North America
A prototype hybrid U.S. Air Force aircraft refueller truck built on a Mack Truck chassis features a new mixed-service tyre from Goodyear.
Goodyear Unisteel G287 MSA tyres (315/80R22.5) are mounted in the steer position on the 6,000-gallon refueller. Mack Trucks Inc. and the U.S. Air Force Advanced Power Technology Office developed the hybrid diesel-electric truck. Eight Goodyear Unisteel G286 tyres (12R22.5) are mounted on the vehicle’s rear drive axles.
Continental Tire North America has announced that it is increasing prices on its replacement passenger and light truck/SUV tyres by up to 8 per cent. However, the increase is not due to take effect until 1 January 2006. The price increase includes all Continental, General and private brand tyres.
Less than a month ago, Continental announced a second price increase in the US (passenger and light truck tyres), of between 3 and 8 per cent, which became effective 1 October after a 6 per cent rise last February. Analysts expect Continental and the industry in general to fully offset raw material price increases.
(Akron/Tire Review) The United Steelworkers (USW) and Continental Tire North America (CTNA) reached an agreement for CTNA to provide “enhanced severance benefits” to hourly workers who lost their jobs when the tiremaker suspended production at its Mayfield, Ky., tire plant last year. The tentative agreement was finalized 15 September, and the ratification vote was held 30 September.
(Akron/Tire Review) The merger of Galaxy Tire & Wheel Inc. and Dynamic Tire Corp. has been completed, resulting in the creation of GPX International Tire Corp. The Boston-based Galaxy Tire and Toronto-based Dynamic Tire announced their merger plans this past June.
Combined as GPX, the companies will post some $300 million in sales for 2005, officials said, and will have operations in North America, Europe and Asia. GPX officials said that the new firm will market Galaxy and Primex brands as its “flagship” tyre brands.
(Akron/Tire Review) The deadline for Titan International to conclude its $100 million purchase of Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.’s agricultural tyre unit has come and gone, with no word on the disposition of the deal.
Titan has twice extended the completion date for the deal, originally reached last February, because of slow moving negotiations between Titan and the United Steelworkers (USW) over a new contract for employees at Goodyear’s Freeport, Illinois, agricultural tyre plant.
BKT is set to embark on ambitious expansion plans designed to increase the company’s tyre production capacity by 66 per cent. The Indian company currently runs three tyre factories located at Waluj (Western India), Bhiwadi (Northern India) and Chopanki (Northern India). In terms of tyre numbers this means BKT will more than double radial tractor tyre capacity to 250,000 tyres a year. Total capacity for heavy earthmover tyres will be raised from 10,000 to 50,000 tyres per annum.
EnTire Solutions, the joint venture between Michelin and TRW Automotive, says it will increase its direct tyre pressure monitoring system (TPMS) presence in North America for the new 2006 Hyundai Tucson and the 2006 Kia Sportage.
(Akron/Tire Review) Michelin North America (MNA) rolled out a new urban application truck tire, which it claims delivers “up to a 40 per cent improvement in removal miles.” The XZU3 line was introduced at the American Public Transportation Association Expo 2005 in Dallas.
Goodyear has said it will cut costs by $750 million to $1 billion in the next three years, taking cash charges of $150 million to $250 million for the restructuring. The company’s share price rose 3 per cent in response. “Our clear goal is to be competitively advantaged in the tyre industry by 2008,” chief executive Robert Keegan said at an investors meeting. “We realise the rising materials, health care costs and inherent cyclicality of sectors in the industry will continue to challenge us.”
(Akron/Tire Review) In a consumer survey conducted by The Tire Rack, Cooper Tire & Rubber Co’s Avon Tech M500 and Tech M550 A/S tires earned top ratings by UHP summer and UHP all-season tyre owners.
Some 95,000 respondents were asked to rate their tyres according to the following criteria: traction in dry, wet and snowy conditions, cornering stability, steering response, ride and noise comfort, resistance to hydroplaning and tread wear. In the UHP summer category, 40 tyre lines from 12 major tire brands were rated, according to The Tire Rack.
Avon owners, according to The Tire Rack survey, said they would buy the same tires again. The Avon line, originally available in European markets, was launched in North America in May 2004.
For complete results visit: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/surveyresults/surveydisplay.jsp?type=UHP
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/surveyresults/surveydisplay.jsp?type=UHPAS
Continental AG is mulling over the possibility of a stock split after its shares grew more than fivefold since the spring of 2003, according to an article published in Die Welt, citing chief executive Manfred Wennemer.
Continental Tire North America Inc has reached a tentative agreement with union representatives on a severance package for hourly employees laid off last year at the company’s Mayfield, Kentucky, plant. Details of the agreement have not been disclosed, pending a ratification vote by laid-off workers represented by the United Steelworkers of America, the Charlotte Business Journal Reported.
Goodyear Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Robert J. Keegan announced the appointment of Arthur de Bok (43) as president of the company’s European Union business. Headquartered in Brussels, Belgium, the business is Goodyear’s largest outside of North America with 2004 sales revenues of $4.5 billion.
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company has named Marc O Voorhees as vice president of finance for North America. Voorhees comes to Goodyear from Eastman Kodak Company, where he was most recently operations manager, Digital & Film Imaging Systems European Region based in Geneva, Switzerland.
Delphi CEO Steve Miller has predicted Delphi, the world’s largest car parts manufacturer, could enter bankruptcy by 17 October unless the United Auto Workers union and GM agree on a relief plan. Robert “Steve” Miller Jr came out of retirement in Oregon to lead Michigan-based Delphi.
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