(Akron/Tire Review) The union feud that forced Bridgestone/Firestone to twice close its Valencia, Venezuela, plant has apparently ended and the plant has restarted production. Tyres were rolling off the line late on 6 December, according to a company spokesman.
Amcast Industrial Corp has again filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy three months after emerging from an earlier filing, according to court documents. Previously the company had filed for bankruptcy in November 2004 before clearing this status in August.
In millions of vehicles, lead-acid batteries start people on billions of journeys every day. Yet as car engines become more complex and the technology of automotive batteries advances, motorists seem to be confused about the proper maintenance of the batteries under their hoods. The article, “Auto Batteries: Some Go the Distance” in the November 2005 issue of Consumer Reports, clouds the issue further, a trade association of battery manufacturers said today.
(Akron/Tire Review) Feuding factions of the labour union representing workers at Bridgestone/Firestone’s tyre plant in Valencia, Venezuela, caused the three-day shutdown of the facility, according to a statement issued by the company.
Bridgestone UK has renewed its contract with PR specialists Nexnet for the sixth consecutive year. The Leeds-based agency has been retained by the tyre company to continue handling all its UK corporate, business-to-business and consumer PR throughout 2006.
One woman was killed and two more were seriously injured during a fire at the synthetic rubber plant in Voronezh, Russia sources at the Russian Ministry for Emergency Situations told the Itar-Tass news agency.
During the year 2006, Nokian Tyres plc will publish Financial Statement Bulletin and 3 Interim Reports as follows:
The 2005 Financial Statement Bulletin, Tuesday, February 14, 2006
Interim Report, 1st quarter 2006, Wednesday May 10, 2006
Interim Report, 2nd quarter 2006, Tuesday August 8, 2006
Interim Report, 3rd quarter 2006, Thursday November 2, 2006
The Annual General Meeting of Nokian Tyres plc is tentatively scheduled for Thursday April 6, 2006.
The 2005 Annual Report with Financial Statements will be available on Nokian Tyres home pages, www.nokiantyres.com on Thursday 30th of March 2006 at the latest. The mailing of the printed Annual Report to the largest shareholders will start the same day.
The Pirelli Calendar has become a cult object over the past 40+ years and the 2006 Calendar was launched in Paris on Friday 18th November. Shot by the British-Turkish duo of Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott, who specialise in women’s portraits, the Calendar stars six beautiful women in 27 shots.
The six are: Jennifer Lopez, Gisele Bundchen, Guinevere Van Seenus, Kate Moss, Karen Elson and Natalia Vodianova and the photographs are mainly black and white, except for some subtle splashes of colour on the cover and in the months of March and November.
(Akron/Tire Review) Retreading material manufacturer Bandag Inc has increased prices by 7 per cent on some of its tread stock and tyre repair products sold in the US. The 1 November increase does not impact other markets.
Barking based G&S Tyre Services has suffered a “serious” fire in which the company lost between 7000 and 8000 casings. However despite the serious nature of the fire, no injuries have been reported and sales manager Jim Bowley has reported that it is “business as usual” for the company. About 80 fire fighters were called to the company’s Kingsbridge Road site in the early hours of 12 November.
(Akron/Tire Review) As of 1 November, Ernest J Rodia is Titan International Inc’s new executive vice president and chief operating officer (COO). Rodia had worked for Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co since 1966 in various capacities, including vice president of global engineering and manufacturing technology. He had been instrumental in Goodyear’s entry into radial tyres and directed tyre manufacturing in the tyre company’s European and Asian markets.
Rodia also worked as plant manager of Goodyear’s Kelly-Springfield/Goodyear farm tyre plant in Freeport, Illinois. He earned a mechanical engineering degree from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and a management degree from Harvard University.
Hankook Tire’s board of directors has approved the selection of Hungary as a preferred site for its proposed 500 million euro plant, the AFX news agency has reported. According to the report, Hankook has formed a local unit — tentatively named Hankook Tire Hungary Ltd — to conduct talks with the Hungarian government.
The unit is said to have a capital base of 14.9 million won. “If the talks are going well, then we can expect to announce the result in early November,” a Hankook Tire spokesman said. The news follows Slovakia’s refusal of incentives worth 110 million euros.
(Akron/Tire Review) Hankook has reportedly conducted talks with Hungarian Economic Minister János Kóka on potentially locating its new Eastern European plant there. The report is according to a daily newspaper in Hungary. Earlier this year, Hankook announced its plans to spend $650 million on an Eastern European plant capable of producing five million tires annually. The tyremaker had picked Slovakia as the site, but negotiations have since been hampered due to disagreements over the government’s incentive package. Korean news reports have stated that Hankook will announce the intended location of its new plant by November. Production is slated to begin in 2007.
Bridgestone will run a booth at the 39th Tokyo Motor Show to be held at Makuhari Messe in Chiba City from 22 October to 1 November.
The theme of the Bridgestone stand this time is “Technology for People”, and will comprise three corners – Premium, Future, and Safety – and will introduce aspects of tyres and technology supporting automobiles, which are such an important part of people’s lives.
(Akron/Tire Review) Thirteen new sizes have been added by Kumho Tire USA Inc’s Ecsta SPT ultra-high performance tyre line. The tyre debuted earlier this year with 36 sizes. The new sizes, available in November, include 205/50R17, 215/35R19, 215/40R18, 225/35R19, 225/35R20, 245/50R16, 275/30R20, 275/35R18, 275/40R17, 275/40R18, 285/40R17, 245/35R19 and 245/35R20.
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.
