Japan Archives - Page 48 of 57 - Tyrepress

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Continental Automotive Systems Expands in Asia

Continental Automotive Systems is opening its new headquarters in Shanghai China today, and has announced plans to build a new technology centre in Yokohama, Japan creating 250 new engineer positions.

By the year 2010, the Automotive supplier intends to generate at least 50 per cent of its new sales through agreements with non-European automobile manufacturers. It wants to double sales in Asia and is therefore intensifying its presence to strengthen its
position in this growth market.

21st November 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Alcoa Forges 4 Millionth Wheel in Hungary

Alcoa Wheel Products achieved a European record when the Székesfehérvár, Hungary plant produced its four millionth forged truck wheel on 6 October 2005.

Alcoa sees the achievement as a reflection of the company’s position as the largest forged aluminium wheel supplier in Europe. Customers include European truck manufacturers Scania, Volvo, Renault, DaimlerChrysler, MAN, DAF, Iveco, and European trailer manufacturers such as Feldbinder, Spitzer, Benalu, Schmitz, Krone, to name just a few.

18th November 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

TBC Shareholders Approve Sumitomo Purchase

The shareholders of US wholesaler, TBC Corp, have approved the company’s purchase by Sumitomo Corp of America. Sumitomo America, a subsidiary of Japan’s Sumitomo Corp will pay $35 in cash per TBC share. Including debt, the total acquisition value is about $1.1 billion. The transaction is expected to close later this week, the company said in a statement

16th November 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Yokohama Reports Increased Earnings

The Yokohama Rubber Co Ltd posted a 10.7 per cent increase in operating income, to 4.8 billion yen, in the interim fiscal period ended 30 September. The increase is attributed to a 6.1 per cent increase in net sales, to 201.3 billion yen. Furthermore the company reports that growth in unit sales of tyres and progress in reducing costs more than offset increases in raw-material costs. Leading the sales growth were gains in Yokohama’s tyre operations in North America and in Europe. The company also registered growth in sales of tires in Japan. A decline in income taxes was the chief reason for a 12.6 billion yen increase in net income, to 13.4 billion yen.

10th November 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

BFNAT Sets 10 Years as Tyre Life Span

(Akron/Tire Review) The Wall Street Journal reported this morning that Bridgestone/Firestone North American Tire (BNAT) is now recommending a maximum life span for passenger vehicle tyres – 10 years. This is a clear break from other US tyre companies, which have fought state and federal attempts to mandate a specific life span and/or require “born on” dates on tyre sidewalls.

10th November 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone Announces 32.5 per cent Profit Increase

Bridgestone Corp has announced a 32.5 per cent increase in profits, resulting from increased sales volumes and prices increases. While the company appears to have offset the effects of higher raw material costs, Bridgestone executives have left the business’ annual outlook unchanged.

2nd November 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Yokohama Launches ‘Intelligent TPMS’

(Akron/Tire Review) Yokohama Rubber Co. has released its Intelligent Tire Pressure Monitoring System (Intelligent TPMS), which not only measures tyre inflation pressure, but also identifies road conditions and tyre motion across the road surface.

Yokohama said that combined with “sideslip (stability control systems) prevention systems being installed on more and more vehicles, Intelligent TPMS can detect vehicle sideslips 0.2 seconds faster than existing systems – a difference of 11 meters of travel at a running speed of 100 kilometers per hour.”

31st October 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Michelin Rally Tyre Stolen

International News, Motorsport

Michelin representatives have appealed for information regarding the whereabouts of a Michelin Z BTO, which they say was stolen from service facilities during the recent Rally Japan. The incident reportedly took place at the Obihiro service park during the night of 1 October. As you might expect the manufacturer was less the impressed. “The Michelin Group considers acts of this sort to be extremely serious and unreservedly condemns such acts of industrial and technological espionage,” an official statement said implying that the tyre was stolen by a competing manufacturer.

18th October 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone’s E-reporter Announced

The UK finalist of the Bridgestone e-reporter competition, Mike Channell, has been announced as the overall winner of its pan-European Bridgestone e-reporter young journalist competition.

He attended the European Grand Prix as part of his prize and reported on the inaugural GP2 Series for Bridgestone Europe and the GP2 Series’ websites. Channell will fly to Japan for this year’s Tokyo Motor Show, and also received a new laptop.

7th October 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Domestic Tyre Output Up in August

The Japan Automobile Tire Manufacturers Association (JATMA) has reported that domestic tyre production grew to 13.5 million units in August, up 1.1 per cent year-on-year. The 13th successive month is significant because output levels are generally down in August, when factories shut down for summer holidays.

5th October 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Sumitomo to Acquire US Retailer TBC

Sumitomo Corp, the third-largest trading house in Japan, said it has reached an agreement to acquire US automobile tyre retailer TBC Corp this year for some 120 billion yen (£600 million). Sumitomo said it will complete the acquisition at the end of December. The acquisition is intended to solidify Sumitomo’s existing tyre business and increase profits by expanding into tyre retailing, the company said in a statement. The Japanese company plans to expand its tyre business in the U.S. by adding TBC’s more than 1,000 retail stores to its Treadways Corp. wholesaling business.

20th September 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Team MRF Clinch Asia Pacific Rally Championship

Jussi Valimaki (Finland), of Team MRF Tyres, won the Indonesian round of the Asia Pacific Rally Championship at Makassar during the September 10/11, 2005 Gudang Garam International Rally 2005.

Driving a Mitsubishi Evo 8, the Indonesian victory also confirmed the FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship Drivers’ title for Valimaki, the 31-year old MRF Team driver, who collected 15 points and reached a total of 70 points in the Drivers’ Championship – a lead that no APRC driver can match this year. Valimaki wins both the overall and the Group N categories.

20th September 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Federal’s 595 Performs in D1 Super Challenge

Federal’s 595 competition tyre has reportedly become something of a favourite amongst professional Japanese drifting drivers. According to popular Japanese drifting magazine, Drift Tengoku, 54 contestants participated in the recent D1 Super Challenge in Japan. Five contestants, 9.3 per cent of the total number of competitors, used Federal’s 595 on their vehicle. Second place driver Atsushi Goto used 215/40/17s on the front and size 215/45/17 on the rear. Atsushi Goto noted that the wear and tear on his 595s was minimal after the event, according to Federal.

8th September 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Forbes Says Tyre Price Hikes Coming

Forbes.com has reported that Sumitomo Rubber Industries Ltd, Yokohama Rubber Co. and Toyo Tire & Rubber Co. plan to increase prices on their “synthetic-rubber tyres” by four per cent to seven per cent sometime this fall. While none of the companies has made a formal increase announcement, Forbes.com said Japan’s major chemical companies and companies that buy petroleum-based raw material are “scrambling to raise prices of their products” because of fast-rising crude oil prices.

Toyo representative Junko Koide confirmed that the company would increase its prices from the 1 October. The price increases were said to affect passenger car, light truck, and studless truck tyres.

25th August 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Nankang Winter Sales Grow 10-Fold

Nankang’s European winter tyre sales have grown to 10 times the size they were in 2003, the Taiwanese company has reported. According to company representatives, Nankang expects to move some 400,000 units of winter tyres, across Europe, this season. This is something, the company, which was reportedly the first Taiwanese company to produce snow tyres, is understandably proud of. The historically high target is set against previous records of 80,000 tyres in 2004 and 40,000 units in 2003.

23rd August 2005/by Tyrepress Editors