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MotoGP Competition “Tight” with Single Tyre Supplier

Previewing the fourth round of this year’s MotoGP championship, which takes place at Le Mans at the weekend, Hiroshi Yamada predicts that competition will continue to be fierce following the presence of three different riders at the top of the leaderboard after each of the first three Grand Prix weekends: “We’ve now had three races of this new season with Bridgestone supporting all riders and teams as the series’ Official Tyre Supplier, and in this time I am very pleased to have seen three championship leaders. Casey is only 11 points behind Valentino and Jorge and Dani are tied on points for third position, so we could see another change at the French Grand Prix.

“Valentino will want to win to keep himself on-track for his 100th victory in Mugello and Casey will want to make amends for last year’s race, but Jorge and Dani are also fast at Le Mans, Colin Edwards has performed well there in the past and after his excellent fourth position in Jerez, Randy de Puniet will carry a lot of confidence into his home grand prix so I think competition at the front will be tight. We had full wet race in 2007 and last year rain fell in the middle of the race, so I hope this year we will have another exciting battle but with dry conditions!”

12th May 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Ferrari to Quit F1?

Formula One’s off-track happenings continued to rival its race-days in terms of drama as the sport’s longest running and most successful team issued a stunning ultimatum, threatening to end its involvement if proposed budget cap rules are implemented next season.

FIA chief Max Mosley has proposed a system that would allow teams remaining within a £40 million budget cap to operate with fewer technological restrictions than those that chose not to. Ferrari argues that this would create a two-tier championship stating, “The same rules for all teams, stability of regulations, the continuity of… endeavours to methodically and progressively reduce costs, and governance of Formula 1 are priorities for the future. If these indispensable principles are not respected, and if the regulations decided for 2010 will not change, Ferrari does not intend to enter its cars.”

12th May 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

CEAT Tyres Inaugurates First Wheel Management Centre

In India CEAT Tyres has opened its first wheel management centre at Sankagiri in Tamil Nadu. The Economic Times reports that the centre is set to be a hub for the service and maintenance of truck radials.

The company’s vice president, sales and marketing, Arnab Banerjee told the paper, “Service and maintenance of a tyre means proper alignment, greasing and retreading in periodic intervals, nitrogen filling in tyres, and various other measures to improve tyre life and fuel efficiency of the vehicle.” He also suggested that the centre would be used for driver-based training.

It is reported that the company is tapping into the local industrialised market of 10,000 trucks, 25 per cent of which run on radials compared to the Indian average of 10 per cent.

12th May 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Financing Deal on New Goodyear HQ Agreed

On Monday Akron and Summit County authorities in Ohio signed off on a new financing deal for the Goodyear Riverwalk project. The financing is a major step towards an estimated $900 million project that includes a new global headquarters for Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., retail and office space and a hotel in East Akron. National City Bank has agreed to buy $17.2 million worth of bonds issued by the Summit County Port Authority and backed by the county and city, thus kick-starting the plans. The project was unveiled in late 2007, and was a major factor in keeping Goodyear and its 2,900 jobs in Akron.

12th May 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Starco Launches New ATV Range in UK

Starco has announced the launch of its new range of low cost, good quality ATV tyres. The brand, which has been previously established on the US market, will run alongside Starco’s existing Kenda line up, a move that the company says will offer customers greater choice.

The range includes both crossply and radial sizes and is available with a choice of tread designs to suit all applications and conditions. Starco’s warehouse in Rugeley, Staffordshire holds £3 million of stock, comprising comprehensive ranges of wheels, tyres and tubes for not only ATV but also turf, wheelbarrow, high speed trailer, industrial forklift, implement, skid steer and small materials handling applications. In response to customer demand and market trends, the ATV addition to the existing range is designed, says Starco, to maintain the company’s position as a major supplier of ATV tyres from the premium to the budget end of the market.

12th May 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Continental OE on Freightliner M2 Trucks

Continental Tire North America, Inc. is to supply Freightliner with original equipment tyres for all its Freightliner Business Class M2 medium-duty trucks. In addition, Continental’s range of commercial vehicle tyres will be optional on other Daimler Trucks North America LLC (DTNA) brands including Western Star trucks, Thomas Built buses, Freightliner Custom Chassis Corporation chassis and all other Freightliner vehicles.

Melissa Clausen, Freightliner Trucks’ director of product marketing commented: “Continental’s heavy steer tyres complement our proven engineering for the Business Class M2 trucks. The M2 is designed for maximum reliability and fuel efficiency, and this is what we found in Continental’s product offering.”

12th May 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Michelin to Feature on Recession Documentary

Michelin’s Campbell Road retreading facility will feature in a documentary about how manufacturing companies are coping with the recession. According to a report in the Sentinel, factory manager Peter Marsh and three shop floor workers feature in ITV1’s Tonight programme on May 18. Michelin employs around 1,200 people at its Campbell Road factory in Stoke and is one of several companies trying to avoid redundancies through flexible working agreements with employees and trade unions.

12th May 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Dow Europe May Divest Synthetic Rubber Wing

According to reports, Dow Chemical Company has said that its Dow Europe GmbH (Dow) subsidiary is “exploring divestiture options for its synthetic rubber business.” No further details or timeframe have been released at this stage, however, the move is being seen as part of the company’s ongoing work to streamline its portfolio of businesses. Dow’s Synthetic Rubber business produces and distributes synthetic rubbers. The business is located in central Germany and includes five production plants and a research centre in city of Schkopau.

