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Conti to Close Austrian Rubber Mixing Site

Continental has reported the need to ‘respond’ to the continuing downturn experienced by OE and replacement passenger car tyre markets – a market which currently has a production overcapacity of more than 18 million tyres in Europe. As a consequence, the company states, the demand for raw materials is also markedly lower.

“Today, Tuesday, we are informing workers at the Traiskirchen site (in Austria) that we are forced to phase out the mixing and gumming activities in Traiskirchen, which employs a total of 195, by the end of this year,” explained Dr. Bernhard Trilken, in charge of worldwide production for the Continental Passenger and Light Truck Tires division, on June 16.

16th June 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Michelin Canada Employees Show Support for Special Olympics

Michelin Canada’s 22nd Annual Torch Run in support of Special Olympics Nova Scotia is being held on June 4 and 5. More than 2,000 participants are expected to take part in this year’s Torch Runs throughout the province to help raise awareness about the Special Olympics Nova Scotia Summer Games, which take place between July 17 and 19.

“For the 22nd year, Michelin employees and friends from all three Nova Scotia facilities will proudly carry the torch in support of Special Olympics Nova Scotia,” says Jeff MacLean, personnel manager at Michelin’s Granton facility, and member of the Special Olympics Nova Scotia board of directors. “We hope to spread the word through our local communities about the 2009 Summer Games.”

5th June 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

TRIB to Exhibit at The Great American Trucking Show

The US organisation, the Tire Retread & Repair Information Bureau (TRIB) has announced that it will be an exhibitor at the 2009 Great American Trucking Show (GATS), being held at the Dallas Convention Centre in Dallas, Texas, Thursday, 20 August to Saturday, 22 August 2009.

TRIB will be displaying a variety of retreaded truck tyres in its booth, including wide-base retreads. It will also be distributing printed materials, along with CDs & DVDs, about retreaded tyres, tyre repairing, tyre maintenance and other tyre related subjects of benefit to truckers, fleet maintenance personnel and trucking company management. In addition, TRIB will be handing out its Retread Tire Buyers Guide and materials from TRIB members. TRIB’s booth number is 14059-61.

4th June 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

CTNA Extends Engage360 Programme to CV Dealers

Continental Tire North America has released a new online training programme it says responds to the training and technical information needs of commercial vehicle tyre dealers. Called “Engage360 Untamed Innovation”, the programme is available in the commercial vehicle section of the company’s interactive training website for tyre dealers. According to Engage360 training manager Amy Spears, Engage360 Untamed Innovation allows dealership personnel to learn the basics about the construction of Continental premium commercial tyres, review product technical information and become certified as a Continental Commercial Tire Specialist.

22nd May 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Clairoix Workers Occupy Conti Facility in Sarreguemines

The discovery that 200 burly policemen were waiting for them on the German side of the border led to a spontaneous change of plans for up to 500 workers from Continental’s Clairoix, France factory. Instead of heading in the direction of a company facility in Aachen, the workers have opted to avoid the Polizei and remain on French soil. Thus they have turned their attention to the Conti plant in Sarreguemines.

7th May 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Nokian Sales “Down in Line With Market,” says Gran

Actual interim results for the January to March 2009 quarter show Nokian Tyres’ operating income to be even lower than the figure anticipated by a Reuters analyst poll. The company’s interim report, released May 7, reveals an EBIT of minus 2.7 million euros for the quarter, down from 54.4 million a year earlier. The mean estimated EBIT calculated from a Reuters survey of eleven analysts was four million euros. Net sales during the quarter stood at 155.6 million euros, 36.8 per cent lower year-on-year. A net loss of 10.4 million euros was recorded in the quarter, contrasting with a net profit of 45.1 million euros in the first quarter of 2008. The analysts surveyed by Reuters anticipated a net loss of seven million euros.

”Nokian Tyres’ first quarter net sales went down to the level of the corresponding period in 2006,” noted company president and CEO Kim Gran. “Nokian Tyres did not make profit in the first quarter due to low sales, operative streamlining measures, currency devaluation on our main markets, and the seasonal weakening in our sales mix. We took strong actions to adjust our preseason sales and production to the changed market conditions.

7th May 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Conti Expresses Openness to MAG Clairoix Proposal

As of May 6 Continental AG reports that its talks with Dubai’s Moaffaq Al Gaddah (MAG) Group are ‘continuing’, with discussions centring on jointly defining the terms of a possible takeover proposal for Conti’s Clairoix plant. This meeting began the day after management from MAG visited the French factory, 24 hours later than originally planned – the visit was delayed for a day at the request of France’s Ministry for the Economy, Finances and Employment on safety grounds, the site having been closed temporarily following the destruction of fire prevention, alarm and surveillance systems.

