Dr Peter E Rieth, head of Advanced Engineering for the Automotive Systems division of Continental AG, has been honoured with the US Government’s Award for Safety Engineering Excellence in Washington DC. The award, presented by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), is traditionally awarded at the International Technical Conference on Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV) every two years.
Pirelli & C SpA has sold its Energy and Telecom Cables and Systems business to Goldman Sachs for 1.3 billion euros. So what will the investment company get for its money? In 2004 the cable business turned over more than 3.2 billion euros, with an operating income (EBIT) of more than 110 million. The transaction includes intellectual property rights and Pirelli brand licensing for two years. While the business itself employs 12,000 people in its 52 plants around the world.
The directors of MG Rover are to face a full inquiry into their accounts and management of the collapsed car maker, The Times has reported. The inquiry, to be led by Guy Newey, QC, was ordered by Alan Johnson, the Trade and Industry Secretary, after a preliminary inquiry for the Department of Trade and Industry raised concerns. Witnesses can be forced to give evidence to the inquiry.
Thousands of Goodyear workers will lose out on their share of a £1 million repayable sickness fund because they were made redundant reports a Wolverhampton newspaper.
Workers who lost their jobs before October 2003 will not be eligible for a £1,150 payout from the Goodyear Relief Society, which has now been dissolved.
(Akron/Tire Review) The Associated Press has reported that the US Supreme Court ruled that the government was within its rights to force beef producers to pay for a multimillion-dollar “Beef: It’s what’s for dinner” marketing program, despite disagreement by some individual cattle producers who disagreed with the direction of the campaign.
The court’s 6-3 decision stated that such checkoff campaigns are a form of “government speech” immune to First Amendment challenge.
There is no immediate word yet as to how the Supreme Court decision will impact efforts by TIA to formulate a similar program to support the tyre industry and tyre dealers, but it is expected that this will clear major legal concerns voiced by the Rubber Manufacturers Association and tyre makers and importers.
Russian tyre manufacturer Sibur is to become state-owned company. After a long period of confusion about a possible merger between the gas monopolist Gazprom (that owns almost 100 per cent of Sibur’s shares) with the state-owned oil company Rosneft, the Russian government now has decided to take over the majority of Gazprom’s shares itself, according to Russian media reports. Currently the Russian government owns about 38 per cent of Gazprom but will increase this share up to more than 50 per cent by the end of June, when Gazprom’s annual shareholder meeting takes place. Sibur operates four tyre factories in Russia where it produced more than 15 million tyres in 2004.
(Akron/Tire Review) Confusion over the state’s incentives is emerging just days after Hankook Tire announced its decision to build a new tyre plant in Slovakia. In return for its investment, Hankook made several requests, one of which was the construction of a speedway between Nitra and Hronský Benadik by 2009 and a four-lane road between Levice and Hronský Benadik by 2010.
(Akron/Tire Review) Various companies are lining up, according to reports in the Slovak Spectator, to protest the special incentive package the Slovakian government has extended to Hankook Tire as an inducement to get the South Korean tyre maker to build a new plant there.
Slovakian tyre company Matador Púchov and members of Klub 500, an association of companies, say the investment incentives offered by the government are unfair and may exceed established limits. Matador, in particular, said the incentives place it at an unfair advantage.
(Akron/Tire Review) Special Report by Amy Antenora of AMN
Over the past few years, global competition in the automotive industry has significantly heated up. Wayne Xing, editor and publisher of China Business Update, addressed the country of particular Interest, during a presentation at the 2005 Global Automotive Aftermarket Symposium (GAAS).
GAAS was held this week in Chicago.
In recent years, China’s automotive industry has exploded as the country’s infrastructure and economy have begun to allow for and create increased interest in passenger cars. It took China 40 years to produce 1 million automobiles, from 1953 to 1992. Today, however, the Chinese vehicle market is expanding at an ever-increasing clip. It is estimated that this year, China will surpass 6 million vehicles produced.
JK Tyres is planning to expand the production capacity of its Banmore, Gwalior facility in Madhya Pradesh. According to India’s Business Report, the company will invest 2 billion rupees (roughly £24.2 million) over the next three years in the expansion. The company has reportedly already invested 700 – 800 million rupees in the facility.
In addition to the expansion plans, the company also intends to set up another plant in the area. The announcements come despite a dip in Indian tyre industry profits due to increasing raw material costs.
(Akron/Tire Review) The Slovak Spectator reported today that negotiations are underway between the Slovakian government and Hankook Tire Co regarding a new $650 million tyre plant for that country.
(Akron/Tire Review) Hankook has received final confirmation of an offer from the Polish Information and Foreign Investment Agency for the tiremaker to build a $500 million tire plant in Poland. Hankook could receive approximately $60 million in government aid and incentives, according to media reports.
The UK Government and the administrators were informed this morning that SAIC “are not willing to acquire either the whole or parts of the MG Rover or Powertrain businesses on a going concern basis out of administration, nor are they willing to establish a UK joint venture incorporating the whole or parts of the MG Rover or Powertrain businesses.”
The administrator, PWC, has told the Government that it will not be applying for any further government loan to stave off redundancies at the company.
(Akron/Tire Review) Cooper Tire & Rubber Co’s planned expansion of its Athens, Georgia, tyre plant got a big boost from local government which authorised some $12 million in bonds to aid the expansion effort.
Bridgestone has officially opened its Chinese Jiangsu Province facility that produces rubber anti-vibration components for automobiles in China. The plant is in the city of Changzhou, about 160 kilometres west of Shanghai.
Present at the ceremony were representatives from the Chinese government and municipal officials, as well as from Bridgestone. Tatsuya Okajima, a Bridgestone board member responsible for original equipment, and Hiromichi Odagiri a vice president and senior officer who serves as chief representative of Bridgestone tyre operations in China attended the event.
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