Manufacturing Archives - Page 195 of 257 - Tyrepress

Whether its raw materials, machinery, research and development or the latest manufacturing trends, this tag provides up-to-the-minute insights into the upstream part of the tyre industry.

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Two New Appointments at Cooper

Cooper Tire & Rubber have announced two new appointments to their operations – one at head office and one in an overseas growth market.

Mark W. Krivoruchka will step into the position of senior vice president, Global Human Resources, as of August 6, and has also been named to the company’s executive committee. Krivoruchka joins Cooper after serving in a number of US and global consumer package goods and high-tech manufacturing companies including GE, Pillsbury, Maytag and Whirlpool. His most recent position was senior vice president of Human Resources Integration at Whirlpool. He also served as Maytag’s senior vice president, Human Resources until that company was acquired by Whirlpool.

In announcing Krivoruchka’s appointment, Cooper’s president and CEO Roy Armes said, “With Mark’s extensive HR knowledge, skills, leadership and business experience, I’m confident he will make an immediate contribution to our global growth strategy.” His office will be located at Cooper’s global headquarters in Findlay, Ohio.

26th July 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Giti Tire Launches Truck Service Programme

Much has changed since Tyres & Accessories first met the then fledging Giti Tire Europe team at the 2006 Essen Show. Now, more than a year later, the staff count has doubled with the addition of some high profile executives; and sales are up 30 per cent year-on-year. When Tyres & Accessories met up with Giti Tire Europe’s UK, North & East Europe, and Russia sales director, Richard Lyons; and marketing manager Europe, Peter Foulkes, news of the Giti Assist truck service programme and the company’s new Heifei factory were top of the agenda. But these expansion plans are only the beginning, and the word is that an extensive new marketing programme is underway, with a rack full of new product releases scheduled for next year.

26th July 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone Aircraft Tyre Retreading Underway in China

A new Bridgestone retreading facility for aircraft tyres celebrated its official opening on July 26. The plant, operated by Bridgestone Aircraft Tire Co. (China) Ltd. and located in Qingdao is intended to primarily meet the tyre requirements of China’s numerous airlines. The opening of the Qingdao facility sees the global number of Bridgestone aircraft tyre retreading facilities increase to five, the others being located in Japan, the US, Belgium and Hong Kong.

Bridgestone aircraft tyre operations are rounded out by its facility for manufacturing new aircraft radials in Kurume, Japan. Production in Kurume is set to rise dramatically upon the opening of its second plant on the site, which is scheduled to begin operation during the second half of 2008. Within three years this second plant will see Bridgestone’s new aircraft radial output double.

26th July 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Four Decades of Innovation

Fasep has been manufacturing tyre servicing equipment since 1969 when it introduced the Apsera, the company’s very first on the car wheel balancer. Since that time the Italian firm has been an innovator in the field, introducing the world’s first monitor equipped wheel balancer in 1983 – the Videotronic 2000 – and the first computer controlled balancer in 1989.

The company’s latest wheel balancers, including the Videotronic Omega 585, benefit from this pedigree. The V585 can balance wheels with rims between 8 and 26-inches in diameter (or 8 and 23-inches if using the Alu-S function on alloy wheels), measuring a wheel’s balance within 4 to 15 seconds. The balancer utilises the same 16-bit technology Fasep is introducing on all new wheel balancing equipment, the advantage being that more accurate readings can be obtained from balancing performed at speeds under 100rpm. In fact, Fasep claim that low speed balancing – the V585 operates at 98rpm – is 16 times more accurate than high speed balancing using the previous 10-bit microprocessors.

25th July 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Large TiWheel Share Trade Under Scrutiny

South Africa’s JSE stock exchange confirmed on July 24 that it was looking into an unusually large trade of Tiger Wheel and Tyre stock in May, and would make a report on the matter to the nation’s Financial Services Board. While it is not yet clear to the JSE whether or not the trade should be considered suspicious, the trading of more than 7 million shares in a single transaction on May 11 – only two weeks before Tiger wheels issued a cautionary announcement – is an event that contrasts markedly with the preceding low trading activity in Tiger Wheels shares.

