Tyre industry pioneers, Michelin has a long history. Having begun in 1889, Michelin is now the second-largest tyre manufacturer in the world after Bridgestone and larger than both Goodyear and Contineantal.
French tyre manufacturer Michelin has been honoured with a John Bolster Award for its contribution towards and success in motor racing. Pierre Dupasquier, Michelin’s former competition boss, received the trophy from former Grand Prix driver Carlos Reutemann.
Tigar, based in the Serbian town of Pirot, has a domestic market share of about 52 per cent. This strong foothold on the local market is at least partly due to technological support and know-how supplied by Michelin. At the same time the privately owned company sells a significant proportion of its annual production (3.2 million tyres) abroad. In particular France and the UK are important export markets for Tigar. Currently there are certain restructuring measures taking place in the company, which could also affect the future of the Tigar brand in the Michelin Corporation as well as the future of the factory itself.
The tyre market in Poland is growing continuously. In 2005 about 7.67 million passenger car tyres were sold (+4 per cent on 2004) and this figure is expected to increase by another 7 to 8 per cent during the year, according to a report published by the German governmental institute BFAI. Consequently, this year about 8.2 to 8.3 million PC tyres will be sold on the replacement market in Poland. “Long gone are the times when everybody drove the same tyre all the time. The development in different market segments has been quite heterogenous,” the report points out. High speed and therefore high performance tyres have experienced the strongest growth rates in the recent past. The Polish low budget segment in turn is constantly losing market share.
Tyres & Accessories has seen a preview of Michelin’s new sport touring tyre, which will be launched at the Motorbike Trade Expo in January. Details are sketchy at the moment, but external independent testing appears to suggest that the new dual compound tyre will last 10 per cent longer than any of its competitors. Michelin representatives told T&A the manufacturer has planned an extensive publicity campaign, which will be followed up with a comprehensive marketing strategy. This includes: a new website, revised retailer opportunities, show participations and media, advertising and PR activities. Furthermore, sources report that the manufacturer’s Expo stand will be one of the biggest at the show.
Motorcycle tyre retailing requires a different kind of knowledge and professionalism to the car or truck segments. And that’s why Bike Tyrestore sees itself as unique compared with other wholesalers. Perhaps one of its most appealing offers is its Free technical training, leading to a certificate of competence as a Motorcycle Tyre Specialist Technician is available to all BTS’ “World Of Bike Tyres” customers.
Bike Tyrestore recently announced that its call centre will now run from the same site as its warehouse (effective 4 December). The new address is: Tyburn Trading Estate, Ashold Farm Road, Birmingham, B24 9QS. The company’s phone, web and email contact details all remain the same.
Michelin has launched its new Cockpit baby seat and Navigator booster seat for children aged from six months to ten years. The new Cockpit seat and Navigator booster meet the standards of the proposed 2008 EuroNCAP tests where the crash test speed has been raised to 70kph, new UK regulations and the new ECE/R44 homologation requirements. Michelin is confident that its Cockpit and Navigator child seats represent the best child safety protection in the world. The RRP of the Cockpit is £199.99 and the Navigator is £139.99.
White & Company plc, the largest independent removal company in the UK, has adopted a fully managed Michelin tyre policy which sees each vehicle in its 155-strong commercial vehicle fleet undergo a detailed monthly tyre inspection. Checks are carried out by ATS Euromaster utilising an electronic data capture (EDC) system which allows their technicians to record each tyre’s condition and tread depth onto a small handheld computer, before uploading the results via mobile phone to a central database. Once collected, the results are sent by email to Michelin, which co-ordinates any tyre replacements or regrooves that are required directly with ATS Euromaster.
Netherlands-based international wholesaler, Van den Ban, prides itself on being able to provide a comprehensive range of competitively priced tyres and, furthermore, describes itself as a leading player within the highly competitive UK market. In November VDB launched a new e-commerce site which is said to provide clients with an even more user friendly system that constantly updates prices.
