Goodyear has announced the appointment of Jaime Cohen Szulc as president of its Latin American region. Szulc will report directly to Goodyear's chairman-elect, chief executive officer and president Richard J. Kramer. Szulc succeeds Eduardo A. Fortunato, 57, who earlier this year announced his intention to retire at the end of 2010.
Pirelli’s latest “Tyre Market Watch” trend figures report strong global demand during April. According to Pirelli’s figures, volumes increased by approximately 15 – 20 per cent in passenger tyres and by approximately 30 in the truck tyres segment (up 60 per cent in OE and 20 per cent in the replacement market). Commenting on the Tyre Market Watch numbers, Deutsche Bank analysts highlighted the fact that in Latin America where 34 per cent of Pirelli’s sales and 43 per cent of its production is based, tyre demand “remains strong, in excess of 25 per cent up both in passenger and in truck tyres.” In summary the analysts characterised the second quarter as: “a good start even if volumes growth is mostly attributable to less profitable OE markets.”
Watts Tyre Group, the UK-based industrial tyre and wheel producer has announced the creation of Watts America Latina, a new business unit to service the Latin American market (excluding Brazil and Mexico where the group has existing business operations). Watts America Latina is headquartered in Montevideo, Uruguay and is headed by director General Carlos Correia. The business services container customers across the region as well as sales from a warehouse operation from which pallet orders can be satisfied enhancing product availability.
Bridgestone Corporation, together with two of its subsidiaries, Bridgestone Americas and Bridgestone de Costa Rica is donating a total of approximately seven million yen (more than US$75,000) to assist with relief efforts following the January 12 earthquake in Haiti. Bridgestone will donate 2.5 million yen (approximately US$27,000), through the Japanese Red Cross Society. Bridgestone Americas, through the Bridgestone Americas Trust Fund, will donate 2.25 million yen (US$25,000) to the relief efforts through the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund.
As part of its long-term strategy of investing in markets offering favourable growth potential, Trelleborg has announced plans to further strengthen its presence in Brazil. On November 16 the company inaugurated a new facility near São Paulo, where the manufacture of high-performance seals for such items as aircraft and passenger cars, as well as for industrial applications, will take place. The plant is part of the Trelleborg Sealing Solutions business area and will initially employ about 100 staff.
In reporting Rhodia’s first quarter 2009 results, company chairman and CEO Jean-Pierre Clamadieu has reflected upon a difficult three-month period. “As anticipated, we faced in the first quarter unprecedented low levels of demand,” said Clamadieu. “This, combined with the absorption of costly raw material inventories, resulted in a major adverse impact on profitability.”
Tire Group International (TGI) continues to implement its marketing strategy throughout Latin America and the Caribbean by opening a new sales office in Managua, Nicaragua. Heading this new office is Rigoberto (Rick) Reyes. Mr. Reyes comes to TGI with over 20 years’ experience in the tire & wheel industry having worked for firms such as Progressive Custom Wheel, California Wheel Corp and Martino Tire.
“As part of our continued marketing strategy, Nicaragua is the next country where we will build a stronger presence which will greatly enhance TGI’s reach through our expanding series of brands and segments. We are convinced that with Rick’s skill-set we’ll start seeing immediate benefits as he promotes our brands and the wide array of solutions and services TGI offers”, said Orlando Delgado, Tire Group International’s Senior Vice President of Business Development.
Sumitomo Rubber Industries is establishing a company to sell replacement market tyres in Central and South America, a move the company says it is making to strengthen its tyre sales in this growing region. The company, to be known as Sumitomo Rubber Latin America Limitada, will be located in Santiago, Chile and start business in October 2009.
Great Britain’s Unite and the United Steelworkers (USW) have moved ahead with their plans to merge and create a global super-union. Representatives of the two million-member Unite and the USW met last week to hammer out merger details, with a final announcement of the merger expected at USW’s annual convention this July.