The cautionary, published on May 30, said the performance of its 74 per cent held global wheel manufacturing business, ATS GmbH, had failed to meet the expectations of the revised performance forecast made to its German financing syndicate in February. However, the JSE reportedly had no knowledge of the May 11 transaction until Business Day, one of South Africa’s leading financial newspapers, brought it to the stock exchange’s attention.

The trading activity in question involved about ten per cent of the company’s 59.6 million shares. It is not clear at this stage whether insider trading is suspected.

25th July 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Strikes & Wage Negotiations Continue in South Africa

South Africa’s tyre industry strike continued into its third day on Tuesday July 24 while wage negotiations reportedly continued to advance at a snail’s pace. While Tyre Employers’ Association spokesperson Attie Higgs reported that the parties involved had made progress on several non-wage demands, negotiations on wage related issues had not budged, with the “same position” being maintained on both sides.

While unions are demanding a 10 per cent wage rise, tyremakers Dunlop, Continental and Goodyear are prepared to offer an increase of 7.5 per cent, while Bridgestone’s carrot is a 7 per cent wage rise. National Union of Metalworkers South Africa spokesperson Mziwakhe Hlangani said “we want to force employers to improve their offer because the industry has been reporting good profits over the past three years. We are hopeful of a significant wage increase.” Such claims of industry growth are refuted by Higgs, who countered with the argument that during the past three to four years the local industry’s market share had been diminished by the presence of imported tyres.

25th July 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Sri Lankan Govt Tyre Factory Reaches End of Line

The bicycle tyre manufacturing facility in the Sri Lankan town of Mawanella operated by the Sri Lanka Rubber Manufacturing and Export Corporation, a body owned and controlled by the nation’s Ministry of Plantation Industries, has ended production and remains closed. Local media reports indicate that plant machinery is in a state of decline and the factory buildings have become ‘dilapidated.’

The plant was established in 1974 under a United Nations Development programme at a cost of £17 million. However the machinery in use was said to be sub-standard, resulting in the poor performance of the company’s tyres in the marketplace.

23rd July 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Record Exhibitor Numbers at Tyrexpo Asia’07

Russia’s Alimark Ltd has become the 140th exhibitor to sign up for September’s TyrexpoAsia exhibition in Singapore, breaking all records for the show as it approaches its 10th anniversary. One of Tyrexpo Asia’s strengths has always been the diversity of its exhibitor base.

2007 will be the biggest and most international to date with over 140 exhibitors representing 24 different countries covering an area of approximately 6000 square metres. Amongst these are the major players in the tyre industry offering the widest range of products and services available in the industry.

There are many exhibitors making repeat appearances at Tyrexpo Asia’07, but equally there are many first-time attendees. Of particular interest this year is the participation of over 35 Chinese exhibitors to the show to date, confirming the importance and value the exhibition has to a wider international market.

18th July 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Cooper Tire on Track Again to Fight Malaria in Africa

Legendary adventurer, Kingsley Holgate, and Cooper Tire have linked up once again to begin another epic humanitarian mission across the African continent, in the continuing fight against malaria. Following Holgate and Cooper’s collaboration on last year’s Rainbow Expedition, the off-road tyre manufacturing specialist is spearheading another twelve month-long trip, the Outside Edge Expedition. A convoy of 347 Land Rovers all shod with Cooper all-terrain tyres – the longest humanitarian train ever – set off from the Cape of Good Hope in April.

The mammoth expedition will circumnavigate Africa, travelling as the name suggests, around the edge of the vast continent. The aim of the trip is linked to the Cooper-supported One Net One Life campaign, which will see the expedition delivering tens of thousands of life-saving mosquito nets to pregnant mothers and children under the age of five. Shockingly, two babies die every minute from the bite of a mosquito – that’s 3.5 million Africans a year, more than die from HIV/Aids, according to the One Net One Life campaign.
Also linked to the Outside Edge Expedition is the Cooper Tire-supported Right to Sight initiative, in which ‘readers’ are supplied to help poor-sighted villagers.

18th July 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Giti Tire Breaks Ground on New Production Facility

Giti Tire has broken ground on a 10 million units-a-year tyre production facility, situated next to an existing Giti tyre production plant in Heifei, Anhui province China. The addition of the latest tyre manufacturing plant, brings the company’s total tyre production capacity to over 53 million units, confirming its position as China’s largest tyre manufacturer. The new plant will feature the latest technology and assist in achieving Giti’s ambitious goals in key markets like Europe, company representatives told Tyres & Accessories.

