Investment firm BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Ltd. now holds a more than 5 per cent share in Nokian Tyres plc, Tire Review reports. The Finnish tyre maker announced the 9 November transaction, and is required to report when any single shareholder gains a 5 per cent share or greater. According to Nokian, Black Rock now holds a total of 6,270,634 Nokian Tyres’ shares representing 5.02 per cent of company’s 124,848,890 shares and voting rights.
According to local media, a redundancy agreement for the 600 Bridgestone Australia employees at the soon to close Salisbury facility will be signed within a week. The News Review Messenger newspaper reports that workers “voted overwhelmingly” in support of Bridgestone’s improved offer on November 10. Only two of the 400 union workers that voted on the offer opposed the Bridgestone package.
Former Continental AG CEO Manfred Wennemer’s tenure as one of five Opel Trust board members ended on November 7 following his resignation in protest against political interference over the planned sale of vehicle manufacturer Opel. According to Reuters, while Wennemer’s act of protest against the “constant interference” from German politicians in potentially embarrassing to Berlin, his resignation is however “essentially symbolic” following General Motor’s recent change of mind regarding its European subsidiary.
Imports of truck and bus tyres into India have risen sharply since may in spite of government restrictions. The Automotive Tyre Manufacturers Association (ATMA) reports 138,347 truck and bus tyres entered the country in August, up from 20,222 units in April. The majority of these were produced in China, the organisation adds – imports from China reached 100,772 units in August, a dramatic increase on the 9,594 tyres imported in April.
During a meeting of Australia’s Environment Protection and Heritage Council (EPHC) on November 5, Australia’s state environment ministers agreed upon a new national policy on waste and resource management. This National Waste Policy sets the agenda for waste and resource recovery in Australia over the next decade, and as part of it the tyre industry will develop a scheme to increase waste tyre recycling in Australia.
Vietnam Business Finance News has reported the opening of Michelin operations in Vietnam. The website states the French tyre major is establishing a presence within the country in order to take advantage of Vietnam’s rapidly increasing demand for radials.
Nokian Tyres says it signed a 180 million euro syndicated revolving credit facility for three years with international banks on November 4. The facility, the company reports, will be used for general corporate purposes and to refinance the existing 180 million euro syndicated revolving credit facility signed on April 19, 2005. The Mandated Lead Arrangers and Bookrunners are Calyon, Handelsbanken, Nordea, Pohjola Bank, Sampo Bank and SEB. DnB NOR acts as an arranger. Pohjola Bank was the sole coordinator for the facility, Nokian adds.
On November 3 Hayes Lemmerz International announced that the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware has confirmed the proposed plan of reorganisation filed by the wheel manufacturer in July. Now that the go-ahead has been given, Hayes Lemmerz expresses confidence that the plan will significantly improve its balance sheet and reduce leverage. The company's total consolidated pre-petition funded debt of approximately US$720 million is now expected to shrink to approximately $240 million upon emergence from Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
The fact that VOSA has revised its 'Requirements for Authorisation for Vehicle Test Stations’, means that from November 2009, many existing MOT Class IV stations that would otherwise have been ineligible because of garage size etc, will now be able to upgrade their premises to ‘One Person Testing’ or full ATL standard. As a result, the Trade Group which claims to be “the UK’s foremost experts in MOT and ATL installations,” is offering “free survey reports,” without obligation, to any existing Class IV MOT stations, to see if they are now able to take advantage of this important revision to the regulations and make this a potentially lucrative upgrade for their business.
The Huddersfield Daily Examiner has reported that an area man has been given an ultimatum by the courts; remove 5,500 illegally stored used tyres from his Honley dumping ground or go to prison. A crown court judge ordered Kyriacos Kyrianou to remove the tyres in April, having been fined £5,000 in November 2007 for storing up to 15,000 tyres on the same site. While Krianou defended himself, saying that previous fines and legal costs have left him unable to afford to remove all the tyres, Judge Jonathan Durham Hall QC was unwilling to cut him any slack yesterday at Bradford Crown Court, bluntly stating: “Get rid of the tyres and I will consider an alternative to sending you to prison. If you don’t remove the tyres you will back me into a corner. If they are gone, job done, if not you are taking the Mickey, to put it bluntly, and I will send you to prison.”
(Tire Review) Firestone Complete Auto Care launched “Together For Life,” a student video competition aimed at addressing the issue of senior hunger in America. Ten finalists will be awarded a set of Bridgestone or Firestone tyres, and three winners will be awarded scholarships of $15,000, $10,000 and $7,500, respectively. "This contest is an opportunity to offer a unique point of view on this very serious issue," said Victoria Condell, director of public affairs for Bridgestone Retail Operations. "By engaging students, we hope to build awareness of senior hunger and inspire viewers to get involved to help solve this important problem."
The new Megane Renaultsport 250 Cup, due out in January 2010, will come fitted with 235/40 ZR 18 Michelin Pilot Sport 2 high-performance tyres as standard. The new car will be available with the standard Sport chassis with the Cup chassis option for even more track-focussed performance. In addition to Michelin tyres, the Cup chassis will also feature different springs and dampers, a thicker anti-roll bar and a limited slip differential to help push track performance to the highest levels. According to the company, the Michelin Pilot Sport 2 is Michelin’s high-performance road tyre and is inspired by the Company’s past experience in Formula 1, it is also fitted as standard to the Bugatti Veyron.
The tyre features a Variable Contact Patch that increases the area of tread in contact with the road as cornering force increases and an asymmetric tread pattern which has a rubber-to-groove ratio close to that of an F1 tyre. Michelin’s Pilot Sport 2 is available in various sizes to suit most high-performance cars and the Megane Renaultsport 250 will be available to order from November, with customer deliveries starting in January 2010.
China’s Commerce Ministry has labelled US measures against Chinese imports, such as the tariffs on consumer tyres, as “groundless”. On October 15 ministry spokesman Yao Jian told journalists "the US launched a large number of trade remedy measures this year. Quite a few such measures were groundless and wrong."
Goodyear Jamaica Ltd’s liquidator, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu in Jamaica, is to offer “interim distribution” compensation of $3.75 per share to existing shareholders “by the end of October or early November.” Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company is a leading shareholder and will reportedly receive over J$131 million (US$1.48 million) of the first payout. The liquidation process is expected to be completed by 2010.
Nokian’s new Loader Grip 2 tyre for wheel loaders is almost here – the Finnish manufacturer reports that the initial size in the range, a 15.5R25 for lighter vehicles, will be available for sale in 2009 and new fitments will expand the line-up during 2010. This first available size, says Nokian, is designed for loaders with a working weight of approximately ten tons and the tyre’s wide contact area and frame structure is said to facilitate the easy carrying of heavy loads and a stable and precise steering response.
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