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Conditional Grants Would Help Goodyear Plant

(Akron/Tire Review – Fayetteville Observer) The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. plant in Fayetteville could receive US$40 million in state grants if it spends at least $200 million on improvements and keeps a minimum of 2,400 workers. A bill approved 105-5 by the North Carolina House on July 26 creates a fund designed to help the tyremaker, which closed two plants last year. The Fayetteville site, which has been on Ramsey Street for 38 years, was among those considered for closing.

The bill now goes to the state Senate. It would give as much as $4 million yearly for 10 years to as many as five companies meeting the investment and employment requirements. Fayetteville’s Goodyear plant is the only one that qualifies. “This is huge for all of the communities,” said Rep. Margaret Dickson, a Fayetteville Democrat who worked on the bill.

30th July 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Michelin Sets New Uniroyal Tiger Paw AWP II

(Akron/Tire Review) Michelin North America has introduced the Uniroyal Tiger Paw AWP II, which will come with a 70,000-mile limited treadwear warranty. The new tyre will be launched this autumn in 26 sizes (21 T- and five S-speed rated), and is designed for large, mid-size and compact sedans, and minivans.

MNA said the range of 13 through 16-inch sizes offered will provide coverage of 94 per cent of the broadline segment and 79 per cent of the touring tyre segment.

27th July 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

CTNA Sending Plant Workers to College

(Akron/Tire Review) Continuing its emphasis on its sole remaining active North American tyre plant, Continental Tire North America has teamed with Rend Lake College to start Continental University, an on-site program that will allow CTNA workers at its Mt. Vernon, Ill., tyre plant to earn college degrees.

The program gives employees the opportunity to earn a two-year associates degree by attending classes at the plant, and a bachelor’s degree from nearby Southern Illinois University-Carbondale.

“I’m pleased to announce a direct investment in the education and professional growth of our employees through Continental University,” said Heinz-Gerhard Wente, global human resources chief for Continental AG. “It is a meaningful program that promotes higher education and advances employees’ career paths at Continental, and one that also promotes the exchange of knowledge and ideas and cultivates a high-performance culture in the workplace.”

24th July 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Michelin Puts Media Buying Under One Roof

(Akron/Tire Review) Michelin North America has taken its North American media planning and buying business and consolidated at a single agency. The estimated $112 million account was placed with MediaCom, a unit of WPP Group. The move, which includes MNA’s Michelin, BFGoodrich and Uniroyal tyre brands, as well as Michelin’s maps and travel guides and MNA’s TCI tire distribution unit. The media planning and buying efforts, once spread around multiple advertising agencies, includes all trade and consumer advertising.

Advertising and promotion creative work reportedly will remain with those agencies currently in place.

19th July 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

MNA Testing Hydrogen-Fueled Lift Trucks

(Akron/Tire Review) Michelin North America is testing hydrogen-powered lift trucks at one of its tyre plants in South Carolina. The summer-long test is being run at several South Carolina manufacturers by hydrogen fuel cell maker Hydrogenics, equipment distributor LiftOne and lift truck maker Linde.

“Michelin is committed to excellence in the area of environmental responsibility, especially in conjunction with promising, innovative technologies,” said Raul Fernandez, site manager at MNA’s Lexington, S.C., plant. “While the results of this trial won’t be known until the completion of the evaluation period, we are hopeful that this technology for forklift applications will prove to be both practical and environmentally sound.”

18th July 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Conti Truck Tyres Get EPA Nod

(Akron/Tire Review) Three Continental brand medium truck tyres have been recognised by the Environmental Protection Agency for meeting its SmartWay environmental specifications. The Conti HSL (steer), HDL Eco Plus (drive), and HTL (all position/trailer) were noted for meeting specific performance requirements including environmental design and fuel consumption performance.

“As one of only four tyre manufacturers being recognised by the EPA for meeting the requirements for the SmartWay Tractor-Trailer equipment specifications, Continental Tire North America is especially proud of this achievement,” said Clif Armstrong, CTNA’s director of commercial marketing. “This honour validates our work in developing quality products that continue to meet the needs of today’s fuel conscious fleets.”

18th July 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Aftermarket SmarTire TPMS to be Sold through International Truck

SmarTire announced on July 10 that Dana Corporation, its marketing partner for the commercial vehicle market in North America, Australia and New Zealand, will be offering the company’s SmartWave TPMS retrofit kits to the International Truck and Engine Corporation. A version of the SmartWave TPMS system specifically designed for aftermarket installation on commercial vehicles will be available through the nearly 1,000 International Truck dealer outlets in North America.

Dave Warkentin, president and CEO of SmarTire, said, “This is an important milestone for SmarTire as it makes our Smartwave TPMS systems readily available to fleet buyers through the largest commercial vehicle dealer organisation in the United States. International’s dealer network stretches throughout North America and, along with the support provided by Dana, we believe it will provide an excellent sales and service channel for our products.”

13th July 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

MNA Opens New Tread Stock Plant

(Akron/Tire Review) Michelin North America opened the doors to its new tread rubber production facility in Mexico on July 9. The new Michelin Retread Technologies (MRTI) tread plant is located next to MNA’s Mexico headquarters and passenger tyre plant in Querétaro.

