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.
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.
Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to the Secretary of State for Transport, Gavin Williamson visited the Goodyear factory in the West Midlands last week. The famous Wolverhampton factory has been developing tyres for 85 years in the region and is now a ‘Centre of Excellence’ for retreaded truck tyres.
Gavin Williamson MP started: "Goodyear are an important employer for the local area. My constituency starts at the edge of Wolverhampton so many of my constituents will be working at the plant. It is an important local employer and important local investor in the West Midlands.”
Cooper Tire & Rubber reports it has now manufactured more than two million passenger car tyres using silica masterbatch (SMB) technology developed together with Mexico’s Industrias Negromex S.A. de C.V (INSA). The tyre maker says the technology has delivered a number of benefits, including improved mixing productivity and flexibility, the elimination of volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions) which are associated with the standard silanisation process of mixing silica) and improved silica dispersion in tyre tread formulations. Cooper says better dispersion means superior traction, wear and rolling resistance performance.
The launch of Avon Tyres’ latest sports touring motorcycle tyre aimed at the hypersport market, the Storm 3D X-M, took place near the brand’s Melksham, Wiltshire manufacturing base at Castle Combe in May. The Cooper-owned brand says it has since been reaping the plaudits for the new tyre, tested out by two-wheel specialist journalists on the fast and bumpy circuit.
Titan International reported second quarter 2013 sales of US$593.3 million 25 July 2013, up 29.2 per cent, compared to $459.2 million in the second quarter of 2012 partially driven by acquisition growth. Gross profit increased 5.6 per cent to $86.7 million, or 14.6 per cent of net sales in the period, compared to $82.1 million in second quarter 2012, or 17.9 per cent of net sales. However, second quarter income from operations was $36.9 million compared to $81.0 million last year.
Michelin shares fell 5 per cent after the publication of its first half 2013 financial results. Writing just a couple of hours after the earning details had been published, the Wall Street Journal opined that because first-half net profit fell 45 per cent and because Michelin is taking a 250 million-euro restructuring charge to improve manufacturing efficiency some investors became unsettled and closed their positions. However, Michelin was the not the only firm suffering in Europe and mixed responses to British GDP improvements and German business confidence are thought to have affected investors too.
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