Brisa to Suspend Production
According to Forbes, Turkish tyre manufacturer Brisa has given word it will suspend production between July 27 and August 6 due to weak demand.
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Tag Archive for: Product News
Yantai Produces World’s Largest Solid Tyre
Product NewsA 1.78 metre diameter two-ton solid tyre produced by China’s Yantai C.S.I. Rubber Co. Ltd is being promoted as the world’s largest. The Chinese language website shm.com.cn reports that the Yantai tyre, produced after three years of research and development, beats the previous world record for diameter by 16 centimetres.
The production process for the tyre is said to have taken 22 hours to complete. These large tyres will reportedly be purchased by Caterpillar for fitment on its equipment.
Goodyear Gets Buyout Deal in Akron
Product NewsUSW 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)
Conti Canada Adds Online Marketing Programme
Product NewsContinental 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)
Emirates Driving Institute Brings Safety Message to Sports Fest
Product NewsRoad 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.
Lanxess Underpins its BRIC Strategy with Two Acquisitions
Product NewsLanxess 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.”
Titan Tire Faces Fines for Safety Violations
Product NewsTitan Tire has been cited by the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration for violations of federal safety rules. According to Toledo based newspaper The Blade, the company’s Bryan giant tyre facility is facing tentative fines of US$24,500 for four serious violations at the site. The violations were observed during inspections in November, December, and February.
Titan has indicated it will appeal the charges.
Conti Outlines Clairoix Redundancy Package
Product NewsThe deal for Continental’s Clairoix workers first made public by the French CGT union in late May has been officially confirmed. Conti reports that an agreement between its French and German management and trade union and French government representatives was reached on June 6. Upon announcing this agreement, Continental’s Dr. Thomas Winkelmann declared “we are pleased that we have already come up with a solution before the end of the four-week negotiation phase.”
An understanding, as Conti noted in a press statement, was not reached without difficulties. According to the German company, French union representatives “impeded the entire negotiations by rigidly focusing on negotiating the highest possible uniform one-off severance payment” for all affected employees. “The one-off payment of 50,000 euros for each employee is now a component of the overall solution – not more, but also not less, commented Winkelmann.
Organiser Reports Successful Automechanika Middle East
Product NewsA total of 15,431 visitors attended Automechanika Middle East during the three-day event. Of this number, notes organiser Epoc Messe Frankfurt GmbH, 46 per cent were international visitors, converging on Dubai from a total of 114 countries. According to the organiser, buyers arrived in large numbers from the GCC, Middle East, Iran, Africa, CIS and India.
Considering the tough economic climate, adds Epoc Messe Frankfurt, Automechanika Middle East registered a remarkable increase in the number of exhibitors; a total of 966 exhibitors from 46 countries were present, and exhibition space this year occupied 31,000 square metres at the Dubai Convention and Exhibition Centre.
Conti Executive Board to Assess Viability of Schaeffler Merger
Product NewsDuring its June 8 meeting in Hanover, Germany, the Continental AG Supervisory Board deliberated on various future scenarios for the company, including the option of a merger between it and Schaeffler under the umbrella of a publicly listed Continental AG. In exploring this possible course of action, the Supervisory Board has asked Conti’s Executive Board to assess all aspects of a merger between Continental and Schaeffler, in particular the financial feasibility of such a joining. This process is to be completed by the end of July. At the same time, notes Continental, the Executive Board shall continue to analyse further alternatives and their possible implementation.
Cooper Tire to Close Iowa Distribution Centre
Product NewsCooper Tire intends to close its Cedar Rapids, Iowa distribution centre later this year, local newspaper The Gazette reports. According to an article published on June 4, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, the representative union for employees at the site, has been informed and union representatives have begun negotiations over severance payments.
Deb Hansen, president of the local union chapter, says that no definite date has been given for the centre’s closing, and further commented that the union wasn’t surprised when Cooper announced its intention to close the site. “They had been tossing it around for some time, even when we were negotiating,” Hansen said, adding that the economic has probably also contributed to the decision.
Indian Tyre Dealers Voice Opposition to Import Duty
Product NewsTrouble is brewing between Indian tyre manufacturers and dealers. A duty on passenger car tyres imported from China is expected to be introduced by the end of June, and the two parties hold differing views on the matter.
“We have invited views from all concerned. We will look at all representations before taking a decision. However, on the face of it, there does seem to be a case for application of safeguard duties,” a government official told India’s Economic Times newspaper on condition of anonymity.
Goodyear, USW Begin Negotiations Over New Contract
Product NewsAlmost three years have passed since the agreement between Goodyear and the United Steelworkers of America on a new master contract ended several months of strike action, and on July 18 the contract is set to expire. Negotiations between the two parties on a new contract began on June 8 – but whether or not mutually agreeable terms can be reached without revisiting the events of 2006 remains to be seen.
The existing three-year contract covers some 10,300 workers as seven Goodyear factories in the US, and while the USW states its goal in negotiations will be to improve pay and benefits, it acknowledges that job security will overshadow other issues.
McGuinness Break world record at TT on Dunlop Tyres
Product NewsDunlop’s road race pairing of John McGuinness and Steve Plater scored top honours for Dunlop on the Isle of Man, finishing first and second in the TT Superbike race. The duo were the only two riders to break through the 130mph average lap speed – with McGuinness setting yet another lap record of 130.442mph (17mins 21.29 seconds) on his second of the six lap race, as well as breaking the race distance record with a time of 1:46.07.16. His Dunlop tyres were specifically designed and built in the Birmingham-based Fort Dunlop factory.
The Morecambe man also furthered his and legendary TT status, by claiming his 15th TT win, placing him second in the line-up of all time TT victories behind the great Joey Dunlop. Following the decision to postpone racing on Saturday due to poor weather conditions covering the 37.73 mile mountain course, both McGuinness and Plater were itching to take to the seats of their CBR1000RR Fireblades in Monday’s welcomed clear and warm racing conditions.
HiQ Mechanic Given BTCC Tyre Changing Opportunity
Product NewsBrian Hurman, a mobile tyre mechanic with HiQ in Longlands Road, Middlesbrough will celebrate his 30th anniversary at a HiQ fast fit centre in style, when he swaps the forecourt for the fast lane of the British Touring Car Championship. Hurman will be working trackside at Croft race circuit this weekend (13 and 14 June), changing tyres for Matt Neal, Jason Plato, and all the stars of the series, which HiQ supports as a title sponsor.
The 30th anniversary gift represents a gesture of thanks for all his work at the centre and the North-East area over the period. Hurman said: “It’s a dream come true to be changing the tyres for Vauxhall and all the teams in the touring car championship. I am a huge fan of the BTCC so it was such a lovely shock when I was told I had been given this opportunity.”
