North America
Don Baldwin, business segment manager for Michelin Americas Truck Tires, has ascended to the board of directors for the North American Council for Freight Efficiency, reports Tire Review. Baldwin, one of 19 original founders of NACFE, is the only tyre manufacturer representative on the board, Michelin said.
BSRO, which operates Firestone Complete Auto Care, Tires Plus, ExpertTire and Wheel Works, opened 68 new automotive service locations across the USA in 2009, creating more than 800 new jobs. The new stores feature updated waiting rooms and consultation pods and offer improved bay spacing for customer vehicles.
Goodyear has announced that customers choosing Optional Performance Package on the recently unveiled 2011 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 will receive its Eagle F1 SuperCar G:2 UHP tyres as standard fitment. The tyre, tested on some of the most renowned road courses in North America, appears on the new Mustang this year in sizes P265/40ZR19 and P285/35ZR20.
Previously known as Continental Tire North America, the new name for the passenger, light truck and commercial vehicle tyre divisions in the region is now Continental Tire the Americas LLC. The change was made to better reflect the growth of the tyre maker in both North and South America, the company said this week.
Bridgestone Bandag Tire Solutions has introduced two new products – the Bandag brand BDR-HT3 tread and the Firestone FT455 Plus trailer tyre – in addition to a new marketing campaign, reports Tire Review. The BDR-HT3 tread is designed for LTL fleet customers operating single-axle tractors. Used in the drive axle position, it incorporates an innovative tread compound and tread pattern that resists tears and delivers outstanding mileage and exceptional wear, the company said.
Bridgestone Americas Tire Operation’s Agricultural Tire, U.S. & Canada Commercial Tire Sales division will increases prices on all Firestone branded agricultural, construction and forestry tires, as well as all Bridgestone branded garden tyres sold in the US and Canada replacement markets, reports Tire Review. The increase, effective 1 April, will be 5 per cent, with possible adjustments added in-line. “In order to remain a viable supplier in the agricultural, forestry and industrial markets, we will continue to review our pricing structure and make quarterly adjustments as needed,” said Tom Rodgers, director of marketing for the division.
Bridgestone has obtained exclusive title sponsorship for the 2010 World Green Car Award. The global agreement was drawn up between Bridgestone Corporation of Japan and the World Car of the Year Awards Association, based in Canada, in December 2009. The agreement gives Bridgestone exclusive global branding rights on all communications emanating from the World Green Car Award during the 2010 calendar year and at official awards press conferences to announce the World Green Car three finalists and winner.
Continental Tire North America is no more. The company, incorporated in Ohio, has changed its name to Continental Tire the Americas LLC. The change was made on 31 January, according to reports, but no formal announcement was made. Headquartered in Ft. Mill, South Carolina, the company was once named Continental-General Tire when it was based in Akron, following Continental AG’s purchased of the former General Tire Co. Under Ohio law, the company can change its status – from “incorporated” to “limited liability corporation” – through a formal name change. The change only affects the company’s tax status, reports said, as the entity can pass all income and losses through to its owners.
According to The Day newspaper in New London, Connecticut, a local woman’s car was seriously damaged by the tyre shop she took it to for a simple oil change. In the 22 January incident, the woman took her 1994 Buick Century to the local Bridgestone Americas-owned Expert Tire location for an oil change. A short time later, the shop called to tell her that her car would not be done that day, and that she would receive a loaner car to use until her Buick was finished. The woman went back to the Expert Tire location to get a few things from her car, the report said, and discovered the driver’s side door was crushed in.
Continental Tire North America calls it a “new era in motorsports” – on January 29, the Grand-Am Continental Tires Sports Car Challenge took the first green flag of the year at Daytona International Speedway, setting into motion both the 2010 Grand-Am racing season as well as a new long-term partnership between Conti and Grand-Am Road Racing in the US. Continental Tire recently became title sponsor and official tyre for the popular endurance road-racing series, which attracted nearly 80 entries for January 28’s ‘Fresh From Florida 200’ event. A tremendous variety of race machines, from Mini Cooper S to Ford Mustang, took to the field, yet despite the size difference all share the same type of tyre, the Continental Extreme Contact DR.
After attaining its highest global sales to date in 2009, Tire Review believes Hankook Tire America Corporation has reason to expect more success in 2010. Its report quotes Soo Il Lee, the company’s president, who reflected on last year’s growth and shared Hankook’s goals for the coming year with attendees at the tyre-maker’s dealer meeting, held earlier this week in St Thomas, US Virgin Islands.
Just ahead of the upcoming Griffin King of Hammers off-road race, Michelin North America unveiled a new 42” BFGoodrich off-road race tyre, reports Tire Review. BFGoodrich drivers competing in the 135-mile race in Johnson Valley, California will sport the new 39×13.50R17 Baja T/A KRT, designed specifically for rock racing.
Yokohama Rubber has reported earning a net income of 9.0 billion yen (₤62.1 million) in the first three quarters of the present fiscal year, the nine months to December 31, 2009. That compares with net income of just 222 million yen in the same period of the previous fiscal year. Underlying the rebound in net income, the company explains, was a 0.1 per cent increase in operating income, to 17.3 billion yen (₤119.5 million). The improvement in profitability occurred despite a 16.2 per cent decline in net sales, to 344.0 billion yen (₤2.4 billion), and reflected a downward trend in raw material prices, reductions in selling and other expenses, and smaller losses on currency translation.
Continental Tire the Americas has announced price rises of up to 4.5 per cent on its market industrial tyre products. The new prices will take effect March 1 in the US and March 15 in Canada, and are being blamed upon rising raw materials, energy and transportation costs.
Curt Andersson has been named president of Goodyear’s North American Tire unit, a position that has been “open” since current NAT president Rich Kramer was promoted to COO of the global company last year. Andersson, 48, comes to Goodyear from Crouse-Hinds of Syracuse, New York, were he served as president of the Cooper Industries unit. Prior to Crouse-Hinds, Andersson was senior vice president of industrial integration for The Timken Co. in Canton, Ohio, and held management posts with General Electric.
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