On November 23 the European Parliament’s Industry Committee unanimously backed a compromise draft of the tyre labelling regulation agreed by Members of the European Parliament and Council Presidency negotiators in early October. The committee vote is the last step before the plenary vote, scheduled for November 25.
Demand for butyl rubber is growing in the Asia-Pacific, and in order to better serve customers in this region, Lanxess AG intends to relocate its Butyl Rubber business unit headquarters there next year. The company made an announcement to this effect on November 9, and as of 2010 the headquarters will thus leave Fribourg in Switzerland and join the Singapore based Southeast Asian businesses of Lanxess’ 13 business units.
Kumho Tire has given word of arrangements to supply truck tyres to Daimler AG in its home market. As of late November the Mercedes Benz Actros will be sold in South Korea with Kumho tyres as OE. Due to a confidentiality clause, however, the company has not revealed how many tyres will be delivered to Daimler as part of the arrangement.
China’s growing automotive market presents rich pickings for tyre manufacturers looking to increase sales, and Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber is spending on advertising to ensure consumers know its products. During an advertising airtime auction held by the state broadcaster CCTV on November 18, the tyre manufacturer secured the top rated timeslot directly after the national news programme "Xinwen Lianbo". Hangzhou Zhongce is reported to have paid RMB 47.2 million (£4.13 million) for this premium airtime.
Some say their employers want blood from them, and those at Kumho in South Korea may have grounds to make such a claim. But don’t worry – it’s all for a good cause. Due to the recent H1N1 influenza scare the country has experienced a dramatic drop in blood donations, and this has led to a noticeable shortage of the precious fluid needed for transfusions. According to Kumho, upon hearing this news, all Kumho Asiana Group executives and employees stepped forward to donate blood.
In September Goodyear announced an intention to increase its ownership stake in the company’s Polish Debica unit. Of the total 13.8 million shares in Debica, some 4.69 were still owned by other parties, and it was the US manufacturer’s intention to “acquire any and all outstanding shares of Polish tire company TC Debica for 59.52 zloty (£12.88) per share.” Goodyear has announced that its cash tender offer, which ran between October 12 and November 10, landed the company exactly 8,220 Debica shares – equivalent to approximately 0.06 per cent of the unit’s worth.
Michelin recently launched its centennial guide to Germany, and now it is the turn of neighbour Switzerland to receive its 2010 list of fine dining establishments. The latest guide, which goes on sale on November 19 in Switzerland and shortly afterwards elsewhere, provides information on 867 hotels and 695 restaurants across all comfort and price categories within its 520 pages.
Tony Cowell, the former managing director of Manchester-based rubber machinery maker Francis Shaw, passed away yesterday (16 November 2009) after fighting illness for the past three years. After leaving Francis Shaw, Cowell became joint managing director of Pelmar Engineering (UK) Ltd. on 6 July, 2001. In a statement issued by Pelmar Engineering, the company said Cowell will be “sadly missed by all his many friends and colleagues in the tyre and rubber industry.” In addition to his business achievements Cowell also served as the general secretary of the International Tyre, Rubber & Plastics Federation (ITRPF) until 2005.
For almost nine years responsibility for Continental AG’s global communications has rested in the hands of Dr. Heimo Prokop, and during this time the senior vice president of Corporate Communications has, in Conti’s words, been “a formative influence on communication in decisive phases of the corporation’s development”. On November 17 Continental announced that Dr. Prokop will leave his position with the company at the end of 2009.
As part of its long-term strategy of investing in markets offering favourable growth potential, Trelleborg has announced plans to further strengthen its presence in Brazil. On November 16 the company inaugurated a new facility near São Paulo, where the manufacture of high-performance seals for such items as aircraft and passenger cars, as well as for industrial applications, will take place. The plant is part of the Trelleborg Sealing Solutions business area and will initially employ about 100 staff.
Pirelli reports that growing raw materials and energy costs are the reason for announcing a 10 per cent price increase for all car, motorcycle and truck product lines in its Middle Eastern and African markets. The price increase will being to take effect in the various markets in mid November 2009.
Magnum D’Or Resources reports that recycling operations at its Hudson tyre landfill site in the US state of Colorado officially began on November 12. Activities at the site include the sorting, preparation, and shredding of tyres into small pieces that will be accumulated as input into the company’s powder equipment, currently under contract to be built and installed through Magnum Engineering International (MEI) and its affiliates. In order to create a stream of revenue while awaiting delivery and installation of this machinery, the company has also recently began accepting a wide variety of scrap tyres.
One is looking to wrap up another championship while the other is trying to end the season in the top three. That is what awaits Yokohama Tire Corporation-sponsored off-roaders Heidi and Cameron Steele as they head to Ensenada, Mexico, November 19-22, for the gruelling, season-ending race at the 42nd annual Tecate SCORE Baja 1000. Known as off-road's "power couple," the San Clemente, California-based Steeles have a lot riding on their Yokohama tires as they prepare for the legendary battle south of the border.
The future of Apollo Mission 2018 tennis programme has been lobbed into uncertain territory by an article published by the Hindustan Times on November 11. The paper claims the Indian tyremaker’s effort to foster potential tennis talent in its home country is “in serious financial trouble.”
Just to show it isn’t all sausages, sauerkraut and tankards of beer quaffed by men wearing lederhosen, Michelin has been producing its guide to Germany for a whole century. To celebrate a hundred years of pointing Teutonic gourmands in the right direction, next year’s edition of the Michelin Guide Germany will, in German speaking markets, come complete with an extract of the original 1910 “Deutschland and Schweiz” guide. On top of this, one new two-star and 23 new one-star restaurants joined the list of fine-dining establishments in the 2010 guide. In all, the 1,440-page tome includes 1,515 restaurants and 4,332 hotels across all comfort and price categories. The centenary guide goes on sale November 13, 2009.
If you would like the latest news from the Chinese tyre industry in Chinese, visit our partner site TyrepressChina.com. Or click below to continue on Tyrepress.
