Pirelli Archives - Page 203 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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Pirelli/Trelleborg – Three New Tyres

Only two years after the joint venture, the company has launched the “TM 900 High Power”, the latest generation of radial tyres ideal for equipping high power tractors over 250 HP, and those requiring high load capacity. Furthermore the company is going to launch the first Trelleborg radial implement tyre in Hanover, which is the result of the technological synergy between the two brands. At the same time the Trelleborg “TM2000” is being shown; the new generation of radial tyres for combine harvesters, created using Pirelli’s considerable agricultural experience.

28th December 2001/by Tyrepress Editors

Extended Break For Pirelli Factory

Workers at the Pirelli factory in Carlisle, UK, will enjoy a longer-than-usual break this Christmas. The plant will be closed from Christmas Eve to New Year’s Eve, instead of re-opening as planned on December 28th. Pirelli UK says that the move is in accordance with a decision by the parent company to reduce stock levels worldwide and it has been taken with the full agreement of the Unions. The Carlisle factory produces 10,000 tyres a day.

28th December 2001/by Tyrepress Editors

Multi-Million Investment For Pirelli UK Plant

Pirelli is to spend more than 11 million Pounds on extending its factory at Carlisle in the UK to manufacture tyres for 4WD vehicles. For some time, Carlisle has been Pirelli’s “centre of excellence” for SUV tyres and the factory produced 530,000 SUV tyres last year. The new investment will see this figure rise to 1.1 million next year and eventually to 1.6 million. 80 per cent of these will be exported to Europe and the USA. Carlisle also produces high performance tyres and total unit production at the plant will reach 4.25 million units in 2002.

28th December 2001/by Tyrepress Editors

Deutsche Bank Recommends Michelin Shares As A “Buy”

Despite the difficult environment which is not likely to lead to improvements in the coming half year Deutsche Bank is recommending Michelin shares as a “Buy”. The analysts believe that the focus on high performance tyres will pay off and they believe also that, due to the anticipated sale of the Pirelli truck division, competition will be lower in the future for Michelin, which is very strong in that market.

30th November 2001/by Tyrepress Editors

Stephan Kessel, Continental’s CEO: A Separation On Friendly Terms

Someone who acquires a seat at the top, and even reaches the CEO position at Continental, will neither be fired nor will he just quit. There is what is called “a separation on friendly terms”. The question whether Kessel and von Grünberg could ever have been friends is not even relevant. Whoever thinks that von Grünberg just shrugged and happily retired to some comptroller’s position will find out that he was wrong. Von Grünberg is the type of man who may occasionally loosen the handcuffs, writes a German daily newspaper, but he also tightens them again. His thumb pointed downwards, and that gesture determined Kessel’s future, and the whole board went along, including the banker Weiss.

30th November 2001/by Tyrepress Editors

RubberNetwork Moves Forward

RubberNetwork.com, the electronic global purchasing marketplace set up by six tyre manufacturers, has taken a step forward. Transactions are due to begin in April and Bob Webster has been appointed as vice president of operations. A chief executive officer will be appointed at a later date. The organisation has also launched its own website.

30th November 2001/by Tyrepress Editors

Telecom Italia Deal “Could Lead To Pirelli Merger”

There are reports in the press that the recent deal whereby Pirelli acquired control of Telecom Italia, could result in some sort of merger, perhaps even a three-way alliance between Pirelli, Olivetti and TI. Pirelli Chairman Marco Tronchetti Provera says that “the structure above Telecom Italia needs to be simplified” but he could say no more until all options had been studied and evaluated.

