Goodyear names newest Board member
A 13th member has been appointed to Goodyear Tire & Rubber’s Board of Directors. This newest member is William J. Conaty, retired senior vice president of human resources for the General Electric Company.
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A 13th member has been appointed to Goodyear Tire & Rubber’s Board of Directors. This newest member is William J. Conaty, retired senior vice president of human resources for the General Electric Company.
Taiwan’s Bureau of Foreign Trade and the Taiwan External Trade Development Council have chosen Nankang Rubber Tire as one of the country’s 100 most outstanding brands. The “Top 100 Taiwan brands” were named at ceremony on July 26 and the winning companies were selected on a range of criteria that included brand management, industry position, and financial standing.
Continental is raising its outlook for 2011, based on what it called “a very successful first half-year” that included double-digit growth rates for sales and EBIT. “We had previously forecast sales of more than 28.5 billion euros, but we are now expecting at least 29.5 billion euros. We are also targeting an adjusted EBIT margin of around 10 per cent, slightly more than the good 2010 figure of 9.7 per cent,” said Continental executive board chairman Dr. Elmar Degenhart on Friday 29 July on publishing figures for the first half of the year.
Avon has announced that three cars will race on its tyres in this year’s Spa 24 Hours, tripling the brand’s presence. One of three McLaren MP4-12C GT3 race cars will compete on the manufacturer’s tyres, as well as an independent Aston Martin DBRS9 and a Mercedes SLS. Considering its heritage as a motorsport brand, it comes as something of a surprise that last year’s Spa 24 Hours was its debut. Then, the Trackspeed Racing Porsche 997 RSR entry suffered mechanical problems after a competitive start, finishing in eleventh place. This year Avon hopes to prove the ability of its rubber over the entire duration.
Pirelli test driver Lucas di Grassi suggests the Hungarian Grand Prix could be different in character to previous seasons, with the manufacturer’s rubber once again central to the race’s result. The Hungaroring is the slowest permanent circuit on the Formula One calendar – with full throttle applied for only about 10 seconds per lap – and the action for this Hungarian Grand Prix is complicated by the risk of rain, which is forecast intermittently for the rest of the weekend. The track has been lightly modified from last year, with the gravel traps on turns three, eight and nine replaced by run-off asphalt, in the interests of safety. Pirelli anticipates a challenging race for Formula One’s drivers, and for the tyres as the drivers seek to gain advantage. The supplier suggests the chicane at turns six and seven will result in a racing line involving some kerbing, adding stress to the tyres, and the penultimate turn 13, where drivers will rely on the tyre compound to work as hard as possible in order first to pull the car through the corner and then guarantee good traction out of it, with limited downforce available.
Following the release of its second quarter financial results yesterday, Pirelli announced that it would implement a further round of price increases at the end of the summer. The latest six per cent prices hike will be effective in all European markets across the company’s car, SUV and van tyre product ranges from 1 September. The company reported that the it has had to raise prices as a consequence of the rising costs of “key raw materials, in particular natural and synthetic rubber, and oil.”
Positive tyre sector demand was seen in Pirelli & C. Spa’s results for the six months ending June 30, 2011. A full 99 per cent of the Italian manufacturer’s group sales are made in the tyre sector and the company reports that results from the first half of the year “demonstrate continuous growth and improvement of all economic indicators.” In particular, a more than doubling of group net profits is attributed to ongoing efficiency programmes and, more significantly, the effectiveness of price mix actions that have seen sales increasingly concentrated in the premium segment, enabling raw material costs to be offset.
While Hankook’s second quarter represented a record in terms of sales, a Deutsche Bank report has provided a metaphorical cold shower with the “disappointing” news of a 34 per cent slide in year on year operating profit. On a consolidated International Financial Reporting Standards accounting basis, pre-tax profit was also down 20 per cent, while operating profit margin fell to 7 per cent from 12.8 per cent.
News sources in Wales have reported the arrest by South Wales Police of a 42-year old man from Swansea in connection with the tyre fire on the Fforestfach industrial estate in the south Wales town, which burned for 22 days in June and July. The Environment Agency said 5,000 tonnes of shredded tyres were being stored on the former Mettoys factory; the arrest strongly suggests the waste was held there illegally.
Apollo Tyres partnered with vehicle manufacturer Mahindra & Mahindra for the first time in Monsoon Challenge 2011, one of the biggest rallies on the Indian off-roading scene. Beginning on Friday, 22 July from the western Indian city of Nasik with more than 50 participating teams, the rally covered 1,500 kilometres in three days, going via Aurangabad and Kolhapur to the beaches of Goa on Sunday, 24 July. The winning team of Somdev Chanda and Nirav Mehta, riding on a Mahindra Stinger, took home a cash prize of Rs 800,000, a sum Apollo says is the largest cash award ever given in any Indian off-roading adventure.
The tight and twisty Hungaroring on the outskirts of Budapest will offer an increased hot weather challenge to Pirelli’s soft and super soft tyres in the Hungarian Grand Prix. The circuit’s infrequent use makes the surface dusty and slippery that Pirelli expect will offer more grip as the weekend progresses and rubber is laid down. The slippery surface is the reason for the supplier’s choice of its PZero Yellow and PZero Red tyres, with 16 tight corners and a low average speed making the circuit better suited to the softer tyres. The high temperatures are likely to represent a conservation challenge, especially since this is the first time the supersoft Red compound will be used in very warm weather.
Wholesalers depend on delivering customer service to stay in business and today's customers are increasingly demanding. It is a tribute to their ability to keep customers happy that all of last year's finalists – B.I.T.S., Bond International, Grouptyre, Micheldever and 2010 winners Stapleton's – have made it to this year's shortlist and are joined by a sixth finalist: Viking International. This is always a competitive category and even more so this time around with six companies to choose from.
US-based green materials company Lehigh Technologies has introduced two new butyl based micronised rubber powders. These products, MicroDyne and PolyDyne, are aimed at tyre and rubber industry customers wishing to reduce butyl rubber expenses while increasing their products’ sustainability.
German specialty chemicals company Lanxess and Chinese tyre maker Triangle Group have strengthened their long-term partnership with the signing of a halobutyl rubber supply agreement. Under the terms of the agreement, which was signed at Triangle’s headquarters in Shandong Province by Ron Commander, global head of Lanxess’s butyl rubber business unit, and Lin Bin, senior vice-president of Triangle Tyre, Lanxess will supply Triangle with halobutyl rubbers from 2012 to 2014. Financial details of the agreement have not been disclosed.
Paul Hembery, Formula One tyre supplier Pirelli’s motorsport director, has hailed both the varied strategies of drivers in the German Grand Prix and race winner Lewis Hamilton’s use of the less-fancied medium compound PZero White tyre as indicative of the brand’s continued success in its first season back in the sport. The victory was Hamilton’s second of the 2011 season following 60 laps of battles for the lead. Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso was second, ahead of Red Bull Racing’s Mark Webber – who started from pole – in third.
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