Manufacturing Archives - Page 251 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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OE Supplies From Goodyear May Be Cut

Goodyear Tire and Rubber is considering cutting sales to vehicle manufacturers due to declining profits. The company may also shift some manufacturing to sub-contractors in an attempt to improve margins. Goodyear claims that OE supply could be cut by as much as 24 per cent in three years. 30 per cent of Goodyear tyre sales are to vehicle manufacturers. Unless the tyre manufacturer can secure price increases for OE tyres production could be cut by as many as 5 million units. There have also been suggestions that Goodyear may sub-contract private label production to third parties.

24th January 2002/by Tyrepress Editors

Insolvency At Intra

On January 16th, aluminium wheel manufacturing group Intra (Bruchsal/Germany) filed for insolvency. Elements of the group are the ILG casting facility, Intra Fleischmann + Wacker, Exip Autoparts and leasing company Intrex. The insolvency administrator has the task of saving as many of the 260 employee positions as possible and the intention to restructure the company, which is a key OE wheel supplier to Opel. Negotiations with credit institutions and suppliers are ongoing and production is being maintained.

18th January 2002/by Tyrepress Editors

Spanish Moves For Goodyear

Goodyear Spain has reached an agreement with Neumaticos JM Martinez which will assist the tyre distributor switch core business from distribution to manufacturing. JM Martinez is to cease distribution of Marshal and Lassa and will concentrate on selling Goodyear brands. The Spanish press speculate that this may open the door to a Goodyear takeover of JM Martinez.

17th January 2002/by Tyrepress Editors

ISO 14001 Recommended For Goodyear NA

All of Goodyear’s North American manufacturing plants have been recommended for certification to ISO 14001 Environmental Management System standard. The plants were audited by Lloyd’s Register Quality Assurance Ltd. John Loulan, vice president of North American Tire operations said, “North American Tire is well ahead of the requirements set by major automotive manufacturers and also ahead of internal goals set for the end of 2002.” ISO 14001 is an international standard defining the requirements for environmental management systems used by an organisation to identify and manage potential impacts on the environment from its activities.

17th January 2002/by Tyrepress Editors

Ford Will Sell Kwik-Fit

Goldman Sachs has been appointed to handle the sale of Ford’s Kwik-Fit Group as part of a move to concentrate efforts on core vehicle manufacturing businesses. The sale is expected to raise over one billion pounds (1.63 billion Euro). Ford bought the company from Chairman Sir Tom Farmer for 1.6 billion pounds (2.61 billion Euro) in 1999. Last week Sir Tom was emphatic that whatever the future of Kwik-Fit, he intended being involved.

16th January 2002/by Tyrepress Editors

Heated arguments between Hanover and Traiskirchen

Trials, tribulations and shady deals have, in recent years, been the order of the day in the contacts between the Corporation’s management in Hanover and the Semperit GmbH subsidiary in Vienna. On the one hand, due mostly to the fighting spirit of a large part of the personnel, we had the image of a totally unruly company in Traiskirchen, and on the other hand the image of those at the top of the Corporation; not to be trusted any further than they could be thrown. Like the devil fears holy water, the Austrian associates fear the physicist Hubertus von Grünberg who, first as the Continental Corporation’s CEO and now as a sort of Supervisory Superintendent, is spending a lot of time making life impossible for the plant in Traiskirchen. As far as the Austrians are concerned, there can be no possible justification for these measures, and closure of the plant would be seen as a token of utter ingratitude, because Semperit Traiskirchen has amply rewarded the Corporation with returns on their previous investments. The question today is: can Traiskirchen be saved? The company offers employment to 1,500 associates, manufacturing products for a world market under pressure due to overcapacity. The bitter truth is this: the plant is no longer needed, however, the brand is, and so is the market. What they have not quite figured out yet, is how to lose the one and keep the others. Employees point to the closure, at the beginning of the eighties, of the Firestone Plant in Pratteln, Switzerland, which consequently reduced the then market leader to a mere “also ran”. The same fate will befall the Continental Corporation, is the suggestion in Vienna. But the reality may be quite different. At that time, Firestone had withdrawn from the market in the heat of its struggle for survival, tyres had to be ordered by the container load from the Spanish or French plant, the infrastructure had gone, and so had the distribution service. If lights go out in Traiskirchen today, the impact on the market may be close to zero. Austria will be in turmoil but once the telephones of the works council members have been cut, the interest of the public and the press will die down, and so will the interest of the politicians, who are trying to capitalise on the situation, pretending they are fighting to keep the jobs. It will be like in any obituary: fought, hoped and lost. Matters should be approached from a different angle: ranting and raving does not create new jobs.

28th December 2001/by Tyrepress Editors

Joint Venture To Manufacture And Market Car Radials In China

The Yokohama Rubber Co. Ltd has announced that the Chinese Government has approved the establishment of a joint venture company in January 2002 to make and market radial car tyres in China. It is a jv between Yokohama, YHI Holdings (of Singapore) and Hangzhou Rubber, of China. Production will begin in April 2003, initially of 750,000 tyres a year. A second stage of investment will increase this figure up to 1.5 million tyres, depending on demand. Each stage will require an investment of $30 million.