18th July 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Pirelli to Build ‘Next Mirs’ Plant in Italy

Pirelli Tyre is planning to build a state-of-the-art industrial centre in the Settimo Torinese area of Italy, having signed an agreement with the Piedmont Regional, Turin Provincial, and Settimo Torinese Authorities. The new plant, will produce car and truck tyres, using “ecologically sustainable Next Mirs technology,” according to the company, making it the most modern Pirelli production facility worldwide. As part of the agreement with local authorities Pirelli Tyre and Turin Politecnico have agreed to cooperate on future research and technological projects.

Pirelli currently has two production facilities in the Settimo Torinese area. The industrial regeneration plan will entail transferring the production operations currently carried out in the car-tyre plant to the truck-tyre plant. Amalgamating the two facilities in this way will pave the way for inaugurating a modern centre.

18th July 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Cooper Recalling 92,000 LT Tyres

(Akron/Tire Review) Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. is recalling some 92,000 Dominator Sport A/T tyres due to concerns over possible tread separations. The tyres, in size LT265/75R16E, were sold only through Discount Tire and America’s Tire locations. The tyres being recalled were produced at Cooper’s Findlay, Ohio, plant between July 2002 and March 2005. The tyres carry DOT numbers UPW8XDJ2702 to UPW8XDJ1305.

Cooper claims it found no manufacturing or design flaws in the tyres. According to reports, NHTSA began investigating complaints on the tyres more than a year ago, but also found no technical issues with the tyres. Cooper has made no public statements about the recall. NHTSA posted a news release on its Web site about the voluntary recall earlier this month.

16th July 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone European Technical Centre to produce GP2 Tyres

Bridgestone Corporation, sole tyre supplier for both Formula 1 and the GP2 Series, has decided to base GP2 Series tyre production and quality control at its Technical Centre Europe (TCE), on the edge of Rome. The output will be warehoused in the UK, at the Bridgestone Motorsport facility in Langley.

Until now, all GP2 race tyre development and production has been centred in Tokyo. Although, for the time being, design and development will continue to be carried out in Japan, the rationale for the new arrangement is twofold. Firstly, the addition of a second manufacturing site provides a safeguard against the risk of supply bottlenecks in this highly demanding environment. Secondly, GP2 race tyres supplied from Europe for European races will incur lower transport mileage costs and will have a lower environmental impact.

13th July 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone European Technical Centre to produce GP2 Tyres

Bridgestone Corporation, sole tyre supplier for both Formula 1 and the GP2 Series, has decided to base GP2 Series tyre production and quality control at its Technical Centre Europe (TCE), on the edge of Rome. The output will be warehoused in the UK, at the Bridgestone Motorsport facility in Langley.

Until now, all GP2 race tyre development and production has been centred in Tokyo. Although, for the time being, design and development will continue to be carried out in Japan, the rationale for the new arrangement is twofold. Firstly, the addition of a second manufacturing site provides a safeguard against the risk of supply bottlenecks in this highly demanding environment. Secondly, GP2 race tyres supplied from Europe for European races will incur lower transport mileage costs and will have a lower environmental impact.

12th July 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Trading of Tiwheel Shares Suspended

The board of directors at Tiger Wheels Limited has issued advice stating it requested the South African stock exchange JSE Ltd suspend trading Tiwheel shares until further announcement. This suspension took effect as of July 11.

“Shareholders are referred to the cautionary announcement published on May 30, 2007, and are advised that the board of directors of Tiwheel has requested the JSE Limited to suspend trade in Tiwheel’s shares until a further announcement can be made,” the company said in a statement.

Shares in the company have fallen more than 40 per cent since the end of May this year, and on May 30 the company gave notice that the performance of its 74 per cent held global wheel manufacturing business, ATS GmbH, had failed to meet the expectations of the revised performance forecast made to its German financing syndicate in February. It further stated that the syndicate regarded this as a further breach of bank covenants.

12th July 2007/by Tyrepress Editors