Pirelli is close to releasing its latest tyre technology – an ‘intelligent’ tyre fitted with a microchip within its carcass. Courtesy of the tyre’s hi-tech addition, vital information about the tyre and road conditions can be communicated to a vehicle’s on-board computer, thereby improving the car’s electronic control and warning the driver of any potential problems.
Following growing concerns amongst workers about the temporary closures of Pirelli’s plants in Burton and Carlisle – amid safety concerns over the buildings’ boilers – the Italian manufacturer has advised staff to contact their supervisors between 10am and 4pm tomorrow.
Fears have grown that the 60 job cuts announced for the Carlisle plant last month could be followed up with more bad news when the two sites failed to reopen swiftly after the inspection of the boilers. Pirelli has stressed the importance of the safety of its workers throughout the temporary closure. A spokesman said today, “Following inspection of the affected boilers, a thorough cleaning process is underway. If all aspects of this process are successful, then we will be able to give further clarification on when the plant will resume production.”
Workers look likely to find out tomorrow whether more bad news is to follow.
Pirelli’s plant in Carlisle has been shut since Thursday, when workers were told to stay away following the discovery of a problem with the building’s boiler system.
Local news sources have reported that engineers spent the bank holiday weekend working to repair the malfunctioned apparatus, but that the factory’s management team is waiting for assurance of the building’s safety for work. Pirelli has continued to pay its workers’ wages at the site despite the closure and subsequent loss of production of thousands of tyres.
The factory usually operates all year round, employing 1,000 workers, though this number is set to be reduced following the announcement last month that the company would shed 60 jobs from the site.
Having temporarily shut its Carlisle plant after a fault with the building’s boiler, Pirelli has also sent home its workforce at the company’s other UK factory in Burton.
Pirelli told its workers that production would be suspended while checks were performed on the company’s boiler system. However, there is as yet no word on when the workforce will be able to return to the plant.
American Tire Corp., with only a single sales office in Chino, Calif., now claims to have the support of the U.S. government. In a recent news release claiming it had successfully completed testing its Colorado 63-inch radial OTR in a “tropical area in Africa,” ATC claimed to be a “U.S. government-supported OTR tyre manufacturer.”
The company offered no explanation as to what support it allegedly is receiving from the government. ATC had not used that language in any of its releases until recently. Even though ATC currently has no actual production facilities in the U.S., ATC continues to claim it is one of “four U.S. major OTR tire manufacturers.” (Tire Review/Akron)
Employees at the Michelin Aircraft Tire Company (MATC) facility in North Carolina, USA recently took time out from their normal tyre building operations to celebrate the production of the plant’s three millionth aircraft tyre.
“The production of the three millionth tyre is an important milestone for everyone here at Norwood,” said facility manager Randy Stroman. “Everyone enjoyed a week-long celebration that included giveaways, promotions and an opportunity for each employee to sign the tyre.”
Further to the Ruia Group’s plans for Dunlop India outlined on August 19, the company is reportedly looking to source radial and larger size OTR tyres from overseas to fill gaps in its own domestic production programme. Some 10 to 15 containers of tyres will initially be imported from East Asia and sold in the Indian market under the Dunlop brand name.
American Tire Corp. now claims it has acquired some 520 acres of land in Washington state on which it plans to build its $500 million OTR tyre plant – a facility that earlier this year it had claimed was already under construction. In addition, ATC said it plans to “acquire another big parcel of land with the similar size to support its long-term development in the OTR tyre industry.”
Despite having already implemented OE and aftermarket price increases in the vicinity of 15 per cent during early August, India’s Falcon Tyres is planning another price increase for September. This next round of price ‘enhancements’ will see prices go up by as much as a quarter.
“We have to increase prices in next couple of weeks to maintain profitability,” stated parent company Ruia Group chairman Pawan Kumar Ruia. “Phenomenal increase in cost of production – especially that of natural rubber and rubber chemicals – had eroded our margins to the extent that we were selling a number of products below the cost prices. While we have increased the prices once this month, another price increase up to 20-25 per cent is imminent to maintain positive margin on the entire product range.”
A lock-out was declared at Apollo Tyres’ facility in Kerala on August 16, reportedly due to a lack of production and strike action from a portion of the workforce. According to a company spokesman, the lock out began in the morning. The factory had recently undergone a £1.86 million overhaul to increase capacity from 280 to 318 tonnes, however the strike meant that the company could not implement an increase to the new full capacity.
Despite net sales rising 29.4 per cent to $994 million in the full 2007 year to December 1, Amtel-Vredestein has recorded a pretax loss of $222 million for the year. The company states that its strong sales were boosted by its core passenger car tyre business, as well as good trading in other tyre segments. Sales from the company’s Russian operations grew 30 per cent to $439 million, while sales from European operations via the Company’s Vredestein Banden subsidiary rose 18 per cent to $402 million.
According to China’s National Bureau of Statistics, tyre production across the country in July grew 14.8 per cent over last year, to a total of 49.67 million units. The Bureau’s statistics, reported by Dow Jones, also include figures for synthetic rubber production, which rose 27.7 per cent in July to 194,000 tonnes.
During the months of January to July 2008, tyre production rose 13.5 per cent year on year to 329.32 million units, while synthetic rubber output totalled 1.25 million tones, an increase of 12.2 per cent.
Smithers Scientific Services (SSS) Inc. has appointed Daniel J. Riley as vice president of polymer analysis, a newly created position. According to the company, Riley (37) will assume responsibility for all SSS Akron Laboratory businesses, including physical/mechanical testing, analytical testing, tyre service production and a new polymer consulting group. “Dan brings to Smithers significant experience in scientific management, product development and business acumen that will enhance our well-earned reputation of providing creative solutions for our global client base,” said Jay H. Lutz, SSS vice president and chief operating officer.
China’s tyre industry, now the world’s largest, is tipped to experience slowing growth in the first half of the year as exports begin feeling the affect of a global economic slowdown. This sober outlook was given by the China Rubber Industry Association, which added that profit margins have been eaten away by raw material costs.
Continental reports that every second new Dacia Sandero, the latest model released by the Romanian manufacturer, rolls off the production line equipped with its tyres. The majority of these are ContiEcoContact 3 in size 185/65 R15 88T, produced at Conti’s Timisoara facility in Romania. This latest OE homologation continues a supply partnership between Dacia and the Timisoara factory that began in 2005.
“Tyres of the last technological generation have an important contribution to traffic safety,” commented Thierry Wipff, general manager of Continental’s Timisoara plant. “For us, the safety of our customers is of highest priority, a core criterion in conducting our activity and an important part of Continental’s vision.”
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