Pirelli Archives - Page 174 of 210 - Tyrepress

Known for its style, speed and performance marketing values, Pirelli & C. S.p.A. is a multinational company based in Milan, Italy, listed on the Milan Stock Exchange since 1922, with a temporary privatization period by the consortium led by the Chinese state-owned enterprise ChemChina.

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Dowey Appointed as Rapra Head

James L. Dowey has been appointed as vice president and managing director of Smithers Rapra Technology, the British subsidiary of Akron-based The Smithers Group. Mr. Dowey is currently director of tyre uniformity machinery at Kobelco Stewart Bolling Inc. based in Hudson, Ohio. He replaces Hugh Pace, formerly of Goodyear, who will become chairman and CEO of Pirelli Tire North America. “Jim will be an excellent addition to the company and will provide a seamless transition in managing our business and international growth opportunities,” said Michael Hochschwender, president and CEO of The Smithers Group, parent company.

Hugh D. Pace, the new chairman and CEO of Pirelli North America, has 30 years of experience at the highest levels of the tire industry, comes to Pirelli from Smithers Rapra Ltd, a British subsidiary of The Smithers Group, where he served as Vice President and Managing Director. Pace will assume his duties as Chairman and CEO of Pirelli North America effective 4 June 2007, replacing Kevin Riddett who is leaving Pirelli after 10 years with the Group to embark on new professional challenges. “Mr. Pace’s international experience is a major plus for our company’s growth strategies in North America”, said Francesco Gori, CEO of Pirelli Tyre Spa.

9th May 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Pirelli Agent in Ethiopia Lays off 124

Trans Ethiopia, exclusive agent of Pirelli Tyre in Ethiopia and a subsidiary of EFFORT, laid off 124 employees from its Mekele and Adama branches. The Adama branch released 29 employees while the Mekelle branch released 95. The latter were released two weeks prior to the employees at the Adama branch office.

The Addis Fortune reported that the company cited severe losses and restructuring as the cause of the layoffs. Fortune said that it has been two years since the company has even turned a profit. Averaging about 13 million ethiopian birr (approximately £750 million) in revenues a year, the company pays 25 million birr in salaries annually.

8th May 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Pirelli Chairman Says Sale Proceeds to Go Back Into ‘Core Businesses’

(Akron/Tire Review) After months of wrangling and speculation, Pirelli SpA finally sold off its stake in struggling Telecom Italia SpA, vowing to reinvest part of the proceeds into its “core businesses.” In the deal announced Saturday, Pirelli and Benetton units Sintonia SA and Sintonia SpA are selling holding company Olimpia SpA, which owns an 18% share of Telecom Italia, to a group of investors headed by Spain’s Telefonica SA.

4th May 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Redcap Brings One Stop Auto Care to the Middle East

Motorists in Saudi Arabia are now able to benefit from the convenience of having all their automotive purchasing and servicing needs met under the one roof. The giant Tamimi Group has announced the opening of four car care hypercentres, a concept Tyres & Accessories are informed is brand new to the Middle East. The centres will trade under the brand name ‘Redcap’ and will cater for every make and model, from the smallest car to the largest SUV.

The chain’s initial four hypercentres have opened in the cities of Dammam, Riyadh, Jeddah and Al Hassa, with a fifth outlet opening in Al Khobar in the near future. The Tamimi Group state that Redcap hypercentres in numerous other locations – including outlets in Dubai, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman and Kuwait – are also in the pipeline.

27th April 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Goodyear Dunlop on Top Down Under

The Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3 has been singled out as Australasia’s tyre of choice for large cars after scoring highly in independent tyre tests conducted by leading Australian motoring publication Wheels Magazine. South Pacific Tyres, Goodyear Dunlop’s Australian and New Zealand operation, also received a second accolade as the Eagle F1 GS-D3 was joined by the Dunlop Sport Maxx as the best tyre for small to medium cars.

