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Goodyear/Ledbetter Legislation Approved in US

What began as a pay dispute between Goodyear and a former employee has worked its way through the US House of Representatives. To minimise the impact of a Supreme Court ruling in favour of the tyremaker in the recent Ledbetter v. Goodyear case, which many believe will severely hamper the ability of employees to seek legal remedies to pay discrimination disputes, the House approved a piece of legislation allowing workers to file a grievance within 180 days of receiving a pay cheque that reflects a discriminatory pay decision — even if the decision itself was made months or years before.

This new legislation, known as the “Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2007,” was accompanied by another bill that would repeal current federal limits on fiscal damages that can be awarded to employees in certain types of discrimination claims. The “Equal Remedies Act of 2007” would remove the current upper limit on claims for breaches of anti-discrimination laws. These current limits are between US$50,000 and $300,000 – the precise ceiling is determined by the size of the employer.

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Titan Voices Support for US Investigation

Titan International has released a statement outlining its support of the US Department of Commerce’s antidumping and subsidised duty investigations against OTR tyres imported from China – investigations the company claims were initiated in response to petitions it filed jointly with the United Steelworkers union in June.

“Today’s (August 2) decision to investigate unfair trade practices in China is an important first step in the right direction,” said Titan chairman and CEO Maurice M. Taylor. “Dumping and government subsidies have given Chinese tyre producers an unfair advantage in our market, and it is the US industry and American workers who have suffered as a result.

“Titan is committed to ensuring that trade is fair,” added Taylor. “If these investigations confirm that unfair subsidies and dumping have been occurring, it could result in the imposition of duties on tyre imports from China to offset the harm that such practices cause in our market. By enforcing US trade laws, we can make sure that everyone plays by the same rules and start to level the playing field for the US tyre industry and its workers.”

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UK Europe’s Leading Tyre Recycler

The UK now diverts 93 per cent of tyre arisings from landfill and leads the way in terms of tyre recycling. However, while most people are pleased to hear that the UK’s free-market approach to tyre recovery and recycling continues to prosper, valid questions about the increased prevalence of secondary fly-tipping and rising numbers of part worn tyres on the market were also raised.

According to the ETRMA, 3.2 million tonnes of used tyres were generated in Europe during 2006, including 486,000 tonnes in the UK and 585,000 tonnes in Germany – the continents two leading tyre markets. The figures, reported by the European Tyre & Rubber Manufacturers’ Association (ETRMA) cover end of life tyre (ELT) destinations during 2006. Across Europe 87 per cent of used tyres (up three points) are now recovered. The key European disposal route is energy recovery, a method favoured by the many markets that operate producer responsibility programmes.

And while the UK’s 93 per cent recovery rate for tyres may not be as high as these other nations, the split is much more varied and the he UK surpasses all other European countries – including France and Germany – in terms of recycling. In 2006 254,000 tonnes of tyres ended up in material recovery, while a further 57,000 tones were retreaded. Therefore the UK recycling an impressive 311,000 tonnes of used tyres in 2006.This compares with just 198,000 tonnes in Germany and 239,000 in France. Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Sweden and Norway, all claimed 100 per cent recovery rates.

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Changers, Balancers and More

It remains business as usual for Nottingham based leading automotive and service equipment specialists Beissbarth following the company’s acquisition by Bosch in April, and the established Beissbarth range of products continue to find favour with UK customers.

Introduced in 2006, the company’s latest addition to their tyre changing line up is the MS67 tyre changer for low profile, run-flat tyres and wide rims, and Beissbarth say this is a unit that offers safe and simple tyre changing, even for the most difficult tyre rim combinations. The Servomat MS67 tyre changer has been designed to meet our ubiquitous health and safety regulations while providing a fast and efficient service for technicians and customers.

“Tyre changing is no longer a simple operation. A bit more care and attention is involved,” commented a member of the Beissbarth team that Tyres & Accessories spoke to. Those involved in the business will be well and truly aware of this; many changes, both in terms of tyre technology and official legislation, have impacted the tyre industry. With Health and Safety taking an increasingly humourless approach to the lifting of heavy objects in the workplace, a key safety feature built into the MS67 is a definite bonus. The unit comes equipped with a pneumatic lift that raises the tyre onto the table without the fitter having to lift the heavy wheel and tyre assembly. This ensures that the manual handling of tyre and wheel assemblies is kept to a minimum.

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Steer Clear of Ebay Used Tyres, Says Entyrety

eBay shoppers looking for a bargain are being warned to steer clear of second-hand tyres being sold on the site, after independent testing revealed that half of the used tyres listed on eBay are too dangerous for use and if fitted to a car could put lives at risk.

