PERSONNEL
Continental AG has reached an agreement with unions to hold-off job cuts for a year, and therefore continue passenger car tyre production at its Hanover-Stoecken plant. The management had originally said it would cut 320 positions, 10 per cent of the Stoecken plant’s workforce, and halt passenger car tyre production by the end of 2006. Now the company reports that it will cut jobs between 1 January and 31 December 2007.
In Australia, Kmart Tyre and Auto Service is to acquire 90 Shell Autoserv and Auto Care branches for an undisclosed fee. Under the agreement, effective from 20 February, Shell Autoserv and Auto Care sites will be progressively rebranded as Kmart Tyre and Auto Service.
Kmart’s owner, Coles Myer, said all current Shell Auto Care and Shell Autoserv employees will be offered a role with KMart Tyre and Auto Service. Kmart Tyre and Auto Service managing director John Sink said the deal makes his company the largest car servicing business in Australia with over 280 stores, many located next to Coles Express Service Stations.
Sweeping personnel changes have taken place within Goodyear Dunlop UK’s marketing department which, according to the company, “reflect the progress made to date in developing [our] brand strategies and the future needs of the organisation.”
Lisa Faulkner, previously Goodyear brand manager has been appointed manager motorcycle SBU and Geraldine McGovern, previously Dunlop brand manager, has been appointed E-Business manager. Ron Pike, marketing communications manager, will be responsible for advertising, promotions and sponsorships. All of the new appointments will report to Neil Burrows, marketing director.
Hi-Q is leading the way on RunOnFlat tyre technology thanks to an intensive training programme for its fitters. A total of 131 nationwide stores have been put through a special Goodyear RunOnFlat training programme.
A major investment programme and restructuring of operations at Cam Systems has delivered an innovative new approach to managing IT Support needs. The Gloucestershire-based tyre trade software specialist has redefined its support operation to offer three distinct options to meet the changing needs of customers and reflect the continuing development and diversity of the IT sector.
In the last 12 months Goodyear Dunlop UK has embarked on a multi-million pound TV advertising campaign, rejuvenated its Dunlop brand and made a number of key personnel changes. However, the most recent news is that Goodyear Dunlop is planning a “significant investment programme” for its Hi-Q retail network.
Dunlop Tyres has been highly commended by marketing magazine, winning recognition in two categories. In the 2005 awards Dunlop has been presented with the marketing design ‘Award’ in the Sport and Leisure category and was ‘Highly Commended’ for Advertising and Sponsorship.
Throughout October and November Marangoni has been running a series of introductory road-shows designed to launch the brand to all of its member companies. The response to the brand launch and subsequent enthusiasm surrounding the brand promotion plans has exceeded expectations, according to Group Tyre’s Karl Naylor: “The reaction has been amazing – the strength and cohesion of the Group Tyre network was never in doubt – but neither we nor Marangoni anticipated such levels of enthusiasm and interest in the brand. This is an excellent indicator for our plans to build Marangoni into one of the key mid-sector brands in the UK tyre market.”
Today Nokian Tyres began the statutory negotiations for the lay-off of some personnel as well as for possible dismissals of around 100 employees, working at the car tyre production facility in Nokia, Finland. The aim of the procedure is to adjust the car tyre production to suit current tyre demand and inventories.
For the last 18 months Stapletons has kept pretty quiet about its plans for the UK market and consequently rumours have abounded about the strength of the company’s position. Now, chief executive officer, Kenji Murai has broken silence, announcing efficiency cuts and $25 million of investment designed to set “Stapletons apart from its competitors…into 2006 and beyond.”
On the 11 October Stapletons announced that it plans to close its Dereham tyre distribution centre (TDC), cut around 50 jobs and introduce new stock distribution methods at its Bristol, Coatbridge and Warrington TDCs. Delving deeper, Tyres & Accessories learnt that the cutbacks are the first step in a programme that will see the company’s Japanese backers invest a minimum of $25 million over the next three to five years.
