market share Archives - Page 15 of 23 - Tyrepress

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Future Looking Brighter

With 2006 proving to be a tough year for the North American tyre industry, Continental AG Chief Executive Manfred Wennemer believes that things look set to improve in 2007.

Speaking to media at the North American International Auto Show, he pointed towards declining raw material costs, a potential upswing in replacement demand and reduced operating costs as signs of better times. “I am convinced 2007 will be a good tyre year” said Wennemer. “We do see there is some demand for the market that was not satisfied in 2006.”

9th January 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Conti Considers Price and Dividend Increase

Continental AG Chief Executive Manfred Wennemer, has admitted that Conti is considering paying larger dividends and also giving out a special dividend for the 2006 business year in order to reduce its cash reserves.
Mr. Wennemer, when interviewed by the Sueddeutsche Zeitung, also stated that Conti will increase the price of its replacement tyres early in 2007. Any new OEM business the company acquires in Europe will also be charged at a higher rate.

20th December 2006/by Tyrepress Editors

Union Ends Talks With Goodyear

The United Steelworkers has walked away from contract talks with Goodyear. The USW informed its members that its negotiating team has left Cincinnati – site of the Goodyear/USW master contract talks – and that no new negotiations had been scheduled. “We will go back when the company has something new to show us,” USW spokesman Wayne Ranick said in a Reuters report. Goodyear, for its part, said that its negotiating team would remain in Cincinnati and stood ready to continue bargaining for a new master contract.

So where do the two sides go from here? Deutsche Bank analysts reported that the USW sees Goodyear’s unilateral announcement of a plant closure as “setting an unacceptable precedent, and the bottom line is they aren’t going to budge on this issue.”

20th November 2006/by Tyrepress Editors

Michelin Pilot Power 2CT named MCN Product of the Year

The Michelin’s Pilot Power 2CT was named Motor Cycle News Product of the Year at an awards’ ceremony held at the National Motorcycle Museum on 26 October. The entries were judged on a number of criteria including product performance levels, innovation, sales success and success in meeting the needs of the market. The Michelin Pilot Power 2CT was launched to match the ever-increasing performance of sportsbikes, and at the same time, was designed to raise the level of road tyre performance to that of a track tyre.

1st November 2006/by Tyrepress Editors

Goodyear Prepares for Long Strike

No-one was surprised when the United Steelworkers Union announced its Goodyear-employed members would go on strike on Thursday 5 October. Now, days later with no news forthcoming from either side, it looks like 14,600 Union workers at 12 of Goodyear’s US plants and four additional plants in Canada, are preparing for the long haul.

Some analysts say the strike could cost Goodyear $2 million a day. Others are less optimistic. One Deutsche Bank report suggested that for each day Goodyear workers are burning wood on the picket line, Goodyear would be burning $5-6 million. Some analysts put the figure even higher.

10th October 2006/by Tyrepress Editors

USW to End Contract Extension With Goodyear

The United Steelworkers (USW) has advised Goodyear that it was giving the company the required 72-hour notice to terminate the extension of the parties’ labour contract. The contract expired on 22 July 2006, and both parties agreed to an extension that could be terminated with 72 hours notice. Some industry observers have interpreted this to be a precursor to industrial action. A possible strike would affect Goodyear’s 12 North American plants (eight tyre factories and four engineered products plants).

3rd October 2006/by Tyrepress Editors

Nexen Opens Shanghai Offices, Eyes China Growth

(Akron/Tire Review) Nexen Tire opened a branch office in Shanghai, China, earlier this month, which company officials said will spur its penetration in the Chinese tyre market. The new office will join a tyre plant Nexen is constructing in Qingdao, Shantung, which broke ground last May. The new plant will cover some 5.7 million square feet – among the largest in China – and have a final capacity of 20 million per year, Nexen said.

