The planned reverse takeover transaction between Amtel-Vredestein and Sibur Holding, which would see the former company purchase all issued and outstanding shares Sibur Russian Tyres before the latter purchases the resultant enlarged company, has been approved during Amtel-Vredestein’s Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders.
Specifically, Amtel-Vredestein reports the following approved resolutions:
Bike Tyrestore reports that its dealers have the chance to be amongst seven lucky customers to win a special behind the scenes trip to the MotoGP Test in Jerez, in February 2009. Entry into the draw for this trip comes by means of simply purchasing a dozen or more BT-016 tyres from Bike Tyrestore before 30th November. The winning entrants will receive much coveted behind the scenes MotoGP access, three nights four-star B&B accommodation and return flights.
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.”
CarbonBlack TyreXchange, the Australian independent online marketplace for tyres and auto services, has revealed the results of its latest Independent Tyre Brand Scorecard, which focuses on consumer purchasing behaviour. The survey appears to reveal the rise of social marketing in tyre retailing, which allows word-of-mouth among consumers to impact in a more pronounced way the choices buyers make.
The e-tailer suggests that this trend is a result of greater sophistication and awareness among consumers and tyre retailers that traditional advertising no longer has the same impact on consumers. Socially disseminated information, meaning the presence of consumer reviews on websites especially, in addition to relevant point-of-sale marketing and consumer education are, CarbonBlack suggests, increasingly able to influence the purchase cycle and are having a greater impact on consumer choice. The company states that these findings reinforce the value of both the internet and tyre dealer network importance for consumer tyre purchases.
Recommendations from the House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee for a government–funded car scrappage scheme have been criticised by the Automotive Distribution Federation (ADF). “There is a blinkered attitude towards environmental issues which propels people towards simplistic ‘headline’ solutions, rather than small simple steps which, in combination, can have a significant impact,” says ADF chief executive Brian Spratt.
Spratt contends that tighter environmental inspections in MoT tests, which in turn would lead to better servicing of vehicles, along with programmes of driver behaviour training aimed at reducing pollution and improving fuel economy would be preferable. “Even a simple thing such as the correct tyre pressures,” he says, “will add to the positive impact and, cumulatively, outweigh the environmental costs of producing new vehicles. These straightforward measures will be a greater benefit to motorists who, despite any scrappage incentive, will still find it impossible to fund the purchase of a newer car.”
Developer and manufacturer of lithium-ion batteries for hybrid and electric vehicles, Ener1, has acquired the 19.5 per cent share in joint venture company EnerDel held by former joint venture partner Delphi Corporation. This share purchase gives Ener1 100 per cent ownership in EnerDel and brings along with it exclusive ownership of essential manufacturing and intellectual property assets from Delphi. The agreement was approved by US judge Robert Drain, who is overseeing Delphi’s efforts to emerge from bankruptcy.
The announced joint venture tyre plant to be established by Pirelli and Russian Technologies will have an initial capacity of 4.2 million tyres, states Pirelli – and sources indicate that a large chunk of production will be supplied to Russian carmaker AvtoVAZ. The facility, to be built in a new industrial estate in northwest Togliatti, in Russia’s Samara region, will be located near the giant AvtoVAZ factory, which is majority controlled by Russian Technologies. The regional government plans to make the industrial estate a special economic zone, in which investors are granted tax concessions.
AIM Global, a trade association recognised as an authority on automatic identification and mobility, has announced the public release of new guidelines for the verification and qualification of design and manufacture for RFID chips and transponders in tyres. The guidelines were produced by the RFID Experts Group for use by the tyre and related industries in the development of RFID technology in new products.
The guidelines target item level tagging where the RFID tag may be present in various formats, including a label, incorporated into a patch that is permanently affixed to the inner or outer surface of a tyre, or incorporated during manufacture into the structure of the tyre as an integral component.
Kumho Tires reports that its Solus KR21 tyre, aimed at the North American market, has come out on top in category in the 2008 half-yearly consumer satisfaction survey carried out by the country’s largest on-line tyre distributor. The Tire Rack survey, which can be found at tirerack.com/survey/index.jsp, included a total of 27 tyres in the standard touring all-season tyre category, and the Kumho product was declared joint winner along with the Yokohama Avid TRZ.
