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Fiat: Fresco Remains Chairman, Barberis Is New CEO

At a Fiat board meeting last Friday it was decided that Paolo Fresco will remain as chairman of the company, while former general director A. Barberis will become the new CEO. This was despite the fact that the Agnelli family (which owns 34 per cent of the group) and Mediobanca, the investment bank, wanted to replace Mr. Fresco with a new chairman, Enrico Bondi. They were blocked by a combination of creditor banks and institutional shareholders.

16th December 2002/by Tyrepress Editors

$35 Million Loan For Apollo Tyres

Apollo Tyres, India’s second-largest tyre manufacturer, has negotiated a $35 million loan from the International Finance Corporation and banks as part of a two-year, $51 million investment plan. $20 million will come from the IFC and the remainder from participating banks. The money will fund the set up of a new truck radial tyre plant in Gujarat and an increase in capacity of Apollo’s two existing plants in Kerala. The radial technology will be supplied under an agreement with Continental AG.

12th December 2002/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone Lowers Profit Forecast

Bridgestone Corporation has reduced its profits forecast for the year by 43 per cent; down to 40 billion Yen (322.3 million Euros) from 70 billion Yen. This is a result of the planned investment in the corporation’s European operations of 400 million Euros and a one-off charge of 300 million Euros to cover the write-down of equipment. Analysts believe that Bridgestone is now concentrating on reviving its European operations, having concentrated on the US over the past couple of years, due to the Firestone recall. In the USA, Bridgestone/Firestone is set to make a profit of $70 million this year, compared to last year’s losses of $1.67 billion.

5th December 2002/by Tyrepress Editors

KoSa Expands Tyre Cord Production

KoSa is investing in the expansion of two of its tyre cord facilities; at Queretaro (Mexico) and Charlotte (North Carolina). Output at Queretaro will increase by 40 per cent, while the investment at Salisbury will mean higher quality product for packages.

29th November 2002/by Tyrepress Editors

Blackstone Group Buys TRW

The automotive parts division of TRW is to be sold to investment firm Blackstone Group for $4.7 billion, once TRW’s merger with Northrop Grumman is finalised. TRW recently sold its aeronautical systems business to Goodrich for $1.5 billion. TRW makes seat belt systems, air bag systems and other components, with annual sales over $10 billion. Blackstone has raised a private equity fund worth $6.45 billion and the TRW purchase will be the first through the fund.

27th November 2002/by Tyrepress Editors

Deutsche Bank Leaves Continental

Deutsche Bank has sold its involvement in Continental AG of which it held 7.5 per cent share valued at 142.3 million dollars to investment groups in Germany, Great Britain, Suisse and USA. The bank also reduced its DaimlerChrysler shares from 12.85 percent (31.12.01) to 11.80 (05.11.02).

7th November 2002/by Tyrepress Editors

Martha Mills Assets Sold

WesTek Inc., also known as Martha Mills, is a privately held Georgia company engaged in the manufacture and distribution of tyre cord and chafer fabric. WesTek Inc. also produces yarns for use as reinforcement fibre for tyres. Cornerstone Investment Group, a private equity investment firm specialising in turnarounds of undercapitalized or distressed small to medium size companies, announced that it has entered into definitive written agreements to purchase the assets of WesTek Inc. Both companies expect the financial arrangements to be completed on or before November 15, 2002.

5th November 2002/by Tyrepress Editors

Continental To Build Moscow Plant

In a joint venture with Moscow Tyre Plant, Continental has signed an agreement to build a new production facility in Moscow. Continental is the majority shareholder and will produce tyres for passenger cars and light trucks. The predicted investment will be in the region of 30 million Euros over three years. The plant is expected to produce 1.5 million tyres per year when it opens in 2003 and will generate 3.4 million tyres for Continental and Barum, largely destined for the local market. The new plant in Moscow will help Continental avoid the 70 per cent import tax on new tyres.

13th September 2002/by Tyrepress Editors

BMW: Buy

Analysts class BMW shares as the best investment among German car companies, with a price rate of 62 Euros. Although the economic forecast for this year was rather negative, BMW reported good sales last month in the USA.

12th September 2002/by Tyrepress Editors

Yokohama Sales Down, Profits Up

Global economic factors presented Yokohama with a difficult year in 2001. The market was stable in Europe but the slowdown in US growth limited market development. The strong Japanese private sector capital investment was countered by a sluggish consumer market. However Yokohama still increased sales in the domestic market, though this was offset by a strong Yen which affected exports. Net sales dropped by 1.1 per cent in 2001 to 387.9 billion Yen (3,1 bn Euro). Cost reductions and improvements in efficiency raised operating income by 4.2% to 19.8 billion Yen (168,7 million Euro).

5th September 2002/by Tyrepress Editors

Toyota Plans Assault On China

Toyota is launching a joint venture with First Automotive Works, China’s biggest car manufacturer, to make luxury sedans, SUVs and cheaper, smaller cars in China for the local market. The target is to sell up to 400,000 vehicles a year by 2010 and an unconfirmed report suggests that the investment will total 1.29 billion Euros.

30th August 2002/by Tyrepress Editors

Return To Algeria For Michelin

By forming a company – Michelin Algerie – Michelin has made the first move to re-open its factory in Algeria, which was closed in 1993. A Government-led privatisation programme has been aimed at attracting foreign investment and Michelin is said to be “waiting for some answers from Government” before deciding whether to re-start production. Should this happen, the factory will employ 500 people and manufacture truck tyres, 60 per cent of which will be exported.

21st August 2002/by Tyrepress Editors

PSA And BMW To Develop Engine

BMW and PSA (Peugeot-Citroen) are to jointly develop a new family of small petrol engines, with a target of one million units. The base for the project will be Munich and R&D will come from BMW, with PSA handling production and procurement. The total investment is said to be 750 million Euro.

26th July 2002/by Tyrepress Editors

Pirelli looks toward Brazil

The European Investment Bank is evaluating a proposal to fund up to $39 million USD toward the modernisation of a Pirelli tyre plant in Brazil – Pirelli Pneus S.A. The Brazilian subsidiary has drafted a $136.6 million USD plan to add radial production capacity to its 25 year old plant in Feira de Santana plant.

12th June 2002/by Tyrepress Editors

SmarTire Engages Financial Advisor

Tyre pressure monitoring specialist SmarTire has appointed H. C. Wainwright and Co. Inc. (Boston) as the company’s financial advisor. Wainwright was founded in 1868 and is one of the United States’ oldest private, independent investment banking firms. Additionally, SmarTire has completed issuing 750,000 shares to raise 1.31 million dollars. The funds will be used for debt repayment and working capital.

17th April 2002/by Tyrepress Editors