21st September 2006/by Tyrepress Editors

Nizhnekamskshina to Increase Supplies to AvtoVAZ

Radik Ilyasov, CEO of Nizhnekamskshina, Russia’s largest tyre manufacturer, has announced plans to increase the supply of Kama Euro radial tyres to AvtoVAZ. According to a Centre Invest analyst report, Nizhnekamskshina has signed a contract with the automaker to supply all tyres for Chevrolet-Niva production, up from the 47 per cent agreed upon previously. “We believe this is good news for Nizhnekamskshina, which should now be able to gain a wider market share. Research has shown that Russian car owners tend to replace tyres with the factory-installed brand,” the report commented.

20th September 2006/by Tyrepress Editors

Ceat Launches New Truck Tyre

Ceat Ltd, one of India’s leading tyre manufacturers, has launched the ‘Ceat Mile XL’ truck tyre onto Indian roads. General manager marketing, Rajiv Jain told reporters that the Mile XL is designed to produce 15 per cent more mileage than other similar tyres. “With the transportation scenario in the country undergoing drastic changes, Mile XL will cater to the need of carrying additional weight and performing at higher speed, even while providing higher mileage,” he said. On an average, Ceat manufactures 1.8 million tyres per annum in its manufacturing facilities at Mumbai and Nasik, and had a market share of 18 per cent in truck tyre industry, Jain told local news sources.

14th September 2006/by Tyrepress Editors

ABB to Run Maintenance at Cooper’s Georgia Plant

ABB, a leading power and automation technology group, said on 23 August, it has signed an agreement with Cooper Tire & Rubber Company to manage maintenance operations at its Albany, Georgia plant. “This service agreement is one of various strategic initiatives within Cooper Tire to improve manufacturing efficiency, product and customer mix, and market share,” said Scott Jamieson, vice president of manufacturing for Cooper Tire. “By entrusting plant maintenance operations to an established partner such as ABB, we can better focus on our core competence of manufacturing and marketing high-quality tyres at competitive costs.”

28th August 2006/by Tyrepress Editors

Canadian Service Providers Gaining on Dealerships

(Akron/Tire Review) According to the J.D. Power and Associates 2006 Canadian Customer Commitment Index study, after five consecutive years of losing market share to dealerships, aftermarket service providers have stabilized their share of service occasions. Fountain Tire ranked highest in overall customer satisfaction among Canadian automotive service providers.

8th August 2006/by Tyrepress Editors

Diesel Demand Leads to Glow Plug Factory

The rapidly-increasing demand for diesel cars in Europe, and with it the increased demand for glow plugs, has led NGK Spark Plugs to open a new factory on its Komaki site in Japan, dedicated to the production of ceramic and metal glow plugs. The rise in demand has seen a dramatic growth in NGK’s market share – four years ago the company claimed 10 per cent of the UK glow plug market and today the figure is 50 per cent and rising. NGK’s Komaki factory was originally opened in 1962 and the new four-storey building covers some 30,000 square metres. It will manufacture several hundred different types of glow plugs and the annual production capacity is 20 million pieces.

25th July 2006/by Tyrepress Editors

Clearing the Way for Firestone Tyres

Firestone, the mid-range family tyre brand of Bridgestone UK Ltd, has been working with Clear Communications to develop and launch a retail campaign to increase dealer support and loyalty for Firestone as a retail replacement brand.

14th July 2006/by Tyrepress Editors

Ceat Tyres Plans to Expand Capacity

Ceat Tyres plans to expand production capacity at its Nashik radial tyre plant. Managing director Paras K. Chowdhary told local newspapers: “The Nashik plant has a production capacity of 40,000 tyres per month, which would go up to 65,000 after expansion.” The company plans to raise to capacity to 100,000 PCR tyres per month six months after the first phase is complete.

30th June 2006/by Tyrepress Editors

Analysts Confident About Nokian Prospects

Nokian Tyres’ new HP 5 winter tyre has been well received in the market and pre-season sales have started well. According to a Deutsche Bank report analysts believe this and price increases are good signs for the company’s performance in the second, third and fourth quarters. Nokian is reported to have stirred up the market by taking market share by aggressive pre-season sales in the second quarter of last year before being “hit by competition” in subsequent quarters. “However, it seems the biggest pressure is now behind us due to the sharp increase in raw material prices. Management commented that most competitors have announced price hikes for the winter season and that these look likely to stick,” the report concluded.

21st June 2006/by Tyrepress Editors