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US Trade Gap Reaches Record Proportions

The US’s total trade deficit reached a record $617.7 billion, Tire Review reports, citing the Commerce Department. In 2004 the gap widened by 24.4 per cent compare with the previous year, thanks to increased costs of crude oil and more purchases of finished goods. According to the report, purchases of cars and tyres reached all-time highs. The trade deficit even reached as far as farm products, with Americans buying more cheese, wine and food products that the US exported.

14th February 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Dunlop Extends its MotoGP Involvement

Team d’Antin MotoGP has announced that it will use Dunlop tyres in 2005. The team will enter Roby Rolfo on a Ducati Desmosedici GP04. The 2005 MotoGP World Championship starts in Jerez on 10 April.

Team owner Luis d’Antin and Roby Rolfo recently visited Dunlop Motorsport’s European R&D headquarters in Birmingham. “We are delighted that Dunlop has decided to support our programme,” confirmed Luis d’Antin “it will be a very interesting challenge for our team to help Dunlop move forward with their MotoGP tyre development.”

9th February 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Pirelli and Furukawa Set Up Brazilian JV

Pirelli’s Brazilian subsidiary of its Telecom systems business has signed a joint venture agreement with Japan’s Furukawa Industrial, to produce fibre optic cables in Brazil. The new company, to be called SPF (Sociedade Produtora de Fibras Ópticas S.A) is split 51:49 with Pirelli responsible for the majority. The decision to merge was taken in order to “catch all the opportunities that could derive from the recovery of the Brazilian telecommunications market after last year’s slowdown,” a company statement explained.

8th February 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Sumitomo to Build Radial Plant in Thailand

Sumitomo Rubber Industries has said it will build a radial tyre plant in Thailand, Japan Today has reported. The new factory will be built in an industrial complex 100 kilometres south of Bangkok and will aim to produce 12,000 tyres per day two years after it begins operating in 2006, the report says. The facility will be the company’s third plant in Asia as Sumitomo Rubber already operates factories in Indonesia and China. The company reportedly made the decision to build the new plant in Thailand in response to growing global demand.

8th February 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone to Construct Third Plant in Mexico

Bridgestone has announced that it build its third factory in Mexico at a cost of $220 million (£117 million). According to Bridgestone, the factory will be the company’s first automated plant overseas from “initial processing of materials to final inspection of the finished tyres.” The plant will feature Bridgestone’s first installation of its BIRD (Bridgestone Innovative and Rational Development) system.

28th January 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Hankook’s Emotional Tokyo Auto Salon

As the UK tyre business was observing events at the Autosport/Aftermarket show, on the other side of the globe, the Tokyo Auto Salon was attracting some 300,000 spectators. Approximately 30,000 of these passed by the Hankook stand each day. According to Hankook, every Japanese car, wheel and tyre manufacturer was present.

Demonstrating its new corporate identity, the Korean company adopted the Hankook Emotion theme for its stand. The exhibition displayed 20 items including its range of Formula 3 racing tyres, Ventus UHP tyres, the low-noise XQ-Optimo and a number of concept products. The company also tried to charm its visitors with a racing Porsche on the company stand, with a magician providing further entertainment.

“The Hankook Tire booth was a fine chance to promote our new corporate identity program in Japan, one of the world’s most important markets for modified automobiles. We worked hard to make a venue that would give auto buffs from around the world a look at our world-class technology and tyres of the future,” commented a Hankook representative.

26th January 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Tokai and Mitsubishi Revoke Alliance Agreement

Tokai Carbon and Mitsubishi Chemical Corp have agreed to revoke their agreement to form an Alliance of carbon black businesses. The companies will also withdraw their application for examination by the Fair Trade Commission. The commission had suggested that “the alliance might substantially restrict competition in the Japanese domestic market that is presently short-supplied.”

“We anticipate harsher competition in the carbon black industry in Asia including Japan where aggressive capacity expansions are being made in expectation of rapid growth in the automobile industry, the main consumer of carbon black … We will expand and reinforce our business bases mainly in rapidly growing Thailand and China, as well as accelerate development into high added-value products and new market areas under the basic policy of ‘Powerful R&D,’” the company said in a statement. The stated that it would remain open to the possibility of future alliances.

