Cooper Expansion Plans Gain Boost
(Akron/Tire Review) Cooper Tire & Rubber Co’s planned expansion of its Athens, Georgia, tyre plant got a big boost from local government which authorised some $12 million in bonds to aid the expansion effort.
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(Akron/Tire Review) Cooper Tire & Rubber Co’s planned expansion of its Athens, Georgia, tyre plant got a big boost from local government which authorised some $12 million in bonds to aid the expansion effort.
(Akron/Tire Review) Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. named a Texas truck driver who saved a family trapped in their car in a water-filled ditch as its 22nd North American Highway Hero. The award was announced Mar. 31 at the Mid-America Truck Show in Louisville, Ky.
(Akron/Tire Review) With business picking up, Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. will recall some 160 workers previously laid off from its Union City, Tenn., tire plant.
A Goodyear spokesman said there was no timetable for the laid off workers to return, and that they would be brought back over time. The workers being brought back were laid off last October when Goodyear cut 250 jobs at the plant.
(Akron/Tire Review) According to reports, Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. sent a summary of its latest master contract proposal directly to striking Texarkana, Ark., plant workers last week, urging them to seek union permission to vote on the proposal.
The Texarkana Gazette reported that in the proposal and a letter from Cooper negotiating team to members of United Steelworkers of America (USWA) Local 752, Cooper officials said “it is important for you to see the entire final proposal that is on the table so you can make your own decisions as to whether this is a fair contract.”
(Akron/Tire Review) Bridgestone Firestone North American Tire (BFNAT) announced that it was raising prices on its Bridgestone, Firestone, Dayton, associate and private brand tire lines by up to 8%.
(Akron/Tire Review) Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.’s push into the Chinese market will include a significant increase in its purchasing there, according to reports in China Daily. Chairman and CEO Robert Keegan was in China last week to announce Goodyear’s planned move of its Asia-Pacific operational headquarters from Akron to Shanghai.
The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd., will participate in the three-day Aircraft Interiors Expo 2005, which starts today at the Hamburg International Exhibition and Conference centre. The annual event is the world’s largest for aircraft interiors. The company will exhibit its lavatory modules and water tanks in its first appearance at the exposition.
Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co, will increase buying in China to a tenth of its global sourcing by 2010 from just 1 per cent now. That could boost sourcing in China to about $800 million within the next five years, chief executive Robert Keegan told Reuters, as the firm, which carries a heavy debt load, strives to lower costs.
“We purchase about $8 billion of both raw materials and other products and services…10 per cent would be $800 million, so it’s a considerable increase for us,” Mr Keegan said. The American firm is racing against rivals Michelin and Bridgestone Corp to supply China’s $6 billion tyre market, which state media has said is half controlled by foreign companies and grew about 30 per cent to some 239 million units in 2004.
Keegan said the firm would invest $120 million to double the capacity of its factory in the northern port city of Dalian to 5.3 million tyres annually. The expansion is expected to be completed by early 2007, he said.
Bridgestone has officially opened its Chinese Jiangsu Province facility that produces rubber anti-vibration components for automobiles in China. The plant is in the city of Changzhou, about 160 kilometres west of Shanghai.
Present at the ceremony were representatives from the Chinese government and municipal officials, as well as from Bridgestone. Tatsuya Okajima, a Bridgestone board member responsible for original equipment, and Hiromichi Odagiri a vice president and senior officer who serves as chief representative of Bridgestone tyre operations in China attended the event.
The Toyo Environmental Protection Fund has decided to expand its giving to not-for-profit orgnisations beyond Japan. Coinciding with the 60th anniversary year of Toyo Tire & Rubber’s foundation, this move demonstrates the collective commitment of the Toyo Group to playing a public service role commensurate with its growing presence in the world.
Firestone is beaming about the quality of its R7000 tyre after a recent visit to Suffolk farmer Ray Smith. Mr Smith made an enquiry about some new front tyres for his New Holland 8560 as the tread was low. Upon investigating the tyres, Terry Brown, Firestone area sales manager, found that the tyres were 11 years old. It was estimated that the tractor completed about 1000 hours a year, of which 40 per cent was roadwork.
(Akron/Tire Review) Even after reports that negotiators had to take a break to accommodate the upcoming NCAA men’s basketball championships in St. Louis and the United Steelworkers of America’s (USWA) April national convention in Las Vegas, there remain concerns on whether the USWA and Bridgestone/Firestone North American Tire (BFNAT) can resolve their apparently deep differences and reach agreement on a new master contract.
(Australia/Tyre Review) There is no immediate end in sight to the global off-road tyre shortage, according to a recent report from Australia, and most tyremakers in Australia say things will remain tight for at least another year – perhaps longer.
According to the news report, the causes of the shortfall include the Chinese economy, which is taking large numbers of OTR tyres directly, heavy Chinese demand for raw materials which has increased demand for rubber-tyred mining equipment, worldwide rubber shortages, and a lack of investment in expanding tyre production.
(Akron/Tire Review) Sumitomo Chemical has announced plans to establish a new company in southern China to manufacture and sell polypropylene compounds for automotive applications.
The new subsidiary, Sumika Polymer Compounds (Zhuhai) Co, will be 55 per cent owned by Sumitomo Chemical and 45 per cent owned by Toyo Ink Manufacturing (not related to Toyo Tire & Rubber Co.). The planned facility, which should open in mid-2006, will have an initial capacity of 10,000 tons/year, with a target of 20,000 tons/year at full capacity.
(Akron/Tire Review) According to a United Steelworkers of America (USWA) website, the union and Cooper Tire & Rubber have “agreed to postpone” an injunction hearing that was scheduled to be held yesterday. No further details were given.
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