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Analysts Question Cooper’s Underlying Performance

In an analytical note entitled “When Will Nonrecurring Items Not Recur?” Deutsche Bank market watcher Rod Lache remarked he was disappointed with Cooper’s “underlying performance.” The manufacuturer’s recently published third quarter earnings per share results were, however, in line with estimations.

North American earnings improved $28 million year-on-year. But the analysts suggested that there are still problems with the company’s cost structure. The note stated: “While we believe that the inefficiencies being experienced by Cooper Tire may in fact be temporary, CTB must execute cost reductions, and management needs to specifically identify those improvements, before the market begins to buy into the sustainability of the company’s turnaround plan.”

8th November 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Study Shows Lehigh Rubber Powder ‘Adds Value’ to Tyres

Engineered rubber powder manufacturer Lehigh Technologies, Inc., has announced the results of studies that show its flagship product, PolyDyne rubber powder, can be used as a chemically functioning element in the manufacture of new tyres. This takes the use of rubber powder in tyres beyond its existing role as a mere static filler and enables the product to add value to the finished tyre.

The research was carried out by the Department of Chemistry at South Carolina’s Clemson University. “There has been some question in terms of the extended use of ultra-fine rubber powder and its realistic functionality in new products,” said Dennis W. Smith, Professor of Chemistry at Clemson University. “Our study illustrates that used tyre rubber powder prepared by the Lehigh process is in fact unique and does offer a value-added reactivity and functionalisation. Breakthrough results from electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy (EPR) measurements indicate that the Lehigh process provides a significant increase in free radicals, which can bond to matrix resins or other application-specific substrates, extending the powder’s usefulness beyond that of an added filler. With this study, tyre manufacturers worldwide have a viable alternative ingredient that can be used to make ‘green’ tyres, while at the same time enhancing the performance of the tyre. We’re confident that tire manufacturers will see the environmental and economical benefits that PolyDyne powder brings to the table.”

29th October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Yokohama Revises Earning Projections

The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd., has upwardly revised its projections for consolidated earnings in the interim fiscal period from April 1 to September 30, 2007. These new projections, announced on October 26, call for the interim operating income to increase 3.5-fold over the same period of the previous year, to 11.5 billion yen (£49.1 million), and for interim net income to increase 3.7-fold, to 12.5 billion yen (£53.4 million). Yokohama’s revised projection for operating income is 27.8 per cent higher than the projection announced on August 9, and the revised projection for net income is 66.7 per cent higher. The company’s projection of a 13.3 per cent increase in net sales, to 252.0 billion yen (£1.08 billion), is unchanged from the earlier projection.

29th October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Goodyear, Cooper Set to Announce Results

(Akron/Tire Review) Goodyear and Cooper will both announce their third quarter financial results in coming weeks. Goodyear plans to release its financials before the markets open on October. 30. Cooper will wait until after the SEMA Show and release its financials before the markets open on November 6.

19th October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Nokian – New Generation Winter Tyres Easy on Fuel

Much of Europe is currently getting ready for the seasonal change to cold weather tyres, and while many drivers assume that winter tyres increase a car’s fuel consumption, Nokian says that the truth may come as a positive surprise. The Finnish tyremaker claims that the latest generation of Nordic winter tyres roll fluently, save fuel and generate less harmful CO2 emissions than summer tyres.

Rolling resistance is measured in terms of a rolling resistance coefficient; the greater the coefficient, the heavier the tyre rolls. The average rolling resistance value for contemporary tyres varies between 1-1.2. Several test results indicate that the Nokian Hakkapeliitta RSi, the studless winter tyre designed for northern conditions, has the most economic rolling properties in its category, with a recorded value below 0.9. This makes the tyre, according to Nokian, 36 per cent superior in terms of rolling resistance than its worst performing competitors (in 205/55 R16 size).

12th October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Working with Tomorrow’s Mechanics

In order to put further weight behind its commitment to industry training, Chicago Pneumatic has launched a college sponsorship initiative through which the company will provide student groups access to good quality products and raise awareness of some of the challenges within the vehicle service sector.

Most recently, Chicago Pneumatic visited Wirral Metropolitan College near Liverpool and met with a group of first year student mechanics. “The idea behind the scheme is to make students aware of some of the challenges we face in the vehicle service sector today, provide some best-practice tips and also provide more practical tips, like what they should look out for and consider when buying tools,” commented Paul Humphreys, Chicago Pneumatic Vehicle Service global communications manager.

