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Continental AG’s Supervisory Board has extended Executive Board Chairman Automotive Group Dr. Karl-Thomas Neumann’s contract for a further five years. Dr. Neumann, who is also head of the company’s Automotive Group, has been a member of Continental’s Executive Board since October 2004 and chairman of the Executive Board of Continental AG since September 1, 2008.
The managing director of Bridgestone’s operations in Germany is to leave the company. According to Bridgestone Deutschland GmbH, Dr. Rainer Schieben, who has held his position with the subsidiary since October 1, 2005, has reportedly taken the decision to further his career outside the Bridgestone Group.
In a statement, Bridgestone Germany thanked Dr. Schieben for his service to the company and wished him all the best for the future.
A former Bridgestone Corporation executive has received a two-year prison sentence for his role in the marine hose bribery and price fixing affair uncovered in 2007. On December 9 the US Justice Department announced that Misao Hioki, who entered a guilty plea in a US district court in Houston, Texas, received the prison sentence plus a US$80,000 fine. Hioki is the ninth person to plead guilty during the Justice Department’s investigation.
Continental AG reports the company is drawing what it calls ‘further necessary consequences for the closing fiscal year 2008’ following an extensive analysis of the substantial negative development that has taken place in the automotive industry in the six weeks to December 10. At the same time, the company is adapting operational measures for 2009 to the industry’s predictably poor economic environment. A cost-cutting programme, said by Conti to be in the ‘high three-digit millions range’ has been initiated; this programme includes the postponement of investments as well as the stretching of expenditures in the area of research and development.
Avon Tyres has announced its attendance at the 2009 Motorcycle Trade Expo. The company says it will make a large presence at Britain’s biggest motorcycle trade show, to be held at Birmingham’s National Exhibition Centre (NEC) on January 18 to 20, in order to demonstrate the importance it places in communicating the potential of the newly unveiled VP2 range to existing and potential new dealers.
Continental AG stood up to its major shareholder and takeover suitor, Schaeffler Group, on Wednesday (10 December) by refusing to sell the group’s tyre and rubber products business. Sources told the Financial Times that Conti’s supervisory board unanimously decided not to sell the company’s “rubber” unit, apparently rebuffing Schaeffer’s demands. Instead Conti’s board announced plans for a three-digit million euro cost cutting programme and said it is considering axing its dividend payment. FT’s source was also reportedly keen to stress that Continental should be in the driving seat of any industrial cooperation between the two companies: “We want to make it clear that, if David and Goliath go together, Goliath has to be in the drivers seat.”
Schaeffler Group’s 12.1 billion euro hostile takeover bid, launched earlier this year, cooled down slightly when former CEO Manfred stepped down and Dr Karl-Thomas Neumann took over in September. However, while FT reports that Neumann was Schaeffler’s preferred candidate, the newspaper also points out that “he has acted solely in the interests of Continental.”
Continental has launched several products on the Indian market to cater for four-wheel vehicles and is hoping to secure OE agreements with Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra, The Hindu’s Business Line news source reports. The website quotes Andrea Esser, the company’s executive vice president (replacement Asia), saying, “We are in discussion with Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra for their domestic as well as export vehicles.”
Esser commented on the launch, saying that it represents, “part of our overall growth strategy and commitment to the Asia Pacific region. With the growth in auto industry here, we believe that we should actively take part in India. We plan to develop a significant market share in India.” Questioned about where the tyres would be coming from, Esser maintained that they would all be imported and that there are no plans as yet to produce domestically: “Currently we will be importing tyres only as sales are very low. Once it attains a good volume, then we may think of locally producing our tyres.”
Customer service may not be the only factor a business must consider if it wants to be successful, but it certainly carries a lot of weight. Therefore Bike Tyrestore asks its customers every year what they think of the company. In October the Birmingham based wholesaler sent out its 2008 Customer Survey, asking dealers to rate all aspects of the service it provides on a scale of one to ten, one being ‘abysmal’ and ten ‘brilliant’. As an extra incentive to complete the survey, each survey received went into the draw to win a Fortnum and Mason Christmas Hamper (this was won by Daniel and the team at Just Motorcycles in Basingstoke). Bike Tyrestore managing director Peter Smith can proudly report that this year the company again received overwhelmingly positive feedback, with ratings of nine or ten the norm.
