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BBC Criticised for Cost of Hammond Puncture Investigation

Some 18 months after Richard Hammond’s nearly lethal high speed puncture, a prominent taxpayers’ association has hit out at the BBC for spending more than £43,000 of TV licence payers’ money investigating the crash, only to discover that a nail in the tyre was probably the culprit. The Daily Mail obtained details of the costs incurred through the Freedom of Information Act on March 9, and its disclosure has prompted a spokesman for the TaxPayers’ Alliance to comment: “it’s bizarre that the BBC should spend so much investigating the health-and-safety reasons behind a Top Gear crash. For the amount they paid, they found out very little.”

10th March 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone Quits Marine Hose Business due to “Improper Payments”

According to the content of a statement released by Bridgestone on February 12, the company’s internal inquiry into the now well known international marine hose cartel has uncovered a number of occurrences of what Bridgestone calls “improper monetary payments.” These payments were made to foreign agents, including government officials. Other “possible forms of improper payments” were also reported.

The European Commission, US Department of Justice, the Fair Trade Commission of Japan and other authorities have been investigating Bridgestone Corporation since last May due to suspicions of the company’s involvement in the marine hose cartel. Bridgestone, in its February 12 statement, wishes to clarify that the act of making improper payments to foreign agents, which will possibly be paid to government officers and other customer representatives, is a serious violation of its compliance rules. “Such acts betray the confidence that customers, shareholders and business counterparts have in our company,” declares Bridgestone. “We solemnly apologise for all such acts.”

12th February 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Scotland Blaze Highlights Need to Reduce Waste Tyre Stockpiles

A fresh reminder for the industry about the importance of finding efficient and green ways to deal with the UK’s annual mountain of end of life tyres has come courtesy of a 400 tonne pile of blazing tyres in Scotland. A fire that began on the evening of January 20 burned for more than 24 hours, steadily pumping thick, black smoke into the North Lanarkshire skies. The fire’s intensity was also sufficient to damage overhead railway power lines, leading to disrupted rail services on the main line between Lanark and Cumbernauld until midday on Monday, when the fire had subsided to a level that made repair work feasible.

22nd January 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Toyo Releases Findings of Compliance Reporting Investigation

On January 8 Toyo Tire & Rubber issued its findings from an internal investigation into the company’s urethane-based heat-resistant building construction material business, and announced an action plan to ensure future compliance with all laws, regulations, company policies and rules. The compliance reporting issue in question was made public in November 2007, and its rectification will cost the company as much as £17.52 million.

The investigation was performed by an internal fact-finding committee with oversight by a panel of independent, third party experts. The committee first determined the causes and circumstances that led to this compliance issue, and made recommendations to management on an action plan to eliminate the likelihood of its recurrence. On December 26, the committee made its report to Toyo’s Board of Directors, and to Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

10th January 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Hankook Cleared of Heart Disease Charges

The South Korean Ministry of Labour has concluded that “no connection existed between multiple occurrences of heart disease and the working environment at a Hankook Tire plant in Daejeon,” according to a Korea Times report. The ministry told the presidential transition team in a briefing that though the workers at the plant “seem to have more heart disease than others,” but the relation between the alleged “deadly working environment’” could not be established. “We will do our best to improve the working environment no matter what the final report says,’” Hankook Tire spokesman Calvin Park said, welcoming the government announcement. “Workers will be provided with more specified and thorough health checks to prevent such mishaps in the future,’” he added.

9th January 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Chinese Government Responds to US Countervailing Determination

China’s Ministry of Commerce has published its official response to the countervailing determination set out by the US Department of Commerce on December 10, expressing “strong dissatisfaction over and firm opposition to such a decision.”

The Ministry claims the Department of Commerce has turned a “deaf ear to the US law as well as its own consistent practice” through its decision to break with its practice, maintained since 1984, of not imposing countervailing duties on what it classes as ‘non-market economies’. This non-imposition, says the Ministry, had “already been established as a legal precedent in the US judicial lawsuits” prior to the Department of Commerce’s commencement of a series of five countervailing investigations, which led to US based companies lodging a number of countervailing appeals against products originating in China. Referring to these recent investigations, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce states that “such practices are by no means conducive to the normal development of the bilateral trade and economic ties.”

8th January 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Fire Halts Work at Titan Plant

(Tire Review/Akron) A small fire at Titan Tire’s plant in Des Moines last week forced the evacuation of some 125 workers. No one was injured in the fire, which reportedly started near rubber mixing equipment at the plant. The specific cause of the fire remains under investigation. Production resumed at the plant later in the day, though, report said, the mixing equipment involved in the fire remained off-line.

17th December 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

South Korean Agency Believes Hankook Factory Deaths Linked

According to a report published in South Korea’s The Korea Times newspaper, the Korea Occupational Safety & Health Agency reported on November 28 that the deaths of 15 workers at a tyre manufacturing facility in the South Korean city of Daejeon between May 2006 and October 2007 are seen to be a “collective outbreak.” This means, adds the paper, that a possible work related connection is seen between the deaths, as all occurred within a short time to employees working in the same area.

