According to an unnamed government official, India’s Ceat Ltd is considering the northeastern state of Gujarat as the location for its new LCV and truck radial facility. The Thaindian news reports the source as saying the company will invest RS 5 billion (£57.76 million) in building the facility, however Ceat has not confirmed any such detail.
The new vehicle market for classes 3-8 vehicles is expected to grow to 723,000 by 2012, according to a new report from R. L. Polk & Co. Polk’s new Forecast of Commercial Vehicle Activity for North America which provides insight into the class 3-8 commercial vehicle market through 2012. “Available to customers now, Polk’s unique offering provides an econometric-based model, allowing customers to maximize their sales opportunities by better understanding the North American market for commercial vehicles,” the company said.
“Polk’s new offering for the North American commercial vehicle market enables us to expand our capabilities and provide increased value and benefit to our customers,” said Gary Meteer, account director for Polk’s Commercial Vehicle Group. “We are confident this new data offering will provide significant insight for customers as they analyze business opportunities in North America’s commercial vehicle industry and plan for the future.” (Tire Review/Akron)
A special investigation by Manchester Evening News journalist Mike Keegan has unveiled the extent of the problem of tyre dumping in the city. An inquiry launched by The Environment Agency has begun, following the discovery – led by the MEN – of 16,000 tyres dumped in a lock-up in Ardwick. European law states that standard tyres must be recycled.
Keegan’s report on his investigation’s discovery states that a man named Naseer Iqbal “rented a railway arch from property firm Maryland Securities last October.” After he failed to pay rent, the company’s managers found the building crammed with spent tyres, which it is understood Iqbal collected for a fee.
Pneu-Logic, a UK subsidiary of Advanced ID Corporation has signed a new agreement with a leading European based aircraft tyre manufacturer. Under the terms of the deal, Pneu-Logic will supply and integrate its RFID technology and FastCheck Software with the tyre manufacturer’s business practices. Initially valued in excess of US$750,000, additional terms of the agreement are expected in a joint press release in the next two weeks.
Earlier this week Pneu-Logic entered an agreement to provide its FastCheck tyre products to Entyrety Ltd of Erdington, Birmingham, a leading provider of training and support services for the automotive and related industries. Using the FastCheck software, the new paperless system was developed by Pneu-Logic, working in collaboration with Entyrety engineers. The new paperless solution automated the old, manually compiled, paper based report, taking days and significant costs out of the fleet audit process. A major step forward for the European tyre and automotive industries, both companies anticipate the sale of over 50 of the new auditing systems within the next year.
John Cavanaugh has been named vice president of Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.’s North American off-highway business. Cavanaugh will report to Richard Kramer, president of Goodyear’s North American Tire division. Goodyear’s off-highway business unit is responsible for tyres used in applications for aviation, racing, motorcycles and OTR vehicles such as those used in mining and earth moving.
Cavanaugh succeeds Joe Copeland, who was recently named vice president of Goodyear Commercial Tire Systems in North America. Since 2003, Cavanaugh has served various roles with Goodyear, including director of financial strategy, assistant treasurer, financial director of the off-highway business, director of racing operations and financial director of commercial tyre systems. (Tire Review/Akron)
American Tire Corporation (ATC) has announced that its Colorado brand OTR tyres “have officially approved in Europe” and are current being used on a number of Terex mining trucks. According to the company, ATC-made Colorado brand OTR tyres “have been well approved in Europe after two-year field service…The trial tyres normally perform more than 10 months up to one year over bad road conditions.” ATC has reportedly been shipping “many giant Colorado OTR tyres to Europe for field operations with a number of Terex mining trucks,” since 2007.
While ATC does not specify exactly where the trial has been conducted, the company did detail the tyre’s European test regime. The unnamed site’s one-way distance is three kilometres. Air temperature is between 20 and 35 degrees. The truck’s speed is 30km/h. And the hauling roads are “actually the worst in the world according to USA standard,” according to the company.
Prof. Dr. Hans-Peter Schmalzl has taken up the post of Chief Technology Officer at BorgWarner with effect from July 1, 2008. He succeeds Mark Perlick, who is retiring after 10 years with the company. Schmalzl will report in his new function directly to Tim Manganello, CEO of BorgWarner.
Prof. Dr. Schmalzl is responsible in his new position for investments by the company in the area of new technologies and for the development of forward-looking products through which BorgWarner will continue to extend its market leadership. In addition, Hans-Peter Schmalzl will continue with responsibility for the Advanced Engineering function for Turbo & Emissions Systems. He will be located in Kirchheimbolanden, Germany.
