Bridgestone to Build Fourth Tyre Plant in China
(Akron/Tire Review) Bridgestone Corporation is planning to invest about $300 million in the construction of a fourth tyre plant in China, the company recently announced.
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Jaguar Cuts X-Type Production
Product NewsFalling worldwide sales of the Jaguar X-Type – down 29 per cent in the first three months – have led Jaguar to reduce production of the luxury model. No X-Types were produced last week at the Halewood plant, which employs 2,300 people and, although production resumed this week, next week will see only three days of production. A Jaguar spokesman said that jobs were not in danger and that next year will see Land Rover’s new Freelander vehicle being manufactured at Halewood.
Michelin to Restructure in Future
Product NewsMichelin is likely to embark on a major restructuring programme in the coming years. The news follows a meeting between Deutsche Bank analysts and Michelin. The fact that 24,000 people will be retired in the next five years (17,000 in Western Europe or 31 per cent of the workforce and 7,000 in North America or 33 per cent of the workforce) is said to allow for higher productivity gains and transfer of production to low cost countries.
Sibur Reduces First Quarter Tyre Production by 25.5 per cent
Product NewsJoint Stock Company Sibur reduced tyre production by 3.02 million units compared with 4.053 million units for the same period a year ago. The Russian Analytical Information Agency has reported that, in particular, Voltire cut tyre production to 585,000 units from 701,000 in 2004; Omskshina decreased output to 732,000 tyres from 1.425 million the year before and Yaroslavsky Tire Works cut production to 1.244 million from 1.493 million. At the same time Uralshina Ltd improved tyre output to 459,000 from 433,000 units. In total 3.121 million tyres are reported to have been shipped, a decrease of 586,000 tyres compared with the same period a year ago.
Goodyear On Track To Break Even
Product NewsGoodyear is “more or less on track…to come in around breakeven” during the first quarter of 2005, Deutsche Bank analysts have reported. The analysts went on to say that they foresee a modest profit ($0.05 per share) in the second quarter, while maintaining their $10 target sell rating. The market watchers suggest that Goodyear’s new $3.2 billion credit facility ($2 billion of which has already been used) has “bought the company enough time to turn its tyre business around. However, there was caution. The analysts warned that competition from America and Eastern Europe present challenges for the company, as do declining military revenues and lower auto production levels. In addition, competitors appear to be outpacing Goodyear’s efforts to shift to low cost markets, they concluded.
GE Expands to Meet Demand for Silica Tyres
Product NewsGE has expanded its capacity for high technology silanes used in the production of silica tyres. Additional capacity was brought on line last week to meet the high demand for GE’s new proprietary process.
“Demand has been very strong for our new NXT silane that helps enable fast and easy dispersion of silica during rubber compounding for silica tyres,” said Dr. Ian Moore, general manager for GE’s global silanes business. “We are focusing resources on new products and processes, and this is another move in our long-term strategy for growth in the silica tyre segment. In fewer than 24 months of design and construction, we developed and deployed an innovative process that delivers vastly increased capacity for silanes.”
Alcoa Opens New Facility in North Carolina
Product NewsFollowing a $6 million investment Alcoa’s Subassembly and Logistics business will open a new manufacturing plant in North Carolina.
The company, a part of Alcoa Wheel and Forged Products, provides wheel and tyre assemblies to the Freightliner Group, the largest heavy-duty truck manufacturer in North America and a leading manufacturer of medium-duty and specialised commercial vehicles.
The new facility is scheduled to begin production in mid-April. It will add to Alcoa’s presence in North Carolina, where it already has four other operating locations.
Yokohama Tire Philippines Starts Expansion Project
Product NewsYokohama Tire Philippines has started its P5.8-billion (£56.6 million) expansion project in the Clark economic zone.
This, the third expansion project of the plant is designed to boost production to 20,000 tyres a day by September 2006 from its present 9,000 tyres a day capacity.
Cooper Tire Counts Cost of Production Halt
Product NewsCooper Tire & Rubber Co has warned that a production halt at its Texarkana, Arkansas, facility on 12 March will affect first-quarter earnings by 5 cents to 7 cents a share, Market watch has reported.
Cooper Expansion Plans Gain Boost
Product News(Akron/Tire Review) Cooper Tire & Rubber Co’s planned expansion of its Athens, Georgia, tyre plant got a big boost from local government which authorised some $12 million in bonds to aid the expansion effort.
Celebrity Wheels
Product NewsWell known celeb Sean ‘P. Diddy’ Combs has put his name to a new line of aluminium wheels. His partnership with American company, Weld Wheels, will produce a line of Sean John-branded custom one- and three-piece precision-forged aluminium wheels for the sport truck, luxury SUV and high-end American and German luxury car markets. The custom designed wheels made their world debut at the Greater New York Auto Show last week.
Cooper Talks Break Down
Product News(Texarkana/Tire Review) Talks between Cooper Tire & Rubber Co and members of USWA Local 752 at Cooper’s Texarkana, Arkansas, tyre plant reportedly broke off 14 March, leaving the passenger and light truck/SUV tyre plant operating on a skeleton crew as union workers picket outside.
ThyssenKrupp Sells Elastomertechnik
Product NewsThyssenKrupp subsidiary, ThyssenKrupp Technologies has sold its Elastomertechnik business. ThyssenKrupp Technologies sold the tyre production machinery firm to the Lubeck based Possehl Group. The new owners have applied for the purchase to be registered retrospectively from the 1 October 2004. Elastomertechnik owns facilities in Hamburg and Freudenberg (Germany) plus Topeka/USA and Belisce/Kroatia. The company made a turnover of 145 million euros in the 2003/2004 financial year.
Cooper Workers Walk Out
Product News(Akron/TR) Union workers at Cooper Tire & Rubber Co’s Texarkana, Arkansas, plant walked off the job on Saturday night after failing to gain a new contract covering the passenger and light truck/SUV tyre plant. Texarkana workers, represented by the United Steelworkers of America (USWA) Local 752, went out on strike at midnight when their previous contract expired. The USWA had apparently received a proposed contract offer from Cooper, but did not put the offer to a vote before walking out. Cooper officials said they are hopeful that “talks will continue toward resuming production as quickly as possible.”
Michelin Pay Dispute Worsens
Product NewsWorkers at the Michelin tyre factory in Stoke-on-Trent have voted to take industrial action in a dispute over pay. The workers had previously decided to take measures including ‘working to rule,’ but then suspended preparations following a “positive” meeting with management. Now around 400 members of the Transport and General Workers Union (T&G) have decided to demonstrate outside the Remix plant. An overtime ban has been in place since 6:00am on Friday. As a result of the action, production at the plant is said to be very slightly down.
