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Yokohama Reports on Vietnam Opening Ceremony

Yokohama has released its official statement on the opening ceremony at its new tyre making facility in Vietnam; the ceremony took place at the factory in Binh Duong Province, on the outskirts of Ho Chi Minh City, on February 29, and some 200 guest attended, including Vietnamese government officials, the Japanese consul general in Vietnam, local tyre dealers, representatives from the local subsidiaries of Japanese car manufacturers and media representatives.

Yasuo Tominaga, Yokohama Rubber chairman and representative director of the board, and other executives hosted the ceremony. “We began tyre production 10 years ago in Vietnam,” said Tominaga during his speech. “As the new plant starts operation, our operation in this country will have another momentum for continued growth.”

27th March 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Toyo Tire Appoints James Hawk as Corporate Officer

Toyo Tire Japan has appointed James Hawk as a corporate officer, making him the first non-Japanese corporate officer since the company was founded in 1945. In addition to this new position, Hawk has been promoted to president and plant manager of Toyo Tire North America Manufacturing Inc. (TNA), the company’s US passenger car and light truck tyre manufacturing plant located in White, Georgia.

20th March 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Falken Tyres Sponsors British Drift Championship

Falken tyres has announced that the brand will be series sponsors of the British Drift Championship 2008 season. Already hugely popular in Japan and the United States, the sport is set to take the UK by storm, according to company representatives. Jon Limmer, Falken Brand Manager, commented: “Falken are so pleased to have this exciting opportunity to be involved in grass roots motorsports in the UK. Falken has a huge following in the drift community worldwide and we are delighted to be able to offer our support to Paul and his team.”

18th March 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Yokohama’s Vietnam Facility Inaugurated

According to an article published in the Thanh Nien News, Yokohama Rubber officially inaugurated its new Yokohama Tyre Vietnam facility in Binh Duong Province on February 29. This year output at the plant is expected to be around 1.3 million tyres, which will supply both the local and export markets, including Japan. The six hectare site will employ a total of 500 workers, the Vietnamese daily reports.

In 1997, Yokohama Rubber established Yokohama Tyre Vietnam Company as a joint-venture company with Southern Rubber Industry Company (Casumina) and Mitsubishi Corporation, and has manufactured bias tires for light trucks and tires for motorcycles. Yokohama Rubber plans to integrate this company with Yokohama Tire Vietnam Inc.

11th March 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Falken Launches ZE 912

January saw the launch of Falken’s new ZE 912, which is exclusively distributed by Micheldever Tyres in the UK. In addition to the performance benefits that the new asymmetrical tread pattern has to offer, the Falken ZE 912 also includes a new tread wear indicator and is said to be “proving a great success with the Falken dealer network.” Bob Thomas from Grove Street Tyres Wantage commented: “The new 912 has proved very popular with our customers,” adding: “The new asymmetric pattern is really eye catching and combined with the FK452, Falkens UHP offering makes it an easy brand to retail”.

7th March 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone – Marine Hose Cease and Desist Orders Arrive

Bridgestone Corporation announced on February 22 that the previous day it received orders from Japan’s Fair Trade Commission in connection with the sales of marine hose from December, 1999 to May, 2007. The orders directed the company to cease and desist from violating of the Antimonopoly Act and to pay surcharges for violating the Act.

The company states that the group “take these orders seriously,” adding: “We will re-double our efforts to achieve and sustain compliance with all laws to meet our legal and moral requirements so as to recover the confidence of all stakeholders.” Bridgestone says it will review the content of these orders and then determine how best to proceed.

22nd February 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

World Rubber Consumption to Increase 4% Annually to 2011

Global consumption of rubber is forecast to rise by 4 per cent annually in the next few years, to 26.5 million tonnes in 2011. This growth stems from robust worldwide motor vehicle production as well as a strong global economy, and consumption will continue to be dominated by the US, Japan and, increasingly, China. This third country has become the world’s leading rubber consumer, overtaking the US as number one in 2001. China will continue to streak ahead in terms of consumption, however the double-digit growth enjoyed between 2001 and 2006 will reduce considerably as its domestic market matures and motor vehicle production decelerates. Demand for tyre rubber also remains strong, yet is slower than in previous years.

