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Report: 20% UK Tyre Companies Are Loss Making

1 in 5 companies in the UK Tyre Manufacturers & Distributors industry are now making a loss making according to analysts at Plimsoll Publishing. The report’s author, David Pattison, commented: “Increasingly we are seeing companies making a loss for the first time in their history and I think they can rightly claim they are victims of difficult trading conditions.”

However, 30 companies are reportedly making a loss for the second and even third year running. According to Plimsoll, “these companies are either blatantly undercutting the rest of the market to enhance or maintain market share or, more likely, have delayed making…painful decision[s]…No one wants to trim costs, lay off staff, cancel dividend payments and the like but continuing on regardless is fast becoming unviable.”

27th August 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Lockout Declared at South Korean Kumho Plants

International News

The Korea Times has reported lockouts at three of Kumho’s facilities in South Korea. According to the paper, the company lockouts – the first Kumho has enacted in 15 years – began on August 25 in response to a union strike against its downsizing plan. Employee access to the Gwangju, Gokseong and Pyeongtaek facilities was blocked as of 4am on August 25, following 20 failed negotiation sessions.

25th August 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Customers to Receive Increased Support Through OTR/County Tyres JV

Earthmover tyre users in Southwest England and South Wales will benefit from enhanced service following the formation of a new company. OTR Tyres Ltd and the County Tyres Group Ltd have expanded their operations through the formation of County OTR Tyres, and this new company will operate regional service hubs in Taffs Well (Cardiff), Bristol, Launceston and Frome, along with a new service site planned for West Wales.

20th August 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

“A buyers market for cash rich companies”: Tyre Industry Report

According to a new report published by financial analyst Plimsoll, one in seven companies in the UK tyre, exhaust and battery industry could change hands due to economic pressures and the presence of a number of cash rich competitors. The report suggests that the market is going into an extended period of consolidation, which could pave the way for a defragmentation of the sector, currently regarded as one of the UK’s most sprawling. Plimsoll’s David Pattison, author of the new Plimsoll Industry Analysis – Tyres, Exhausts & Batteries, explains: “In our report we analysed 535 companies with a turnover of over £1 million per annum and have picked out 140 that are primed to be taken over. Buying one of these businesses represents a massive opportunity for someone to enhance their share of the market. Either way, the market is set for a wave of takeovers in the next months”.

Plimsoll says that its report will tell you which companies are set to be buying and who will be selling. Readers of Tyres and Accessories are entitled to a £50 discount of this new special edition of the Plimsoll Industry Analysis – Tyres, Exhausts & Batteries. Call 01642 626400 for further details and quote reference PR/TI75.

21st July 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Sibur Still Interested in All of Amtel-Vredestein

Sibur Russian-Tyres is still moving towards an acquisition of Amtel-Vredestein’s (A-V) bankrupt Russian operations, with all parts of the fractured business remaining under consideration. Sibur Russian-Tyres initiated this approach in late January 2009 stating its interest in buying $600 million of Amtel-Vredestein’s $800 million debt. However earlier news reports, also published by Kommersant, suggested other parties are also interested and may be attempting to take control of certain assets.

2nd July 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Myers Names New EVP, COO

Myers Industries has named David Knowles as its new executive vice president and COO, effective immediately. Knowles will be responsible for all manufacturing and distribution operations, sales, marketing, research and development and supply chain functions.

John Orr, Myers president and CEO, said, “David brings an extensive operating background in the plastic materials and specialty products arena. His leadership success in business development, sales and market share growth, lean manufacturing and organizational development will be an asset as we focus on the growth strategy in our businesses. I look forward to his contributions and to the value he will help create for our shareholders, customers and employees.”

Since 2003, Knowles was president and CEO of Aristech Acrylics LLC, a manufacturer cast acrylic sheet and solid surface product. (Tire Review/Akron)

23rd June 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Schrader Honoured by Frost & Sullivan

Frost & Sullivan has recognized Schrader International with the 2009 North American Frost & Sullivan Award for Industry Innovation & Advancement of the Year. The company has an extensive line of TPMS sensors and tools, and holds considerable market share among vehicle OEMs. (Tire Review/Akron)

23rd June 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Malaysia a Growth Market for Michelin

Michelin’s Malaysian operation states its local business is growing despite economic turmoil in Malaysia and abroad. The Kuala Lumpur based Business Times newspaper quotes Michelin Malaysia Sdn Bhd managing director Yves Pouliquen as saying the company’s business growth will be driven by continuous marketing activities involving its dealers and customers as well as new product launches.

