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Michelin Launches Accredited Centres

The Michelin name has become an important reference for lovers of good food and the award of a Michelin star is the ultimate accolade for any restaurant.

Now the company has launched a scheme that aims to raise the bar when it comes to tyre retailing, with the establishment of Michelin Accredited Centres. In an effort to dispel the public’s image of poor facilities and poor service in the tyre trade, Michelin has come up with a set of performance standards for tyre shops and, to achieve recognition, Michelin Accredited Centres have to be independently assessed to meet these criteria.

Approved centres will display a distinctive signage and it is hoped that this will come to be recognised by the public as assurance that their purchase enquiries will be dealt with professionally. According to Michelin, “substantial investment” has been made by both Michelin and the retailers in order to create a clear level of integrity and trust – the key complaints in many automotive customer surveys.

25th August 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Michelin Launches Accredited Centres

The Michelin name has become an important reference for lovers of good food and the award of a Michelin star is the ultimate accolade for any restaurant.

Now the company has launched a scheme that aims to raise the bar when it comes to tyre retailing, with the establishment of Michelin Accredited Centres. In an effort to dispel the public’s image of poor facilities and poor service in the tyre trade,

23rd August 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Tiger Wheels Buys Kentucky Plant

Tiger Wheels has reinforced its position in the North American market with the acquisition of a large-diameter wheel plant in Kentucky. The company reports that the plant is dedicated to supplying Ford motor manufacturing plants in Detroit, Louisville and elsewhere and cost $24 million.

The acquisition, which was made by Tiger’s 74 per cent owned German-based wheel manufacturing business, ATS Beteiligungs GmbH, looks a good purchase when the assets’ book value ($45 million) is taken into account. ATS Beteiligungs bought the facility from the Australian ION Group, which is currently in administration.

19th August 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Michelin Plans Egyptian Production

Michelin has announced that it is looking to invest in a factory in Egypt, following the failure of its attempts to purchase the country’s public’s Transport and Engineering Company, Trenco. The announcement followed nine months of discussions between the French group and the Egyptian Holding Company for the Chemical Industries, which ultimately came to nothing. Michelin remains focussed on developing its presence in Egypt and could still invest in a factory, a Paris-based Michelin spokesman said.

The Michelin Group already has factories in Algeria and in Nigeria, but not yet in Egypt. The company is reportedly aiming to supply the Egyptian market and to export products manufactured in the country. The French group could also seek be seeking to open a factory in one of the country’s principal industrial towns of Egypt, the industrial ministry added.

16th August 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Titan CEO Says He’ll Buy Plant With or Without Union

(Akron/Tire Review – Freeport Journal-Standard) Following months of virtual silence about the future of Freeport’s Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. plant, among the region’s last major source of good-paying industrial jobs, the CEO of Titan International Corporation Wednesday drew a rhetorical line in the sand, saying that while he wants to negotiate in good faith with the local United Steelworkers of America, Titan is in no mood for protracted talks or costly demands.

8th August 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

USW Begins Titan Negotiations

(Akron/Tire Review) United Steelworkers’ (USW) international leadership has extended approval to Titan Tire Corp to start negotiations with USW Local 745 in Freeport, Illinois. This move is a significant step towards Titan’s pending purchase of Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co’s North American agricultural tyre business. Under the terms of Goodyear’s contract with the USW, any purchaser must reach a new contract agreement with the union.

28th July 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Michelin Sells US Steel Cord Operations

(Akron/Tire Review) Michelin North America (MNA) has sold its steel cord plant in Scottsburg, Indiana., to Hyosung America Inc. a subsidiary of Hyosung Corp. Terms were not disclosed, but the deal includes a 10-year, $650 million supply contract in which MNA will purchase finished steel cord for tires from Hyosung America.

15th July 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Consumers Have ‘Wait and See’ Attitude to Hybrids

(Akron/Tire Review) A new study by the Polk Center for Automotive Studies reveals that American consumers may not yet be sold on the idea of hybrid vehicles, despite fast-rising gas prices. The primary reason for their hesitation? Their feeling that there are added costs connected to hybrid technology.

12th July 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Warranties Continue to Confuse Motorists

A national survey has found that many motorists wrongly believe they have to take their car to a manufacturer’s franchised dealership for servicing. Hi-Q conducted a nation-wide survey of over 400 motorists to question just what people understand about their warranty.

Only 30 per cent of people believed their warranty would be valid if they took their car to a garage other than the manufacturer’s dealer. 38 per cent believed their warranty would be broken if they took the car to an alternative independent garage and 32 per cent didn’t know either way.

6th July 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

CTNA Files Charges Against Union

Continental Tire North America, Inc. (CTNA) has filed an unfair labour practice charge against the United Steelworkers union (USW) in relation to its Bryan Ohio OTR tyre manufacturing facility. The announcement follows attempts by Rodos Giants (part of the Roesler Group) to buy the plant. The union refused to enter into a labour agreement with the company.

1st July 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Hayes Lemmerz Sells Equipment and Engineering Division

Hayes Lemmerz International, Inc has sold its wholly owned Equipment and Engineering subsidiary, located in Au Gres, Michigan. The equipment business was sold to Todd G Carlson and former Hayes Lemmerz employee Daniel D Minor. The business will be renamed CMI – Equipment and Engineering, Inc. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

1st July 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Kwik-Fit Goes to PAI for £800 million

Company News, News, UK News

CVC Capital Partners has sold Kwik-Fit to French private equity firm PAI for £800 million. The news follows months of speculation including suggestions that a Bridgestone/Mitsubishi joint venture was pulling out in front when it came to bidding for the UK’s largest fast-fit chain. Bloomberg reports that PAI plans to open more fast fit retail outlets as a result of the acquisition.

25th June 2005/by Chris

Mosely: Michelin Should Compensate Fans

FIA president Max Mosely has given his opinions about what happened at the recent US grand prix. Amongst other things, Mr Mosely called on Michelin to “compensate fans on a fair basis,” and give away free tickets to next year’s event. The news is set against a back drop of other F1 dealings including, BMW’s shock purchase of the Sauber team, which will become effective from 1 January 2006.

24th June 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Alcoa Restructures Passenger Car Rim Business

Alcoa is planning to develop a range of forged aluminium passenger car rims, which will be produced alongside the company’s forged truck products. The wheels will be produced at Alcoa’s Samara, Russia, plant and will also be made available for sale in the European market. At the same time the company is set to embark on a restructuring programme designed to improve efficiency, shedding five per cent of its total international workforce. This means up to 800 jobs in the company’s wheel business could be lost. The wheel restructuring programme is expected to cost the company between $65 and $70 million – roughly half of this will be down to severance costs.

Alcoa acquired the casted wheel business as part of the large purchase of competitor Reynolds in 1999. This acquisition saw the company take over factories in Italy (Ferrara), Venezuela and North America. However, Alcoa never really seemed happy with its casted aluminium passenger car rim strategy.

24th June 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Natural Rubber Prices Continue Upward Climb

(Akron/Tire Review) By 7 June, natural rubber prices had risen to a 12-month high of $3.12 a pound on the Tokyo Commodities Exchange. Tyre output in China rose 27 per cent, to 239 million units last year, and the country’s tyre exports nearly doubled, to 34.8 million units.

At the same time global manufacturers continue to purchase more natural rubber as its synthetic counterpart becomes more costly, according to experts monitoring the data. Data reported by Bloomberg, for example, indicates that US Gulf spot prices for butadiene, the petrochemical used to make synthetic rubber, have risen 93 per cent, to 57 cents a pound over the past year.

23rd June 2005/by Tyrepress Editors