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Conti Names Appointments for New Business Units

As of 1st July Dr. Andreas Esser (48), who has headed Continental’s global Original Equipment Car Tires business for many years, will be responsible for the company’s newly-created business units Replacement Business Car Tires and Replacement Business Truck Tires Asia, based in Shanghai. At the same time Nikolai Setzer will take over as head of Continental’s Original Equipment Car Tires business. Dr. Esser previously held this position for over six years, whilst Nikolai Setzer was responsible for the OE Car Tires business in North and South America.

Creating the two new business units enables Continental to consolidate its growing activities in the car, MPV/light van and commercial vehicle tyre replacement business on Asia’s booming market, and Continental believes this move demonstrates the company’s interest in this continent. In his new position Dr. Esser will report directly to Manfred Wennemer, chairman of the board at Continental AG and head of the Car Tire division, as well as to Dr. Hans-Joachim Nikolin, who is a member of the board and is also responsible for the Commercial Vehicle Tire division. Dr. Esser headed the Original Equipment Car Tires business unit for over six years and under his leadership Continental became number one in Europe for OE sales and number three in North America.

25th June 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Turmoil Passed, CTNA Focus Shifts to Brand, Rebuilding Dealer Trust

(Akron/Tire Review) Plant closings, union battles, multiple management changes, low fill rates, irate dealers, shifting directions…the last five years have been difficult for Continental Tire North America. But, the past is the past. Since the appointment of Continental AG CFO Alan Hippe as president and CEO of CTNA in May 2005, CTNA officials point out, progress has been made. Even while it was sorting out its North American tyre production issues, Andreas Gerstenberger, who joined CTNA in September 2003, was leading a virtual transformation of the company’s marketing and sales group. It was not, as he himself admits, a smooth road, and it wasn’t until 2005 that many key issues were settled.

21st June 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Casalbore Leaves Conti

(Akron/Tire Review) Continental Tire North America is looking for a new sales director. Carl Casalbore has left the company after serving as director of passenger/light truck dealer sales for the past two years.

No replacement has been named, and CTNA has begun a search for his replacement. In the interim, CTNA executive vice president of sales and marketing Andreas Gerstenberger will serve as acting sales director.

20th June 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

New European Appointments for Pirelli

Pirelli Tyre has announced two new appointments in its European operations. Stafano Parisi, who for the last five years has served as head of marketing for Pirelli Tyre in Germany has transferred to the company’s Italian office in Milan. Filling Mr. Parisi’s shoes in Germany is Giovanni Ricci, whose previous responsibilities were for pricing and demand-planning in the marketing department of Pirelli North America.

19th June 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Interview – Roy Armes

(Akron/Tire Review) Roy V. Armes was named president and CEO of Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. last December, following the August resignation of Tom Dattilo. A 31-year veteran of Whirlpool Corp., Armes held several senior-level posts in various departments at the appliance manufacturer, including engineering, project management and purchasing. He also had positions in Mexico and China and was responsible for establishing overseas manufacturing operations and joint ventures.

Most notably, Armes oversaw the integration of Maytag into the Whirlpool fold and, over the years, gained a strong background in manufacturing and technology, engineering, international business, consumer products and distribution channel management.

19th June 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Toyo US Subsidiary Wins Gold Award for Website

Nitto Tire North America Inc. (Toyo’s Nitto Tire sales subsidiary in the US) has won a gold award for its website (http://www.nittotire.com) in the “Consumer Information” category of the Horizon Interactive Awards. The awards are an international competition recognizing outstanding work in the field of interactive media, such as on-line advertising and CD-ROMs.

15th June 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Conti Plans HQ Move

(Akron/Tire Review) The Charlotte Business Journal has reported that Continental Tire North America Inc. plans to move its headquarters from Charlotte to a business park in nearby Lancaster County, North Carolina. CTNA is reportedly negotiating a multi-million deal with the park developer.

According to the report, CTNA would move its 120-person headquarters staff to a 65,000-quare-foot facility, and will keep a small operation at its 1.7-million-square-foot Charlotte facility. The Charlotte facility had served as CTNA’s headquarters and home plant. The plant has ceased producing tyres, but still serves as a warehouse and distribution centre.

12th June 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Michelin Introduces Light Truck/SUV Tyre to Canadian Market

(Akron/Tire Review) Michelin North America (Canada) Inc. has introduced its LTXTM A/T2 light truck and SUV tyre. The tyre will be available to Canadian dealers this August in 32 P-metric and LT sizes. According to the tyremaker, the new LTX A/T2 tyre features “aggressive, notched tread blocks and biting edges,” visual styling indicators, Michelin’s “Comfort Control” technology and “Advanced MaxTouch Construction.”

“Drivers who use their light trucks and SUVs for both work and play will especially enjoy the LTX A/T2 tyre,” says Barbara Weber, product manager. “This tyre exceeds the performance of other products on the market by providing both a comfortable and quiet ride on the road, while also delivering increased durability and off-road capabilities.”

6th June 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Michelin Launches Touring Tyre-Inspired Footwear Line

(Akron/Tire Review) At the Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Ala., Michelin North America (MNA) launched the Michelin Primacy MXV4 touring tyre and a casual footwear line inspired by the new tyre.Developed by Michelin Footwear, a division of Gear Six Technologies, Michelin’s official worldwide licensee for footwear, the MXV4 footwear line is being distributed by IGE 3 Corp., a division of Geoffrey Allen Corp. located in Secaucus, N.J.

Available this autumn in specialty retail stores, the MXV4 line features two outsoles inspired by the tyre-tread sculpture of the Michelin Primacy MXV4 touring tyre. It has full-grain premium leather uppers in variety of different styles.