The Kumho KR21 received high scores in all 12 survey categories, including intention to re-purchase, ride comfort, steering responsiveness, wet traction, ice traction, deep snow traction, light snow and deep snow traction. Particularly high scores were received in the areas of ride comfort, tread wear, and traction on roads. Tire Rack also posted its own test results of the Kumho tyre on its website, commenting that this standard touring all-season tyre meets the needs of drivers of coupes, sedans, and minivans by providing excellent ride comfort and a low noise level. The online distributor assessed the tyre to be durable, resistant to abrasion, low-noise, and high-performance, providing excellent steering and cornering performance to drivers.
American Tire Corporation (ATC), a company reporting to have “established dozens of operations in different states and countries,” states it is gearing up to begin production in its Washington, USA plant, a facility it says will be developed into the “largest giant OTR tyre manufacturing base in the world.” In a July 28 statement the company said it would begin operations in Washington in August 2008 – maybe.
“American Tire Corporation (ATC) is pleased to announce that its Washington operations will start in August 2008,” read the press statement. “ATC’s staff recruiting is undergoing in Washington. A 500,000 square feet facility for the 1st phase is almost done. Manufacturing equipments will be moved to its new facilities step by step. Production will begin as soon as everything is ready but not in August.” The company has not made clear how long the Washington site will operate before it produces its first tyre.
Is not even the tyre industry safe from cybersquatting? Tyres & Accessories was recently surprised by its attempts to view Dunlop’s UK website. Upon entering the address www.dunlop-tyres.co.uk, instead of viewing the expected Dunlop homepage, we found ourselves face to face with the website of rival tyremaker Michelin. Additionally, a search under www.dunlop.co.uk was equally unfruitful. The website is registered in the name of Essex based man named David Dunlop, and is reportedly available for purchase.
A representative from Goodyear Dunlop has pointed out that the correct website address for the company’s UK Dunlop site is www.dunloptyres.co.uk.
Blue, yellow and – in some cases – blue-and-yellow bricks once part of Goodyear’s famous landmark chimney in Wolverhampton are to be sold, with the proceeds going to charity.
The beloved 150 ft tower was felled last month in the presence of 1,000 onlookers, and now 350 pieces of industrial memorabilia are available for purchase. Blue bricks will go for £2, yellow for £5, and the much sought after two-tone bricks will be sold for a tenner. All monies raised will be donated to cancer care specialists Macmillan Nurses.
UK based IT and business services company Logica has been selected as Michelin’s applications services partner for its Finance and Purchase Reporting Group, Supply Chain Management, Marketing and Sales (Customer Relationship Management) and Demand to Cash operations across Europe and North America. The three-year contract, which has the further option of being renewed for an additional three years, includes consulting services and systems implementation.
According to Logica, the partnership will – in addition to improving cost and quality performance – deliver enhanced operating efficiency and more responsive, flexible information systems. The contract, reports Logica, will draw upon its ‘blended delivery’ model, through which the optimal IT resources from Logica’s worldwide service centres will be allocated.
The Ruia Group of Kolkata, India has revealed plans to local news sources that they are to build a new tyre plant on a Greenfield site near the Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International airport in Guwahati. The site is currently being prepared for industrial development by local government and Ruia looks set to invest heavily, with four billion rupees earmarked for the project in the next year and a half.
The company expects the facility to open with a production capacity of 50 tonnes per day initially. Ruia hopes to double that figure over time.
A US man who supervised the illegal storage of 40,000 tyres has gone on trial following a fire that burned for over 24 hours and took millions of gallons of water to put out in May 2006. Rick Handley of Alabama is answering to the prosecution, which argues that the tyres were stored illegally for a company called US Tire Recovery.
The organisation bought used tyres in bulk, separating those that could be resold and stacking others in the warehouse facility. Handley had been ordered to stop this practice of stockpiling in November 2005, while he never applied for the proper permit required by the Solid Waste Management Act.
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