The warning follows research by Continental Tyres who commissioned technical specialists, Entyrety, to check the safety of the thousands of used tyres that are up for sale on eBay for as little as £5. Twenty used car tyres were purchased and tested to see how they performed in terms of legislation and safety.

One in five were over the recommended age limit for tyres, meaning that they could fail or ‘blow out’ on the road, a further 20 per cent contravened the ‘Sales of Goods Act’ by not having a legally-required ‘E’ marking and none of the tyres fully conformed with regulations which say that they should be marked as part worn.

Even more shocking was that two of the tyres were well below the minimum tread depth and were even bald in places. One tyre was found to have an illegal and dangerous repair and another had been stuck back together with superglue.

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Tracking System Receives CE Certification

Australian company Rojone Pty Ltd has announced that its EziTrak® Micro self-monitored vehicle tracking system has just received CE Certification. CE marking is a declaration by the manufacturer that the product meets all the appropriate provisions and health & safety requirements of the relevant legislation implementing certain European directives.

EziTrak® Micro is a monitoring, protection and GPS tracking system giving car and vehicle owners personalised, self-monitoring of their vehicle. This early warning anti-theft device is interactive and has no monthly or annual monitoring fees.

It is half the size of previous models, measuring only 80 mm (L) x 61 mm (W) x 35 mm (H). This makes it ideal for use in motorbikes plus plant machinery. The outer casing has a low sheen black finish, which makes it even harder for thieves to locate, and the unit comes complete with an internal vibration sensor.

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USW Weighs in on Failed Legislation

(Akron/Tire Review) As expected, the United Steelworkers voiced its disappointment that the U.S. Senate pushed aside a major change to the National Labor Relations Act – the so-called Employee Free Choice Act – that would have made it considerably easier for workers to form labour unions at any sized employer.

At the same time, USW President Leo Gerard said that while the bill will not likely be passed by Congress or signed by President Bush, “the promise of the bill’s passage by a new administration is well within reach.”

Last week, the Senate voted 51-48 to move the bill forward, falling short of the 60 votes needed to proceed to a final vote.

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Goodyear Release Statement Regarding Ledbetter Lawsuit

In light of the widespread media attention the pay discrimination case involving former Goodyear employee Lily Ledbetter has received, the US tyremaker has been prompted to release a statement outlining the company’s position on the matter. The statement reads as follows:

First and foremost, let us assure you that Goodyear has a long-standing policy prohibiting discrimination in employment and pay.

Goodyear encourages associates to report concerns as soon as possible, so they can be fairly reviewed and remedied. It’s easiest and simplest to correct a problem early, before it grows into a bigger problem years later. We encourage you to access our compliance policies.

Second, there are just a few facts from the case we’d like to highlight. Goodyear presented evidence at trial supporting Ms. Ledbetter’s pay level. During her employment, she had two extended layoffs and was not eligible for pay increases those years. In other years, Goodyear showed that Ms. Ledbetter and lower-rated male supervisors received comparable increases. Like most companies, pay increases at Goodyear are based on performance. In fact, there was a judicial finding of no discrimination with respect to the merit increases Ms. Ledbetter received in the years just before she took an early retirement.

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Its All in the e-Bit

Delticom AG’s full-year 2006 and first quarter results must have been music to the ears of investors who put money into the company during last October’s IPO at the Frankfurt stock exchange. The company reported group revenues totalling 173.1 million euros for the 2006 financial year, up 34 per cent year-on-year. It also proved that online businesses can really be profitable, reporting a 78.9 per cent year-on-year increase in pre-tax profits (EBIT) to 10.2 million euros. In fact the company’s e-Commerce segment was said to be its strongest driver. Here revenues grew 42.2 per cent to 155.2 million euros. Consolidated net income increased 90.9 per cent to 6.3 million euros from 3.3 million in 2005.

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TIA Commits to Right to Repair Efforts

(Akron/Tire Review) Fresh off the annual Automotive Aftermarket Legislative Summit (June 12-14), TIA has committed to gathering co-sponsors for the newly reintroduced Motor Vehicle Owner’s Right to Repair Act (HR 2694). Both National Automobile Dealers Association and ASA have reportedly increased their pressure on Congress to reject Right to Repair legislation efforts.

“The introduction of Right to Repair legislation in the states may be beginning to pay off,” according to Roy Littlefield, TIA executive vice president. “Members and staff were getting very favorable responses from the congressional offices we visited during the Summit. There were good signals that we’ll be getting a Senate bill as well this year.”

