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.
A spokesperson from Cooper Tire & Rubber’s head office in the US has confirmed to Tyres & Accessories that the Cooper Chengshan joint venture plant, which has now resumed production following strike action, is not manufacturing any Cooper-branded products at the present time; the tyres currently produced at the Rongcheng facility are exclusively other-branded products.
Tyre equipment manufacturer and software provider Mesnac has purchased a majority interest in US firm Test Measurement Systems, Inc. (TSMI) for an undisclosed amount. The TSMI brand and identity will be retained following the deal, states Mesnac. Dr. Jerry Potts, CEO of the Akron-based firm, and other senior TSMI management staff will remain with the business and work with Mesnac to identify opportunities for growth, product innovation and diversification.
Goodyear Tire & Rubber is set to receive its first Trade Americas Award from the Latin Trade Group at this year’s BRAVO Business Awards on 25 October. The tyre maker reports it will be given the BRAVO Trade Americas Award for its “valuable contributions fostering the development of small and medium size enterprises development in the Latin America region.”
Toyo Tire & Rubber says expansion work on its White, Georgia passenger car and light truck tyre plant in the US is set to begin and will be finished in three years’ time. This fourth-stage capacity expansion project will initially lift production capacity at the Toyo Tire North America Manufacturing Inc. plant by 2.5 million units per annum. The 20 billion yen (£133.7 million), 44,000 square metre expansion will increase the facility’s size by 50 per cent and house equipment that represents half of all plant capacity.
Cooper Tire & Rubber’s second quarter 2013 results – most likely the last it will post before its incorporation into Apollo Tyres – showed a year-on-year drop in net sales, operating profit and net income. Net sales amounted to US$884 million, a decrease of $174 million compared with the same period a year ago, and operating profit for the second quarter was $69 million, $26 million lower year-on-year and 7.8 per cent of net sales. Net income was $35 million, or $0.55 per share, down from $52 million, or $0.82 per share, for the same period last year.
New car sales figures for July, released by the SMMT, show month on month sales were up 12.7 per cent compared to July last year. This continuing buoyancy caused the SMMT to revise its forecast for sales for the year as a whole – up from 2.1 million vehicles to 2.2 million. This figure is an 8.4 per cent increase on 2012 sales.
Shareholder response to Apollo Tyres’ acquisition of Cooper Tire & Rubber has been mixed and several institutional investors petitioned the tyre maker in July to reconsider its decision. Apollo’s share price currently hovers around Rs 61, about two thirds the going rate before the company announced the planned purchase. Against this backdrop, company chairman Onkar S Kanwar’s address to shareholders at the Apollo Tyres 2013 annual general meeting framed the US$2.5 billion transaction as a necessary response to changing market conditions.
Continental Tyres has renewed its contract with Norbert Dentressangle for a further five years, including “a significant extension” to the scope of the operation. In addition to acting as Continental’s UK and Ireland National Distribution Centre (NDC), under the new contract, Norbert Dentressangle’s site at Rugby will also act as a consolidation point for orders which were previously delivered as full loads direct from Continental’s European manufacturing plants to major wholesale customers in the UK.
Wheel manufacturer Superior Industries International has reported a slightly lower year-on-year net income for the second quarter of 2012. Net income decreased from US$6.4 million a year ago to $6.3 million in the March to June quarter.
Following on from its acquisition of Cooper Tire & Rubber, Apollo Tyres intends to focus investment where it anticipates growth – and vice-chairman and managing director Neeraj Kanwar has identified one such area as Eastern Europe.
Wayne Culbertson has been appointed managing director of Michelin Tyre Plc, replacing Eric Le Corre who has taken up the Paris-based position of head of public affairs.
July's Tyres & Accessories is now available online. This issue includes features on Tyre Manufacturing, Batteries and Previews the forthcoming NTDA TAFF Awards. Subscribers can view this online by clicking more below.
While we have become accustomed to technological advances driving changes in mature markets, Automotive part supplier First Line, owner of the Borg & Beck brand of braking systems, comments that a more retroactive potential change in the brake market is being driven by automotive ecological and economic considerations. The company says that in recent years, braking technology has remained fairly stable with no great evolutionary advances, which means the biggest change in the market continues to be the growth of the drum/shoe combination as the rear brake solution for many small cars.
Leading European performance brakes brand Brembo is continuing to diversify its global strategy in a bid to tackle sales figures that continue to fall in much of its traditionally strong markets. In the first quarter of 2013, the German and, to a lesser extent based on the relatively good performance of its automotive manufacturing, UK markets were the only two to increase sales, while domestic Italian and southern Europe continued to look weak. However, growing sales in the USA and China are prompting global investment, such as the 115 million euro investment the manufacturer recently announced to expand its US and Brazilian operations. And the company has continued to indulge its penchant for spectacle, with involvement in top-level motorsport series, such as MotoGP and Formula One, and Hollywood blockbusters driving its continued premium brand marketing.
Yokohama Rubber Corporation has appointed Koichi Tsuruno president of Yokohama Asia Co., Ltd. Tsuruno begins in this role on 1 August. He retains his position as corporate officer and president of Yokohama Tire Manufacturing (Thailand) Co., Ltd., which he commenced on 1 July.
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