28th December 2001/by Tyrepress Editors

Manufacturing Plant Closure By Hayes Lemmerz In The US

The world’s largest wheel manufacturer, Hayes Lemmerz, which is facing heavy financial difficulties and is struggling for survival, has announced the closure of its manufacturing facility in Bowling Green, Kentucky in the middle of next year. 235 employees will lose their jobs. The closure will entail costs of about 55 million US-$ for the current fiscal year.

28th December 2001/by Tyrepress Editors

Restructuring For Bridgestone/Firestone Inc.

US company Bridgestone/Firestone Inc. has announced a new corporate structure from Dec. 1st. The reorganised company will be known as Bridgestone/Firestone Americas Holding Inc (BFAH), which will be the holding company for a number of subsidiaries. John Lampe will be CEO and president of BFAH. The change has been made to take advantage of better financing rates and to re-focus on core businesses.

28th December 2001/by Tyrepress Editors

Talking Together – Stahlgruber’s “7th Round Table Reifentechnik”

At the end of April the seventh round-table conference concerning tyres and tyre technology organised by the Tip Top Stahlgruber company took place in Munich. This year’s 91 participants came from many, varied backgrounds: There were tyre dealers, retreaders, material suppliers, representatives of associations (ADAC, BRV, DEKRA, TUV etc.), scientists and representatives of the vehicle and tyre manufacturing industries. Some of the highlights of the event included Hans-Jürgen Drechsler, deputy managing director of the BRV (Association of Tyre Traders and Non-Industrial Vulcanisers), speaking about development trends in the German retreading industry, which is characterised by a fall in sales, specially in the passenger car tyre segment, and a consolidation process among the companies in that sector. Furthermore Drechsler gave an overview about the actual status of ECE regulations 108 and 109 and their transformation into national laws. Other topics concerned the efforts in reducing tyre-surface-noise, the wrong tyre pressure as one of the main causes for serious accidents and last but not least the presentation of various non destructive methods of tyre examination. Due to the fact that the organiser of the meeting shortened the list of speakers, there was much more time left for intensive discussions; something which was appreciated by the conference delegates.

30th November 2001/by Tyrepress Editors

Wheels Division Of ArvinMeritor Honored

ArvinMeritor Wheels Division announced at its plant expansion ceremony in San Luis Potosi (Mexico) that it was named General Motors Supplier of the Year for its superior performance in quality, service, technology and price. The award was given during ceremonies Saturday, April 28 at the historic Warner Theatre in Washington, D.C. This marks the 9th consecutive year the division has been honored with this prestigious award.

30th November 2001/by Tyrepress Editors

A Change For The Better – Cooper-Avon Tyres

In 1997, Avon Tyres, a British-owned rubber goods and tyre manufacturer for over 120 years, was taken over by the American manufacturer Cooper Tire & Rubber Company. The subsequent three years or so have been among the most eventful in Avon’s long history; fears that the British company (annual turnover in excess of 100 million Pounds) would be absorbed by its new parent (annual turnover approaching $4 billion) proved to be groundless. This came as a relief to locals, as Avon was (and still is) the town of Melksham’s largest employer and plays an important part in community life. On the contrary, Cooper has invested heavily in its first manufacturing base outside the USA and Avon has reorganised, rethought its product offering and, in an uncertain economic climate, prospered. Our article examines how the company has changed and examines its prospects for the future. Managing Director Ron Shield and Marketing Director Julian Baldwin outline the events since the takeover and the way that the Cooper-Avon relationship has developed.

30th November 2001/by Tyrepress Editors

Despite Increase In Turnover, Vredestein In The Red For H1 2001

The Dutch group achieved a slight increase in turnover but reported a loss of 2.9 million Euro compared with a loss of 1.9 million Euro, in the 1st half of last year. As far as the tyre manufacturing in Enschede is concerned, figures remained more or less unchanged. Vredestein is depending very much on the winter-tyre-season in Germany as well as in Switzerland and Austria.

30th November 2001/by Tyrepress Editors

UK Retreaders Form Marketing And Communications Group

Members of the Retread Manufacturers Association have formed a group called the Marketing & Communications Committee, intended to promote the environmental benefits of retreading. UK car retread production has fallen from 7.2 million tyres in 1995 to an estimated 1.5 million this year. Truck tyre retreads have remained steady, at around the one million level over this period.

30th November 2001/by Tyrepress Editors

Cooper Tire Announces Intent to Buy Hercules Retreading Assets

Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. announced the intention, as of June 30, 2001, to purchase certain manufacturing assets used in Hercules’ retread operation and will soon begin to supply retread products to customers formerly served by Hercules. This purchase will significantly increase sales in the Oliver Retreading Systems and Products unit, which is a part of Cooper’s new commercial division. Also included in this sale are certain assets of the Cedco equipment division, which will benefit Oliver’s Salisbury equipment operation. The final price is subject to certain valuations at closing but will not exceed $8.5 million.

30th November 2001/by Tyrepress Editors