Electric car sales sluggish
A report in the UK press says that there are more charging points for electric cars in the UK than there are actual vehicles on the road.
A report in the UK press says that there are more charging points for electric cars in the UK than there are actual vehicles on the road.
The English language version of Yokohama Rubber’s 32-page CSR Report 2011 is now available. Two versions of the company’s corporate and social responsibility document are available – a print version, which is available to download as a pdf, and a digital version. This second option contains more detailed information than the print version, the company shares. Both versions were first published in Japanese in August 2011.
Taiwan-based tyre makers including Cheng Shin Rubber Ind. Co. and Kenda Rubber Industrial Co., are expected to see substantial growth in earnings in the first quarter of 2012 due to declines in raw material prices, particularly natural rubber. Furthermore, according to Taiwan Economic News, the European sovereign debt crisis means tyre manufacturers have slashed inventories to get rid of the risk in the prices of stocked goods.
November appears to have been a good month for original equipment passenger car and light truck tyre shipments in Russia. In their monthly market updates, Michelin and Pirelli respectively report a 2.9 per cent year-on-year decline and 3 per cent growth for this segment in Europe – the main difference being that Pirelli’s figures include Russia, while Michelin’s do not. November results for Russia alone were not published by either company. According to the French tyre maker replacement market volumes for the month decreased 2.1 per cent year-on-year, while its Italian counterpart reports the decline as only 1 per cent. Year to date, Michelin estimates the growth in the European passenger car OE and replacement markets as being 6.9 per cent and 7.0 per cent respectively, while Pirelli gives a lower figure of 4 per cent for both.
FleetMatics, a provider of fleet management solutions for commercial fleet vehicles, has announced that The City Bin Co., based in Dublin, Ireland, has selected FleetMatics to deliver GPS monitoring solutions to improve operational efficiency while reducing costs.
The City Bin Co. was founded with the concept of providing "cheaper, greener and easier" waste management and recycling services. "With 28 vehicles, the reasons for implementing a vehicle tracking system were simple," says City Bin Operations Director Niamh Bray. "I wanted to know where certain trucks were going and be able to plan routes to prevent any overlap."
Hong Kong-based, Bermuda-registered company Pearl River Tyre (Holdings) Limited, who is 70 per cent shareholder in the joint venture company Guangzhou Pearl River Rubber Tyre Ltd, has been told by its controlling shareholders that negotiations with a potential buyer have been terminated.
The Telegraph reports engineering firm Tomkins plc is selling its Schrader Electronics Ltd. tyre pressure monitoring systems business for approximately £550 million. Tomkins has appointed Barclays Capital to manage the sale of the Northern Ireland based business; The Telegraphs states that Tomkins’ Sensors and Valves business, which is also located in Northern Ireland, is being sold along with Schrader. According to the newspaper, a “handful of private equity firms” have been approached regarding the sale.
Negotiations on a new labour agreement for unionised workers at Cooper Tire & Rubber’s Findlay, Ohio factory failed to reach a satisfactory conclusion before the existing agreement’s expiry on October 31, and local newspaper The Courier says talks between the tyre maker and United Steelworkers representatives are still ongoing.
Pirelli has been named a co-beneficiary of the £950 million to be handed out in the second round of the Government’s Regional Growth Fund. On October 31, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg announced details of the 119 successful bids; while the level of support Pirelli will receive was not specified, it is believed the funds heading Pirelli’s way will aid in the development of low carbon tyre production methods.
A 3,000 to 5,000 tyre illegal dump has been discovered on Anglesey. According to BBC reports, the Environment Agency raided the site in Menai Bridge and also executed a search warrant at an address in Llangefni. The report said the tyres were being stored and sorted at Menai Bridge before being exported to Ghana.
A Mercedes-Benz commercial vehicle dealer covering the North East of England has invested in four Haweka Axis200-2 wheel aligners, turn plates and car kits. Bell Truck and Van in Billingham, Gateshead, Longbenton and Spennymoor says the investment will enable them “to help customers save costs on fuel and tyres”. The dealer group purchased the aligners from Haweka after seeing a demonstration of the equipment in their workshops.
The total profits of seven Chinese tyre makers fell in the first half of 2011 compared to a year ago, despite higher revenues. The seven tyre makers included Double Coin Holdings, Aeolus, Qingdao Double Star and ST Yellow Sea. Yellow Sea was reportedly the only one of the seven to report a overall loss, according to news reports.
For more than 165 years Schrader has sought to lead the design and manufacture of valve, mechanical and electronic system components and sensing technologies, now this taking on a YouTube channel as well!
Retreaders and retread sellers in the US state of Michigan may be forced to perform the tyre industry equivalent of cleaning up dog doo from the front lawn – even though someone else’s puppy left the mess. A new Bill introduced into the Michigan House of Representatives recommends imposing a US$5.00 fee upon every retreaded tyre sold by a retailer within the state, with the funds generated by this fee used for the “cleanup of roadside waste from deteriorated retread tyres” and other recycling and littler cleanup.
It isn’t easy attracting new staff to the world of commercial tyre fitting; indeed both leading and independent service providers report finding it difficult to recruit young, enthusiastic candidates. But for its part Tyre Maintenance is committing to partner with one of the UK’s leading training organisations, Remit (Retail Motor Industry Training).
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