After a quick hands-on session showing the students some of the different types of tools available on the market, such as the CP7740 lightweight impact wrench, students were given a presentation outlining a few essentials of the industry including: what to look for when buying products; some of the challenges the industry faces today, such as vibration problems and how damaging this can be to mechanics; and the serious consequences of incidents involving vehicle wheel loss and how an investment in good quality products can help minimise this.

3rd October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Panic in Detroit: 2007 Auto Sales to be Down

(Akron/Tire Review) Industry analysts say that 2007 may end up being the worse ever year for new car sales. September sales, analysts say, are expected to show weak results, due in part of high gas prices, credit troubles and other economic factors, and the final quarter of the year indicates things won’t get better.

Jesse Toprak, chief economist for the auto information site Edmunds.com, predicts Honda Motor Co. will be the only automaker to report an increase in sales, helped by the arrival of the new 2008 Honda Accord. Automakers are scheduled to report September sales Tuesday.

“No one is immune to this general weakness we have in the marketplace,” Jesse Toprak, chief economist for the auto information site Edmunds.com, told the AP. Sales for September are expected to be down as much as 4 per cent vs. September 2006, with Honda expected to be the only automaker to show n increase.

Ford, GM and Chrysler are expected to be down month-over-month. One analyst forecasts an annualised selling rate of 15.9 million vehicles for the year, down from 2006’s 16.6 million vehicles.

1st October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Maxxis Seals Rock Racing Success With XRRA top Three

Maxxis has swept the board in one of the USA’s premier professional rock racing championships, taking all three podium positions in the Eastern Division of the Maxxis sponsored XRRA series. Rusty Bray clinched victory, with Eric Childress in second place and Brian Shirley rounding out the top three. The results came after the three drivers put in strong performances at the last event of the regular season, which was held on August 18 in Badlands, Indiana.

Bray, who comes from a rock crawling background, maintained his overall victory was anything but a foregone conclusion. “We didn’t know how we’d do with the speed versus the rocks,” he said. “I ran Trepadors until this last event, when I needed a little more height. I ran the 40″ Creepy Crawlers this last time. They were good. This weekend was kind of our first time to deal with sand, but the Creepy Crawler worked well with the sand, dirt, rocks and the whole array of terrain.”

13th September 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Maxxis Supermaxx in Silverstone Group Test

The popular Maxxis Supermaxx, a ZR rated Sports/Touring motorcycle tyre, now in its third generation, has demonstrated its credentials in a group test at Silverstone. An instructor from California Superbike School put the Supermaxx through its paces using a race specification Suzuki GSXR1000 (2007 model). In good weather conditions he completed 100 miles at race speeds on the Formula 1 Grand Prix circuit.

“Silverstone is a fast, flat racetrack where cornering speeds can reach up to 140mph and 170mph-180mph is the norm on the quickest straights,” said Maxxis International UK managing director Derek McMartin.

12th September 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Profits Up At McConechy’s

McConechy’s Tyre Services, Scotland’s biggest independent in truck tyre supply and repairs, has recorded a 53 per cent rise in profits. The results come just under a year after the company announced that its surplus had fallen by around 50 per cent. In its latest set of financial accounts, McConechy’s reports pre-tax profits of £975,942, compared with £636,368 the year before. However, this figure was a much as £1.2 million in 2005, a height that the company said was hit by one-off restructuring costs including the closure of its Paisley retreading plant. The 2006 accounts show that turnover is up 7 per cent to £33.8 million.

The report added that directors plan to invest £1.4m this year as part of its ongoing programme of refurbishments, relocations and acquisitions.

12th September 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Cool Performance

The cold months present a particular challenge to manufacturers with a reputation for delivering performance products – how does one combine the superior handling qualities buyers of the brand have come to expect with those needed for safe winter driving? How can a single tyre fulfill these two seemingly contradictory roles? This is a task that researchers and designers at Pirelli have grabbed by the horns, and the tyremaker’s strong work towards developing a better product in the early stages of the modern winter tyre’s development continues to this day. The result is a range of winter tyres with an enviable reputation.

The reigning sovereign of Pirelli’s winter performance range is indisputably the Winter Sottozero, a tyre whose test results have earned it lavish yet deserved praise from several leading European motoring magazines. The Sottozero – Italian for ‘below zero’ – is, as Pirelli’s cold weather addition to the Planet Zero portfolio, the most performance oriented winter tyre yet offered by the Italian manufacturer. Promoted by Pirelli as the “first real dual season tyre,” the Sottozero is a product that deserves the attention of performance car drivers in the UK. Pirelli states that the Sottozero is suitable for fitment from mid-autumn to early spring, regardless of what condition the weather may throw in our direction; the Sottozero, while obviously designed for cooler conditions, will also safely take unseasonable weather in its stride.

