On 9 December Bridgestone Corporation received a visit from the president of Costa Rica, H.E. Mrs Laura Chinchilla Miranda. During Mrs Chinchilla’s visit to the tyre maker’s headquarters she met with Shoshi Arakawa, chairman of the Board, CEO and president, as well as several other Bridgestone executives.
The put option Goodyear had for its Amiens plant in France, which was to be sold to Titan Tire Corporation following completion of a social plan for the closing of the site’s passenger car tyre business, expired on 30 November. It now appears that Titan will drop its tentative acquisition of the European component of Goodyear’s agricultural tyre business, shredding plans first drawn up in 2009, and pursue acquisition opportunities elsewhere.
In an interview with the Hindu Business Line, Apollo Tyres vice-chairman and managing director Neeraj Kanwar stated he expects to see more gains like those the company experienced in Europe during the second quarter of the financial year. “The trend will continue, Kanwar told the paper. “Already we are seeing good growth even in Q3. In fact, in Europe, Q3 will be much better than Q2, both on sales and profitability.”
Following the publication of positive nine-month figures yesterday (8 November), Pirelli chairmain Marco Tronchetti Provera today released details of the manufacturer's goals between now and 2015. The headlining statement of intent is the desire to be "global premium leader" (following a so-called "local by local" strategy) by 2015. And in order to achieve this Pirelli is increasing capital investment up to a value of 2.2 billion euros for the period 2011-2015.
The day before Pirelli announces its latest financial results, financial analyst are predicting that the tyre manufacturer is planning to announce new, more ambitious fiscal goals. Pointing out their view that Pirelli's premium strategy will allow it to grow faster than its peers through to 2015, Morgan Stanley suggested the Milan-based would unveil a 2013/14 margin target of 12 per cent or more:
US based private equity fund Transportation Resource Partners, who focuses on investing in growth-oriented businesses in the transportation sector, has entered into a partnership with Tire Group International, Inc. and the McLarty Companies, who are active in the transportation and automotive retail and distribution sectors. While financial details of the deal between the tyre wholesaler, McCarty and the $245 million private equity fund have not yet been disclosed, Tire Group International CEO Tony Gonzalez says he is positive about his company’s joint future with its new partners.
Tyre industry customers will benefit from one of three recently announced Lanxess investments in Brazil. The company reported on October 6 that it will build two new plants at its Porto Feliz site, which is located State of São Paulo. One of these new facilities, run by the Lanxess subsidiary Rhein Chemie, will produce Rhenoshape curing bladders, a product used to give tyres their final shape and properties. The new Porto Feliz plant will also manufacture the rubber additive Rhenogran.
Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations (BATO) has announced two key appointments, both of which take effect immediately. Saul Solomon, previously president of BATO’s US & Canada Commercial Tire Sales division, has been named president of Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations, Latin American Tire Division (BATO LA). Solomon succeeds Humberto Gomez, who announced his retirement from BATO LA last July. Ken Weaver, formerly chief financial officer of Bridgestone Americas, has succeeded Solomon as president of US & Canada Commercial Tire Sales at BATO.
Bridgestone Corp. has entered into a plea agreement regarding its involvement with a bid-rigging scheme in the US and bribery charges in Latin America. According to Tire Review, under the plea agreement, Bridgestone has pleaded guilty to antitrust conspiracy charges and a violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. As a result, the company will pay a $28 million fine, which is said was “a significant reduction from the applicable sentencing guidelines due to Bridgestone’s cooperation and remediation efforts.”
Japanese vehicle makers are set to increase their production output between October 2011 and March 2012 and this is likely to lead to a shortage of synthetic rubber. At roughly the same time Japanese tyre maker Bridgestone notified OEMs that orders for passenger car tyres are likely exceed its domestic production capacity leading concerns that the country could be in line for both a synthetic rubber and a domestic tyre shortage.
Analysts at Morgan Stanley have reported their “surprise” at Goodyear’s performance in the second quarter of the financial year. The reason they gave for being caught unaware by the US tyre maker’s 24 per cent increase in sales (to US$5.6 billion) and 66.7 per cent rise in net profit (to $40 million) is that “it came in a quarter of weak shipments and rising raw material headwinds.” Despite unit demand being slightly down, Goodyear’s price/mix of $552 million “comfortably beat” Morgan Stanley’s estimate of $450 million and segment operating income for its North American Tire business was $137 million with a margin of 5.7 per cent, which Morgan Stanley notes is the highest level in a decade and in line with the company’s medium-term target.
Gareth Passmore has been appointed as marketing head for Apollo Tyres South Africa (Pty) Ltd, which manufactures the Dunlop brand in Southern Africa. The rapid expansion of Apollo Tyres internationally, with the acquisition of the European tyre manufacturer Vredestein Banden being the latest example, has necessitated the restructure and realignment of key positions and departments within the Apollo Tyres Group and the appointment of new personnel in order to achieve the company vision of dynamic growth into new markets.
Daimler-Smart, manufacturer of the diminutive Smart Fortwo, has granted Yokohama Rubber a third original equipment approval. The Japanese tyre maker has been approved as an original equipment supplier for the current Smart Fortwo and will supply its S. drive AS01 in sizes 175/50R16 77T for the front and 215/40R16 82T for the rear. This latest approval builds upon a relationship with the Daimler AG subsidiary that began in 2002 with homologation of original equipment tyres for the Fortwo Coupe Brabus, and was continued with selection as an original equipment supplier for the Smart Fortwo Brabus in 2007.
Vee Rubber has had a long period of sustained growth in the last two decades, and is now the employer of over 4,000 at its three large manufacturing facilities on the outskirts of Bangkok. Their combined production now exceeds 25 million tyres per annum, about half of which is now exported through branch offices throughout Asia, Western Europe, USA, Canada and Latin America.
Mel Gibson, as we often read and hear, has struggled to keep his nose clean in recent years. From allegations of racism and homophobia to well-publicised rants, the US-born actor has become a magnet for negative media attention. But at least he’s managed to avoid the attention of Tyres & Accessories, right?
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