“We expect 2009 to be difficult for the industry but it will be better than the 2007 level,” he told reporters at a recent media briefing in Kuala Lumpur. “Overall, 2007 was a good year while last year was fantastic for the industry.” Pouliquen also expressed his confidence that the Malaysian tyre market will continue to grow in line with positive signs of an economic recovery.

26th May 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Cooper Kenda Facility Ready for ISO Certification

Cooper Tire reports that Smithers Quality Assessments lead auditor Ricker Zoller recently conducted an ISO 9001:2000 stage one audit at its Cooper Kenda Tire facility in Kunshan, China. This stage one audit, the company adds, is comparable to the pre-certification audits that North American plants underwent in spring 2008 in preparation for their actual certification audits. The certification audit at Cooper Kenda Tire is scheduled for July.

Following the four-day inspection, the auditor commented that he found “no issues that would prevent Cooper Kenda Tire from obtaining its certification.” This positive feedback comes after half a year of preparation for ISO auditing, a time in which department leaders and employees have been engaged in establishing proper procedure documents. Cooper states that employees have developed all the required systems, such as document control, internal audit, corrective and preventive action and calibration systems.

21st May 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Dunlop Aircraft Appoints China Plant Head

Dunlop Taikoo (Jinjiang) Aircraft Tyres Company has appointed KK Chan as general manager of its new aircraft retreading and new tyre distribution facility in China. The company is a joint venture with Birmingham-based Dunlop Aircraft Tyres, HAECO (Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Company) and TAECO (Taikoo (Xiamen) Aircraft Engineering Company). Based in Jinjiang, Fujian Province, the company’s new facility is already distributing new tyres throughout the Asia Pacific region and is reportedly going through the approvals process to start retreading.

19th May 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Higher and Higher

In last May’s feature on high and ultra high performance tyres, Tyres & Accessories noted the persistence of the rise in popularity for the market segment. In 2008, the trend continued apace, with some figures suggesting that the UK market share for UHP tyres was closing in on a fifth, rising from 16.9 per cent in 2007 to 19.5 per cent last year. It is fair to say that things are likely to be a little different following the financial crises experienced from the middle of 2008, though even if much of the market will be downgrading to lower performance vehicles with smaller rim sizes – as seems to be the general consensus – it is likely to be a couple of years before the market feels the changes. And while even perennially popular cars such as the Ford Focus and the Volkswagen Golf tend towards higher performance tyres, with rims not uncommonly topping 16”, perhaps there is a decent chance that the market will remain relatively stable.

8th May 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Kraiburg Updates All Three Ranges to Increase Economy

Kraiburg Austria has updated its K_base, K_tech and K_plus range of products. According to the company, the changes it has made are aimed at attaining: “maximum economic efficiency for all involved.” The retreading specialist has updated the designs, widths and lengths of its cut-to-size tread sections and has added new dimensions in some lines. Some designs have been pared down to just one version, such as the KDR and the KZU+. Others have changed segment in response to customer demands. The K47 bus tread designed for road use has been removed from the K_tech technology line, for example, and added to the all-round K_base line. At the same time, Kraiburg Austria announced the autumn launch of the new KST2/K222 tread for year-round use.

24th April 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

USW Files Trade Case Against Chinese Imports

According to statistics published by the United Steelworkers, between 2004 and 2008 the volume of tyres imported from China increased 215 per cent, and the value of these imports by 295 per cent. During this same period US tyre production declined by more than a quarter and the domestic industry’s share of the US tyre market dropped from 63 per cent to less than half. These figures represent conditions in a relatively robust period for the industry – since the second half of 2008 the market has shrivelled considerably, and US based tyre producers are feeling the pinch more than ever. For this reason the USW has filed a major trade case against, in its own words, “the flood of imported consumer tyres from China that have led to thousands of job losses and a growing number of plant closings throughout the US.”

21st April 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Michelin Gaining US Market Share – CEO

According to Michelin North America CEO Dick Wilkerson, the company’s Michelin brand products are “much more resilient than the other brands” in its product portfolio. This comment, made to a newspaper in the company’s US hometown of Greenville, South Carolina, indicates that its facilities in South Carolina are not facing a similar fate to the soon to close BFGoodrich plant in Alabama.

15th April 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Nizhnekamskshina 1Q Tyre Production Down 48.5%

Russian tyre producer Nizhnekamskshina has reported that its first quarter 2009 tyre production was 48.5 per cent lower than during same period the year before. In the first quarter of 2009 the tyre manufacturer reportedly produced 1.505 million tyres. Nizhnekamskshina is one of the Russian market’s two most dominant truck tyre players, along with Sibur-Russian Tyres. Between them the two companies control approximately 80 per cent of domestic truck market sales.

15th April 2009/by Tyrepress Editors