PERSONNEL
Former Nokian Heavy Tyres marketing manager Perttu Mäkinen has been appointed by Mitas as its country manager for the Nordic region. Mäkinen will operate from the Mitas a.s. headquarters in Tampere, Finland, and his responsibilities will include sales and marketing for Mitas and Continental agricultural and other off-road tyres in Finland, Sweden and Norway.
Roy Bromfield, former head of Q Tires, Inc., the US firm that developed and patented a winter tyre with retractable studs, has taken on the role of chief operating officer at Toyo Tire U.SA. In his new position, Bromfield will work in collaboration with US subsidiary president and CEO Tatsuo Mitsuhata to develop and oversee strategies for sales, product development, and all elements of the marketing mix. All departments, including Sales, Price Management, Marketing and Product Planning/Technical Services will report directly to Bromfield.
Wheel distributor Wheelwright spoke positively about the burgeoning market for commercial vehicle alloy wheels at its stand at Brityrex 2012, since it says it opens up a whole new customer segment and the chance for tyre bays and specialists to win new customers. However, the company also raised concerns that many retailers are currently supplying customers with incorrectly-rated packages, suggesting that the current situation could be a time-bomb of potential litigation and disaster. Wheelwright managing director, Kevin Greer suggested to T&A that it is up to dealers to ensure they are not supplying end users with potentially dangerous modifications to their vans, while stressing the opportunity for increased business this market can offer.
As of 1 January 2013, graduate chemical engineer Wolfgang Heuchel will become the new CEO of Lanxess Central Eastern Europe s.r.o. The 57-year old will succeed Flemming B. Bjørnslev in the Bratislava, Slovakia-based role. Bjørnslev has been appointed president and CEO of Lanxess Corporation in the United States.
Toyo Tyre (UK) Limited has confirmed that Nick Manning has stepped down as managing director of the company with immediate effect. According to company representatives he will officially leave the company at the end of December 2012 in order to “pursue other interests.” There has been no indication of whether or not these other interest will be inside or outside the tyre industry.
OTR tyre firm Eurotire has appointed Courtland Acosta as its business development manager in Mexico and Central America. The move reflects the company's commitment to expansion throughout Mexico and Central America, answering the region’s growing interest in Eurotire’s offerings. In his new role, Acosta will assist regional manager, Tom Sawyer, to further develop the business there and to support the future opening of a new sales office.
Tire Review reports that Takayuki Hamaya has been promoted to COO of Yokohama Tire Corp, effective 19 November. Hamaya will also retain his position as company executive vice president and CFO. In his additional role, Hamaya will be responsible for US tyre sales in all segments, accounting and finance, corporate planning, supply chain and operations, and internal audit.
Michelin Tyre has held an awards ceremony at Crewe Hall, Cheshire celebrating its UK employees with 25 and 40 years of service. The event took place on Friday 16 November and was attended by staff and friends. There were 23 recipients of the Long Service Awards; 14 who have been with the Company for 25 years, and nine who have reached the 40 year milestone. The staff members are from various roles, ranging from factory workers and commercial teams through to group services.
Almost half of motorists believe that traffic stopped at an incident should keep a lane space free for emergency service vehicles, according to the latest poll by the Institute of Advanced Motorists.
They also agree that those who fail to get out of the way of an emergency vehicle should be fined. This approach is being trialled in Europe.
DriveRight has appointed Jeremy Wood as its new UK and European sales manager. Wood joined the DriveRight team in October, bringing with him a wealth of experience within IT, including extensive web coding and UI design knowledge. He has a background as a vehicle technician using tailored software systems within Formula 1.
While many markets in Europe continue to prove challenging for Italian brake manufacturer Brembo, Germany and the USA have continued to provide the company with enough growth opportunities to keep the company's revenues ahead of those at this stage in 2011. Overall, the company registered net profit up 59.8 per cent in the first three quarters (49 million euros), with sales up 10.5 per cent (1,045 million euros). Chairman Alberto Bombassei said he remained “convinced that the ability to innovate, along with a constant focus on quality, are the foundation of company’s success, even in a crisis scenario."
Richard Rose has been appointed VP of sales and marketing at Titan International, the company’s board of directors announced. The appointment is effective 1 November 2012.
From 1 January 2013 Jeff Schumaker will take over as managing director of Cooper Tire Europe prior to Julian Baldwin’s retirement on 31 January. Baldwin’s retirement follows six years of leading Cooper Tire Europe and almost 20 years with the company.
“Jeff’s demonstrated leadership skills and broad range of competencies gained throughout his long and diverse career at Cooper Tire position him well to succeed Julian, who has accomplished a great deal in his years at the helm of Cooper Tire Europe,” said Hal Miller, president, International Tire Division. “Under Julian’s leadership, a high quality, cost-effective European manufacturing footprint was established and expanded with the recent opening of our new operation in Serbia. We thank Julian for his immense contributions and look forward to the strong leadership Jeff will bring to maximizing our opportunities throughout Europe and Russia.”
Sustainable materials company, Lehigh Technologies has appointed a former Bridgestone and a Reko International executive to drive the adoption of its micronized rubber powder (MSP) material across target markets. The addition of two tyre and plastics industry executives, Greg Henwood and Michael Kruzynski respectively, to the company’s business development team is aimed at expanding the company’s reach in the tyre, plastics and polyurethane markets. Henwood is a new sales director for Plastics and Polyurethanes, and Kruzynski has been appointed to the position of major account manager for Tire and Industrial Rubber.
Dunlop Aircraft Tyres has appointed Mike Askew as chief executive officer. He joins the firm from APPH Group, a company that designs and manufactures hydraulic systems and landing gears for commercial and military aircraft. Askew had been managing director at APPH for almost three years and before that he held senior positions at Doncasters and GKN Westland Helicopters.
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