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Mandelson Announces £2 billion Automotive Industry Loan Scheme

Yesterday the government announced a package of measures designed to defrost more than £2 billion automotive industry credit that has frozen as a result of the global economic downturn. The measures include guarantees to unlock loans of up to £1.3 billion European Investment Bank (EIB) guarantees for investment in lower carbon initiatives and loans or loan guarantees to support of up to £1 billion of lending for lower carbon initiatives for non-EIB backed projects. Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, Ken Clarke, criticised the measures for being “small beer.”

But will the funding offer assistance to UK tyre manufacturers? Here’s what the small print has to say: The measures will “apply to projects over £5 million.” Crucially the announcement specified that UK-based automotive parts suppliers with an annual turnover of £25 million or more could also be considered. UK-based manufacturers of construction equipment (such as diggers and bulldozers) and suppliers that meet the criteria of the framework will also be eligible to apply. The catch is that loan guarantees will only apply to “low carbon” projects. No date for the commencement of loans and loan guarantees under the framework has yet been set since it is dependent on European Commission clearance.

28th January 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

L’Adventure Michelin Inaugurated in Clermont-Ferrand

Those interested in all things Michelin, be it past, present or future, can now visit a place dedicated to the French manufacturer, its history and its current and future developments. On January 23, Michelin Group managing partner Michel Rollier inaugurated L’Adventure Michelin, a 2,000 metre facility in the tyre major’s home town of Clermont-Ferrand. The centre will open to the public in spring 2009.

28th January 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Joe Park Joins Hankook Tyre UK

Hankook Tyre UK Ltd has appointed Joe Park as Regional Sales Manager (Commercial) for Scotland. According to Hankook UK commercial vehicle tyre sales manager, Barrie Horrocks, Park will be responsible for developing Hankook Truck Tyre sales throughout Scotland. His main focus will be to promote the benefits of the Hankook brand of truck tyres to the fleet engineers/transport managers of large and medium sized regional and national truck fleets in the Scottish region. Joe Park brings joins Hankook from Michelin and brings with him many years of technical and sales experience.

28th January 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone, Conti & Others Fined for Hose Cartel Participation

Bridgestone, Continental, Trelleborg and at least two other companies have been fined a combined total of 131.5 million euros by the European Commission for their role in the price fixing and rigging bids for rubber marine hose. The Commission’s decision follows the action of overseas authorities, such the US Justice Department, that has seen charges laid against a number of executives from British, French, Italian and Japanese firms.

The fines were announced on January 28 and Bridgestone received the largest penalty, 58.5 million euros. The size of Bridgestone’s fine, which was increased by 30 per cent, reflects its leading role in the cartel, which operated for more than two decades. Trelleborg’s French subsidiary has been handed a 24.5 million euro fine, while Continental, via its UK-based Dunlop Oil & Marine unit (a member of the ContiTech Group), has been fined 18 million euros.

28th January 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Pirelli Workers in Turkey Demonstrate Against Layoffs

Employees at Pirelli’s facility in Kartepe, Turkey have taken part in a sit-in protest at the factory site after hearing news that 80 workers had been laid off. Workers at the Türk Pirelli factory stopped production late on January 26 and many occupied the factory. According to the Lastik-İş labour union, all 1,150 factory employees took part in the sit-in.

28th January 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Michelin Aircraft Tire Signs Up New Marketing Firm

The Michelin Aircraft Tire Company, a division of Michelin North America, has a new corporate mouthpiece following the appointment of Jackson-Dawson Marketing Solutions to handle marketing communications for the business unit. The South Carolina based marketing firm already handles marketing communications and public relations for Michelin North America’s truck tyre and earthmover tyre divisions, event planning and logistics services for Michelin North America’s passenger car tyre division.

28th January 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Pirelli Enters Agreement With Brembo, Magneti Marelli

Pirelli, along with Italian brake systems specialist Brembo and technology systems manufacturer Magneti Marelli, has announced the commencement of a cooperative technological agreement. The aim of this joint work, says Pirelli, is to develop leading edge solutions for the Italian and international automotive industry.

28th January 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone Expands “Dreams at heArt” Programme

Following record results in 2008, with more than 40,000 entries from 20 European countries received, Bridgestone plans in 2009 to expand its “dreams at heArt” competition to the Baltic States and Romania. In addition to prizes, says the tyre major, this year winners will again receive school visits from Bridgestone staff, who will arrive armed with a playful educational programme on road safety and ecology that includes an authentic GP2 racing car.

