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.
Bosch is to open a new development and technology centre in China as part of its 500 million euro investment planned for the Chinese market over the next three years. The facility will be located at Suzhou approximately 80km west of Shanghai and will cost 50 million euros.
The new technology centre will employ around 220 employees and will extend over of some 200,000 sq metres of space. It will concentrate on automotive electronics and brake systems.
(Akron/Tire Review) Special Report by Amy Antenora of AMN
Over the past few years, global competition in the automotive industry has significantly heated up. Wayne Xing, editor and publisher of China Business Update, addressed the country of particular Interest, during a presentation at the 2005 Global Automotive Aftermarket Symposium (GAAS).
GAAS was held this week in Chicago.
In recent years, China’s automotive industry has exploded as the country’s infrastructure and economy have begun to allow for and create increased interest in passenger cars. It took China 40 years to produce 1 million automobiles, from 1953 to 1992. Today, however, the Chinese vehicle market is expanding at an ever-increasing clip. It is estimated that this year, China will surpass 6 million vehicles produced.
Size and scale are no advantage when it comes to overall financial success, according to a new study by Tyre Manufacturers & Distributors industry analysts Plimsoll Publishing. It seems the industry’s smaller players are putting their larger counterparts to shame when it comes to overall financial performance.
The top 60 “major players” currently control almost 94 per cent of the market. Yet look beyond their size at their individual financial performance and their image appears somewhat staid, according to Plimsoll analysts.
(Akron/Tire Review) Yokohama Rubber Co is to build a new tyre plant in Thailand to produce passenger and light truck/SUV tyres. The company said it would begin construction of the 11.5 billion yen facility this October, which will be located adjacent to its current Yokohama Tire Manufacturing (Thailand) Co. facility there. Yokohama said the new plant, with an initial capacity of 1.4 million tyres annually, will begin production in November 2006. The plant will be designed, the company said, to allow for further expansion as warranted.
Size does matter. Well that’s what Cobra Technologie & Lifestyle say. And in keeping with this philosophy the company now offers the new Cobra Sahara 10Jx22 light-alloy wheel for premium off-road vehicles such as the BMW X5, the Mercedes M-Class, the Mitsubishi V60, the Porsche Cayenne, the Volvo XC 90 and the VW Touareg.
(Akron/Tire Review) Automortive and commercial truck component maker ArvinMeritor said it will consolidate 11 of its manufacturing plants this year in a move to cut costs. The expected plant closure will result in a reduction of hundreds of salaried and hourly jobs. Most of the labour cutbacks are expected to come from its automotive product unit, where costs and margins remain depressed.
(Akron/Tire Review – courtesy of China Daily) Manufacturing in the dozen countries sharing the euro declined for the first time in almost two years in April, adding to signs that record oil prices are dampening economic growth.
An index based on a survey of about 3,000 purchasing managers compiled by NTC Research Ltd. for Reuters Group Plc fell to 49.2 from 50.4 in March, according to figures available on the Internet yesterday. Economists forecast a decline to 49.8, the median of 35 forecasts in a Bloomberg survey showed. The index hadn’t dropped below 50 since August 2003, something that is indicative of contraction.
Shortly after Pirelli announced that it would build a new specialist cable manufacturing plant in Brazil, it has emerged that Pirelli has received three binding bids for majority stakes in its cables business. Goldman Sachs’ and Texas Pacific Group’s offers are seen as the frontrunners for the purchase, a source familiar with the situation told Dow Jones Newswires.
Following Stephen Myers’ decision to step down, John C Orr has been promoted to CEO of plastic, rubber products company Myers Industries in Akron, Ohio. According to reports the board did not waste any time in appointing Mr Orr, the company’s 54-year-old president and chief operating officer, as CEO.
The Cambridge-MIT Institute’s Centre for Competitiveness and Innovation (CCI), at the University of Cambridge has published a 33-page report investigating the final collapse of the MG-Rover in April 2005. Report authors Dr Matthias Holweg and Professor Nick Oliver investigate the final collapse of MG-Rover in April 2005, and address two main questions. First, what were the reasons for the final collapse, and was this avoidable? Second, who or what was responsible for the circumstances that put MG Rover in such a precarious position, and what critical choices sealed the fate of Rover?
(Akron/Tire Review) Bridgestone Corporation is planning to invest about $300 million in the construction of a fourth tyre plant in China, the company recently announced.
General Motors has awarded Continental Automotive Systems and Goodyear with supplier awards. GM gave the 2004 “Supplier of the Year Award for Tyres” to Goodyear in a ceremony held at GM’s vehicle engineering centre in Warren, Michigan. GM’s vice president of global purchasing and supply chain, Bo Andersson, noted: “Only suppliers that drive to be world class and exceed GM’s expectation in quality, service, technology and price win this award.” This year, fewer than 80 suppliers were selected for a top supplier award from GM.
Amtel Holdings Holland NV has completed its acquisition of Vredestein Banden BV from Vredestein Investment Consortium (VICO) for 195.6 million euros in cash. Amtel says it plans to use the opportunity to expand its global operations in Europe, Asia, the former Soviet Union and North America. Combined production capacity will now amount to around 22 million tyres a year.
Staff at Bridgestone’s Christchurch tyre plant will start picketing today, reports a New Zealand newspaper, in protest of their unsettled wage claims.
The workers, members of the Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union (EPMU), have been on an indefinite strike since 9 April after negotiations with the company broke down on 21 March.
Union delegate Dave Cahill said that the workers want a five per cent pay rise, shift allowances and a minimum of nine statutory holidays each year. An irregularity in the existing agreement meant some staff received as few as three statutory days off annually, he said.
The last year has been eventful for Cooper Tire & Rubber. First the company sold its Cooper Standard business, then it bought an 11 per cent stake in Korean manufacturer Kumho Tire, now the company’s management is optimistic that it is “in the middle of a transformation.” Tire Review’s Jim Smith met Cooper president and CEO, Tom Dattilo, and found out his thoughts on the diverse diverse subjects of emerging markets, run-flat technology and how Cooper can enhance its position as a global player.
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