The $40 million plant will produce proprietary tread stock for MRTI retreaders across North America, including the 16 MRTI retreaders in Mexico.

“The retread market in Mexico is currently the seventh largest in the world with a growing demand for Michelin products,” said Jim Micali, MNA’s chairman and president. “The opening of this new plant in Querétaro will allow us to fulfill the growing needs of our local customers as well as support our business throughout North America.”

11th July 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

CTNA Headquarters on the Move

Continental Tire North America is negotiating to move its headquarters to Lancaster County, Pennsylvania as a part of a US$10 million deal. The 320 employees working at head office will relocate to a brand new leased 65,000 square foot facility in a business park south of the town of Ballantyne. The company intends to retain some mixing and warehousing operations in part of its existing 1.7 million square foot production facility and headquarters in North Carolina, but all headquarters employees will transfer to the new premises

9th July 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

NLRB Denies Union’s Appeal Against CTNA

(Akron/Tire Review) The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has denied an administrative appeal filed by the United Steelworkers (USW) union contesting the NLRB’s earlier decision to dismiss the union’s suit against Continental Tire North America (CTNA).

The USW alleged unfair labour practices in the 2005-2006 labour negotiations between CTNA and the union at the tyremaker’s Charlotte, North Carolina manufacturing plant.

The NLRB’s general counsel concluded that CTNA’s decision to curtail tyre manufacturing at its Charlotte plant was lawful and that the company complied with its legal obligations to negotiate with the union about the decision.

“This determination resolves the legal dispute between CTNA and the union pertaining to the company’s efforts to restructure the Charlotte plant,” said CTNA. “The determination is final, and there are no other opportunities for appeal.”

6th July 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

CIMS Commentary on Chinese Tyre Recall

(Akron/Tire Review) Federal regulations require that tyre purchasers have a right to have their tyres registered at no charge, so they will be directly notified in the event of a safety related recall to have the tyres removed from the highway as quickly as possible.

[Editor’s Note: CIMS, which produces and sells tyre registration materials in North America, issued a press release yesterday regarding the current recall situation involving Chinese produced tyres. While the release itself contained no news – only commentary – the comments of CIMS president Paul Kruder regarding the matter may be of interest to readers.]

“As a result of the recent government ordered tyre recall of at least 450,000 Chinese produced tyres, questions regarding tyre safety are dominating the headlines once again. Tyre purchasers need to protect themselves and make sure their tyres are registered.

4th July 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Michelin Discontinues Bias-Ply Agricultural Tyres in North America

Michelin Agricultural Tires has decided to discontinue the supply of BFGoodrich brand bias-ply agricultural tyres to North America. The company’s decision to market a radial only range comes at a time when radial tyres make up more than 30 per cent of the overall North American agricultural tyre market, and the benefits of radials to agricultural users, such as greater load carrying capacity and reduced soil compaction, ensure this proportion will continue to increase.

“Since Michelin acquired the BFGoodrich brand in 1989, we have seen tremendous change in the agricultural industry,” said Bill Schafer, vice president of marketing and sales for Michelin North America Agricultural Tires. “Farming operations have increased in size and tractors, harvesters and sprayers have grown larger and more powerful as a result. More than ever, these machines need the durability and performance advantages that radial technology delivers compared to bias-ply construction.

3rd July 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

CTNA Announces $78 Million in New Investments for Mt. Vernon Plant

Continental Tire North America (CTNA) is planning US$78 million in new investments at Mt. Vernon facility. According to Conti, these funds will “significantly expand CTNA’s commercial operations and regionalise the company’s commercial tyre production to better meet market demand in the United States.”

“This is another major investment in our Mt. Vernon facility and one that will allow us to take our commercial operations to a new level,” said CTNA CEO Matthias Schönberg. “The market demand in the US for CTNA’s commercial tyres continues to grow, and this expansion will help us to serve all our customers better, faster and more efficiently.”

2nd July 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Casalbore Named Business Partner at Barron’s Wholesale Tire

(Akron/Tire Review) Carl Casalbore has joined Barron’s Wholesale Tire Inc. as a business partner and will serve as vice president of sales and marketing. Casalbore had been director of passenger and light truck replacement dealer sales for Continental Tire North America (CTNA) and was responsible for developing and managing the independent tire dealer sales channel. Before joining CTNA, he had been vice president of marketing and high performance tire development at Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. Casalbore had also worked at Pirelli Tire North America Inc. as vice president of sales.

26th June 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Denso to Expand Canadian Manufacturing Facility

(Akron/Tire Review) Denso Manufacturing Canada Inc., based in Guelph, Ontario, plans to expand its 112,442 square-foot facility by approximately 215,200 square feet. The new investment will total $63.7 million, and will create approximately 300 new jobs by 2010.

Due to the expansion, the subsidiary’s capital was increased by $24.5 million in May.

Denso Manufacturing Canada will produce radiators, condensers and electric fans and will integrate these products into engine cooling modules. The company will also continue producing air conditioning units.

25th June 2007/by Tyrepress Editors