Almost a year after Jürgen Titz announced his departure from Goodyear after more than 22 years of service, he is back in the tyre industry. The experienced manager, who most recently served as Goodyear’s managing director consumer Europe Central and chairman of Goodyear Dunlop Tires Germany, has now taken on a partnership role within the tyre trade.
Goodyear has appointed Frank Titz to the role of managing director OE Truck EMEA, effective 1 April. Titz joined Goodyear in 1997 as manager sales & marketing Truck Tires for Germany. In the course of his career he has held various international sales and general management functions within the company and “brings with him a wealth of experience in the consumer and commercial business, including original equipment.”
Jürgen Titz has taken on further responsibilities within Goodyear’s European organisation. In addition to his role as group managing director of Goodyear Dunlop’s DACH (Germany, Austria, Switzerland) organisation, a position held since June 2015, Titz has now taken on responsibility for passenger car tyre sales in the Europe Central region. This recently enlarged sales territory includes the three Benelux markets as well as the DACH countries. This region, or ‘hub’ in Goodyear Dunlop parlance, is a different entity to the Goodyear Dunlop Central Europe cluster, the tyre maker adds.
Last October Goodyear Dunlop announced plans to close its Philippsburg tyre plant in southern Germany, and these plans are now official: The tyre maker reports it has agreed to terms for a redundancy plan with the union representing the plant’s 880-strong workforce.
Goodyear Dunlop Tires Germany has released a statement regarding the planned closure of its tyre factory in Philippsburg, northwest of Stuttgart. The closure will occur as part of the tyre maker’s efforts to reduce overcapacity for low-margin products. A timetable for winding-down production in Philippsburg has not yet been made public, and the plant’s closure will follow negotiations with employee unions. Some 890 jobs are expected to be lost.
Top-level football has become a sponsorship favourite for tyre makers, with Nexen’s partnership with Manchester City and Yokohama’s sponsorship of the Chelsea home shirt just two of the agreements announced in the second half of 2015, But the Goodyear name has been absent from such dealings for quite a while. This is now set to change following yesterday’s signing of a platinum sponsorship partnership with high-profile German club FC Bayern Munich.
Harry Dahl has been named Goodyear Dunlop’s director of sales and operations for the tyre maker’s consumer replacement business in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. He begins in this newly-created role on 1 August and will be responsible for sales planning and management within the company’s DACH region, reporting to Goodyear Dunlop DACH group managing director Jürgen Titz.
Another of Goodyear Dunlop’s European plants has today announced plans to cease a portion of its production in addition to the planned withdrawal from Wolverhampton. Tyrepress sister site Reifenpresse.de reports that Goodyear Dunlop Tires Germany informed its employees of its intention to relocate remaining car tyre production from Wittlich to other plants within the region EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa). PCR production has been shifted away from the plant gradually for several years, with the latest announcement completing cessation of Wittlich’s production of these products.
Jürgen Titz, who served as UK and Ireland director of consumer replacement tyres at Goodyear Dunlop between 2009 and 2013, has been appointed the new head of Goodyear Dunlop Tires Germany. He begins as group managing director of Goodyear Dunlop’s DACH (Germany, Austria, Switzerland) organisation on 1 June, succeeding George Rietbergen, who held the post since 1 August 2013 and will now, according to a statement released by Goodyear Dunlop Tires Europe president Darren Wells, “follow a new career outside the company.”
Former UK and Ireland director of consumer tyres for Goodyear Dunlop, Jürgen Titz, has been appointed head of consumer replacement for the tyre maker’s Germany, Austria and Switzerland, or DACH, region cluster. In his new role, he will coordinate all consumer tyre-related sales and marketing activities in the three German-speaking countries. Titz will also join the management of Goodyear Dunlop Tires Germany, which is led by George Rietbergen. Jürgen Titz succeeds his brother Frank Titz, who as general manager will lead Goodyear’s business in Russia.
Goodyear Dunlop’s new consumer director, Juergen Titz, has made his first public appearance in the role, launching the recently revamped Kettering branch of HiQ alongside UK and Ireland managing director George Rietbergen. Titz suggested that he would open his tenure as consumer director with new strategies to improve the success of the company’s brand range, notably utilising its connection to HiQ. Following his spell as retail director for the fast fit network, a period described by the franchise as extremely successful, Titz was present at the launch to support HiQ’s biggest franchisee Chris Kisby, MD of Easy Tyre & Autocentres.
Goodyear Dunlop Tyres UK Limited has announced that Juergen Titz, currently director of the company’s HiQ retail network, has been appointed as director, Consumer and Motorcycle effective 1 October 2010. He will continue to report to George Rietbergen, managing director – UK and Ireland, and replaces Mark Davison, who is said to be moving to a new opportunity outside of the tyre industry. According to the company, further organisational announcements are due to be made at a later date, following this change. Tyres & Accessories understands that this means Goodyear Dunlop will shortly announce a new face for the HiQ top in response to Juergen Titz’ promotion. A spokesman told T&A that if no replacement is announced by the end of the month, the HiQ team will report directly George Rietbergen.
Goodyear Dunlop has announced the appointment of new HiQ director Juergen Titz, the man who masterminded the successful Goodyear Dunlop ‘4Fleet Group GmbH’ fleet business division in Germany. Titz has also been responsible for leading Goodyear Dunlop Europe´s consumer fleet activities as well as its European Retail approaches. In total, he has 11 years experience within the Goodyear Dunlop group, and has been a key advisor in the growth of the HiQ franchise programme as part of his pan-European role. He will now move to the UK on a full-time basis with his wife and two children.
Mark Brickhill, Group managing director, stated, “Juergen’s experience of fleet management and retail development across Europe will play a key role in Goodyear Dunlop’s drive to grow our own HiQ National Franchise Programme in the UK [covered extensively on Tyrepress.com throughout 2008]. The continued growth of HiQ is a core element of our vision to build strong retail and servicing partnerships across the country”
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