In 2006 the tests were conducted on 17-inch tyres only but this year the magazine editors created two classes – one for 245/45R18 tyres, which were mounted on a 6 litre V8 Holden Commodore SS, and the other for 205/55R16 on a turbo diesel VW Golf. Six different brands of tyre, including those fitted as OE, were tested by professional rally and race drivers. The tests comprised slalom, cornering, braking and hot laps on wet and dry roads.

18th April 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Metamorphosis

India’s tyre industry is steadily coming of age. In a country whose new car market has witnessed phenomenal changes since the days when consumer choice was more or less restricted to what colour Hindustan Ambassador one would purchase, the tyres made and sold have also needed to change with the times, both in quantity and quality.

Figures released by India’s Automotive Tyre Manufacturers Association (ATMA) report steady growth in tyre production figures across all market segments, with an overall 12 per cent growth to January 2007, with approximately 61 million tyres produced during the preceding 12 months. During February 2007 alone 5.9 million tyres were produced, with 1.18 million of these for passenger cars. And although other segments showed even greater growth – tractor tyre sales in February were on average more than 25 per cent greater than a year earlier – the passenger car market seems to be where all the action is taking place.

13th April 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Telecom Italia chairman quits in row with Pirelli shareholder

Telecom Italia SpA chairman Guido Rossi has resigned from his post following a prolonged falling out Pirelli chairman Marco Tronchetti Provera. Vice chairman Carlo Buora will take on Rossi’s operational responsibilities.

On April 6 Rossi told Italian media that Tronchetti Provera asked him to take over as chairman last September as he wanted Rossi to get him out of an awkward position. Italy’s government was questioning Tronchetti Provera’s decisions regarding alliances and selling parts of the company, and according to Rossi, Tronchetti’s position “seemed unrecoverable.” However, Rossi claims that when he tried to clear up the conflicts of interest that existed between Tronchetti and Telecom Italia, the two men entered on a collision course.

10th April 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Pirelli Moves to Replace Telecom Italia Chairman

While Pirelli’s tyremaking business continues from success to success the controversy surrounding the company’s ill-fated involvement in Telecom Italia continues. The company’s dissatisfaction with various aspects of Telecom Italia’s strategy were made manifest on April 4 when Olimpia, the company jointly set up by Pirelli and the Benetton family to control Telecom Italia, excluded the communication group’s chairman Guido Rossi from a list of proposed new board members. However this move, tantamount to sacking Rossi, was immediately contested by two other prominent Telecom Italia shareholders on the grounds that the decision violated consultation agreements.

Rossi, a well-known corporate lawyer, has acted in the capacity of chairman since last September, taking on the role following the resignation of Marco Tronchetti after he publicly clashed with Italian prime minister Romano Prodi, a close associate of Rossi. However the boot is now on the other foot, with Tronchetti, as chairman of the Pirelli group, striving to oust his successor at Telecom Italia.

5th April 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Pirelli to Increase Consumer Tyre Prices

Pirelli Tyre has announced price increases it says are response to the growth of energy and raw materials costs. Consumer tyre prices (for cars and motorcycles) will increase between 4 and 9 per cent. The increase will become effective between April and June 2007 in European, Middle East and African markets.

4th April 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Pirelli Set to Sell Telecom Italia Stake

Pirelli has been in discussions with AT&T, the American telecoms giant, and America Movil to sell two thirds of its controlling share-holding in Telecom Italia. Media sources have been reporting that Pirelli has been negotiating to sell the stake for months. According to an official statement published 1 April, AT&T and America Movil, of Mexico, are involved in talks to buy a third each of Olimpia, a holding company that controls 18 per cent of Telecom Italia and which is 80 per cent owned by Pirelli, the Italian tyre and property group. The deal could value Pirelli’s stake at about €9.5 billion (£6.5 billion).

The deal would value each Telecom Italia share at €2.82 minus the undisclosed net debt of Olimpia. That is expected to be way below the €4 that Mr Tronchetti Provera originally paid for his holding in 2001 but could be a third above the company’s €2.14 closing price on Friday 30 March. The offer is subject to due diligence and is valid until April 30, Pirelli said.

