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Michelin NA Recognised as a ‘Senior Friendly’ Employer

Michelin North America has appeared in the US based non-governmental organisation AARP (American Association of Retired Persons) 2008 list of best employers for workers over 50. Ranked number 43, the tyre major – 35 per cent of whose workforce is aged 50 years or older – is praised for its treatment of older workers in a number of areas.

Two Michelin policies especially highlighted by the AARP are company pre-retirement seminars to prepare and educate employees and their spouses who are nearing retirement, and a phased-retirement programme that permits employees aged 55 or over with ten or more years of service the option of working a reduced schedule (up to 35 hours per week) while maintaining their benefits.

25th September 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Far Reaching Agreement

It’s a done deal. Hands have been shaken and the ink is dry: Schaeffler is the proud new owner of a sizeable chunk in Continental AG. On August 21, Continental announced it had entered into what it referred to as a ‘far reaching investment agreement’ with Schaeffler KG, Mrs. Maria-Elisabeth Schaeffler and Mr. Georg F.W. Schaeffler.

The bare bones of the deal is that Schaeffler has, as of September 2, taken control of 48.32 per cent of the Hanover, Germany based company, and with this new influence comes a couple of new nameplates on the company’s most favoured office doors. Schaeffler’s buying price of 75 euros per share is a generous one; the figure represents a 39 per cent premium on the stock price prior to the takeover bid’s announcement, and 30 per cent higher than the 60 euros per share that Merrill Lynch analysts believe the value will sink to by late September. Conti has placed a total value of 12.1 billion euros upon the deal.

25th September 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Goodyear Chooses IMG as International Licensing Agent

Goodyear has chosen IMG Licensing, a division of global sports and entertainment company IMG, as its agency for licensing the Goodyear brand outside of North America. According to IMG, Goodyear is looking to extend the brand beyond its core products in ways that both enhance the company’s image and provide new streams of profitable revenue.

According to Bob Paciulan, manager of licensed products for Goodyear, the company has licensed close to 70 companies worldwide. “However, to take this to the next level we needed a company with local offices and licensing professionals throughout the world with a proven track record of developing brands successfully,” Paciulan stated. “IMG fit the bill perfectly and showed they understand how and where we wish to leverage the Goodyear brand. We’re very pleased to bring IMG onto the Goodyear licensing team.”

24th September 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

BFOR Takes Responsibility for Continuum Brand

Off-road fleets in North America wishing to use a mix of both new and retread tyres now have a one-stop, integrated service solution: Bridgestone Firestone Off Road Company (BFOR), a division of Bridgestone Firestone North American Tire, has expanded its product range with the addition of retread tyres manufactured with Continuum tread rubber. Company officials announced at the MINEXPO 2008 show in Las Vegas that BFOR will assume marketing, sales and distribution responsibilities immediately for Continuum brand retread materials in the USA and Canada.

24th September 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Michelin Purchase of Conti Tyre Division Not Feasible – Analysts

Any idea Michelin has of purchasing Continental AG’s tyre business will most likely die quietly, as analysts have poured cold water on the possibility that such an arrangement would be permitted. A number of analysts have been quick to point out that a purchase of Conti’s tyre business would be seen frowned upon; it would, after all, leave the resultant company holding 40 per cent of the European passenger car tyre market and more than half of the truck tyre market. Michael Punzet, an analyst with DZ Bank, commented to Forbes that the European Commission would thus most likely not give approval as it would break competition rules.

23rd September 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Michelin to Stop Dundee Production for a Week

Michelin is reportedly closing its Baldovie factory in Dundee for a week to counter a drop in demand, however the company stresses that workers will still be paid and the factory’s future remains secure. This shutdown will begin on October 13, and will be followed by further, shorter stoppages in November and December. The aim of these stoppages at the 23,000 unit per day plant is to reduce the number of stockpiled tyres the company is currently holding, and the first closure ties in with the school holidays. Staff training will occur during the subsequent stoppages.

23rd September 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Polk Forecasts New Commercial Vehicle Registrations in 2012

The new vehicle market for classes 3-8 vehicles is expected to grow to 723,000 by 2012, according to a new report from R. L. Polk & Co. Polk’s new Forecast of Commercial Vehicle Activity for North America which provides insight into the class 3-8 commercial vehicle market through 2012. “Available to customers now, Polk’s unique offering provides an econometric-based model, allowing customers to maximize their sales opportunities by better understanding the North American market for commercial vehicles,” the company said.

“Polk’s new offering for the North American commercial vehicle market enables us to expand our capabilities and provide increased value and benefit to our customers,” said Gary Meteer, account director for Polk’s Commercial Vehicle Group. “We are confident this new data offering will provide significant insight for customers as they analyze business opportunities in North America’s commercial vehicle industry and plan for the future.” (Tire Review/Akron)

19th September 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone Plans to Introduce New Fuel-Efficient Tyres Abroad

(Bloomberg) Bridgestone Corp. plans to sell a new fuel-efficient tyre outside Japan to lure drivers trying to cut gasoline costs. Bridgestone will sell its Ecopia line of tyres, which improve a car’s fuel economy by as much as 5%, in markets including North America and Europe following a domestic launch in April this year, Takashi Tomioka, director of Bridgestone’s tyre products strategy division, said in an interview.

