from other regions of China over the weekend. In general, this was welcomed by exhibitors, many of whom said that the visitor response had been so positive that they had achieved their trade fair objectives, despite the early closure.
Every professional truck driver or motorist knows about the problem arising from wet roads. Especially overtaking a truck in the wet, which can be compared to a leap in the dark with a high level of risk when the rainwater is being splashed aside by the steer axle tyres. It’s this dangerous splash Michelin aims to counteract with a world-first: the patented Anti-Splash tread pattern. With the introduction of a deflector into the tyre’s design, comprising a small horizontal rib on the shoulder between the sidewall and the tread of the tyre, the splash will be deflected back down towards the road surface. The bow wave effect, which is responsible for the visibility, and thus the safety, of the truck and the car drivers, will be minimised.
Continental and Indian company Metro Tyres are to manufacture motorcycle and scooter tyres under the joint brand name Continental-Metro for the Indian market. Initially, Metro will produce 100,000 tyres and tubes a month for 100cc and 110cc motorcycles, with tyres for 150cc and 180cc bikes coming on stream later. Half of the production offtake will be marketed in Europe and North America – these tyres will carry the Continental name only. Production is set to begin in May and the initial investment is 30 crore Rupees, or around US$ 6.3 million. The arrangement between the com panies will be purely a technology deal for the first three years, after which the companies may explore a possible equity partnership.
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