Unite’s membership covers Britain and Ireland, and are employed by such companies as BP, British Airways and Rolls Royce. The million-member USW represents US and Canadian workers in a wide range of industries, including steel and tyres. Long-term, the merged group envisions adding unions covering Eastern Europe, Latin America and Asia, creating a complex global union that could seriously impact global corporations.
India’s Aditya Birla group is reported to be in the process of signing a land deal with the port authority of Altamira, in eastern Mexico. The purpose of the deal is to facilitate the establishment of a US$150 million carbon black facility. “We may sign the agreement next week,” commented AV Birla Group regional joint president Surendra Goyal. “The $150 million project will be completed in two years.”
According to Goyal, the region near the port, in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas was, selected as an entry point to the US, where naptha is cheaper. The Mexican carbon black facility will add to the company’s global capacity of around 790,000 tonnes per annum, an amount that makes the company the world’s fourth largest producer. In total the Aditya Birla group plans to invest about US$600 million to increase its carbon black manufacturing capacities in India and globally. Goyal, who heads the group’s operations in Latin America and Egypt, said the company also intends to set up a facility in Oman.
Carlisle Companies Incorporated reported net sales of US$675.5 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2007, an 11 per cent improvement over its fourth quarter 2006 net sales of $608.7 million. For the full year ended December 31, 2007, net sales were $2.88 billion, a 12 per cent increase over net sales of $2.56 billion in 2006. Organic growth of 7 per cent was driven by increased sales volumes across all reporting segments.
“2007 was another successful year for Carlisle with fourth quarter and full year sales growth in all of our segments,” commented company chairman, president and CEO David Roberts. “Our attention is now turned to the opportunities ahead. We have established a five year average sales growth target of 10 per cent and have set our sights on achieving a 15 per cent operating income margin by 2012. We plan to reach these goals through a combination of operating excellence and strategic growth.”
David Roberts, Carlisle Companies’ chairman, president and CEO, has announced a series of “key management changes” that include the appointment of Fred Sutter as Group President of the firm’s Transportation Products division. Sutter joins Carlisle from Graco Inc. where he most recently served as Vice President and General Manager of the Applied Fluid Technologies Division. During his tenure at Graco, Sutter also served as Vice President of the Industrial and Automotive Equipment Divisions and as Vice President, Asia Pacific and Latin America. Sutter joined Graco from the Emerson Process Group, a division of Emerson Electric. Sutter holds a BS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Minnesota.
Analysts expect the nine-month operating results released by Pirelli & C SpA to be flat or slightly lower due to the mixed performance of the company’s various divisions. Analysts have predicted a net profit of between 91 and 114 million euros compared with a loss of 1.411 billion euros in same period last year, an EBIT of 280 to 297 million, down from 300 million last year, an EBITDA of 441 to 462 million, against last year’s 462 million, and sales of 3.856 to 3.929 billion.
Pirelli Tyre is expected to benefit from volume increases in emerging economies, offsetting the impact of higher raw material prices. However, margins are expected to be particularly hard hit by higher raw material prices, one analyst commented. A second Milan based analyst noted that Pirelli has little exposure to the US market, and is thus in part insulated from the weaker dollar’s negative impact on sales. “The US represents 8 per cent of sales. They are more present in Latin America that is going very well,” he said.
(Akron/Tire Review) Pirelli SpA’s new $50 million truck tyre plant in Gravatai, Brazil, has been officially opened. Located inside Pirelli’s motorcycle tyre development and production facility, the new plant covers 573,000 square metres and will produce some 12,000 tonnes of tyres per year at full capacity. Some 80 per cent of the new plant’s truck tyre production will be for the Brazilian market, and the other 20 per cent will be exported primarily to other Latin America countries, according to Pirelli.
Bekaert has acquired Delta Wire Corporation for an enterprise value of US$10 million. With almost 100 employees, Delta Wire Corporation, located in Clarksdale (Mississippi), is a major supplier of bead wire for tyre reinforcement, as well as of a wide range of specialized wire products for the North American market.
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