7th May 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Michelin, TIA Partner on Truck Tyre Video

TIA and Michelin North America have partnered to create a new training video for truck fleets. The 20-minute video titled “Wheel End Safety” is “intended to provide maintenance personnel and drivers with installation and inspection guidelines to improve wheel-end performance and safety,” Michelin said. The video is available as a free download on TIA’s Web site – www.tireindustry.org – and on MNA’s Web site – www.michelintruck.com.

In order to illustrate the danger of a wheel-off incident, TIA worked with Michelin engineers to construct a controlled test at Michelin’s Laurens Proving Grounds in South Carolina, where the tyre and wheel assemblies could be filmed after they separated from a trailer. After several successful attempts, a parked car was placed in the path so multiple cameras could record the footage. (Tire Review/Akron)

7th May 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone Wins Kings Road Tyres Supplier of the Year Award

Kings Road Tyres has named Bridgestone UK as “Supplier of the Year” for 2008. The award was presented to Julie Plumb, head of UK truck sales, who commented: “We are delighted that Kings Road Tyres have recognised Bridgestone UK with this prestigious award for our overall performance in supply. We pride ourselves on our customer service and, as a long term partner of Kings Road Tyres, this shows that they value our partnership.”

Adrian Bader, managing director of Kings Road Tyres, explained: “This award is in recognition of the tremendous support received from Bridgestone’s sales team and all other departments. Bridgestone’s professionalism and service was of the highest degree and goes to show that two companies working together in partnership can be truly successful.” Personnel from several departments were asked to rate suppliers on areas such as product availability, call centre efficiency, sales personnel customer service, marketing support and the provision of product and staff training.

1st May 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

TGI Country Manager

Tire Group International (TGI) has hired a Country Manager for the sales office it opened in the Dominican Republic in March 2008. Joining TGI’s team is Ricardo Villanueva, who brings over 15 years’ experience in all segments of the tyre industry. His most recent position was VP of Sales for Serit Tires where he was an integral part of Serit’s growth in the Dominican Republic and South American markets. “Having in-country representation and under the leadership of Ricardo has already delivered significant benefits. These benefits fall inline with our plan of enhancing our channel distribution by bring in the best-in-class personnel to execute our strategies,” said Orlando Delgado, Tire Group International’s Senior Vice President of Business Development.

27th April 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Granutech-Saturn Names Mike Hinsey as International Vice President

Tyre recycling machinery maker Granutech-Saturn Systems has announced the appointment of Mike Hinsey as international vice president and the promotion of Scott White to the position of sales manager. Hinsey, a 25-year Granutech veteran, was previously the company’s international sales manager, a post he held for more than 15 years. In his new position he will develop and direct all non-US sales efforts, will oversee the activity of a number of sales agents with international territories, and will report to Granutech’s board of directors.

20th April 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Private Brand Developments at Viking International

In addition to a full range of premium brands, wholesaler Viking International also offers an ultra high performance own brand alternative – Millennium. According to the company this brand provides a combination of high performance at affordable prices and comes in asymmetric and directional patterns to aid performance and handling in all weather conditions.

The tyre’s asymmetric ‘Tri-Zone’ tread pattern offers maximum stability on the road, aiding water dispersal and reducing the risk of aquaplaning whilst providing superior ride comfort and reduced noise. Available in 15, 16 and 17-inch fitments, the asymmetric pattern is available in 40 – 65 profiles and V and W speed ratings.

31st March 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Yokohama Withdraws from Aircraft Tyre Business

Yokohama Rubber has been manufactured and sold aircraft tyres, both new and retreaded, to the Japanese military and to Japanese domestic airlines since 1940, however the company has now decided to withdraw from this business. According to Yokohama, this decision was taken as aircraft tyre sales constitute only a minor part of Yokohama Rubber’s entire business, and do not offer strong future growth potential.

30th March 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Temporary Positions Eliminated at Michelin Dundee

Local media sources indicate that a number of temporary staff at Michelin’s factory in Dundee have lost their jobs. The Evening Telegraph states it was contacted on March 25 by a worker affected by this decision, who complained that the company was eliminating positions at the Dundee site starting with temporary workers. Plant personnel manager Ian Peart confirmed to the newspaper that staff are indeed being let go, but claimed Michelin’s decision was not related to the current economic crisis.

25th March 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

UniWheels – Now Number Three in Europe

The early 2008 acquisition of the ATS-Group’s European interests by the UniWheels group has led to the emergence of an aluminium wheel business that ranks number three in the European market. Subsequent to the purchase, which followed the insolvency of ATS Beteiligungs in July 2007, UniWheels has assumed the number three market position in Europe behind Ronal and Borbet (who produce approximately 12 million wheels per annum each) and ahead of Hayes Lemmerz and Turkish supplier CMS.

23rd March 2009/by Tyrepress Editors