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Following the news that Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co has sold its engineering products division to Carlyle group, Deutsche Bank analysts have reported that the sale would have been a good purchase for Contitech. It has been widely reported that Continental was interested in both Goodyear Engineering products and Siemens VDO.
Accusations of pollution originating in facilities owned by Firestone have been raised by people living along the banks of a river in Liberia. It is alleged that Firestone is releasing pollutants from its facilities in the town of Harbel into the Farmington River. Residents in the riverside town of Owensgrove blame a milky-white discharge from the Firestone plant for the high levels of sickness in the area, and these current accusations are by no means the first time the issue has been raised.
Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company may have had a difficult time in the recent past, but the company’s management is irrepressibly optimistic about the future. At the beginning of the year the company won what had become a war of attrition with the United Steelworkers Union in the US – a fight that cost the company approximately $370 million. However, despite the upheaval on the global scale, European president Arthur de Bok told Tyres & Accessories that Goodyear Dunlop is increasingly becoming known for its drive, determination and strong brand portfolio.
Arthur de Bok is not only confident about Goodyear Dunlop’s future, he also is also quick to put the wider ramifications of the strike into perspective. In his words “there has been no impact” on the production and distribution of Goodyear Dunlop products in Europe.
Instead, perhaps representing a wider corporate philosophy, de Bok suggests taking a look at the bigger picture. While the strike face-off cost Goodyear Tire $370 million, the reaction from the stock markets (not to mention various financial analysts) has been uniformly positive. “The world around us sees the progress and drive of Goodyear despite the tough calls we have had to make,” he explained.
On 22 March the China Rubber Industry Association proposed a cut in import taxes for natural rubber and a build-up in strategic reserves as a way of protecting the sector from price swings. Chairman Ju Hongzhen told Reuters it wanted import tariffs below 12 per cent as higher rubber prices were squeezing margins at tyre makers. Importers of natural rubber now have to pay either a 20 per cent import tax or a flat tax of 2,600 yuan a tonne.
The International Rubber Study Group has warned that supplies of natural rubber will remain constrained until at least 2012 as current levels of production are not keeping pace with rising demand from China and India. The group’s secretary-general, Hidde Smit, even warned that output in Malaysia, the world’s third largest rubber producer, is expected to fall below 1 million metric tonnes by 2020 from its current annual level of 1.2 million tonnes due to farmers cutting down rubber trees and replacing them with oil palms.
The price of natural rubber has more than doubled since 2002, prompting farmers in Thailand and Vietnam, the world’s largest and fifth-largest producers, to plant more trees,. These will take about five years to reach commercial production. “It’s been a very tight market that we’ve been experiencing since 2002,” Smit said. He added that this situation would continue until about 2012, when current new planting in other countries enter production.
(Akron/Tire Review) Continental Tire North America has launched a new consumer advertising campaign to support its Continental brand. Called the “Curves” campaign, the new ad series are described as having a “sophisticated new look and feel,” and feature Continental’s deep yellow and black colour scheme and its horse logomark.
The ad series feature three-word headlines, and makes used of the abbreviated “Conti” name. Headlines include Conti Extreme Desire, Conti Pure Passionate, Conti Aggressive Style, Conti Sophisticated Style, Conti Intense Rubber, and Conti 220-MPH Intensity.
“We designed these ads to be elegant, provocative and sophisticated, much like our Continental brand tyres,” said Travis Roffler, CTNA’s marketing director. “They bring our brand an emotionally charged feel, and tell the story more in imagery than in words.”
(Akron/Tire Review) Tyre and rubber industry analysts expect Goodyear to sell off its engineered products unit within the next few weeks, according to media reports. Continental AG has repeatedly said it was interested in acquiring the business from Goodyear, but it is not known if the German tyre and automotive system maker is close to a deal.
The sale price, according to the reports, could exceed $1 billion.
Among its product portfolio, Goodyear’s engineered products unit produces automotive belts and hoses, and industrial conveyor belts.
(Akron/Tire Review) On March 20, in Pearsall, Texas, just outside San Antonio, Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. launched its new all-season premium Cooper CS4 touring tyre.
Select tyre dealers and trade media guests were invited to the 1,000-acre Cooper Tire and Vehicle Test Center to experience the new tyre’s performance in wet-braking and autocross as well as ‘soft handling’ and quick-lane-change manoeuvres.
The CS4, intended for sedans, minivans and crossover vehicle applications, offers two all-season tread options – a four-rib tread design (T rated) and a five-rib design (H and V rated), said John Pecoraro, Cooper’s product marketing manager. The T-rated CS4 tyre features a limited 80,000-mile treadwear warranty, while the H- and V-rated versions offer a 60,000-mile warranty. In addition, Cooper is offering a free, 45-day road test on the new tyre.
Tyres & Accessories have reported on a range of uses for discarded tyres, including as matting for children’s playgrounds and as nappy and laptop computer bags, but as far as we’re aware this is a UK first….