30th November 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Goodyear to Pay Millions in Discrimination Lawsuit

Goodyear Tire & Rubber has been ordered to pay a woman in the US nearly $4.4 million after a jury in Seattle found the company demoted her subsequent to her complaint of being the victim of discrimination due to her sexual orientation. The lawsuit was filed by Melissa Sheffield, 47, who had been employed in a Goodyear owned retail store in Seattle for a decade before the alleged problems began in 2003.

12th November 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Brothers In Apollo Tyres Conflict

In India, Narinder Jeet Kanwar has reportedly filed a petition with the Company Law Board against his elder brother, O. S. Kanwar, who is the head of Apollo Tyres. Press reports say that the petition is seeking investigation over alleged illegalities, manipulations, fraud and insider trading by O. S. Kanwar in order to acquire a controlling stake in the company. Narinder Jeet Kanwar is quoted as saying: “The affairs of the company are being conducted in a manner so as to deceive the shareholder.”

A statement issued by Apollo Tyres reads as follows: “In the context of the news reports that have appeared in the Indian media regarding Apollo Tyres, we wish to clarify that the Petition reference which is made in the report has not even been admitted by the Honorable Company Law Board’s Additional Principal Bench in Chenai and the very maintainability of the same has been challenged by the company. The matter being sub-judice, we would like to refrain from stating anything on the merits of the same.” In other words, no comment.

5th November 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Pontiac GTO Tyre Defect Claim Rejected

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has ended an investigation into allegations of a safety defect on the Pontiac GTO, built by Holden. The alleged fault involved the clearance between the front tyres and the suspension components. NHTSA said it could not find a safety defect and was closing its investigation. However, according to a report in the Sydney Morning Herald, the investigator said it appeared there was a problem with the suspension settings on many cars.

Despite the US government closing the issue, General Motors still faces a class-action suit filed in California on behalf of owners of 2004 and 2005 model year GTOs, which the suit contends are prone to tyre failure due to the alleged suspension problem. The company denies any defect.

17th September 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Fast Wear Costs Apollo Tyres in Fine

(Akron/Tire Review) Asia Pulse has reported that Apollo Tyres has been ordered to pay 10,000 rupees by the Delhi Consumer Commission for alleged tyre defects. According to the report, the commission found that certain Apollo-made tyres were wearing out within six months of purchase. According to the consumer complaint that instigated the investigation, a tyre purchased by a consumer wore out within six months. The man was subsequently rebuffed repeatedly by Apollo when he attempted to get it replaced. Apollo appealed, claiming the man used the tyre on a commercial vehicle, subjecting it to excessive use. The commission awarded the man 4,400 rupees as the cost of the damaged tyre, and another 3,000 rupees in compensation and as cost of litigation.

12th September 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Tyre Shop Fire ‘Suspicious’

A fire started in the yard of a tyre shop in Ipswich on September 2 is being viewed as suspicious. Shortly after 7pm fire crews were sent to the premises of Universal Tyres, where they found a truck tyre and an amount of rubbish ablaze in a covered area behind the building. In a neighbouring street two vehicles and half a dozen tyres were also found alight.

The firefighters’ quick response minimised the damage caused by the fire and the shop itself was not seriously damaged. However Felixstowe Fire Station’s assistant divisional officer Gary Clark confirmed the fire was being treated as arson and an investigation is now under way to find the culprits

4th September 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

US OTR Probe Ruffling Feathers in China

US Treasury secretary Hank Paulson’s two-day visit to China has conveyed his government’s desire for greater Chinese market access for overseas firms to officials in Beijing. Mr. Paulson met with China’s president Hin Jintao plus a number of finance and economic ministers, and used the opportunity to push for increased financial sector liberalisation, emphasising the benefits a loosening of regulations would bring.

“For the life of me, I cannot understand why China letting in strong foreign firms, which are regulated by the Chinese, would undermine stability. It would help stability,” he said. However this talk of increased China access comes at a time when tension between the two giant economies is growing. On July 31 the US Commerce Department agreed to investigate claims that Chinese OTR tyre producers were ‘dumping’ their products in the US market.

2nd August 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

New Hankook Plant Under Fire from Unions, Locals

Within a month of opening the Hankook factory in the Hungarian town of Dunaújváros has become the subject of labour law breach allegations. These complaints from union representatives, including accusations that plant management has not adhered to conventions established by the International Labour Organisation and the EU, have resulted in employment inspectors visiting the facility.

Amongst the union’s list of grievances are accusations of illegal dismissal of workers, late payments, no extra pay for overtime, company discouragement of union activity and unsanitary working conditions. Following investigation by Hungary’s Employment and Work Safety Authority a report on the matter is due to be released and the end of July.

Hungarian government plans to provide Hankook with 92.6 million euros worth of subsidies in order to eventually increase the number of employees at Dunaújváros to 1,500 have been approved by the European Commission. However, senior union representative Tamás Székely has said he intends to meet with Hungarian Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány and insist the government withhold these subsidies until the union is satisfied all labour issues have been resolved.

24th July 2007/by Tyrepress Editors