12th May 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Sumi Rubber Indonesia’s 100 Millionth Tyre Rolls Out

P.T. Sumi Rubber Indonesia, Sumitomo Rubber Industries’ Indonesian subsidiary, produced its 100 millionth tyre on Monday 27 April 2009. Sumi Rubber Indonesia started operation in April 1997 as Sumitomo Rubber’s first tyre production base in Asia. The Indonesian company has since supplied tyres in Indonesia, Japan and globally. At the same time, the company worked actively on reduction of burden on the environment and obtained ISO14001 certification in August 2003. It attained the zero emission in December 2004 and the complete zero emission in August 2008 as one of the companies to obtain it fastest in Indonesia. The factory employees 3000 and produces 4200 tons a month, according to company literature.

12th May 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

NASDAQ Chastises Hayes Lemmerz Over Late Results Publication

On 4 May 2009 Hayes Lemmerz International, Inc. received an exchange listing non-compliance letter from the Nasdaq stock exchange notifying the company that it was “no longer in compliance with the rules for continued listing according to Listing Rule 5250(c)(1),” which refers to the prompt publication of financial results. According to a statement issued by Hayes Lemmerz, the letter comes as a result of its failure to file its annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended 31 January 2009 with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Hayes has until 3 July 2009, to submit a plan to regain compliance with Nasdaq’s continuing listing standards. The company says it expects to file its Form 10-K on or before 15 May 2009. The notification has no effect on the listing of the common stock of Hayes at the moment.

12th May 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Goodyear Dunlop to Consult Over ‘Defined Contribution’ Pension Scheme

Goodyear Dunlop Tyres UK Limited is to consult with pension trustees, trade unions and employee representatives over the introduction of a new Defined Contribution (DC) Pension scheme. According to a company statement, the proposed scheme would replace both the company’s ‘Hybrid Scheme’ (combined Defined Benefit final salary and Defined Contribution) and ‘New Hire’ DC scheme. Approximately 850 employees are in the Hybrid scheme and 70 in the ‘New Hire’ scheme.

The consultation will be on the proposed replacement of the current schemes with a new enhanced defined contribution programme. Those who are currently paying into the Defined Benefit (DB) scheme will have their accrued benefits deferred, and the company are proposing the introduction of a new DC scheme for future service to add to the members’ existing benefits.

11th May 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Goodway Reports Full-Year 2008 Loss

Goodway Integrated Industries Bhd registered 12,559 million Malaysian ringgits of pre-tax loss in the year ended 31 December 2008, compared with 6,702 million ringgits of pre-tax profits in 2007. Chief operating officer Alison Wong Ping Kiong told Malaysian Insider: “It was difficult for us to pass down the cost to customers as the prices fluctuated so much that by the time we price in the extra cost, the rubber prices increased again and vice-versa.” Wong said 75 per cent of the company’s revenue were derived from rubber compound while the remaining 25 per cent came from tyre retreading focused in the local market.

11th May 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Dunlop Adds New Sizes to Roadsmart Bike Tyre Range

Dunlop Motorcycle in the UK has announced that it has extended its popular Roadsmart tyre range. Created to meet the needs of all-weather, year-round riders on sports-touring, naked street bikes and supersport machines, the Roadsmart range has been extended to provide tyres for the increasingly popular large capacity trail bikes used for road riding. The tyre is now available in sizes 110/80 R19 (59V) and 150/70 R17 (69V) to be fitted on popular trail bikes for road use.

Lisa Faulkner, motorcycle manager, UK and Ireland stated, “We’re very happy to be able to bring the Roadsmart range to even more riders. Large capacity trail bikes have become an increasingly popular choice for road use, Roadsmart is one of the best all round tyres and it was only natural that we would develop a tyre for these bikes.”

11th May 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Toyo Reports 10 billion yen 2008 Net Loss

Toyo Tire & Rubber Co., Ltd. has announced a full-year 2008 net loss of 10,722 million yen (£72.87 million) on the back of what the company termed “extremely severe” management conditions. In its full-year 2007 results Toyo had reported net profits of 6,137 million yen (£41.7 million). Compared to 2007 net sales decreased to 328,371 million yen (down 8.1 per cent). Toyo’s tyre segment posted net sales of 242,009 million yen (£1.644 billion), a figure that fell at half the rate of the group as a whole, down £70.7 million yen or 4.1 per cent compared to 2007). Toyo’s tyre business reportedly accounts for 73.6 per cent of total sales.

According to the company report, sales volumes and net sales of original equipment tyres for the domestic market fell drastically below the previous year’s level, due to the global recession, especially the sharp reduction of domestic car production in the fourth quarter of 2008. While the company’s North American branch experienced the same kind of dramatic decline seen across the whole market, in the European market sales volumes and net income were the same level as full-year 2007, partly due to sales expansion activities. Even more positively Middle Eastern and South East Asian market sales volumes and net sales “significantly exceeded” prior year levels. However, sales volumes were the same level as 2007 and net income fell below.

11th May 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Pirelli Introduces Specialist Superbike Qualifying Tyre

Pirelli has developed a new “qualifying tyre” for the Italian track, with the specific aim of reducing lap times and enhancing the spectacle of Superpole action. The tyre will be given non-permanent white “long P” markings and yellow lines have been imprinted on the tyre’s surface, which will reveal the strategy of teams and riders to motor-racing fans looking on.

Pirelli presented the new 200mm tyre at the first Italian round of the Superbike World Championship. It is unique to Monza, being equal in measurement, profile and structure to Pirelli’s race tyres for this circuit. Giorgio Barbier commented, “We continue to put forth significant efforts in developing additional tyre options available to every rider of the Superbike and Supersport grid, and we are satisfied with all the results, including this new qualifying tyre which guarantees more excitement and visibility into the strategies of each team during Superpole for all spectators, both live and on television.”

11th May 2009/by Tyrepress Editors