15th February 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

Yokohama Reports 88% Increase in Net Earnings

Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd. has reported an 88.1 per cent increase in net income. According to official financial results, the company generated a total of 25.7 billion yen (£123.5 million) net income in the first three quarters of its current financial year, ended 31 December. Increases of 80.2 per cent in operating income, to 30.8 billion yen (£148 million), and 11.4 per cent in net sales, to 409.7 billion yen (£2 billion) underlined growth in post-tax earnings.

Operating income nearly doubled in Yokohama’s Tire Group, climbing 98.8 per cent, to 25.6 billion yen (roughly £123.5 million), on sales growth of 13.1 per cent, to 312.5 billion yen (£1.5 billion). Improved profitability at Yokohama’s subsidiaries in the US and in Asian nations outside Japan is said to have “amplified” unit sales gains.

12th February 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Yokohama Subsidiary Gains ISO Certification

Yokohama Rubber reports that its US subsidiary engaged in the manufacture of rubber hoses for vehicle air conditioning and power steering units, SAS Rubber Company, became ISO 14001 certified in December 2007. According to Yokohama, the ISO 14001 certification of the Ohio facility comes as part of the company’s Grand Design 100 plan (GD100), first announced in April 2006; under the principles of GD100 all Yokohama group companies have been working on acquiring ISO 14001 certification, and all eleven of the company’s production bases in Japan and the corporate head office have already done so. Of Yokohama Rubber’s 13 overseas locations, nine, including SAS Rubber Company, have also been certified. The remainder, Yokohama reports, are working to complete the process at the earliest possible time.

8th February 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Chicago Pneumatic Buys Japanese Tool Manufacturer

Chicago Pneumatic Vehicle Service Division recently acquired Tokyo based KTS Co. Ltd., a leading Japanese maker of handheld air tools for the vehicle service market. The agreement, which was signed in December 2007, further strengthens the presence of CPVS, and its range of tools and associated products to the automotive aftermarket sector, in Japan and Asia.

KTS’ product range includes Power Magnum branded tools as well as air tools sold under other OEM brands. KTS serves the second largest automobile market in the world, providing Chicago Pneumatic with a brand, sales force and manufacturing arm which will facilitate fast growth in Japan and throughout Asia.

8th February 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Yokohama Enters Partnership with Mazdaspeed

Mazda’s motor racing support operation in North America, Mazdaspeed Motorsports Development, has announced Yokohama Tire as a new partner for the B-K Motorsports Lola B07/46-Mazda MZR-R LMP2 team as of 2008. The multi-year partnership is, according to Mazdaspeed, more than just a sponsorship arrangement, with Yokohama acting as a key contributor to the team’s overall programme in terms of technical and marketing collaboration. The announcement of Yokohama’s partnership was made simultaneously to a similar agreement with BP.

31st January 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone to Expand China Retail Network

Bridgestone intends to more than double its retail network in China within the next four years, reports Japan’s Nikkei News. At present the company operates 700 outlets in China, and by the end of 2012 plans to have increased this number to 1,700. Specifically, the number of specialised Bridgestone tyre stores will grow from 587 to about 1,200, while its automotive products outlet network will grow from 121 to around 500.

28th January 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Synthetic Rubber Producers Fined for Price Fixing

The European Commission has imposed fines totalling 34,230,000 euros on the Bayer and Zeon groups for fixing prices for Nitrile Butadiene Rubber (NBR) in violation of the EC Treaty’s and the EEA Agreement’s ban on cartels and restrictive business practices (Article 81 of the EC Treaty and Article 53 of the EEA Agreement).

Between late 2000 and 2002, Germany’s Bayer and Japan’s Zeon managed to raise or otherwise stabilise prices through a series of meetings and other illicit contacts. Bayer’s and Zeon’s fines have been reduced by 30 and 20 per cent respectively, because they co-operated with the investigation under the Commission’s 2002 Leniency Notice (see IP/02/247 and MEMO/02/23). However Bayer’s fine was then increased by 50 per cent because it had been fined for cartel activity in a previous Commission decision.

24th 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