26th January 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Toyo Executives Officially Open European Office

Having established its new European offices on 1 January, Toyo Tire invited guests to an official opening that fused European and Asiatic cultures. Dignitaries present included Toyo president and chief executive, Yoshio Kataoka and the Herbert Napp, the Mayor of Neuss, the German city where the new offices are based.

21st January 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone Nurture Talent

With just weeks to go until the beginning of this year’s F1 season Bridgestone has announced a pan-European search for talented young journalists.

The official tyre partner to Ferrari, Jordan Grand Prix and Minardi F1 has pledged to “nurture the next generation of motorsport talent,” and so Bridgestone e-reporter is offering a chance of a lifetime to students hoping to pursue a career in journalism.

An independent jury will select seven finalists to attend a European Grand Prix to report on the GP2 series, meeting the drivers behind the championship. The articles will be published on the Bridgestone Europe and GP2 websites.

The winner will then win a once in a lifetime trip to Tokyo, Japan, visiting Bridgestone’s global headquarters and reporting on a major company event.

14th January 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone to Build a Plant in Poland

Bridgestone will build a plant in Poland to produce rubber tracks for earthmoving equipment, the manufacturer announced today.

The plant is due to begin operating in July 2006 and will be located in the city of Zarow in the south western Polish province near Wroclaw. Production capacity is expected to reach about 26,000 tracks a year by 2007 and 12 million euros will be invested to achieve this.

13th January 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone Plans 50th Tyre Plant

After the company only recently confirmed plans to build its 48th tyre factory in Brazil, Japan’s Nihon Keizai is reporting that Bridgestone will build two more facilities. According to the newspaper the new factories will be built in China and Eastern Europe at a total cost of more than £253 million. The Chinese plant will produce bus/truck and passenger car products in China and is likely to be built in Huizhou, Guangdong province. As for Eastern Europe, a number of locations have been the subject of media speculation. Possible countries include Slovakia or Poland where Bridgestone already has a tyre factory.

7th January 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone Makes Tsunami Donation

Bridgestone is to donate 100 million yen (roughly £500,000) to disaster relief aid intended for victims of the recent Indian Ocean Tsunami. The money will be distributed through the Japan Red Cross which will allocate funds at its discretion. The company’s subsidiaries in Thailand, India, Indonesia and Malaysia will make separate contributions to local relief efforts.

Continental and Michelin have also donated to the cause.

6th January 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone’s Shares Fall: Update

Deutsche Bank analysts have cast doubt on the negative predictions published in the Japanese business press. According to the market observers, reports that Bridgestone’s recurring profit is set to fall 17 per cent year-on-year may not be as accurate as they seem. Although the article cites high raw material costs and yen appreciation, it fails to take into account tyre price increases, which started being implemented in Japan last year. The analysts explained that in the last few year Bridgestone has recorded strong earnings, defying the Nikkei’s projections. As a result the bank says it will not change its earning projections or rating, adding that if the share price dips below 2000 yen this would represent “an attractive investment opportunity.”

5th January 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Yokohama Design Center

The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd., announced that it established a Yokohama Design Center (YDC) inside the head office building of the Minato-ku, Tokyo-based company. The YDC is intensively equipped with advanced information technologies, workshop functions and audiovisual equipment so that it can contribute to the improvement of passenger-tyre appearance and the reduction of product development lead-time at the company.

22nd December 2004/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone sells tyres with unauthorized JIS mark

Tyre manufacturer Bridgestone Corp. has sold some 130,000 tyres printed with the Japan Industrial Standards (JIS) mark even though they were not authorized to do so, Japanese media reported. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) only allows industrial products to sell with the JIS title after they pass inspections from government officials. After agreeing with the Nagoya-based Inoue Rubber Co. to jointly manufacture tyres in 2000, Bridgestone reportedly invested in Inoue’s subsidiary in Thailand, IRCT, which began producing Bridgestone tyres in Thailand in August 2001.

20th December 2004/by Tyrepress Editors