North America
(Akron/Tire Review) Unless significant headway is made, say news reports, union workers at three Michelin North America plants were planning to go on strike when their current contract with the tyremaker expires at midnight July 23.
According to an article in the Akron Beacon Journal, Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. is seeking dramatic changes in wages, job classification and benefits for thousands of union workers to save millions of dollars in North America, the United Steelworkers of America says. The tyre manufacturer and the USW are negotiating a new contract in Cincinnati, with the current three-year agreement expiring Saturday.
Bandag, Incorporated reported consolidated net sales for second quarter 2006 of $247.3 million compared to consolidated net sales of $227.3 million in second quarter 2005, an increase of nine percent. Consolidated net sales were positively impacted by approximately $4.1 million due to the effect of translating foreign currency denominated net sales into U.S. dollars. Consolidated net earnings were $10.5 million, or $0.54 per diluted share, for second quarter 2006, compared to second quarter 2005 consolidated net earnings of $12.7 million, or $0.65 per diluted share.
(Akron/Tire Review) Kumho Tire USA Inc. has named Kelvin Oh as its new sales coordinator and general manager. In his new post, Oh is responsible for coordinating long-term strategy and sales plans for Kumho in the US and communicating market information to company headquarters in Seoul, South Korea. Most recently, Oh has been North America sales team leader based in Seoul.
(Akron/Tire Review – Reuters) Goodyear Tire & Rubber has made considerable progress on a North America turnaround, but looming pension liabilities, tough labour talks and high material costs are raising credit investors’ worries that further progress could be slow. Ignoring Goodyear’s strong rise in first-quarter earnings on 4 May, credit investors have sold off the company’s bonds, pushing prices lower over the past two months. Goodyear’s 7.86 per cent notes due in 2011 have fallen to 91.7 cents on the dollar from a high this year of 99.5 cents on 9 May, according to MarketAxess.
(Akron/Tire Review) Michelin brand passenger and light truck/SUV tyres are now being produced in Mexico for the very first time. Michelin North America upgraded its production facilities at its plant in Queretaro to allow Michelin-brand tyre production.
Bavarian tuning specialist MTM has created the fastest Bentley ever with a 205-mph performance kit of engine upgrades and 21-inch Dunlop SP Sport Maxx ultra-performance tyres. Motoren Technik Mayer GmbH announced that its MTM Bentley Continental GT retains the elegant appearance of the stock vehicle, but packs even more power under the lid. The tuner supplies various performance kits, ranging from 560 horsepower as standard to an impressive 635 horsepower.
Michelin North America (MNA) says it will indefinitely layoff some 390 to 520 union workers at its 43-year-old Opelika, Alabama, tyre plant. The layoffs, said the company, are the result of a 30 per cent to 40 per cent production cutback at the plant which came about in response to the tough environment faced in the North American mass market segment.
SRI Tire Trading Ltd., the tyre export branch of the Sumitomo Rubber Group, will increase the prices of the company’s Dunlop, Falken and Sumitomo brand tyres for passenger cars, light trucks, trucks and buses and motorcycles in the Asia, Near and Middle East, North America, Europe, Central and South America, Africa and Pacific nations beginning September. The price increase will be in the range of 5 to 10 per cent, depending on tyre categories, tyre sizes and markets.
(Akron/Tire Review) Delticom AG, Europe’s leading online tyre seller, opened a new bilingual online store in Canada. The new online effort is the company’s second direct-to-consumers online venture in North America; it already operates www.tires-easy.com. Delticom said the new site will offer some 60 tyre brands and 10,6000 SKUs. Its U.S. business also includes mounting, balancing and installation through some 8,500 “tyre installation partners.” Based in Hanover, Germany, Delticom said it operates 60 online tyre stores in 25 countries.
Following a strong 2005 winter season in some of Europe’s largest markets, Taiwanese manufacturer, Nankang has announced that it is extending is product range and broadening the distribution of the company’s Sonar second brand.
Nankang’s Sonar brand was previously only sold in Taiwan. But when the company recently increased capacity to 10 million units per year, it began looking abroad for distribution opportunities for these tyres. For the same reasons, outside of Taiwan Nankang is only planning to bring Sonar into what it sees as major markets.
If ever there was a competition for a company whose name tells you exactly what the company does, then Vintage Tyre Supplies would surely be in with a shout. Even the location of its head office – a few seconds' stroll from the Beaulieu Motor Museum – underlines what the company is about.
Vintage Tyre Supplies is, quite simply, a leader in what could be described as "a global niche", sourcing and selling vintage and classic tyres around the world. "Our business is growing and our overseas markets are developing steadily," says VTS managing director Chris Marchant.
(Akron/Tire Review) Michelin North America has added 12 new 17- to 22-inch sizes to its popular BFGoodrich T/A/ KO light truck/SUV tyre line. The line extension was launched last week to dealers and media at a special programme in San Diego. The new larger sizes, said BFGoodrich officials, mirror size increases seen at OE. While 16-inch light truck tyres remain popular on the replacement side, OEMs have moved to 17- and 18-inch and larger.
On the back of record net profits of 15.6 million Singapore dollars, Stamford Tyres plans to further strengthen its position through European expansion plans. As far as products are concerned, Stamford representatives told Tyres & Accessories that the company will continue strong sales of its “major brands,” (Falken, Dunlop and Continental) but also plans to further develop its range of proprietary tyres (Sumo, Firenza etc), while doubling its alloy wheel production capacity.
(Akron/Tire Review) Retreader Bergey’s Tire, based in Hatfield, Pennsylvania, has become a Marangoni Ringtread retreader. According to the announcement, Bergey’s will exclusively produce and sell Marangoni retreads, and will not renew its previous franchise deal with Bandag.
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