Production at the Amtel-Povolzhye factory in Kirov, Russia has resumed as of December 8. Operations at the Amtel-Vredestein subsidiary facility had been suspended due to a lack of working capital following the foundering of merger talks between its parent company and Sibur-Russian Tyres. This pause in production was reported to have been scheduled only for the period between October 11 and 20, however the resumption of work was repeatedly postponed.
During voting that took place on December 7 and 8 the United Steelworkers of America Local 207L ratified a new three-year contract with Cooper Tire & Rubber. The contract, set to expire on October 31, 2011, relates to Cooper’s Factory in Findlay, Ohio.
“This contract was very different from any negotiations we have faced before,” said Mark W. Krivoruchka, Cooper’s senior vice president, Global Human Resources. “The Local 207L committee needed to adjust wages and working conditions in a way that makes Cooper more cost competitive in the marketplace. I would like to thank the local and international union leadership as well as membership and acknowledge the good work they provided to approve and ratify a contract that positions the Findlay plant more competitively in today’s uncertain economic environment.”
The only runner on Yokohama tyres at last weekend’s Wales Rally GB, Tom Cave led from the first stage to beat the rest of his class by almost 15 minutes, finishing 30th overall. Cave was the youngest driver ever to enter the UK round of the FIA World Rally Championship, but in the face of regular runners in the Fiesta Sporting Trophy International, the one-make series for Group N Ford Fiestas, he put in a demonstrative performance on his WRC debut.
Commenting on the weekend’s result, Yokohama HPT Motorsport Manager Mark Evans said; “We are naturally delighted to have helped Tom to achieve an outstanding result on his WRC debut and offer our congratulations to him, Gemma and the rest of the Tom Cave Racing team.”
Alcoa has begun supplying lightweight forgings to Russian designer and manufacturer of forged aluminium wheels Solomon Alsberg. According to Razinkin Alexander, marketing director for the niche tuning and customisation market specialist, “Solomon Alsberg discovered that Alcoa offers the ideal mix of lightweight product with pricing, quality and flexibility. “Alcoa is one of the only suppliers offering forged blanks up to a size of 19-inch. When machined to their final style, the lightweight wheels weigh just 8.2 kilogram.”
A US importer warned consumers on December 9 that they should check the stem valves on their vehicle’s tyres, after it became apparent that 1.8 million Chinese made tyre stem valves sold in the country may prematurely weather and crack, resulting in a loss of tyre pressure. According to North Carolina based Dill Air Controls Products, the problem is with two batches of valves totalling about 198,000 units, but because the valve stems are not traceable by lot number after installation, the recall involves all valves sold between November 2006 and July 2007.
The very first World Rally Championship of the Pirelli era drew to a close in Wales on December 7, with the recently-crowned five-time World Rally Champion Sebastien Loeb breaking his own record by claiming his 11th win in one season. Citroen-Pirelli has now taken the 2008 World Championship for Manufacturers, thanks also to a strong third place for Loeb’s teammate Dani Sordo.
Ice and frost was once again the order of the day for the final day of the Wales Rally Great Britain, which marked the end of the first World Championship held under the single tyre rule with Pirelli as the exclusive supplier. Despite the wintry conditions, Pirelli reports that its soft-compound Scorpion tyres worked well in the tricky weather, contributing to a dramatic finish. The factory Ford Focus-Pirelli of Jari-Matti Latvala led from the opening day, but Loeb overcame the deficit on the final stage to win the rally by only 12.7 seconds and give Citroen its third manufacturers’ title.
The newest Michelin XZA3 features the Michelin’s Antisplash deflectors on both sidewalls. First offered in 2006, Michelin’s Antisplash feature lowers the trajectory of water spray off of the tyres, reducing the amount of water hitting the windshields of nearby cars or other trucks.
“Customers have come to love the XZA3 tire for its performance on the highway,” said Marc Laferriere, vice president of marketing for Michelin Americas Truck Tires. “Now, with Antisplash technology, we have significantly increased visibility for both truckers and those motorists driving by trucks in wet conditions, especially during a rainstorm.” The new XZA3 Antisplash, available in size 275/80R22.5 LRH, carries Michelin’s seven year, 70,000-mile, three-retread warranty. (Tire Review/Akron)
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