2nd April 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Sales and Marketing Appointments at Pirelli North America

Pirelli Tire North America has reorganized its sales and marketing organization. The announcement coincides with the news that Peter Tyson, VP Communications and Motor Sport, Pierluigi Dinelli, Director of Marketing, and Giovanni Ricci, Supply Chain and Pricing will return to management positions in Europe.

The Pirelli North American sales and marketing effort has been re-organized, largely by promotion from within its existing team. Dan O’Shaughnessy is promoted to the newly created position of Regional Sales Director, reporting to Riccardo Cichi, Vice President Sales. He will be responsible for all regional sales and all Pirelli’s Regional Sales Managers will report to him.

30th March 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Ultra High Performance

Attending the Geneva Motor Show is a great opportunity to see the newest vehicles around close-up, not to mention a good chance to check-out which tyres car manufacturers are brandishing on the latest concepts and releases. So when, after visiting the motor show, Tyres & Accessories was given the opportunity to drive a beautiful Ferrari F430 from Geneva back to London on Pirelli Sotto Zero cold weather tyres, we jumped at the chance.

Put the car through its paces, they said. Drive it on snow and take the tyres to the limit, they said. And we would have done, had there have been any. But in March even the Alps are short on snow and ice. There were, however, plenty of mountain roads; more than a sprinkle of rain; and cold temperatures consistently below seven degrees. So while the sight of the F430 sports coupe sticking to sheet ice was out of the question, driving on wet “snow-chain only” Alpine roads in March was definitely on the menu. And the truth is these conditions are probably more akin to what the drivers experience during the majority of the cold weather season.

30th March 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Damascus Road Experience

That’s it – I’m converted. If I previously had any niggling hesitancies about the need for run-flat or cold-weather tyres, the events of the previous few weeks have well and truly seen them off. And don’t even get me started about indirect tyre pressure monitoring systems (TPMS)! So far 2007 has seen two bouts of snow hit most of Great Britain. In mid-February thousands of schools closed and traffic ground to a halt because a measly inch or two fell. Thinking back I saw dozens of cars squirm and understeer on the thin layer of motorway slush, largely because there was hardly a cold weather tyre in sight.

29th March 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Vacu-Lug Responsible for Novateck Production and Distribution

Following the earlier publication of an article featuring details of the recently announced Pirelli/Vacu-Lug cooperation, Tyres & Accessories would like to clarify that Vacu-Lug will be responsible for the production and distribution of Pirelli’s Novateck brand of commercial vehicle retreads and not the sales and marketing of these products.

The original article (first published 14/03/2007) stated: “the agreement is about much more than just retread production. According to managing director, Tim Hercock, Vacu-Lug will also take on sales, marketing and distribution responsibilities.” This was incorrect and the text should have read: “Vacu-Lug will take on production and distribution responsibilities.”

22nd March 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Pirelli – China is “Pivotal”

In addition to its commitment to the FIA-GT Championship, which kicks off for 2007 at the Zhuhai circuit in Guangdong Province on March 23, Pirelli Competizioni will also take a leading role in an up and coming race series, the Asia SuperCar Challenge (ASCC), a series for GT cars in South-East Asia. Pirelli has entered into an agreement to be the exclusive tyre supplier for all 10 scheduled races held between March and September.

The Italian tyremaker views the agreement signed between Pirelli Competizioni and series organisers, the SuperCar Club Hong Kong Ltd, as confirmation of Pirelli’s focus upon China – including on the sporting front – and the company’s efforts to become firmly established as more than just another international tyremaker operating in China. Therefore, Pirelli point out that the presence of PZero Racing tyres in the ASCC series should not be seen as a surprise development, but as a product of the company’s ongoing support for an extremely interesting, immense and competitive market, one in which Pirelli Tyre SpA has been active for two years and is experiencing healthy growth, thanks in part to the company’s newly established facilities for the production of car and truck tyres.

21st March 2007/by Tyrepress Editors