23rd August 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Michelin Tests Reveal Lax Tyre Care Habits

Two days of inspections conducted by Michelin in the Oxfordshire town of Banbury has highlighted the necessity for motorists to regularly check their vehicle’s tyres. More than half of the cars looked at by the Michelin team had at least one dangerously under-inflated tyre.

According to local newspaper the Banbury Guardian, 80.11 per cent of the 181 vehicles had under-inflated tyres, while the percentage of vehicles with tyres considered dangerously under-inflated was 54.70 per cent. Eight of the cars checked even had punctured tyres.

Michelin states that running on tyres inflated to 15psi below the recommended level lowers the speed at which a car will aquaplane on a wet surface by 10mph. Potential weaknesses in the tyre’s wall can also develop through the excessive build up of heat that results from under-inflation. And if this is not reason enough to check those tyres, the tyremaker adds that Over 70,000 miles, having the correct tyre pressure could save replacing two tyres.

20th August 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

AirBoss Passes the “Ultimate Test”

AirBoss, the UK based segmented tyre manufacturer, is putting its tyres through what may well be the ultimate test.…they have been fitted to machinery used and most likely sometimes abused by over-energetic children at the Diggerland theme park in Kent! The company has been collaborating with the JCB-inspired theme park to replace its pneumatic tyres with AirBoss segmented tyres. The trial began in June and AirBoss report that the results to date have been extremely positive and have led to significant cost savings for the park.

Segmented tyres have been fitted to the ‘JCB Robot’ ride, a skid steer vehicle controlled via joysticks. The control system places the tyres under extreme pressure and provides a thorough test of performance and durability. Reports produced by Diggerland indicate that punctures and ‘down-time’ have been virtually eliminated since the AirBoss segmented tyres were fitted, with a 100 per cent reduction reported in the first two months of the trial. During the same period, standard pneumatic tyres reportedly experienced have numerous punctures, leading to downtime, replacement tyre costs and lost revenue.

17th August 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Net Sales Up, Net Income Down at Toyo

Toyo Tire & Rubber has made public its consolidated business results for the first quarter of the 2007 fiscal year (April 1, 2007 to June 30, 2007). The company reports that, due to the strong performance of the tyre business in overseas markets, net sales rose by 8,895 million yen (£37.2 million) to 82,777 million yen (£345.7 million), a 12 per cent increase on the first quarter of the 2006 fiscal year. Operating income increased 22.2 per cent to 4,217 million yen (£17.6 million), ordinary income was up 54.3 per cent to 4,240 million yen (£17.7 million). Net income, however, decreased 55.3 per cent or 4,498 million yen (£18.8 million) to 3,632 million yen (£15.2 million).

Net sales within the company’s tyre segment increased by 8,608 million yen (£35.9 million) to 58,468 million yen (£244.2 million), an increase of 17.3 per cent. From this figure, OE tyre sales declined below last year’s first quarter level, a drop the company attributes to decreased production of car lines equipped with Toyo’s products. In the domestic Japanese market demand was slow, however Toyo’s “vigorous” efforts to boost sales resulted in sales equivalent to the levels of the same period of the previous year. Meanwhile, the volume of overseas sales, centring mainly on the North American market, comfortably surpassed the levels of the same period of the previous year. This increase, combined with the weaker yen, ensured higher net sales than for the previous period last year. Operating income increased by 27.9 per cent or 890 million yen (£3.7 million) over Q1 2006 to 4,075 million yen (£17.0 million).

13th August 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Sumitomo Rubber Reports Half-Year Figures

Sumitomo Rubber Industries has announced its consolidated interim financial results for the period between January 1 and June 30, 2007. Net sales for the company were reported as 253,858 million yen (£1.060 billion), slightly lower than the 2006 half-year figure of 254,664 million yen (£1.063 billion). Operating income was 17,322 million yen (£72.35 million), down from the previous year’s 18,466 million yen (£77.13 million), and ordinary income for the half-year was 17,231 million yen (£71.97 million), up from the 2006 half-year result of 13,819 million yen (£57.72 million). Net income was 8,159 million yen (£34.08 million), a significant jump on the half-year 2006 result of 1,924 million yen (£8.04 million).

Net sales of tyres to unaffiliated customers equalled 211,715 million yen (£884.26 million), while operating income was 12,796 million yen (£53.44 million).

13th August 2007/by Tyrepress Editors