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Euro RSCG Bangkok Wins Goodyear Ad Contract

Brandrepublic.asia has reported that Goodyear has appointed advertising agency Euro RSCG Bangkok to find a concept for advertising the new brand DuraPlus in Asia. The DuraPlus is reported to be Goodyear’s entrance to the value-conscious segment of the Asia market, since its key attributes point towards longevity. Matthew Fanshawe, the CEO of the ad-firm, told Brandrepublic that, “The fact that Goodyear is a regional win highlights our ability to engage consumers across different markets with strong ideas, delivering the best result possible for our clients.”

12th June 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Imported Tyre Manufacturers Association Elects New Officers

At its Annual General Meeting held in Northampton on 4 June, the Imported Tyre Manufacturers Association elected Steve Tidmarsh as its new President. Tidmarsh is sales director of the Kumho UK organization will serve a two year term of office effective immediately. The Association also re-elected its long-standing treasurer, Alfred Graham (Alfred Graham Ltd) for a further two-year period.

New president, Tidmarsh stated, “Just now all of us in the tyre business face very great challenges, both commercial and technical. Effective trade associations are essential in this environment, especially when faced as we are with a seeming endless raft of new legislation from Brussels. The recently-favoured ITMA European Technical Group is specifically designed to give all our members the edge they need to stay ahead of developments. One of my objectives over the next two years will be to persuade those brands who feel they can still survive without this kind of help that they too should join with us”.

11th June 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Brisa 2008 Results Show Sales Increase but Profits Down

Turkish manufacturer Brisa achieved net sales of 772,203,901 Turkish liras (£306.1 million) in the year ended December 31, 2008. This result disclosed in the company’s audited statement of income, represents a 2.9 per cent increase on the previous year. Operating income, at 48,709,571 liras (£19.3 million), was down 26.1 per cent on the 2007 financial year, and although profits of 31,795,956 (£12.6 million) liras were 49.1 per cent lower than the previous year, Brisa remained in the black during the year. The company’s domestic sales came to 610,590,748 liras (£242.0 million), a rise of 5.8 per cent. Exports declined 1.2 per cent during the year to 247,181,348 liras (£98.0 million).

11th June 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Toyo Driver Gordon Wins Baja 500

Victory in the 41st Baja 500 has gone to Toyo supported US driver Robby Gordon. Gordon, driving a Chevrolet truck fitted with Toyo 37 x 13.50 R17 Open Country M/T-R race tyres, covered the 700 kilometre Mexican race at an average of around 80 km/h, enough to give him wins in two of the season’s three races.

“I am really excited with the way that the Toyo tyres performed in the Baja 500,” commented Gordon. “We had zero flat tyres and very good management. With a tyre that performs like this, it is going to make it tough for the competition to beat us.”

11th June 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Lanxess China Sales Improving

Despite improving sales in recent months, the 2009 outlook for Lanxess in the Greater China region is said to remain “murky”. At the sidelines of a company event on June 11, Martin Kraemer, chief executive of the company’s Greater China operations told Reuters “we have seen a pick-up in demand and also in sales in China over the last couple of months…What we currently see is nice, but will that be sustainable till the end of the year? We don’t know.”

11th June 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

MAG Shows Continued Interest in Clairoix Factory

More than a month’s silence over future plans for Continental’s Clairoix factory in France has been broken – a June 10 Reuters report indicates continued interest from the Dubai based Moaffaq Al Gaddah (MAG) Group. The news provider states that MAG plans to purchase the facility and employ around half the current workforce to produce three million tyres per annum.

According to a MAG Group representative, the company submitted a letter of intent to Continental AG on June 9, thereby commencing the due diligence process for acquiring the Clairoix factory. “We have yesterday sent a letter of intent to Continental,” MAG vice-chairman Fawaz Sabri told Reuters. “The objective is to regulate the relationship until we reach a final agreement.”

11th June 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Titan International Announces Q2 Dividend

Titan International’s Board of Directors has approved a quarterly cash dividend of US$.005 (one half cent) per common share for the second quarter of 2009. The cash dividend is payable July 15, 2009, to stockholders of record on June 30, 2009.

11th June 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Fines Mount Up For Titan’s Bryan Facility

Titan Tire is perhaps smarting a little after being slapped with an additional US$140,000 fine for two wilful violations of workplace safety regulations on top of the $24,500 penalty already mooted by the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration. These violations were discovered following inspections made after a steam explosion at the company’s Bryan giant tyre facility in November 2008, in which one employee was slightly injured.

According to the Toledo Blade, OSHA follow-up inspections found problems related to the factory’s tyre curing equipment. Specifically, four of the units that use 2,900 tonnes of pressure to compress rubber and metal into 63-inch, 5.9 tonne tyres “were not adequately proof-tested and had welds of insufficient quality or strength to handle the exerted pressure.”