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Study Suggests Many Second Hand Tyres Unfit for Re-Sale

According to the results of a regional study a high proportion of the partially worn second hand tyres sold in the UK each year fail to meet current safety standards, and if this study is representative of the nationwide situation as many as 600,000 of these unsafe tyres may be on sale throughout the UK each year.

A recent survey of suppliers conducted by the Lincolnshire County Council’s Trading Standards Service, with support from TyreSafe, revealed that some 30 per cent of the inspected part worn tyres were found to possess serious defects that could pose a safety risk when fitted to a vehicle. Much of the damage found by the Trading Standards Service was of a type not detectable by visual inspection and included unsafe repairs, damage to the tyre’s bead area that reduced its ability to maintain pressure whilst on the rim, and tyres possessing structural damaged caused through being run in when deflated. The thoroughness of the examination each tyre receives before being sold has also been called into question, as have been the qualifications and ability of the examiners whose job it is to identify faults.

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Fully Pumped and Rearing to Go

Most new vehicles now come fitted with some type of tyre pressure monitoring system, and legislation calling for the compulsory fitment of such units is not too far off in some parts of the world. However merely detecting changes in tyre pressure could easily be viewed as a half measure – why not also correct the pressure?

The technology involved in the automatic sensing and re-inflation of tyres with insufficient pressure is not new. Military vehicles have employed systems doing exactly that for years, HGVs are often fitted with this type of technology and Pirelli designed a re-inflation unit for motorcyclists in 2004. But as yet automatic re-inflation systems have not found a place on mainstream passenger car equipment lists. Efforts earlier in the decade that appeared to promise the imminent arrival of re-inflation technology for passenger cars, such as Michelin’s TIPM (Tire Intelligent Pressure Management) system – originally marked down for a 2005 release – turned out to be optimistic thinking. Following Michelin’s ever-deeper involvement with its EnTire Solutions joint venture, founded in 2003, very little has been heard about its once vaunted TIPM system.

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Far Reaching Consequences

Following negotiations that lasted some three years, on December 18, 2006 the Council of the European Union unanimously adopted the REACH (registration, evaluation, authorisation and restriction of chemicals) Regulation. With the stated key objectives of REACH being the registration of chemical substances and to transfer a measure of responsibility for the safe use and handling of chemicals and hazardous substances from EU member states to those companies producing and importing such substances, this is a piece of legislation that the tyre industry cannot ignore. And it comes into effect on June 1.

As a tyre wears the chemicals contained within are released back into the environment, and while research indicates that the pollution created by tyre wear particles accounts only a small proportion of traffic pollution, there are numerous substances involved. According to the 2006 annual report released by the European Tyre and Rubber Manufacturers’ Association (ETRMA), the European tyre and rubber industry utilises approximately 4,000 raw materials, of which 90 per cent are preparations. Therefore it is perhaps not surprising that the report also indicates the industry has been identified as belonging amongst the five downstream users to be most heavily affected by the REACH provisions.

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“ESC Saves Lives!”

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According to the European Commission Directorate General for Enterprise and Industry, every year more than 40,000 people die and over one million are injured in motor vehicle accidents within the European Union, with loss of vehicle control identified as the main cause of accidents involving serious injury or death. As a result the European Commission is putting its weight behind a campaign to highlight the necessity to fit vehicles with Electronic Stability Control (ESC) systems, launching a Europe-wide ‘Choose ESC!’ campaign at the Bridgestone European Testing ground near Rome on 8th May 2007.

Commission vice-president Günter Verheugen, Commissioner for Enterprise and Industry Policy, said: “The benefits of ESC are undisputed. In line with the CARS 21 programme, we are preparing the obligatory installation of ESC into new passenger cars via international harmonisation. Until it becomes mandatory, the voluntary choice of ESC is more than welcome.” The CARS 21 group, established in 2005 and comprised of experts from industry, government and other leading groups, has adopted a 10-year “roadmap” to make the EU’s car industry cleaner, safer and more competitive through the adoption of applicable legislation.

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Sibur-Russian Tyres Looks for PCR Production Partner

Be in no doubt – Russian manufacturer Sibur-Russian Tyres has set its sights on the global market. And with annual sales of around $800 million and debts of only $100 million, the company has a good credit rating and is willing to go to great lengths in order to achieve this end. The plan, which is already underway, is to enact a radical restructuring programme that will see Sibur-Russian Tyres focus on high value business (like its currently strong truck tyre operation), and offer itself up to premium international manufacturers as a minority shareholder in a new Greenfield passenger car tyre production joint venture. In an interview with Tyres & Accessories during Brityrex International ‘07, Sibur-Russian Tyres business development director Igor Karavaev explained just how his company planned to achieve this; and what lessons they have learnt from certain other Russian tyre businesses.

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