At first glance words like restructuring, redundancies and consultation can paint quite a negative image, but Stapletons representatives insist that the moves are growth driven. While CEO Kenji Murai concedes that cutting jobs and closing sites is a response to the “challenging trading environment that the whole industry is widely acknowledged to be facing,” he also believes it is a positive move.
Taking this into account, it is clear that the events of the last 18 months, and the number of recent top-level personnel changes that have taken place at the company, signal a tide change in the direction of the wholesaler.
Take the recent appointment of Andrew Long as head of marketing. Mr Long comes from a non-tyre background and will have been selected for his knowledge of marketing rather than his in-depth understanding of sizes and fitments. Likewise the appointments of Kenji Murai as CEO and Taro Ikeba as chief financial officer – both moving from previous roles with the Itochu Corporation – also signals how the Stapletons’ Japanese backer is stepping up its involvement in the company. The fact that Mr Murai’s previous role saw him direct formation of Pit100, Itochu’s Japanese tyre retailer, is particularly telling.
However, according to Stapletons executives, Alan Denton’s recent departure had nothing to do with the ongoing plans.
For Stapletons, it’s a question of first things first. And at the moment that means overseeing the closure of the Dereham TDC. One might think that the closure of a distribution centre might make distribution more difficult, but according to Stapletons it has actually been more a question of increasing efficiency. In the future customers that were previous served by the Dereham TDC will now be served by the company’s Letchworth hub.
Confused? You have to understand Kaizen philosophy – the principle of perpetual improvement, Mr Murai explains. For Stapletons, one example of this is reducing the number of stock keeping units (SKUs) the company holds from 3500 to 2500 in order to move with more agility in an oversupplied market. Consequently less physical space is needed. This move will be coupled with “a smarter form of distribution” at the Bristol, Coatbridge and Warrington TDCs.
According to company representatives, all of Stapletons’ retail outlets will continue to operate independently of any changes to the wholesaler operations.
Toyo Tyre & Rubber Australia Limited (TAL) a subsidiary of Toyo Tire & Rubber Co, Ltd, opened its new rubber mixing plant in Australia on the 20 October. Located in Minto, New South Wales, TAL’s new rubber mixing plant employs 61 people and is situated on a 76,900 m2 site.
Bandag has confirmed the news that more than a dozen staff members, including director of sales Peter De Cabooter, have left its European organisation, as was first published at www.tyrepress.com. According to the international retreading system supplier 16 employees have left the company. These people were said to be mainly operating in South European and CIS countries although some Brussels based personnel were also affected.
“Some call this restructuring, we prefer to describe this as right sizing for our future business model and allocating resources where they should be,” Bandag said in its statement. “Most of the job losses were part of a longer process of fine-tuning our organisation for future developments.
Hervé Coyco, Michelin Group Executive Council member responsible for worldwide car sales, will takeover responsibility for the running of Michelin’s Asia Pacific operations from Jean-Marc Francois. Francois is taking a year out to complete an MBA course before returning to the company in order to pursue other leadership positions.
For the last 18 months Stapletons has kept pretty quiet about its plans for the UK market and consequently rumours have abounded about the strength of the company’s position. Now, chief executive officer, Kenji Murai has broken silence, announcing efficiency cuts and $25 million of investment designed to set “Stapletons apart from its competitors…into 2006 and beyond.”
On the 11 October Stapletons announced that it plans to close its Dereham tyre distribution centre (TDC), cut around 50 jobs and introduce new stock distribution methods at its Bristol, Coatbridge and Warrington TDCs. Delving deeper, Tyres & Accessories learnt that the cutbacks are the first step in programme that will see the company’s Japanese backers invest a minimum of $25 million over the next three to five years.
The Aftermarket Show, is putting some “never-before-seen” initiatives into place to attract more exhibitors to the event.
The 2006 show will feature a series of seminars which will tackle various issues for the numerous industry sectors it caters for, including: Accessory retailers, motor factors, distributors, independent garages, fast-fits, body shops and franchises.
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