11th June 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Conti Promotes ContiCostCalculator at Crewe Roadshow Leg

Continental is spending this week in the grounds of the resplendent Crewe Hall in Cheshire with its European roadshow, promoting the new iteration of its long-haul and regional commercial vehicle tyres (see June’s edition of Tyres & Accessories – soon to arrive at subscribers’ addresses – and Tyrepress.com for more on last month’s launch). The pan-European tour will see Continental’s truck pitch its inflatable display tent in locations including Helsinki, Madrid, Bucharest and most countries in-between. As much as T&A would have liked to take the opportunity to see the display in one of Europe’s cultural capitals, Crewe presented a rather more convenient opportunity to see the interactive displays with which Conti is introducing its series two tyres alongside the innovative ContiCostCalculator, which promises to aid fleet managers in seeing detailed cost comparisons, certified by independent testing organisation Dekra.

11th June 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

New Waste Tyre From Goodyear

Goodyear has launched a new line of waste hauler radials in the USA. New is the Goodyear G289 WHA, which features a deep 24/32nds-inch tread, a special tread compound for tread life and scrub resistance, an “all-season” tread design, sidewall protector ribs, a special shoulder design to equalize tread face pressure, and Goodyear’s DuraSeal technology to seal tread punctures up to ¼-inch.

“Today, we’ve launched a waste-hauling tyre that we believe sets a new standard when it comes to productivity and cost reductions,” said Donn Kramer, Goodyear’s director of commercial tyre marketing. “The G289 WHA was built from the ground up to be a performance leader.” The G289 WHA is available in size 315/80R22.5, in load range L, with a 10,200-pound capacity. (Tire Review/Akron)

11th June 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

OTR Announces Specialist Fitting

OTR, a UK-based earthmover tyre specialist, has added a specialist fitting truck to its fleet. Based in Leicester, the new Iveco 6×4 EuroTrakker has the latest Euro 5 engine and AS Tronic gearbox, an HMF 2220 fully remote crane complete with OTR 2700 tyre handler and screw compressor air management system.

Operations director Darren Flint said, as the new truck went to work, “We have an increased demand for service from customers in the region with larger rigid dump truck tyres so another service vehicle was essential”. OTR operates a fleet of 37 specialist fitting trucks from six regional service hubs and 12 Service Operating Sites located throughout the UK.

Working to its universally “Safe Methods of Work” standards, OTR continues to develop earthmover and off-road products and services.

11th June 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Goodyear Gets Buyout Deal in Akron

USW workers at Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.’s race tyre plant in Akron have accepted a buyout scheme. The company has offered buyouts to 120 workers at the plant, about 30 per cent of total employment there, citing reduced demand due to cutbacks made in various race series. USW Local 2, which covers some 440 employees in Akron, passed the offer “overwhelmingly,” according to reports. The deal also preserves some 250 jobs through 2012 at Goodyear’s tech center in the city.

However, the agreement allows Goodyear to move rubber mixing from Akron to its Dunlop plant in Buffalo within the next two years. The one-time buyout offer covers the first 120 employees who elect to take it, and gives $2,000 per year of service up to a maximum of $40,000. If fewer than 120 employees take the offer, Goodyear will have the right to layoff workers to reach that level. (Tire Review/Akron)

10th June 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Conti Canada Adds Online Marketing Programme

Continental Tire Canada has launched an all-new marketing support program through its website. The addition is dedicated to dealers and distributors, the company said, and offers POS signage, displays, communications material and merchandise. “Our goal is to support our customers the best way possible. After launching our on-line training initiative, Engage 360, in January, this marketing support program is the second Web-based marketing tool we have launched this year,” said Maiti Leinss, marketing coordinator.

Dealers can log in via the Internet or Conti’s extranet, using the same ID and password for all applications. While basic items will be offered for free, supplementary items can be paid for online, Conti said, with all orders eligible for co-op dollars. (Tire Review/Akron)

10th June 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Emirates Driving Institute Brings Safety Message to Sports Fest

Road safety – in particular the use of seatbelts – is to be the main theme presented by the Emirates Driving Institute when it attends Barbican Turbo the Middle East’s custom, tuning and motorsports festival organised by United Business Media from the 8-10 of October at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre, Abu Dhabi.

Road safety is a particular concern in the United Arab Emirates where figures released by the Abu Dhabi Health Authority and the Ministry of Interior indicate 424 people were killed on the roads in Abu Dhabi and a total of 1,071 were killed country-wide in 2008. To combat this issue the Emirates Driving Institute aims to achieve excellence in the field of driver training and road safety and believes a reduction in road traffic accidents can only be achieved by improving the current skills level and knowledge of the driving population; something which they plan to do while at Barbican Turbo.

10th June 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Lanxess Underpins its BRIC Strategy with Two Acquisitions

Lanxess is currently in the process of acquiring two new companies in Asia. And while, admittedly, these new acquisitions will not deal directly with the firm’s tyre industry chemical supply business, Lanxess says the purchase “is underpinning its long-term growth strategy in the BRIC countries.” The companies to be acquired by Lanxess are India’s Gwalior Chemical Industries Ltd, which comes with an 82.4 million euro price tag, and Chinese company Jiangsu Polyols Chemical Co Ltd, which is to be acquired for an undisclosed sum.

“These acquisitions in India and China are further milestones in our company’s long-term growth strategy in the BRIC countries,” said Axel C. Heitmann, chairman of Lanxess’s Board of Management. “Gwalior’s business complements the portfolio of our Basic Chemicals business unit and our first acquisition in India will strengthen our production base in this exciting market.”

10th June 2009/by Tyrepress Editors