“The Michelin name stands for innovation, performance and mobility worldwide,” said Tom Costin, president and CEO of Michelin Footwear. “Footwear industry insiders and consumers will continue to see many of Michelin’s popular tyre-tread sculptures creatively captured in footwear outsoles,” added Costin. “When wearing them, it’s easy to recognize the benefits of each sculpture’s design are directly in line with the type of footwear and its performance needs.”

5th June 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Latest Ringtread Technology Shown off at Opening of New Plant

Pennsylvania based Bergey’s Tire Service celebrated the grand opening of their newly remodelled retreading facility on May 11. The company had spend the previous six months upgrading the Perkasie plant to improve quality, efficiency and to upgrade their equipment to the latest Marangoni retreading technology. New state of the art equipment, from inspection to curing, include the addition of the Marangoni ITT Sfera Shearographic inspection machine, a Marangoni 2500 buffer, the latest in building technology in the Marangoni Ringbuilder 3000, the modular AZ cushion extruder and builder combination, and the latest Cure-Tech curing chambers.

The company signed on as part of the Marangoni Ringtread network in June 2006, and at that time Bergey Tire president Duane Bergey stated “In an effort to maintain our professional independence and provide the best product to our fleet customers, we have decided to grow our business with Marangoni Tread North America. We have been producing the Ringtread retreads for four years at our plant in Perkasie, Pennsylvania, and it distinguishes us from our competitors. We feel Marangoni is the best partner for our future.”

4th June 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

New Touring Tyre from Michelin North America

Michelin North America has released a new addition to its range of offerings for luxury vehicles – the Primacy MXV4 touring tyre. Intended as a replacement for an existing tyre with the same name, the new Primacy MXV4 is available in 32 sizes, ranging from 185/65R15 to 225/60R18 in H-speed rating, and 195/60R15 to 245/45R18 in V-speed rating.

According to Michelin, the new tyre features a unique shape and design that provides long lasting and even tread wear and a tread that reduces vibration and road noise. “The new Michelin Primacy MXV4 tyre delivers an unprecedented and uncompromising combination of benefits that significantly boosts wear life without sacrificing handling performance for a wide spectrum of automobiles and driving styles,” claim Michelin officials said. The new tyre is intended for the North American market only and not available in the UK or Europe.

4th June 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Tyre Manufacture in SA – Will it Have a Future?

(SA Treads – South Africa) The South African business sector is applauded the world over for its unflinching work ethic, its determination to succeed against all odds and its uncanny ability to come up with creative solutions whenever the occasion demands it. Nowhere is this more evident perhaps than in the tyre manufacturing segment. Rocketing oil prices, unstable currency, raw material shortages and subsequent price hikes, not to mention the seemingly relentless infiltration of foreign makes landing at suspiciously rock-bottom prices, have all taken their toll on our four domestically-based tyre makers. How are they meeting these challenges? Is tyre manufacturing in this country sustainable or can it expect to meet a similar fate to that of nations like Australia which has seen the demise of local industry in favour of low-cost imports?

4th June 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

U.S. Military Receives First Shipment of BFGoodrich Tyres

(Akron/Tire Review) Michelin North America’s (MNA) BFGoodrich brand announced the delivery of the first 5,000 Baja T/A military edition tyres to the U.S. military for use on Humvees. The military edition tyre features a load capacity of 3,850 pounds per tyre at 50 psi, expanded tread life, more wet- and dry-pavement manoeuvrability and increased mud traction.

BFGoodrich is the primary brand used by the military Humvees. As part of the supply contract, MNA has expanded product mix at its BFGoodrich plant in Fort Wayne, Ind., where the tyres are produced. “This project is a significant milestone for the plant,” said Paul Cagle, Fort Wayne plant manager. “Not only are we reaching our production goals and expanding our production capabilities, but the spirit at the plant is high as employees are displaying a sense of pride in having the opportunity to support the men and women who serve in our Armed Forces.”

The contract with the U.S. military expires in the fourth quarter, but MNA intends to expand the partnership in 2008.

1st June 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Michelin Enjoying Strong European Truck Volumes

Michelin could report a pre-tax profit (EBIT) increase of up to 40 per cent for the first half of 2007, according to Deutsche Bank analysts. The positive performance has been supported by strong truck replacement market sales. Truck replacement markets are reportedly up by a 14 per cent in Europe (+3 per cent year-to-date) and down 7 per cent in North America (-5 per cent year-to-date).

Michelin’s advantage here comes in the fact that it has a better country mix for this scenario with 50 per cent of sales being generated in Europe and only 35 per cent in North America (55 per cent of these are passenger car tyres, with 33 per cent truck tyres). Add to that the fact that selling prices are up to 50 per cent higher in Europe than in North America, and analysts expect strong first half EBIT increases.

30th May 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Michelin Exclusive Tyre Partner for Kia Cee’d

Michelin has been chosen has the exclusive tyre supplier for the Kia cee’d. Two Michelin tyres have been chosen for fitment to the cee’d range: the latest-generation Michelin Energy for 15 and 16 inch wheels; and the multi-award winning Michelin Primacy HP for 17 inch wheels.

Speaking at the car’s international launch near Rome, Michael Lugert, Kia’s Vehicle Evaluation Manager explained how the R&D process began: “Very early in the car’s evolution, Kia decided to fit Michelin tyres exclusively so we could fine-tune the new model’s ride and handling characteristics very precisely. In addition, this collaboration included creating tyres that improve fuel consumption and reduce CO2 emissions – without reducing grip.”

25th May 2007/by Tyrepress Editors