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 manufacturer Michelin claims to have reinvented the truck tyre. And following development after development over the years, this is no mean feat. According to the manufacturer, Michelin’s new Durable Technologies will offer improved mileage, payload and load capacity including gains of up to 50 per cent compared to “more traditional solutions.”
Michelin has criticised the FIA’s new Formula 1 rules, hitting out against the association’s “hidden motives.” In an official statement the French tyre manufacturer said it is “perplexed by the step backwards of the FIA’s F1 regulation for 2006” which it says are “incoherent with the FIA’s proclaimed policy to reduce costs.”
(Akron/Tire Review) Groupe Michelin reported an increase of 4.5 per cent in net sales for the current third quarter, compared to the third quarter of 2004. In North America, the passenger and light truck tyre replacement markets experienced a 2.6 per cent growth year to date September 2005, compared to 2004, Michelin reported.
Michelin is to report a sales increase of 4.5 per cent when the French manufacturer hosts a quarterly conference call this evening. Deutsche Bank analysts said the increase was entirely attributable to an improved price/mix effect. The analysts also pointed out that, with regards to EBIT, the improved price/mix effect should more than offset the “raw material price headwind” which is estimated at 80 – 90 million euros. The company is also effected to benefit from its policy of high-cost workforce reduction.
Newcastle is home to one of the top six Michelin accredited tyre centres in the UK, the manufacturer has announced. North East Tyre and Exhausts’ new centre on the Silverlink Business Park, Wallsend, North Tyneside has just received Michelin accreditation, a standard which certifies high quality premises, expert staff and exemplary customer service.
Bridgestone Corp has announced huge expansion plans, which could see the manufacturer spend as much as 200 billion yen (£990 million) every year between now and 2008.
Bloomberg has reported that Bridgestone is pre-empting a stagnation in the domestic Japanese market by increasing investment in new factories and upgrading equipment. The company is aiming for sales of 3 trillion yen (approximately £15 billion) by 2008, with a profit margin of 5 per cent, company president Shigeo Watanabe told a Tokyo press conference. “We are aiming to capture about 20 per cent of the global market share for tyres” by 2008, from the current share of “between 18 per cent and 19 per cent,” he said.
Hervé Coyco, Michelin Group Executive Council member responsible for worldwide car sales, will takeover responsibility for the running of Michelin’s Asia Pacific operations from Jean-Marc Francois. Francois is taking a year out to complete an MBA course before returning to the company in order to pursue other leadership positions.
The sales of PT Gajah Tunggal Tbk are likely to increase 20 per cent compared with last year’s figure of 3.8 trillion Indonesian rupiah (£214 million), the company has reported. Gajah Tunggal director, Catharina Widjaja, said the growth was due to increased domestic demand and additional sales to Michelin & Cie. The company, which is 10 per cent owned by Michelin is under contract to supply the French manufacturer with 5 million tyres per annum until 2010.
Michelin representatives have appealed for information regarding the whereabouts of a Michelin Z BTO, which they say was stolen from service facilities during the recent Rally Japan. The incident reportedly took place at the Obihiro service park during the night of 1 October. As you might expect the manufacturer was less the impressed. “The Michelin Group considers acts of this sort to be extremely serious and unreservedly condemns such acts of industrial and technological espionage,” an official statement said implying that the tyre was stolen by a competing manufacturer.
Michelin motorsport director, Pierre Dupasquier has bowed out from international motorsport following the company’s 100th pole position and another Grand Prix win. Whilst always likely to be a Michelin pole – the French brand has taken 18 of the 19 top spots in qualifying this season – the 100th such achievement was a fitting way for Dupasquier to leave the F1 paddock, having presided over the company’s return to F1.
(Akron/Tire Review) A report by the Shanghai Daily says that Bridgestone Corp. will add 750 retail tyre outlets to its distribution in China by 2010, with some 400 of them being “high-end branded stores.”
Already, Bridgestone has 4,850 sales outlets in China, and will boost that total to 5,600 within five years. Among those are 100 Car Wings company-owned outlets, which Bridgestone says it will increase to 500 stores. Car Wings outlets sell tyres, wheels, stereo equipment and accessories.
Bosch, in collaboration with Michelin, has enhanced some of the traditional functions of its Electronic Stability Program, adapting them to work in conjunction with run-flat tyre technologies. The new cluster of enhanced ESP functions is called “Run-Flat Stability Control” (RFS). RFS contributes to maintaining the maximum level of driving safety and mobility even after a loss of tyre pressure.
Glanworth Tyres has been appointed as Kleber’s exclusive wholesaler in Ireland. It will distribute Kleber car and van tyres in what, the manufacturer claims, is one of the brand’s fastest growing markets and the sixth largest in Europe.
“The link between the largest tyre manufacturer in the world, the largest wholesaler in Ireland and some of the best tyre retailers around is sure to guarantee a successful future,” remarked sales director Estelle.
There was mixed news concerning demand for tyres in the USA during September. Light vehicle tyre shipments during the month were up 2.6 per cent compared with September last year, which came as a surprise to some analysts, who were expecting sales to fall as a reaction to high fuel prices. The good news is tempered by the fact that these figures represent shipments to dealers, rather than sales to consumers.
This year Cheshire-based casing dealership, Global Remould Services, is celebrating its first decade in business. Much has changed since the beginning. 10 years ago the company turned over £180,000 worth of casing sales. Now annual turnover is almost 20 times that size (roughly £3.5 million). When a casing dealership grows this much, it is important that it also owns it own fleet. That’s why last year Global Remoulds purchased a tractor unit and three trailers to assist in the transportation of the 100,000 tyres that the company handles each year.
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