‘Earthship Brighton’, the first house in the UK to employ old tyres as a major building material, has recently been completed after a construction project lasting several years. The eco-friendly home is entirely fabricated from recycled materials and considerable use has been made of recycled tyres in the construction of its walls. The American based organisation and pioneer of the concept, Earthship Biotechture, state that the tyres are used to “form a rammed earth brick encased in steel belted rubber.” They claim that this brick and the walls thus formed are virtually indestructible.
Yokohama has announced the release of two new truck tyres, the first in its new “ZEN” series of tyres for trucks and buses. The first of these, the ZEN 102ZE, is a rib tyre featuring a 5 rib radial pattern that Yokohama claims will reduce rolling resistance and provide more even wear – tests conducted by the manufacturer shows wear in the (11R22.5 size) ZEN 102ZE to be 22 per cent lower than that of Yokohama’s Pro Force RY237 truck tyre.
The ZEN 102ZE, scheduled for release in April, will be sold in the following four sizes:
295/80R22.5
275/80R22.5
245/70R19.5
11R22.5
The ZEN 701ZE is an all-season tyre featuring a z-block centre tread pattern and Yokohama’s patented stress wear control grove near the sidewall, reducing shoulder step down wear. Again, rolling resistance has been reduced, with tests showing the ZEN 701ZE to perform 12 per cent better than the comparative Pro Force TY787 tyre.
(Akron/Tire Review – Fayetteville Observer) After five weeks of negotiations, the United Steelworkers of America and Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. have reached an agreement on local issues.
About 300 union and family members gathered Mar. 18 at Pine Forest Middle School, less than half a mile from the tyre plant, to hear details of the tentative agreement, which mainly addressed scheduling, hiring and vacation time. Wages and benefits were not part of the talks, as they were decided in December by the master contract.
“What did we get during local negotiations?” asked Darryl Jackson, president of the Local 959. “Depends on who you talk to.”
Considering the union brought more than 100 proposals to the table and the company brought nine, Jackson said he felt they reached a “good deal.” Union members will get a chance to vote on the agreement Wednesday at the union hall, across the street from the plant.
Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. shares rose more than 6 per cent on March 19 following a ratings upgrade stemming from the anticipated announcement that the company will sell its engineered products division. According to KeyBanc Capital Markets analyst Saul Ludwig, the sale of the division could be announced in April. “Industry contacts tell us that a deal could be announced within the next 30 days and the selling price could top the $1 billion that is widely expected,” he reported.
Ludwig raised his rating on the US tyre major to “buy” from “hold,” citing the possibility of the sale of this unit plus that of Goodyear’s global off-road, aircraft, or international farm tyre businesses, as well as plant closures in Europe, Asia and South Africa, other cost cuts and an equity offering of at least US$1 billion.
Bridgestone is reportedly pleased with the performance of their 2007 season Formula One tyres in Melbourne, the tyremaker’s first Grand Prix as sole tyre supplier. According to the FIA, Bridgestone’s head of track engineering operations Kees van de Grint commented he was “very satisfied with the outcome we have seen in this first race of the season.”
“We fitted more than 1800 tyres this weekend for which we had to increase our staff,” added van de Grint. “Everybody worked very hard, but in good Japanese tradition there is always room to improve.”
In line with this year’s F1 regulations, Bridgestone supplied every team with two tyre compounds, medium and soft, for the Melbourne race. With the rules stipulating that all drivers use both specifications during the race, the majority of drivers – 14 out of 22 – chose to utilise the medium compound tyres during the earlier stages of the race, before switching to the softer rubber during the final laps.
(Akron/Tire Review) After creating buzz with its red-smoke-emitting tyre and aroma rubber, Kumho Tire USA Inc. is ready to launch another head-turner: a 20-series tyre. The prototype that Kumho Tire USA Inc. exhibited at last year’s SEMA Show is getting ready to hit the market as a special version of the company’s Ecsta SPT ultra-high performance tyre.
The 20-series tyre has been tested and is being prepared for production, Kumho stated. The tyremaker expects it to be available by January 2008 in a 375/20R21 size as well as a 275/30R19 version for the Dodge Viper, the Chevrolet Corvette C6 Z06 and hot rods.
The 20-series SPT was developed by engineers at Kumho’s technical headquarters in Korea, led by manager D.J. Park. “This 20-series SPT will provide the emotional look that drivers want as well as the performance they demand,” said Rick Brennan, director of brand management. “We’ve pulled out all the stops to create a product that enthusiasts want but no one else is even trying to make.”
Shanghai Tyre & Rubber Co. has been singled out as a company to watch amongst China’s many tyremakers by recently released statistical data from the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), which indicates that the company is listed amongst the top filers in the world’s developing economies wishing to protect their intellectual property. Specific details regarding the number of trademark applications submitted by Shanghai Tyre & Rubber have not been released.
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