30th November 2001/by Tyrepress Editors

The European Market For Agricultural Tyres – Consolidation At All Levels

The worldwide market for tractors has seen many mergers over recent years but, with four big groups, this now seems to be coming to an end. Consolidation among tractor producers was regarded by their suppliers as a negative move, because the tyre manufacturers knew very well that the pressure on oe prices would intensify. In the European original equipment market for tractors, the three market leaders Michelin (including Kléber), Pirelli and Goodyear have a combined market share of 85 percent. This dominance was threatened in 1994, because the big tyre companies all trusted the (completely wrong)forecasts of their oe customers. Instead of the market contracting, the tractor producers found they could increase their sales. This was the hour of smaller tyre market competitors in the field, such as Continental or Firestone, “oe exotics” like Taurus or Galaxy – and even the hour of some specialist wholesalers: when before had vehicle producers been forced to go to dealers asking for tyres? However, the attack of the smaller tyre competitors was stopped, as the better service of the larger companies asserted itself, and the customer also helped things to return to the status quo. Unlike with car tyres, many buyers order their new tractor fitted with a certain brand of tyre. Because few farmers ask for Titan, Vredestein or Stomil, Pirelli, Goodyear and Michelin/Kléber regained their shares and the market returned to normal, once they had built up enough capacity to satisfy the oe business. Within recent years, market settlement also occurred because the number of independent tyre producers (but not the brands) has dwindled. Specialist producer Taurus (Hungary) and Stomil (Poland) became part of the Michelin group; Barum is a Continental brand. Others were looking for alliances and so the Romanian brand Danubiana (Tofan Grup) was on the wish list of Goodyear, because the US tyre concern found out that it lacked a brand at the economy level. (Later Goodyear managers considered Sava could fit the bill.) The US brand Titan has had a lot of problems in its North American home market and had to sell some niche segments. Israel’s Alliance closed one of two factories, Vredestein suffers under the high prices for raw-materials, Finland’s Nokian even gave the order to Michelin’s Poland plant (Stomil) to produce agricultural tyres because it did not seem sensible to produce this kind of tyre in the Finnish factory. Consolidation in the segment of agricultural tyres has not yet come to an end.

30th November 2001/by Tyrepress Editors

How Far Will Pirelli Shares fall?

The engagement with Telecom Italia has become an expensive adventure for Pirelli. Because telecommunications have fallen from favour on the stock markets the shares are rated even worse than those of automotive companies and analysts do not agree with Pirelli’s change in strategy. Pirelli shares are in a deep fall. This just as the so much abused tyre division presents admissible figures in a very hard market.

30th November 2001/by Tyrepress Editors

Synthesis between Tradition and Modernity – Pirelli’s P6 and P7

Pirelli launches with the P6 and P7 world wide two new tyres in the high performance segment, utilising the most advanced materials and technology. Designed to equip a wide range of cars, from high class saloons to the latest generation sports cars as well as MPVs, Pirelli P6 and P7 are available in a total of 40 sizes from 185/65 R 14 to 225/45 R 17 covering 70 percent of the European car market. Produced in Pirelli’s factories in Italy, Spain, UK and Germany, using the most sophisticated process and control technology currently available to the tyre industry, P6 and P7 are to be widely distributed an will go on sale immediately in southern European markets. They will be sold throughout Europe and in Japan by the end of may. Sales are expected to reach 1.5 million units by the end of 2001 and stabilise at a regular of 10 million tyres a year. P6 and P7 will be sold five percents more expensive than their predecessor, the P6000 family. A large proportion of P6/P7 will be assigned to Original Equipment sales, underlining how closely the tyres’ development has been integrated with that of the car manufacturers. The new products have already been approved or are in the process of approval for key models of Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, Fiat, Jaguar, Peugeot and Ford. The internet addresses, www.pirellip6.com and www.pirellip7.com, are for the first time part of the respective sidewall inscriptions. The web sites provide on-line information about the new tyres as well as a dealer locator.

30th November 2001/by Tyrepress Editors

What Plans For Pirelli Tyres?

