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.
Just over a month after the ratification of a new three-year contract covering workers at BFGoodrich’s Tuscaloosa tyre factory in the US, a statement issued by parent company Michelin North America has outlined a number of layoffs that will take place at the plant.
Six Michelin suppliers have been awarded for their “exceptional contribution” in 2011 and 2012. At an awards ceremony held on 25 September, the French firm saluted these companies’ contribution towards its growth and development, a contribution they said to be with a respect for Michelin’s values.
The English-language version of the Bridgestone Group’s CSR Report 2013 have been released and is now available for download from the company’s website. The 63-page document covers the period from 1 January to 31 December 2012 and, in addition to covering initiatives related to Bridgestone’s 22 CSR Focus Points, it broaches the Japanese firm’s CSR activities from three perspectives, which it presents as ‘special features’.
Luxembourg-based Maxam Tire has appointed Kings Road Tyres as the exclusive dealer for the UK and Ireland of the company’s range of construction and industrial pneumatic tyres.
When Pirelli’s Board of Directors approved a number of changes to the company’s management structure yesterday, it confirmed that position of chief commercial officer will no longer be required. The position will disappear from Pirelli’s management structure at the end of this year and the incumbent chief commercial officer, Andrea Pirondini, will leave Pirelli.
A £1.5 million government grant is winging its way to Dunlop Aircraft tyres. The grant was awarded by the Government’s Technology Strategy Board and the funds will aid the Birmingham-based company in its development and testing of tougher, lighter aircraft tyres.
While Lanxess says it is “pursuing strategic options for specific non-core businesses” and aims to reduce its global workforce by around 1,000 people by the end of 2015, the specialty chemicals firm’s reduced 2013 capex is being invested in areas serving the tyre and automotive industries. The company says work on its three key projects, including the new neodymium polybutadiene rubber (Nd-PBR) plant in Singapore is progressing according to plan.
Prior to breaking ground on its new US factory, over the weekend Yokohama Tire Corporation formally introduced Tadaharu Yamamoto as president of Yokohama Tire Manufacturing Mississippi.
Mitas has entered the motorcycle radial business with the global launch of the Sport Force. The new tyre is manufactured in Slovenia by Savatech, the former Sava rubber manufacturing division acquired by Mitas’ parent company CGS Holdings in October 2012. Sport Force is a sport and touring range that is initially available in three front and five rear sizes.
Michelin’s new plant in Thiruvallur, India has been described as the world’s largest tyre factory. While we can’t confirm the veracity of this superlative, one thing that appears to be true is that the facility is preparing for an imminent production start.
On 23 September, a total of 350 guests joined executives from Yokohama Tire Corporation, including Yokohama Rubber representative director Hikomitsu Noji, and state and local officials in West Point, Mississippi to break ground on Yokohama’s first greenfield manufacturing facility in the United States. During the official groundbreaking ceremony, the first sod was turned on a plant that is scheduled to enter production in October 2015 and manufacture up to one million tyres a year, mostly for the domestic market.
At present, Cooper Tire & Rubber operates eight plants in the Americas, Asia and Europe, and production from all three regions is sold on the European market. However the company believes its value proposition can be strengthened by increasing the proportion of European-made tyres sold here.
Could JK Tyre & Industries be the next Indian tyre maker to broaden its geographic footprint? Speaking with The Economic Times, company chairman and managing director Dr. Raghupati Singhania said that following the integration of Mexican tyre maker Tornel into the company, JK Tyres has “encountered some interesting propositions for possible opportunities of acquisition to catapult into a global entity.”
Brisa Bridgestone Sabancı Lastik Sanayi ve Ticaret A.Ş. (Brisa), the joint venture company run by Bridgestone Corporation and Turkey’s Sabancı Holding, is evaluating potential sites within the country for a second factory. Brisa intends to construct a passenger car radial factory to complement the company’s existing passenger car, bus and truck radial plant in İzmit, which entered volume production in 1990.
When it comes to B2B selling online, automotive organisations are struggling to provide the online buying experience that their customers have come to expect. That’s the view published in the 2013 E-commerce Report from Intershop, which also reveals that smartphone usage, social media and the so-called “consumerisation of IT” are driving up B2B customer expectations. The reports advice? Automotive firms have to adapt to changing customer expectations, driven by trends such as smartphone usage and social media.
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