Illegally storing 10,000 tyres cost a Halifax man more than £2,000, according to the Environment Agency. Halifax Magistrate’s Court fined Simon John McCormack a total of £500 and ordered him to pay compensation of £1,034 to SHD Holdings. A contribution of £500 to the costs of the Environment Agency, which brought the case, was also imposed.
Nankang’s European winter tyre sales have grown to 10 times the size they were in 2003, the Taiwanese company has reported. According to company representatives, Nankang expects to move some 400,000 units of winter tyres, across Europe, this season. This is something, the company, which was reportedly the first Taiwanese company to produce snow tyres, is understandably proud of. The historically high target is set against previous records of 80,000 tyres in 2004 and 40,000 units in 2003.
(Akron/Tire Review) The US Securities and Exchange has informed Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co that it is recommending civil and/or administrative enforcement action against the company in connection with Goodyear’s previously acknowledged accounting problems.
This “Wells Notice” has been issued in connection with the SEC’s investigation into accounting matters included in the company’s restatement of financial results, announced in October 2003, and related public filings. Wells Notices have also been issued to a former Goodyear CFO and a former chief accounting officer.
With the notice, the SEC is claiming Goodyear violated the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 relating to the maintenance of books, records and internal accounting controls, the establishment of disclosure controls and procedures, and the periodic SEC filing requirements.
Recipients of “Wells Notices” have the opportunity to respond to the SEC staff before the staff make a formal recommendation on whether any action should be brought by the agency.
The AA has been ranked as the top roadside rescue and recovery service in the annual JD Power 2005 Roadside Assistance Study. The survey records the opinions of over 23,000 motorists to create an index of customer satisfaction based on three main components – timing, performance of the patrol, and performance of the call handler.
(Southern Africa/SA Treads) Bandag has launched ProWheel, a tyre tracking software aimed at small and medium sized fleets that require constant, up-to-date monitoring, as opposed to complex reporting.
Introduced as part of Bandag’s aim to offer fleet solutions it believes the new product will assist in the overall reduction of operating costs. Bandag describes the system as having a “practical and easy-to-use interface which will enable its users to comfortably navigate through the system.”
The system was developed with the intention of automating the tyre recording and controlling function by migrating users from a manual system to an electronic format. It records tyre location, mileage, purchase and retread costs and CPK for scrapped tyres. Once this information has been recorded, the system makes a provision for an official report in the form of a Tyre Card containing the entire tyre history.
Car parts maker Visteon Corp, is to delay publishing its first-quarter earnings report while it sifts through financial records that it suspects might be bogus. The Michigan based company identified errors in costs relating to freight and material surcharges, raising questions about possible “improper conduct by a former senior finance employee” charged with overseeing North American purchasing.
The company reports that up to $31 million in first quarter charges published in first quarter results may need to be restated. Visteon said that its ongoing discussions with former parent company, Ford, won’t be affected by the news.
(Akron/Tire Review) After four successive years of losses, Alliance Tire Co. reported a net profit of $0.9 million for 2004 in its newly released financial results. The company ended 2003 with a net loss of $13.1 million. But, in 2004, gross profits increased to $31.1 million, compared to $20.4 million in the previous year.
The Continental group has reported a record-turnover of 12.6 billion euros (16.4 bn $US) for 2004. It has also posted an EBIT of 1096.4 million euros (1.418 bn $US). Its net profit reached 673.8 million euros (872 million $US). The company’s net debt also decreased by 473.6 million and stood at 695 million euros (899 million $US) at the end of 2004.
(Akron/Tire Review) With advances in technology, materials and manufacturing, today’s radial truck and bus tires provide more performance, reliability and safety than ever before. Truck and bus tyre manufacturers design their tyres for multiple lives, meaning the tyres are designed to be retreaded. And every day, millions of retreaded truck and bus tyres are performing flawlessly all over the world in all types of weather and on all kinds of roads.
Cooper Tire & Rubber has reported a 5 per cent year-over-year increase in net sales, a fourth quarter record for the company’s tyre operations. At the same time the board of directors authorised the repurchase of up to $200 million of the company’s publicly traded notes. This will be done through open market transactions, a tender offer or a combination of the two. Total net sales for the company’s continuing operations increased to $541 million in the quarter ended 31 December 2004, compared to $515 million in the same period of 2003. Income from continuing operations dipped significantly in the quarter to $3 million (4 cents per share) from $8 million (10 cents per share) in the fourth quarter of 2003.
Continental AG’s most recent financial results show that the company has broken all previous records, including the one billion euro EBIT barrier. Speaking to Tyres & Accessories, Continental chairman, Manfred Wennemer, explained that the company achieved the one billion euro mark, despite the costs incurred in the partial closure of the company’s Mayfield plant.
With regard to US business, Mr Wennemer said that while the company is still in deep water, the situation is considerably better than in recent years. The Continental chairman went on to speak of his belief that this area of business will break even by the end of the year, as has been suggested before.
As far as 2005 is concerned, Mr Wennemer is confident that Continental can top this year’s impressive results. Chief financial officer, Dr Alan Hippe, demonstrated this feeling of optimism when he pointed out that company debts had dropped to less than one billion euros. The company’s share value also has the potential to increase by 40 per cent in the next two years, he added. Continental shares are currently trading at 52.50 euros.
Commercial vehicle registrations hit an all time high last year with a record level of 389, 923 units, a figure that was up some 9.5 per cent. The SMMT also recorded the highest ever December CV registrations at 28,470.
According to the society growth remained concentrated in LCVs, particularly medium vans. 24,021 light commercial vehicles were registered in December, with a total of 329,599 units recorded for the year.
Results from the North West England Tyre Safety Campaign held in October 2004 have shown “a substantial reduction in the number of danger tyres on vehicles on the roads,” according to the TIC.
Police checks identified that the number of tyres below the legal minimum tread depth had fallen by just over four per cent compared with the previous year’s campaign.
Gerhard Plattner, an Austrian journalist and specialist in fuel economy record-breaking, succeeded in crossing ten European countries using just one tank of diesel. His trip began on 16th November 2004 in the German town of Lindau, on Lake Constance, with a full sealed tank and the firm intention to cross as many countries as possible without refuelling. After first travelling through Austria, Switzerland and Liechtenstein, he returned to Austria via the Feldkirch border crossing. The road took him further through the South Tyrolean Puster Valley, and on to Slovenia, West Croatia, Hungary and Slovakia. After a 1,160-km journey lasting 15 hours and 7 minutes, Plattner reached his final destination: the Czech Republic. On arriving in the tenth country of this epic ‘Eco Tour’, he parked his Golf V TDI running on Bridgestone „B390 Eco” tyres with the Volkswagen dealer in Brünn. “Above all, I would like to praise the Bridgestone ‘B390’ tyres. I have used them on previous record attempts and, yet again, they’ve performed splendidly. Not only do they have excellent fuel saving qualities, but they’re also comfortable and have first-rate handling characteristics,“ said Plattner after his tour throughout Europa which earned him a place in the ‘Guinness Book of Records’.
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.
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