Titan International’s Board of Directors has approved a quarterly cash dividend of US$0.05 per common share for the first quarter of 2010. The cash dividend is payable April 15, 2010, to stockholders of record on March 31, 2010.
Cooper Tire & Rubber has announced a quarterly dividend of 10.5 cents per share on common stock, payable March 31, 2010, to stockholders of record at the close of business March 2, 2010. This will mark the 152nd consecutive quarterly dividend paid by Cooper Tire & Rubber Company.
Bridgestone Motorcycle Tyre Development manager Tohru Ubukata has declared himself “very confident” in the new MotoGP rear medium compound tyre supplied by the series’ tyre provider for testing at Sepang, Malaysia. The manufacturer also tried out a developmental specification hard front slick over the two day testing period – the results of which will go towards determining the future direction of Bridgestone’s tyre technology, according to the company.
Vintage Tyre Supplies reports that “2010 is set to be a record year” for the Waymaster brand, and eight new sizes will soon be added to the line-up. These sizes are: 715×115, 895×135, 450-17, 500/525-16, 550-16, 575/600-16, 560s15 and 520-14. All of these tyres, Vintage Tyres notes, will “uphold the Waymaster brand values of quality, authenticity and cost-effectiveness.”
Michelin North America sent its Michelin Disaster Response Unit trailer to a Tire Centers L.L.C. (TCI) warehouse in Dallas last week after heavy snow caused part of the roof to collapse. TCI, a wholly-owned subsidiary of MNA, said the 16,000-square foot Dallas warehouse is roughly 30 years old. A section of the roof caved in 12 February after record snowfall in the Dallas area. In addition to the roof, about 7,000 tyres were damaged.
In the US, toolmaker Snap-on Incorporated has announced that Martin M. Ellen, senior vice president – finance and chief financial officer, has left Snap-on to become executive vice president and chief financial officer of Dr Pepper Snapple Group, Inc. To allow for an appropriate transition, Ellen will remain as Snap-on’s chief financial officer until 31 March 2010. Effective the same date, Aldo J. Pagliari, currently president – Snap-on Equipment, and formerly group controller/director of finance for the Snap-on Commercial and Industrial Group, will succeed Ellen as Snap-on’s senior vice president – finance and chief financial officer.
The organiser of Automechanika 2010, Messe Frankfurt, says planning for September’s show has entered the “crucial phase” and it reports being “delighted” with the amount of exhibition space sold – to date, an area equivalent to 90 per cent of last year’s exhibition space has been booked.
Bridgestone began testing for the 2010 MotoGP on 4-5 February, making three compounds (hard and extra hard at the front, medium and hard at the rear) available to riders at Sepang, Malaysia. The manufacturer reported its satisfaction with the way the tyres handled the sort of conditions it expected in South-East Asia; scorching track temperatures and rain. New bikes, new teams and new riders made for an interesting day, compounded by the fact that the top four riders on each day recorded laptimes quicker than the existing circuit lap record. Whilst the bikes were new, the available Bridgestone tyres were exactly the same specifications as used during the Malaysian Grand Prix last year. Bridgestone believes this fact assisted teams with their setup work, since the tyres provided “a known entity”.
Bloomberg has brought news of Hankook Tire’s plans to increase prices to meet rising raw material costs. The company has already raised prices in the US, and according to the news service, Hankook Tire spokesman Yoon Seong Ha said “We’re considering raising prices in other regions.
Dunlop Tyres’ control tyre supply to the Australian Superbike Championship has been extended for a further three seasons. The tyre maker has already served in this capacity for the past two years. “We at Dunlop are excited with this announcement and are proud to be appointed this tender,” said Dunlop’s motorcycle and motorsports National Manager Ken Wieden. "This was an important contract for us and our distributors to win.
In late December Cooper Tire & Rubber announced the appointment of Brenda S. Harmon to the position of senior vice president, Global Human Resources and Communications. In her new role, Harmon is leading all human resource and employee relations activities for the company.
In only its second weekend racing Pirelli P Zero Racing Slicks, US based tuner GMG Racing posted another win – this time capturing qualifying by nearly three seconds over the next-fastest car, before going on to knock out the competition and the Porsche Owner’s Club Racing Weekend race at Willow Springs Raceway with a ten-second margin. GMG’s Porsche 997 WC Cup car set the fastest time ever in a standard Cup car (non-RS or RSR) with a time of 1:19.7. Driver and GMG co-owner James Sofronas is new to Pirelli Motorsport, but after sweeping the BMW CCA (Car Club of America) Club Race CM Class during the BMWCCA West Coast season finale club race, and following that up with a huge weekend at Willow Springs in his Porsche – Pirelli reports that he is a believer.
Goodyear Dunlop Tires Europe has reported the recent appointment of a new communications director for its Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region. According to EMEA region president Arthur De Bok, Belgian Tom Delforge began in the role on September 1, replacing Chris Aked, who has retired.
An important milestone in the safety record at Goodyear’s newest tyre manufacturing facility has been acknowledged: More than one million hours at the site of the company’s Puladian, China plant, now under construction, have been worked without a recordable accident. An award marking this blemish-free record was jointly given by Goodyear and the SSOE Group, the company providing full engineering, procurement, construction management (EPCM) services for the project, to BVEC Piling Contractors, who accepted it on behalf of the on-site workforce.
In addition to sealing the MotoGP Riders Championship with his third place at the weekend, Valentino Rossi managed an outright lap record in qualifying on Saturday, suggesting to Bridgestone manager of the Motorcycle Tyre Development Department, Tohru Ubukata that tyre performance had been good: “Yes, in general I am happy with the performance of both our available compounds this weekend, but Valentino’s lap was very impressive indeed. The track temperature at the end of the session was 52 degrees Celsius, yet Valentino set his fastest lap on the softer front tyre and the softer rear tyre which shows that even in the high heat they had a suitable level of durability and good overall performance.
If you would like the latest news from the Chinese tyre industry in Chinese, visit our partner site TyrepressChina.com. Or click below to continue on Tyrepress.
