PERSONNEL
Snap-on Tools is celebrating its 40th anniversary of the opening of its UK operation this year.
“Today we are clear brand leaders in the UK automotive tools market, with a commanding market share,” said Terry Barcham, Snap-on Tools UK managing director, at a recent press conference.
Toyo Tire & Rubber Co. Ltd is to “spin off” the Nitto brand division of Toyo Tire (USA) Corp, incorporating it as a separate company. The new business will be called Nitto Tire North America Incorporated, from 1 July 2005.
British garage technicians are being offered the chance to star in a television series being made in Spain. ‘The Garage’ will follow the progress of an independent garage set in the expatriate community on the south coast of Spain. Endemol UK, the production company involved, was responsible for the highly successful ‘fly-on-the-wall’ series about a hairdressing and beauty operation, ‘The Salon’.
(Akron/Tire Review) Carl Casalbore, vice president of marketing and retail sales at the Cooper Tire & Rubber Co., has announced his departure from the company, and Robyn N. Dashnaw has been appointed territory sales manager by the Findlay, Ohio-based tyre manufacturer.
Bandvulc Tyres has appointed Mandi Ingram as office operations manager.
Her responsibilities will include improving the efficiency and effectiveness of systems and procedures within the accounts department and the Bandvulc Tyre Contracts (BTC) fleet division. The role will also require her to deal with personnel issues and the recruitment of office staff.
“I’m determined to drive Bandvulc forward by focusing on operations at the grass roots level, so that it can become the best that it can be,” said the new office operations manager. “It’s been quite a challenge starting with zero tyre knowledge and I’m on a steep learning curve but once the new systems and procedures are in place, my vision for BTC to attain the ISO 9000 quality standard will be realised,” she added.
Continental has commissioned a survey investigating student opinions of universities. It is hoped that the research will give a clearer picture of the opinions of German secondary and university students on social and political questions. The results will be presented by Thomas Sattelberger Continental board member responsible for personnel on 24 February. The research, conducted by TNS/Infratest, was wittily entitled “Reforms and Wissenschaf(f)t” – a pun referring to the word “Wissen schafft“ (meaning knowledge) and “Wissenschaft“ (meaning science).
Amtel’s latest 5500 tyres per day production line has gone into operation. The $50 million “Kirov-II” line will produce approximately 2 million tyres per year, raising annual production at the complex to 7 million units.
Following the news that Pierre Dupasquier will retire in 2006, Michelin has announced that Frédéric Henry-Biabaud, the current deputy director, will replace Mr Dupasquier at the end of the 2005 season. At the same time the tyre manufacturer gave further details of personnel changes within its motorsport group.
The motorsport group is made up of five departments. The leadership of the group’s rallying, motorcycling, endurance racing and rally raids divisions will remain the same. Michelin’s Formula 1 division, however, will have a new head. Following the departure of Pascal Vasselon, bound for a new position in America, Nick Shorrock will take over responsibility from January 2005. Patrick Cohen will assist him as a technical manager.
Commenting on the recent decisions, Motorsport Director Pierre Dupasquier said: “I am very happy to see that we are putting teams into place early enough to whom I can pass the torch, therefore guaranteeing the quality of service that we owe all our partners and the continuity of Michelin in racing.”
Nokian Tyres has confirmed that it has sold its factory premises in the town of Lieksa for a total of 3.6 million euros. The Finnish company sold the bicycle tyre business to Suomen Rengastehdas Oy. According to Nokian, the new owners took over the management of the plant straight away and will provide contract-manufacturing services to Nokian. All personnel, a total of 59 employees, are to keep their jobs working at the Bicycle Tyres profit centre and in heavy inner tube manufacture.
Suomen Rengastehdas Oy is a subsidiary of Suomen Kumitehdas Oy. The companies are engaged in the manufacture of bicycle tyres, rubber boots, footwear and other rubber products, and in the reprocessing of rubber. The principal owners of the companies are Mr Arto Huhtinen and Mrs Tuire Erkkilä, both previously members of Nokian Jalkineet Oy’s (Nokian Footwear) management.
In 2003 the Lieksa plant manufactured 784,000 bicycle tyres and inner tubes.
As the trading image of Tyre Shredders UK (TSUK) continues to flourish in the UK market, yet another established tyre reprocessor has recently acquired one of the company’s machines.
Trelleborg AB has called for negotiations with the relevant unions about the closure of its manufacturing facility in the town of Trelleborg. The company says the decision has been made against the background of a diminishing market for the type of agricultural tyres it produces in the town.
Continental AG, has announced that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Ministry of Economy of the Slovak Republic.
Tyres fitters at Hi-Q branches up and down the country have completed the training necessary to fit run flat technology, the company has announced. Hi-Q’s operations manager Mike Garwood said run flats should only fitted by highly trained staff, adding: “They’re radically different from conventional tyres. Run flats are designed by experts: they must be installed by experts. Hi-Q is the only nationwide network to have been trained by Goodyear and Dunlop. We have the equipment and trained personnel to do the job safely and competently.”
Goodyear Dunlop spokesperson James Bailey said his company had worked closely with Hi-Q to develop a training programme that made sure staff who fitted its safety tyres were qualified experts. “Courses within the industry are rarely as rigorous as this: passing it should give motorists peace of mind that our tyres are being fitted properly and safely. Although run flats must be fitted by experts, they’re not just for specialists. These tyres can be fitted to almost any wheel rim, and their popularity is growing at such a rate that they’re quickly becoming standard for any motorist who refuses to compromise on safety.”
Continental is having “big difficulties in Russia.“ According to German media sources the company’s joint venture with Moscow Tyre Plant (MTP) is both taking longer than envisaged and becoming considerably more expensive. Continental board member, Dr Hans-Joachim Nikolin, has been reported as saying the company is even “seriously” considering the implications of its worst-case scenario, withdrawing from the joint venture.
Bridgestone has teamed up with competitor Continental to develop an advanced tyre pressure monitoring system for commercial vehicles. The two companies will join forces to mass produce the system which is expected to be released into the market in 2007. The companies are aiming to position the product as a “global standard.”
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