Beissbarth UK has been awarded the Institute of Transport Management’s (ITM) ‘UK Company of the Year 2004/5’ accreditation.
This is the second award to be received by the company within the space of six months. After winning the industry’s equipment provider award of 2004 ‘Best Garage Equipment Provider.’
The end of one era…and the beginning of another
Yes Michael Schumacher won his seventh championship and yes he set a new record for the number of wins in a season, but the fact remains that however great his achievements have been, many Formula 1 enthusiasts want to see different faces on the podium. However, those observers without any Ferrari allegiances need not complain. Whatever they say about the predictability of Formula 1 races, it has certainly been an eventful year off the track. In fact, some would say there has been more manoeuvring in the pit-lane and the boardroom than on the tarmac, with suggestions of team poaching, tyre stealing and driver pinching coming from every direction. In the midst of it all tyres have played a central role in both on and off track excitement.
An Ultima GTR sports car has broken the production car world record by accelerating to 100 mph and back to a complete standstill in a mere 10.3 seconds; half a second better than the previous record and more than a second faster than the McLaren F1. The car was fitted with Mintex Racing F4 compound friction on both front and rear and was fully street legal. 0-60 mph was achieved in 2.7 seconds and 100 mph in 5.5 seconds, then the car braked to a halt in only 82.2 metres.
Titan Wheel Corporation (Quincy/Illinois), a subsidiary of Titan International, Inc. (NYSE: TWI), issued a record winter bonus to its employees. The bonus amounted to an average payout of $2,500 per employee. Each employee received $200 of their bonus in Sacajawea golden dollars. This brings the total bonus for the year to approximately $5,000 per employee.
According to figures released by the SMMT, car registrations went up 172,094 units (1.8 per cent) in November, leading to confidence that by the end of the year 2004 will be a growth year. This is exemplified in the fact that year-to-date figures are only 682 units behind the 2003 level. In order for 2004 to be a record year only 156,135 cars need to be registered. Commenting on the announcement, SMMT chief executive, Christopher Macgowan said: “November’s new car market was the second largest on record, boosting registrations towards a fourth consecutive record annual total. While the December market is difficult to predict, 156,135 new cars would see another record total. With Christmas coming, it remains to be seen if enough people have a new car on their gift list.”
Titan International has announced that its Titan Wheel Corporation subsidiary has signed a supply agreement with Deere & Company. According to the company, the agreement secures wheel pricing with Deere for three years. The agreement excludes raw material price increases or decreases, these will be passed on to the customer.
”This is a very beneficial contract for both companies. Deere is ensured uninterrupted wheel supply and agreed upon pricing. In exchange, Titan will receive minimum order quantities and more accurate forecasting from Deere to increase productivity,” stated Maurice Taylor Jr., Titan president and CEO. “We congratulate the Deere team led by chairman and CEO Robert Lane on their record year, and the outlook for 2005 remains positive. Titan looks forward to growing with Deere and the rest of the agricultural and construction markets.”
Following last month’s reports of record sales, Deldo has released official figures, which it says are “even higher than expected.” In the month of October Deldo reports that it made a turnover of over 25,000,000 euros, selling 610,000 tyres as opposed to the 550,000 it originally estimated. The Belgian wholesaler says that the increased figures are a result of improved sales in its focused areas. These include winter and non-winter markets.
Citroën’s 2004 World Rally Championship winner, Sébastien Loeb achieved a record equalling 6th rally victory, in Australia this weekend, in what was the year’s final event.
The original record, which was established by Loeb’s fellow Frenchman, Didier Auriol, has stood for 10 years. Sébastien took control of the Telstra Rally Australia, on day two of the three day event. With a total of 13 stage wins, more than double any other competitor, Sébastien Loeb and the Citroën team showed their determination to finish the season as they had started – at the top of the podium.
Japanese tyre manufacturer, Bridgestone, has reported record figures for the first nine months of 2004, the company says. Bridgestone’s third quarter results show that the company produced a turnover of $15.8 billion, while making operating profits of $1.25 billion. The company says that this translates to a net profit of $724 million.
During the first nine months of 2004 Bridgestone recorded a turnover of $2.1 billion in Europe, while the company’s operating profits totalled $140 million. According to company, its US turnover reached $6.8 billion while its operating profit amounted to $235 million in this region. In the manufacturer’s home market of Japan, the company achieved roughly the same turnover but almost three times as much in terms of operating profit – $726 million.
The Finnish tyre manufacturer, Nokian, is reporting new record figures. The company’s turnover increased by 15 per cent to 39.8 million euros in the first nine months of 2004. Operating profit was also on the up and increased by 57 per cent compared with the first nine months of last year to reach 6.2 million euros. Management confirmed that they had significantly outperformed last year’s record results.
Commercial vehicle registrations hit a record level in September with the highest monthly volume for 15 years. The rolling yearly total was 381,388 and September’s 52,230 registrations were up 8.4 per cent on last year’s corresponding figure.
The SMMT also claims that there was high demand for heavy vans. The society’s chief executive, Christopher Macgowan said: “September is a vital month in the registration calendar and the figures confirm strong demand. We expect demand to hold at similar levels over the coming months, but growth next year may ease as interest rate rises hit more consumer and business markets.”
After fears that a so-called super typhoon would halt the Japanese Grand Prix, Michael Schumacher has won his 13th race of the season. The fact that qualification was more than a little disrupted by an “undriveably” wet track only meant that more emphasis was put on tyres. After the first ever Sunday morning qualification, Michael Schumacher’s Bridgestone equipped Ferrari blew away the opposition.
Williams’ Ralph Schumacher took second place, with Britain’s Jenson Button taking the third podium spot. According to Button: “I went for the two stops because it worked pretty well for me in the last race.” Michelin drivers took the majority of the other point scoring positions.
When the reigning world champion was asked what it felt like to back in winning form, having set a new record for the number of wins in a season, the Ferrari driver commented: “Yeah. It is obviously nice, for other reasons, particularly that it is Bridgestone’s home Grand Prix and we wished to do well for them and we did. We did very superb in being basically fastest all weekend and finally get the win and it is the way to pay back something to our partners.”
New car registration figures have levelled out during September.
Russian tyre manufacturer, Amtel has sold 10 per cent of its stock in a private placement underwritten and distributed solely by Troika Dialog Group.
Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company has announced that Pierre E Cohade, formerly executive vice president of worldwide water and beverage company, Groupe Danone, will become president of Goodyear’s Asia-Pacific region.
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