November Archives - Page 19 of 34 - Tyrepress

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Michelin Ask Dundee Staff to Take Time off

Local news sources in Scotland have reported that Michelin has requested its 800 employees in the French giant’s Dundee plant to volunteer to take three days off. The company wants its workforce in the city to take leave on half pay over a ten day period at the end of November, so that the factory can remain in a “robust state”.

Member of Scottish Parliament, Marilyn Glen stated that, “Michelin is an important employer in Dundee and I can only hope it really is a one-off measure, and that the circumstances for production will improve when the situation is reassessed. My thoughts are with the workers and their families, who must be concerned about their futures, especially in the run-up to Christmas. Michelin has a good reputation as an employer and producer and I’m sure they will weather the economic storm. They have been trying to run down their stocks, so I can understand it.”

3rd November 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Goodyear Provides Floating Voting Reminder

Our friends in the US are just a hop, skip and a jump away from their presidential election, but the absent minded amongst them need not write a reminder in reverse letters on their forehead and hope they encounter a mirror on election day – all they need to is go outside and stare at the sky. The Goodyear blimp has taken to the air to remind voters that November 4 is the day to remember.

31st October 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

NCC Directs Goodyear to SEMA Show

The NCC, an American manufacturer of consumer electrical devices, is to showcase its new line of licensed Goodyear-branded GPS navigation systems at the 4-7 November SEMA automotive trade show in Las Vegas. The systems are designed for use primarily in passenger cars, though a commercial model will also be displayed.

The units – model numbers GY130 and GY135 (affordable range) and GY140 and GY145 (Mid-range) – will feature the company’s “INSTANT Rerouting” system, which utilizes a constant, proactive analysis of all possible routes within a one mile radius to calculate new directions instantly when a user changes their route. In effect the system prevents the time-inefficient recalculations made by some GPS units whenever a turn is missed. This feature will be exclusive to Goodyear GPS products.

30th October 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Kumho-Sponsored Rallycross Dates Announced

The British Rallycross Drivers Association has unveiled the schedule for the 2009 Kumho Tyres British Rallycross Championship season. The 2009 championship will consist of eight rounds taking place over six weekends. The current financial climate as well as the need, wherever possible, to avoid date clashes with the European series and other UK rallycross meetings have been considered in the planning of the programme, said BRDA Chairman John Horton. These factors and the welcome return of the European Rallycross Championship to Britain have resulted in the 2009 calendar effectively offering a spring and autumn championship, giving competitors the possibility to spread their cost of competing and allowing time for family holidays in the summer months. The Championship will also maintain its strong links with the Motorsport Ireland Rallycross Championship; the latter’s final round forming the first round of the BRC at Mondello Park on March 8. The two series plan a second joint event at Pembrey in September.

29th October 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Canadian Tire Include Bread, Milk in Product Line Up

Canadian Tire has announced that it will open two experimental stores that will push the boundaries of which products a tyre retailer chooses to stock. The “smart store” concept will be tested in new locations in Welland (Niagra) and Orleans (Ottawa), both of which are due to open in the middle of November. Newly available products will include foodstuff, such as bread and milk, though many other product lines are planned. The idea is not without precedent; Canadian Tire stores already sell sporting goods, household appliances, gardening products and clothing and footwear, in addition to snack foods and cleaning products.

29th October 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Delphi Corporation Seeking Bankruptcy Loan Extension

Bankrupt former General Motor parts business Delphi Corporation is seeking an extension of up to six months for about US$4.35 billion in borrowed funds. The company reported in a regulatory filing that is meeting with investors to discuss a proposal to extend the timeframe within which the company can repay the loans, and is hoping for an extension through to June 30, 2009 or the company’s exit from court protection, whichever comes first.

28th October 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Production Cuts at Third BFGoodrich Factory Announced

Michelin owned BFGoodrich Tire has sent notice to a third US factory that nearly half its workforce will be idled because of decreased product demand. Employees at the BFGoodrich factory in Woodburn, Indiana may not have such a merry Christmas after being informed on October 24 that up to 40 per cent of workers could be laid off for two months, starting November 1.

This latest announcement comes on top of similar layoffs at the company’s two facilities in Alabama. Plans to reduce output at the Tuscaloosa and Opelika sites, along with that at Woodburn, will affect about 1,500 workers in total.

28th October 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Production Cutbacks Imminent at BFGoodrich Tuscaloosa Factory

BFGoodrich is said to be laying off several hundred employees at its Tuscaloosa, Alabama factory, effective November 1, and significantly reducing tyre production over the next eight weeks. Local newspaper the Montgomery Advertiser reports BFGoodrich-Michelin spokeswoman Lynn Slovak as saying the layoffs would be temporary.