After months and miles of exhaustive testing, Eibach report it is about to launch its two latest ‘Multipro’ Coilover kits onto the European market. The first two UK specific fitments from the firm’s US R&D facility are the Volkswagen Golf 5 and BMW’s E92 3 series. Many others vehicles are in the pipeline, Eibach promises.
Whilst coilovers have formed part of Eibach’s product line up for many years now, the new range raises the bar for the industry in terms of price, performance and componentry. Multipro uses state-of-the-art remote reservoir damping and adjustable height platforms to endow the recipient vehicle with what Eibach describes as “phenomenal levels of handling”, whilst still maintaining a compliant and comfortable ride quality.
Michelin were upgraded on 3 September to a rating of “outperform” by a Credit Suisse report. Margin stability and a sharp fall in oil prices have led analysts to the conclusion that the French manufacturer will continue its upward trajectory on the markets despite “volume and raw materials headwinds”. The brokerage believes that Michelin is “on track to deliver an 8.2 per cent margin in 2008 thanks to solid price and cost discipline.”
With this in mind, the report also raised the target price on Michelin shares from 40 euros to 58 euros, adding the caveat that “to justify value beyond this level we believe management needs to better explain restructuring cost savings.” Credit Suisse maintains its scepticism on the subject of Michelin’s long-term margin and growth targets.
Korean news sources report that an investigation has begun into allegations of stock manipulation brought against Hankook Tire executive vice president Cho Hyun-bum. According to the Korea Times and Chosun Ilbo news, the son-in-law of South Korean president Lee Myung-bak is being secretly investigated as part of a larger stock market ‘manipulation racket’ that allegedly involves the younger generation of a number of prominent South Korean ‘chaebol’ business families.
Merrill Lynch’s upgrade of Michelin stock due to declining oil prices and prospective replacement segment sales growth led to the company’s largest rise in six weeks of Paris trading. The stock gained up to five per cent (a gain of 2.23 euros, leaving stocks at a high of 46.59 euros) today, while the latest figures at 15:37 show a 4.7 per cent rise.
The analyst’s report suggests that the decrease in oil prices will continue to support a recovery for Michelin’s stock as revenues rise following decreased raw materials outlay. Merrill’s London-based analyst Thomas Besson raised his recommendation to “buy” from “neutral”, which prompted the increase in activity.
Toyota is set to cut production for five months at its Burnaston plant in Derbyshire, according to a report in The Times. Other major carmakers are said to be “monitoring the market.” Burnaston was the second-largest car producer in the UK last year (after the Nissan plant in Sunderland), producing 277,000 cars. The cuts will result in a reduction of output of 15,000 cars by the end of the year. The 3,800 permanent staff will reportedly stay and engage in training and plant maintenance. However, some of the 220 temporary workers will leave.
Indian tyre manufacturer MRF is preparing to unveil its latest development, becoming the first company in the field from the country to produce an aviation tyre for defence aircraft.
News sources report that MRF chairman and managing director K.K. Mammen stated on Thursday that, “The company’s tyre for Chetak helicopter has got the airworthiness certificate and negotiations are on for rolling out tyres for other defence aircraft.” Mammen also expressed the company’s hope that the government would partly fund the initiative, saying that the company would look to make aviation tyres at its Arokkonam facility near Chennai.
(Canadaeast News Service) Ambulance New Brunswick (ANB) is asking an Edmundston-based consultant who prepared a report on winter-tire testing to clarify its results. In a news release, the organization expressed frustration with Gilles Francoeur over delays, findings and unanswered questions in the report which was made available to ANB earlier this week. “With many initial questions still unanswered by this version (of the report), we have returned to the consultant for further clarification on some of the information,” said Preston Holmes, ANB’s director of clinical operations.
According to Local 4848 of the Canadian Union of Public Employees, which represents about 1,000 paramedics in the province, the report recommended a return to winter tires on ambulances. Officials from the provincial ambulance system and from the paramedics’ union agreed to conduct a series of tests last spring to measure the performance of several models of tire, including the brand used on every ambulance in New Brunswick.
Sumitomo Rubber and Bridgestone Corp. have experienced significant drops on the Japanese stock market today, report financial news sources.
Sumitomo, the country’s third largest tyre manufacturer, shed 2.7 per cent to a slump of 843 yen following a spike in crude oil prices. Meanwhile, the world’s largest tyre maker, Bridgestone fell by 2.4 per cent, finishing at 1,729 yen. The losses follow concerns over rising oil and credit costs and the subsequently lower forecasts in these companies’ earnings.
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