North America
US industry publication Tire Review has reported the latest chapter in the Washington Tire Corporation saga: It appears the costs involved in the failed Washington Tire deal have prompted residents near the proposed Port of Ephrata, Washington factory site into action. Residents have signed a petition requesting the termination of Mike Wren, manager of the Port of Ephrata.
Eighteen jobs have been cut at the Bridgestone Bandag Tire Solutions (BBTS) site in Muscatine, Iowa in advance of the unit’s partial relocation to Tennessee state capital Nashville. The one and a half dozen workers lost their jobs on November 15 while a further 32 Muscatine employees will transfer to Nashville, where parent company Bridgestone Americas has its headquarters. The changes were announced within the context of a restructure of the company’s North American operations.
Following the occurrence of what it calls as “recent events”, the Tire Industry Association (TIA) has publicly reiterated its “complete, ongoing support” for the Board of Directors, staff, and members of the Tire Retread & Repair Information Bureau (TRIB). In a letter sent to TRIB, TIA executive vice president Roy Littlefield stated “we know that this has been a time of great change within TRIB, but we are confident that the recent decisions made by the TRIB Board of Directors were reached through a careful, deliberative process and will result in TRIB being an even stronger, healthier organisation that is well-poised to take on the challenges facing the retreading industry.
Pirelli Tire North America has added a compound mixing facility to MIRS automated tyre manufacturing facility located at the company’s North American headquarters in Rome, Georgia. The $12 million US investment is designed to support the Pirelli Group’s strategic growth plan for the North American market and “help PTNA sustain its market gains and the 30 per cent sales increase realized over the past three years.” Since its inception in 2001, PTNA’s Rome, Georgia facility has benefitted from more than $92 million in investments from Pirelli.
Goodyear Tire & Rubber has shown its support for the US military through its ‘Support Our Troops’ initiative, which has raised more than US$100,000 for the non-profit organisation. The tyre maker ran the initiative in conjunction with its NASCAR tyre supply involvement and launched its fundraising effort on July 4 this year. Goodyear reports the funds raised will go towards the more than $8 million per year Support Our Troops spends sending care packs to soldiers serving in combat zones and providing assistance to their families back home.
Pirelli's new manufacturing facility, which the tyre-maker announced last week, will be located in Silao, Mexico, about 400 kilometers from Mexico City, reports Tire Review. The $210 million plant, which will produce high-performance and ultra high-performance tyres for cars and light trucks, will generate 700 direct and 300 indirect jobs in the local Silao area. The facility will cover an area of 120,000 square meters and will be operational in 2012. Targeted daily production capacity is 10,500 tyres with an annual capacity of 3.5 million units in 2014 increasing to approximately 5 million units by 2015.
Last summer Bridgestone Bandag Tire Solutions ‘went native’, ripping out 15 acres of lawn at the company’s facility in Muscatine, Iowa and replacing it with native landscapes. The company’s actions caught the attention of the Wildlife Habitat Council, who has recognised the work undertaken with its “Wildlife at Work” certification. Bridgestone Bandag’s Muscatine facilities now have a total of 25 acres of native landscapes.
General Truck Tires is offering severe service and construction vehicle fleet operators in the NAFTA region a new all-position wide base tyre intended for super single fitment on steer and trailer positions. Named the Grabber OA (Off Road, All Position) Wide Base, the tyre is being introduced in size 445/65R22.5 during November and two further additions to the range will be made in 2011.
Continental Tire the Americas is increasing prices on its Continental, General and proprietary brand tyres by up to 6.5 per cent. Increases will vary by product line and size and take effect in the US market on January 1, 2011. Continental states the increase is “a response to the continuing rise in raw material cost.”
The first three quarters of the 2010 fiscal year have been described by Bridgestone as a period “plagued by rising raw materials and materials prices and the appreciating Japanese yen.” Despite these hurdles, the tyre maker reports achieving a 12 per cent increase in net sales and 838 per cent rise in operating income during this time, having reached figures of 2,091.2 billion yen (£15.9 billion) and 113.4 billion yen (£861.5 million) respectively. Ordinary income for the nine months was 100.8 billion yen (£765.7 million) and net income 66.7 billion yen (£506.7 million), compared with an ordinary loss of 9.2 billion yen and net loss of 27.4 billion yen for the corresponding period a year earlier.
Kirkby Tyres has announced that it is now offering the Galaxy and Primex tyre brands to the OE and replacement markets in the UK and Ireland. The range includes the popular Mighty Mow, Turf Special, Beefy Baby, Super Trencher and others, says the tyre wholesaler based in Speke. Alliance acquired the worldwide distribution rights to the Galaxy and Primex brands in December 2009, when it bought key GPX International Tire Corp assets. Trelleborg Wheel Systems had previously held the European distribution rights to the Galaxy brand, and had continued to supply European customers in the first quarter of 2010.
Cooper Tire & Rubber Company has reported a 3.6 per cent reduction in operating profit, making $67.1 million, though there was a 10 per cent rise in total company sales for the third quarter (ending 30 September) of 2010 in year-on-year comparisons. Net income attributable to Cooper Tire reached $45 million, a decrease of $2 million from the same period in 2009. Net sales were $883 million, an increase of $80 million from the prior year. The Company reported net income of 71 cents per share on a diluted basis.
A new report by Global Industry Analysts suggests that the synthetic rubber market will climb to 13.4 metric tons by 2015, “particularly” on increased usage in the tyre and automotive industry. The consumption and production of synthetic rubber was significantly affected by the global economic recession, says a statement by GIA announcing its new publication: ‘Synthetic Rubber: A Global Strategic Business Report’.
Goodyear’s Europe, Middle East and Africa third quarter sales increased 7 per cent from last year on top of a “strong price/mix performance” to $1.7 billion despite being hit by $0.1 billion in unfavourable forex translation, making them the highest since the third quarter of 2008. The company continues to post improved figures for the year to date, with sales up to $4.68 billion in the first nine months (from $4.24 billion in 2009), yielding an operating income of $259 million – way up on last year’s $41 million.
Michelin North America’s truck tyre division was recently honoured by the American Trucking Associations (ATA) with the 2010 Mike Russell “Good stuff” Trucking Image Award as the industry supplier winner, reports Tire Review. The award, which recognizes those that creatively generate positive awareness of the trucking industry, was presented to company officials at the annual ATA Management Conference and Exhibition last week in Phoenix, Arizona.
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