Since Goodyear Dunlop Tire France was founded on 1 January 2004, the group has increased its market share 4 percentage points to 23 per cent of the 32 million-unit strong French passenger car tyre replacement market. The company’s next goal is to close the competitive gap between itself and domestic market dominator, Michelin.
On a global level the size of the three leading players (Bridgestone, Goodyear Dunlop and Michelin) is relatively comparable. In France it is a completely different story. According to French Automotive information source autoactu.com, Michelin holds a 45 per cent market share of car, 4×4 and van tyre sales in France, while Goodyear Dunlop’s 23 per cent puts it in second place.
Be careful what you say – an off the cuff remark recently resulted in a VW Touareg towing a jumbo jet down a run-way. On Thursday this week, a Volkswagen crew did indeed hook up a new generation Touareg V10 TDI to a 747 and it pulled it off. However, there hasn’t been a rush on orders from airport operators wanting to replace their 70-ton pushbacks with Touaregs.
In order for the Touareg V10 TDI to be able to tow the big bird, the weight of the Volkswagen had to first be increased by 4250 kilos. This sounds paradoxical but is absolutely necessary so that the power of the engine can be converted into propelling force. For this purpose steel balls and steel plates were distributed in the SUV. Other modifications were kept to a minimum, but the crew did have to increase the air pressure in the standard Michelin tyres to 4.5 bar. The speed was also limited to protect the tyres, says VW.
Passenger car tyre replacement markets were “very strong in October,” according to Michelin. The research shows that the European replacement market sales grew 9 per cent (+2.9% year-to-date); and 4 per cent in North America (-3.2% year-to-date). Truck tyre sales also grew in the period, according to report, although not as much as the passenger car market.
Bartec Auto ID Ltd has acquired the tyre management business of Smartronics Ltd and is now supplying Michelin with the Smart-fleet system, used to manage Michelin’s “pence per kilometre” mileage contracts on over 10,000 buses in the UK. Bartec Auto ID Ltd already produces tyre pressure monitoring systems for the automotive industry, with an array of blue chip clients including Ford, Renault, Volvo, Land Rover, Jaguar and many others. The latest acquisition is designed to enable Bartec to extend its scope to provide an enhanced service for managing fleet tyre maintenance across the commercial car, truck, bus and coach markets, according to the company.
“We are making the final decision of the destination between two Chinese cities for passenger- and light-duty truck-use tyres production,” Continental AG executive board chairman, Manfred Wennemer, told the China Daily Newspaper. He did not give details of exactly which cities were being considered for a new production plant, but put the total proposed investment at 200 million euros and explained that his company plans to open 100 franchised and owned retail stores in the country in 2007.
Informed sources told Tyres & Accessories that the two short listed sites are likely to be selected from three possible cities. These are: Shen Yang, Dalian (Liaoning) where the likes of Michelin, Bridgestone and Goodyear are already producing tyres; and Tianjin, where Bridgestone has another factory.
Chesterfield-based independent drinks company Global Brands Ltd has adopted a joint ATS Euromaster and Michelin tyre policy across its fleet of 61 company cars and 24 commercial vehicles, replacing an agreement with a local independent tyre dealer. ATS Euromaster was appointed for its ability to provide a professional tyre management service for the company’s van and truck fleet, coupled with its expertise as one of the country’s largest fast-fit networks for the car market.
The second stage of Nokian Tyres‘ Russian factory, which started operation in June 2005, was launched today (22 November) in Vsevolozhsk. The second stage launch marks the conclusion of construction work on the warehouse and the mixing departments, which started in September 2005.
The 19,000 square metre warehouse can house approximately 600,000 tyres. The start-up and test-run of the first mixing line at the new department was done in September and the second line is being installed. The new mixing department enables the company to produce rubber compounds for tyre production locally in Russia and end deliveries from the Nokia factory in Finland.
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