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.
Czech tyre manufacturer Mitas is to purchase the motorcycle tyre manufacturing business from Trelleborg. The purchase (the price of which was not revealed) includes the license of the trade mark ‘Trelleborg’ and increases the Mitas motorcycle tyre portfolio by 15 designs in 57 sizes.
The Siam cement Group is to reduce its shareholding in the Michelin Siam Group from 50 per cent to 40 in order to concentrate on its core business. The shares will be purchased by Michelin, the other partner in the joint venture, giving it a 60 per cent stake. Michelin Siam has three factories in Thailand, plus a tyre mould making plant and a steel cord factory. The company makes Michelin brand tyres for vehicles from motorcycles to aircraft.
Edouard Michelin, CEO of the French tyre giant, can see opportunities for technical alliances with competitors, a French magazine reports. As an example, he cites the new tyre and wheel system ‘Pax’, which will be presented jointly by Michelin and Pirelli in Geneva.
The Financial Times has published its annual list of the top 500 global companies, ranked by market capitalisation. The only tyre company in the world list is Bridgestone, at position number 300. In the list of the top 500 European companies, there are three; Michelin (304), Pirelli (311) and Continental (482).
After profit warnings from Goodyear, and from Michelin, the tyre industry is losing credit and trust at stock exchanges all over the world. Continental has now also been downgraded from “buy” to “Market perform”.
In the UK, Michelin has carried out a survey of attitudes to tyre pressures. 83 per cent agreed that correct tyre inflation is important to safety and 88 per cent related correct pressure to fuel economy. However, 50 per cent check their pressures monthly, 30 per cent rely on services for pressure checks and 5 per cent “never check” tyre pressures.
The motorcycle industry started the millennium season on an optimistic note, when the “MOTORRÄDER” Fair at Dortmund opened on 1st March. Not only motorcycle manufacturers showed their new products for the year 2000, but on the total 409 stands in eight exhibition halls clothes, service and accessories were also represented. Figures produced by the German Motorcycle Manufacturers Association (IVM) confirm the abiding popularity of the motorised two-wheeler: The 187,192 new motorcycle registrations are equivalent to 6.4 p.c. growth over 1998. Not least among the accessories one must mention tyres – thus tyre manufacturers also had cause to rejoice. The industry was represented by Bridgestone, Cooper-Avon, Dunlop, Metzeler/Pirelli, Michelin and the Heidenau tyre factory showing their current products, but Continental was absent this time. Some old friends from the service sector had also turned up, among them several local companies but also Stinnes. Maybe “old” is not the right word for Stinnes. After its acquisition (together with Gummi Mayer) by the Danish Viborg group/the British Legal & General Ventures Ltd. the Stinnes/Mayer trade and service enterprises made their Fair début under the same corporate identity. News from the Dortmund show and more about motorbike related topics you can find in the April issue of NEUE REIFENZEITUNG.
Tom Kristensen, in a BMW-engined Williams FW21B, tested the latest version of Michelin F1 tyres in Miramas. The Dane was very impressed with the standard of the Michelin program and the technical progress the engineers achieved between the two 4-day sessions.
Popular German car magazine auto motor und sport tested ten M+S tyre brands size 195/65 R 15 on a BMW 323i. The test winners were Goodyear’s Ultra Grip 6 (“best tyre”) and Uniroyal’s MS Plus 55. These were followed by Dunlop’s SP Winter Sport M3, Continental’s WinterContact TS 790, Pirelli’s Winter 210 Snow Sport, Michelin’s Pilot Alpin, and Nokian’s Hakkapeliitta NRW. Those tyres which achieved only limited recommendation were Toyo’s Snowprox S 940 and Firestone’s FW 930, while last place in the test went to Yokohama’s Winter F 310 Plus.
Edouard Michelin has confirmed that Michelin will go ahead with plans to reduce its European workforce by 10%, referring to the initiative as “not just a cost-cutting plan or headcount reduction. It is a productivity plan that has an upside of speeding up growth. In the same interview, Edouard Michelin said that tyre industry consolidation was not at an end. Michelin, he said, will eventually have to make “some kind of link, alliance, or even acquisition” in Asia. He also suggested that medium-sized tyre companies will “either merge or join the club of the large companies”.
An article in the newspaper Handelsblatt suggested that Continental is about to open a tyre factory in Moscow and that negotiations were close to final agreement. An investment in the region of 30 million Euros was reported. In September last year, Neue Reifenzeitung reported on negotiations between Continental and Moskauer Reifenwerke, which was very close to bankruptcy, although the financial situation may have improved as the main shareholder Yukos has sold its stake in the company. NEUE REIFENZEITUNG asked Continental for more details, but the company said it was not in a position to comment and could not confirm the figures quoted. Continental is only one of the tyre companies involved in negotiations in this area, with Michelin being another.
Tyre giants Michelin and Goodyear are to work together in the future on their run-flat systems PAX and EMT. A joint venture company has been formed, based in the Netherlands.
Goodyear has developed an agreement with Phase IV Engineering of Boulder, Colorado aimed at fully developing a tyre pressure monitoring system. After the recent agreements with Michelin and Cycloid Systems this is the third such agreement Goodyear has completed. The long term aim of this strategy is not only to develop a fully operational system, but to extend Goodyear beyond the automotive tyre field.
Edouard Michelin, CEO of the French tyre giant, can see opportunities for technical alliances with competitors, a French magazine reports. As an example, he cites the new tyre and wheel system ‘Pax’, which will be presented jointly by Michelin and Pirelli in Geneva.
Continental spokesman Peter Schwerdtmann has denied reports that Continental and Michelin are planning to re-arrange or discontinue their two-year-old joint venture which includes combined purchasing of raw materials and Michelin’s share of Barum. The teamwork between both companies is excellent, he said, and the joint venture will continue. Terms to form the basis of a new settlement would have caused problems because of the brand rights for Uniroyal, owned by Michelin, but produced in Europe by Continental, under licence.
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