Another tyre wholesaler in Germany is now in manufacturer hands. Hankook Tire has announced the 100 per cent equity purchase of independent wholesaler and retailer Reifen Müller. The acquisition gives Hankook Tire ownership of Reifen Müller’s sales distribution affiliate company, Reifen Müller KG, its 44 retail service outlets and the Reifen Müller GmbH & Co. Runderneuerungswerk KG retreading business.
The German government has ordered car maker Daimler to recall 238,000 vehicles in Germany after they were found to be fitted with illegal software that masks diesel emissions.
European FinTyre Distribution Limited (EfTD), one of the largest Pan European tyre distributors, has agreed to acquire the privately held Reifen Krieg Group, a leading full-range tyre wholesaler in Germany. As a result, EfTD is set to become the market leader in two key European countries, Germany and Italy, with 1.1 billion euros of total revenue. According to EfTD, Reifen Krieg’s current owners, Holger Krieg and Tobias Fink, will continue as the group’s managing directors
After almost eight years, Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd. (SRI) has won the lawsuit it filed against Italian manufacturer TEK Automotive S.r.l. concerning the infringement of SRI’s patents on emergency tyre puncture repair kit technology.
Triangle Tyre has signed a distribution agreement with wholesaler B+B Reifencenter for the German market. Triangle stated that the agreement is part of its strategy to increase its presence across Europe. This also encompasses a renewed range of improved car tyres.
As of 1 April, Jens Schlemmer is director of the Michelin car tyre factory in Bamberg, Germany. He returns to Michelin’s operation in his homeland after working in plants around the world these past 14 years. Former plant director Thomas Nagel has taken on a new leadership role within the Michelin group.
One of the latest additions to the Tire Cologne programme is the Global Retreading Conference. According to its organisers, the European retreading association BIPAVER, “the best experts from around the world, the most important technologies, trends and developments and the best cases from all important markets” will be discussed.
German cities will be allowed to ban older diesel vehicles from some areas following a landmark court ruling. The Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig said the cities of Stuttgart and Duesseldorf could legally ban older, more polluting diesel cars from zones worst affected by pollution.
Avon Tyres has appointed Netherlands-based wholesaler Tyre Trading International (TTI) its distributor for the Benelux markets and for the north of Germany.
Cooper Tire & Rubber Company Europe Ltd. has appointed Michael Lutz as general manager for the German, Swiss and Austrian region (DACH). He is based at Cooper’s sales office in Dreieich, Germany and will report to Jaap van Wessum, sales director – Europe Tire Operations.
Winter tyres have always been something of a non-issue with most British motorists, but for years our counterparts in Germany have diligently switched from summer to winter rubber every autumn and then back again in the spring. The head of Michelin considers this largely unnecessary.
Following on from last week’s announcement of the respective appointments of Michael Schwöbel und Michael Borchert as chief financial officer and chief commercial officer, London-based platform company European finTyre Distribution has announced the hiring of a new chief executive officer for its recently-acquired operations in Germany. As of 15 November, Claudio Passerini has taken on this role at European finTyre Distribution Germany Holding GmbH, Reiff Reifen und Autotechnik GmbH and tyre1 GmbH & Co. KG.
With sods of soil sliding from shiny shovels, work on the Continental ‘Taraxagum Lab Anklam’ research and test laboratory officially began on Monday. Construction of the facility will now begin in earnest, and Continental Reifen Deutschland anticipates that the lab, based near Germany’s Baltic coast, will be operational in autumn 2018. Continental is investing a total of 35 million euros in the project, a sum supported by a subsidy of 11.6 million euros from the Ministry of Economics in the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
For the past six years, Continental has worked with partners on projects to source rubber from Russian dandelions for its tyre production. In 2016, the company announced plans to establish a new facility for industrialising this process. A seven-acre site in Anklam, not far from Germany’s Baltic coast, was selected for this research laboratory. The tyre maker now reports that groundbreaking for the 35 million-euro initial phase of its Taraxagum Lab Anklam will take place this coming Monday.
Continental has extended its relationship with German Bundesliga football club Hannover 96 through the signing of a new sponsorship agreement. The new contract covers a five-year period, beginning in the 2018/19 season, and includes television and in-stadium advertising slots. A further aspect of the new contract is Continental Reifen Deutschland GmbH’s support of the new Hannover 96 junior academy that opened in summer and serves as a training facility and home ground for the club’s U11 to U23 clubs.
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