27th October 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

GM to Temporarily Halt Production

General Motors, the owner of European brands Vauxhall and Opel, is considering temporarily halting production at all its European plants, according to press reports. Speaking to Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung German union official Rainer Einenkel said GM was mulling a plant shutdown for the two last weeks in November and from December 15 until the end of the year. GM has previously announced that it wants to reduce output by 40,000 vehicles by the end of the year. The group’s European boss, Carl-Peter Forster, told AFP sales of its main models in Europe had fallen by 30 per cent.

22nd October 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Goodyear Announces Week Break in Fayetteville

Goodyear is to halt its manufacturing operations at the company’s plant in Fayetteville, North Carolina from Saturday 25 October until 1 November, news sources have reported. Richard Evans, the plant’s spokesman, said that the week-long shutdown is designed as a measure against falling demand. Goodyear has previously halted operations in July for one week and August for two weeks, citing the same reason.

As has been previously reported on Tyrepress.com, Goodyear also plans not to manufacture at its facilities in Gadsden, Alabama and Union City, Tennessee during the same week. In addition, Modern Tire Dealer reported that the company’s plant in Lawton, Oklahoma will take off four consecutive Sundays. Employees are eligible for unemployment benefits during the layoff periods, say local unions.

21st October 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Goodyear to Suspend Gadsden Production a Third Time

Goodyear representatives are reported to have given news of another temporary production shutdown at the company’s Gadsden, Alabama factory. This latest shutdown, announced October 15, will be the third to take place since August.

According to local newspaper the Gadsden Times, plant communications manager Jackie Brehm Edmondson said the factory will cease production at 1pm on October 25 and resume production at 1am on November 2. Employees were notified of the shutdown on October 13.

17th October 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

“High do”: Goodyear Employees Married on Blimp

Two Goodyear employees have taken the “Spirit of Innovation” to new levels by staging their marriage on-board the famous blimp. Sonya Waggoner and Wallace Campbell brought forward their plans to marry in November, when office-wag and friend of the couple, Phil Petty persuaded Campbell to use his blimp ride ticket to give Waggoner a surprise wedding day she would never forget.

Reluctant at first, Petty told local news sources in Gadsden, Alabama how he pestered his co-worker until he caved-in, allowing the wannabe wedding-planner to pursue his vision for the couple’s big day: “I told him it was a lifetime opportunity…he didn’t much want to do it, but we kept talking. He finally said, ‘If you can do something to make it happen, I’ll do it.’” Petty took this literally, arranging – with the help of the Gadsden plant’s communications manager, Jackie Edmondson – for the probate judge to conduct the ceremony and a tyre-shaped wedding cake.

8th October 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

First Stop Dealership Reaches Milestone

Shaw Tyres, part of Bridgestone’s First Stop network of tyre dealerships, is celebrating its 25th year in business this month. Set up in September 1983 by Maurice Leach, the family business based in Shaw, Oldham has gone from strength to strength over the past 25 years and was one of the original dealerships to become part of the First Stop network over 12 years ago. Maurice Leach welcomed his son, Steve, into the firm in 1986 and together they have built a successful business which specialises in tyres and exhausts and employs four longstanding employees, all of whom have been working for the company for 15 years or more.
When Maurice Leach retired last year, Steve took the reins and is continuing to grow the business which has recently expanded the range of services it has on offer to include brakes. Steve Leach, managing director at Shaw Tyres, comments on the company’s milestone:

3rd October 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Solideal to Increase European Prices 7-8%

Solideal Group has announced that it will increase prices on tyres in Europe by 7-8 per cent. The new prices will take effect in October and November 2008. Solideal increased prices earlier this year due to continuous increases in Raw materials, which went beyond the group’s expectations. The company reports that it has attempted to absorb some of the increased raw material cost through increasing production efficiencies and research and development costs, however, Solideal says that it is forced to recover some of the recent cost increases.

2nd October 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Kumho Plant Gets Additional Grant

The Macon-Bibb County Industrial Authority recently learned about some unexpected grant money for the Kumho Tire manufacturing plant, which broke ground earlier this year in the Sofkee Industrial Park in south Bibb County. The Economic Development Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce called the Middle Georgia Regional Development Center last week, saying if an application could be submitted within about 24 hours, an additional $217,161 could be available for the project. The application was filed and the award package is expected by the end of September. This grant will add to the $500,000 grant already received by Bibb County from the Employment Incentive Program of the Georgia Department of Community Affairs that goes toward the Kumho project.

9th September 2008/by Tyrepress Editors