The “dreams at heArt” children’s drawing contest aims to encourage children to start thinking about road safety, and invites them to express their creativity in drawings or paintings. The competition is open to all primary school children in Europe up to the age of 11 years (split into 3 age groups, 0-7 years, 8-9 years and 10-11 years) and features a different theme for each annual edition.

28th January 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Pirelli Carlisle Factory to Close for a Week

News published by the Cumberland News on January 28 indicates that Pirelli’s factory in Carlisle will close for a week in February. The newspaper talks of a phased shutdown at the factory beginning at the end of the month, and this report is the latest in a serious of setbacks experienced by plant workers – since summer 2008 around 80 employee redundancies have been announced, and the factory’s planned Christmas period shutdown was also extended due to a downturn in sales.

28th January 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Cooper to Announce 2008 Results on 26 February

Cooper Tire & Rubber Company has informed interested parties that the company is to announce its 4th-quarter/year-end 2008 financial results before the market opens on Thursday, 26 February. Company management will discuss the financial results in a conference call beginning at 11:00 Eastern Standard Time (16:00 GMT) on the same day. The call will be webcast on the manufacturer’s investor relations webpage at www.coopertire.com. The webcast will be available until the following Thursday, 5 March.

28th January 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Goodyear Closing Mixing Plant

The Richmond, Virginia, Times-Dispatch reported that Goodyear will close its rubber mixing plant in Radford, Va. The plant mixes rubber stock for Goodyear factories, the report said. Goodyear laid off 31 workers at the plant in December; the remaining 18 employees will be cut when the plant is closed on 30 January. The mixing plant had been owned and operated by Brad Ragan Inc. before Goodyear bought it.

Separately, news reports said that Goodyear was instituting one-week partial shutdowns at its Topeka, Kansas, truck and OTR tire plant. The shutdowns, Goodyear said, will come in February and March. (Tire Review/Akron)

28th January 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Could Part Nationalisation Be an Option for Conti?

German media reports, supposedly quoting industry sources suggest Schaeffler Group is discussing the possibility of either the federal or state governments taking a direct stake in Continental AG. So far, the federal government has clearly rejected such an idea and has only indicated the possibility of potential loans or loan guarantees. Whichever way it goes, we are likely to see the outcome tomorrow 30 January as after the summit meeting between state prime ministers Christian Wulff (Lower Saxony) and Horst Seehofer (Bayern) and German Economics Minister Michael Glos in Berlin.

Meanwhile Reuters reported that Continental AG posted a full-year operating profit margin of 8 per cent in 2008, quoting “several people familiar with the matter.” The sources also said that Continental manager Gerard Cordonnier would be appointed as new Chief Financial Officer of the company.

28th January 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Pirelli Geared Up For 2009 WRC

The 2009 World Rally Championship kicks off in Ireland and again this year Pirelli, the championship’s exclusive tyre supplier, plays a pivotal role in proceedings. From the season’s opening race, which gets under way on 30th January, Pirelli believes the 2009 WRC will be a series full of technical challenges for both teams and drivers. Mud, snow and ice are just a few of the weather related obstacles the opening rally will hand drivers, making tyre choice a critical factor in the race. The other 11 rounds feature conditions that are no less exciting: from snow in Norway to the dirt roads of Australia and Argentina.

27th January 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Masters of Formula Three Return to Zandvoort

Having spent the last two years just over the Belgian border at the Zolder racing circuit, the Masters of Formula Three will be returning to Circuit Park, Zandvoort this year. The prestigious event, in which the strongest racers from the British Formula Three Championship and the Formula Three Euro Series compete, was held for the first time at the Zandvoort circuit in 1991. Following a decision by the Dutch Supreme Court in 2007, the race had to be held at Zolder due to noise levels affecting local residences. However, with new measures in place, the 19th running of the Masters of Formula 3 will be back at its spiritual home on 13 and 14 June, 2009.

The international meeting is closely watched by teams from the GP2 series, the World Series by Renault, A1GP and Formula One. Among others, David Coulthard, Lewis Hamilton and Jos Verstappen all made it into Formula One, boosted by their victories in the Masters of Formula 3.

27th January 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Foundation Stone Laid at New Ceat Plant

The foundation stone for Ceat Ltd’s planned new facility in Gujarat, India has officially been laid. The honour of laying the stone went to Gujarat state chief minister Narendra Modi, who was present at the site in Halol along with RPG Enterprises chairman Harsh Goenka, Ceat managing director Paras K Chowdhary and Ceat vice president (sales and marketing) Arnab Banerjee. The greenfield project, when it enters its first phase of operation, will employ more than 1,000 workers.

27th January 2009/by Tyrepress Editors