Gasoline prices have jumped 27 per cent in the U.S. this year, cutting demand for new cars. Tokyo-based Bridgestone forecasts demand for replacement tyres will be unchanged and consumers will be willing to pay higher prices for fuel-efficiency. “The sales volume on these tyres is very small,” said Kunihiro Matsumoto, senior analyst at UBS AG in Tokyo. “But it’s positioned as a high-performance tyre and priced to contribute to earnings.” (Tire Review/Akron)

18th September 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone to Go Global With Ecopia

In April Bridgestone launched its ‘Ecopia’ range of fuel efficient tyres, said to reduce rolling resistance by some 30 per cent. Despite a slight price premium in its home market of about 20 per cent over a standard tyre, the Japanese manufacturer holds sufficient confidence in the product to proceed with its global release. Targeted markets include Europe and North America.

17th September 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Double Coin Makes Retread Specs Available in US

Double Coin Holdings Ltd. has made retread specifications for Double Coin radial truck and bus tyre casings available in the US. Details include the buffing radius and width for 15 to 24.5-inch rim widths. The specifications also include data for tube type, tubeless, conventional and low-profile tyres. Double Coin compiled the data by working with several strategic retreaders in North America.

Online reports state that the Double Coin truck tyre warranty includes all the normal guarantees, plus a 50 per cent free replacement option. Crucially for retreaders it also includes a casing warranty throughout the life of the second retread.

16th September 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

First European Sales of Laugfs Solid Tyres

Europe received its first shipment of tyres from Sri Lanka’s Laugfs Rubber Corporation in early September. The European market thus joins the company’s growing international network, which includes a holding company in Hong Kong and distribution centres in North America, Canada, Australia and the Middle East.

16th September 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Bad Boy Adds Conti to Online Product Range

Bad Boy Tires.com, the online tyre retailer in the USA, has made Continental’s products available at its online store, enhancing its brand strategy for online tyre sales.

Jim Seidel, the former Director of Sales for Continental Tire North America, is head of Bad Boy Tires.com, and expects e-tailing to be a growth area for the tyre market: “We are growing our online tire sales business very rapidly and our customers are increasingly requesting tires that they had on their new vehicles as original equipment. As the former director of sales at Continental I know first-hand the strength that the brand enjoys at the O.E. level.”

16th September 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Conti Predicts 8.5% EBIT this Year

Continental AG says it expects pre-tax profits (EBIT) of about 8.5 per cent this year, despite an earlier prediction of 9.3 per cent. The company, which recently gained a new leading shareholder – ball bearing maker Schaeffler Group – put the profit warning down to the “substantial worsening of the economic environment on the vehicle markets in North America and Europe in the third quarter and the unchanged high burdens from increased raw material cost.” The company maintained its 2008 sales projection of 26.4 billion euros.

15th September 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Toyo Tire North America Achieves ISO 9001:2000

Toyo Tire North America Manufacturing, Inc. (TNA) has received ISO 9001:2000 Quality Management System Standards certification by Lloyd’s Register Quality Assurance (LRQA) of Houston, Texas. Located in White, Georgia, the 900,000-square-foot TNA facility was established in June 2004 and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Toyo Tire Holdings of Americas Inc.

Already known for its product quality, TNA’s ISO 9001:2000 certification means that the facility meets internationally recognized quality standards for the production of tyres. On 26 August, Toyo broke ground on an 820,000-square-foot expansion to nearly double the size of the plant. With the increased space and machinery, annual output is expected to grow from 2 million units in 2008 to six million units in 2012. This expansion further represents Toyo’s focus on efficiently serving the North American market.

11th September 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Ex-Michelin America Executive Dies

The management at Michelin North America have been paying tribute to a former top executive who died on Monday. Ronald C. Musgnug retired from his position at the head of the Michelin Aircraft Tires division in 1997, but will be remembered as “a true pioneer” of the company’s North American operations. Current executive vice president of Michelin North America, Wayne Culbertson said that “Above all the strong leaders in our company, Ron stood out.”

Musgnug – a New York native – graduated from Adelphia University with a degree in Chemistry and an MBA. Before joining Michelin, he was a sharpshooter in the Marines, worked on the Lunar Excursion Module that first landed on the moon and was involved in Grumman’s F14 fighter jet project. He became Michelin’s first US plant manager at Greenville Donaldson in 1974, followed by stints as Anderson plant manager and head of manufacturing for Michelin Canada. In 1986, he became head of all North American manufacturing and then, in 1993, the worldwide role of global president of Michelin Aircraft Tyres was his.

10th September 2008/by Tyrepress Editors