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.
Dr Peter Kronthaler, Managing Director Pirelli Motorcycle Tyres Germany, has confirmed that production of Metzeler car tyres will go ahead. The tyres will be offered alongside Pirelli and will not be marketed as middle market or budget tyres but have a parity with Pirelli. It is believed that two production lines will be given over to Metzeler production, but sizes, names and prices have yet to be confirmed.
Pirelli has introduced the Diablo Corsa, its latest super sport motorcycle tyre. What makes the tyre unique is that it was produced using MIRS (Modular Integrated Robotized System) technology, with the process being known as MIRS Moto. There is a MIRS Moto line at the factory in Bicocca, near Milan and another at Breuberg in Germany, representing a total investment of more than 10 million Euros. The new Diablo Corsa is OE on the Aprilia RSV 100 R and other homologations are currently under way.
Having recently sold a number of its Stop ‘n’ Steer centres in the UK, there are rumours that Kwik-Fit is set to rationalise its European operations. Our information, which comes from sources close to Kwik-Fit, but who did not want to be named, is that the company is looking at selling its operations in Poland, Belgium, Spain and Ireland in order to concentrate on the UK, Netherlands, France and Germany. We contacted Kwik-Fit in the UK to see if this was indeed the case and received the following reply from a company spokesperson: “Kwik-Fit is undertaking a review of all its operations. It would therefore be inappropriate to comment on future plans at present.”
Belshina is seeking investment of 72.2 million dollars from Germany, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Japan for the completion of three projects to develop new tyre production at Belshina. The Belarussian government has a programme to attract 1.5 billion dollars in place for 2003. This will be allied to a monetary, price and tax reform designed to encourage inward investment.
A 250kW Molten Carbonate fuel cell has been installed in Michelin’s tyre plant in Karlsruhe, Germany. The project, supported by the energy utility company Energie Baden-Württemberg (EnBW), the local energy supplier Stadtwerke Karlsruhe and DaimlerChrysler’s subsidiary MTU Friedrichshafen cost about Euro 3.6 million. The facility will run as a test station for about two years. After the completion of a successful trial, MTU will think about mass producing this and similar units from 2006 on. ”Our tyres have to be black, but their production should be green,” said Olivier Furnon, managing director of Michelin’s plant in Karlsruhe. Apart from producing electric energy, the fuel cell also produces 200°C hot steam which is used in the tyre galvanisation process. One of the major reasons for installing this unit was, apart from pollution-free electricity, the cost factor. The fuel cell uses much less natural gas than a conventional energy power plant.
On January 21st Continental AG set the seal on its participation as an official partner of the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The agreement was signed by Joseph S. Blatter, President of FIFA, and Manfred Wennemer, Chairman of the Executive Board of Continental AG – in the presence of Franz Beckenbauer, the President of the Organising Committee of the 2006 FIFA World Cup™ and other guests from sports, business and politics – at the Technology Center in Hanover-Stöcken. Wennemer emphasised that this agreement documented Continental’s ongoing involvement in a sport that links and thrills millions of people. Football is the game that attracts more attention than any other sport in Europe and – as demonstrated during last year’s world championship in Japan and South Korea – also worldwide. He was sure that the world championship in 2006 would be the outstanding sporting event of this decade in Germany. Its commitment as an official partner of FIFA would provide Continental with an unparalleled marketing platform in all international markets. Continental is one of 15 partners involved in global sponsorship. Additionally, there are six national sponsorships for the 2006 World Cup. And the sponsorship is not only targeted at consumers but also internally, as Continental says the move will motivate its own associates.
King Carl VI of Sweden was welcomed to Pirelli by Marco Tronchetti Provera, chairman and chief executive officer, where he visited Pirelli Labs and viewed the MIRS-CCM plant. Carl Gustav XVI was accompanied on his visit by a delegation from the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences. The Pirelli Labs span 13,000 square metres in the Milan-Bicocca area and represents one of the most advanced research centres in the world. Projects include research in materials for energy generation and distribution and for new tyre production. The MIRS plant was opened in July 2000 as a pilot project and in three years has become a fully operational system installed in Germany, UK, Italy and the USA. Recently Pirelli added the continuous compound mixing (CCM) process to the facility allowing an unprecedented qualitative control of materials. The visit concluded with a lunch at the Castle Bicocca degli Arcimboldi where Marco Tronchetti Provera presented King Carl VI Gustaf with the first of the PZero Tempo wristwatches, numbered 001. The King presented Marco Tronchetti Provera with a crystal plate to commemorate the visit.
The Goodyear plant at Fulda, Germany, set a production record of exactly 7,141,095 units in 2002. The plant, which employs 1,648 staff, manufactures high, ultra high, offroad, light truck, truck and agricultural tyres carrying the Fulda name, as well as tyres for other brands from the Goodyear group.
In an attempt to maintain strong results in Spain and to meet future challenges Michelin Spain has announced plans to reduce its staff by 1200 employees over the next three years. The reduction will come from a number of measures which will include early retirement and redeployment. The plan will see the closure of Michelin’s steel wheel plant in Aranda in 2005. Work will be transferred to plants in France and Germany. 600 workers will be affected by this move. The rest of the losses will be at Valladolid and Lasarte. Once detail agreement with the unions has been arranged the plans will be submitted to the Spanish government for approval in compliance with Spanish law.
In Hanover, Continental has signed an agreement, making the company an official partner of the 2006 FIFA World Cup, which will be held in Germany. The agreement was signed by Manfred Wennemer, Chairman of Continental’s Executive Board, and Joseph Blatter, President of FIFA. Other guests at the ceremony included footballing legend and president of the 2006 organising committee Franz Beckenbauer.
Michelin has signed an agreement to buy the Viborg distribution chain for the sum of 300 million Euros to add to its Euromaster chain. Viborg operates from 465 sales points in Germany, Denmark, Switzerland, Austria and The Netherlands and the acquisition will add around 570 million Euros to Michelin’s tyre distribution sales, pushing them over 2 billion Euros. Viborg employs 3,400 staff. The deal is subject to approval by the European Commission.
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