During a press conference held in Milan, Pirelli boss Tronchetti Provera did not give much away and remained vague. The company’s strategy will focus more on high technology and telecommunications in the future, but Tronchetti Provera stressed that he could not be more precise until he has made up his mind and seen all there is to see in Telecom Italiana. He said that he would focus on debt reductions as quickly as possible. Some parts of Pirelli are now for sale; a small part of the cables and the truck tyre division, for which Pirelli hopes to collect around 2 billion Euro. The passenger car and motorbike tyre division is not for sale. There are rumours that Pirelli is in talks with Michelin and Bridgestone. Of the two remaining major manufacturers, Continental may not have the money, as the group is already planning other take-overs, and Goodyear already has sufficient production capacity.

30th November 2001/by Tyrepress Editors

Hanford, California Plant Closed By Pirelli

Pirelli Tyre ceased operations at its Hanford, California plant. This follows a six month notice issued to the facility in October 2000 stating that the plant’s cost structure was not competitive with other Pirelli plants’ costs. Production capacity will be transferred from Hanford to plants in Europe and South America.

30th November 2001/by Tyrepress Editors

“Eufori@” – Two Premieres For Pirelli

Consumer demand for run-flat tyres is at an all-time high. In the U.S., for example, a recent study found that nearly seven out of eight consumers place run-flat tyres at the top of their list of features desired on new automobiles. Therefore it is expected that the demand for run-flats will increase within the next few years. This is one of the reasons why Pirelli has developed such a tyre on its own, regardless of the fact that the company is working together with Goodyear and Sumitomo on Michelin’s PAX system. But the launch of the new tyre – called “Eufori@” – was not the only premiere for Pirelli: this run-flat is also the first tyre manufactured using the Italians’ MIRS technology. In size 205/45 R17, the “Eufori@” is original equipment on the new Mini Cooper S, shown at the Tokyo Motorshow at the same time. The name of the tyre, which will of course also be available for the replacement market and in the additional size 225/45 R17, was chosen from more than 20,000 suggestions made during an internet campaign at the end of last year. “We expect that in three years run-flats will account for about 10 % of the high performance tyre market”, explains Francesco Gori, Senior Vice President Market Development Unit at Pirelli. “Other car manufacturers who are interested to use Eufori@ as original equipment are BMW, DaimlerChrysler, Ford and VW/Audi”, adds Maurizio Boiocchi, responsible for research and development at Pirelli Reifenwerke. From remarks such as these, one gets the impression that run-flats will become standard equipment on cars much faster than did other features, such as ABS.

30th November 2001/by Tyrepress Editors

Start Of The Motorbike Season

Each year the motorcycle exhibition in Dortmund attracts many visitors, even though Munich has established a bigger show (every other year) for two-wheel fans in the meantime. More than 400 exhibitors took part in the 17th show from 28 February to 4 March and around 1,000 motorbikes could be seen in Dortmund. And on the tyre side? Only Dunlop presented a new tyre: the tyre manufacturer says that the D208 GP (front tyre 120/70 ZR 17, rear tyre 180/55 ZR 17) was developed based on experiences in motorsport. But apart from this, no more information was available. Dunlop couldn’t even tell NEUE REIFENZEITUNG a date for the official launch of the new product in Germany. And at all other tyre manufacturers‘ stands – Bridgestone, Cooper-Avon, Metzeler/Pirelli, Michelin – one could only see exactly the same product range as presented at Intermot last autumn – very disappointing so far. The only excitement for this year’s motorbike season will arise from the question if Bridgestone will be able to pass Metzeler and can climb to number one of the German market for motorbike tyres.

30th November 2001/by Tyrepress Editors

Telecom Italia Falls To Pirelli/Benetton Bid

Pirelli and Benetton have joined together to win control of Telecom Italia and the mobile phone company TIM. Control was secured by a cash payment of 7 billion Euro to Bell for its 23 per cent stake in Olivetti; the company which controls TI. TI’s market capitalisation value is 55 bn Euro.

30th November 2001/by Tyrepress Editors