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Nokian Begins Job Cut Talks

Nokian Tyres has today begun new statutory negotiations in order to adjust operations and to cut personnel by approximately 450 people at its Nokia factory in Finland, due to the decreased demand for tyres. The agenda of the negotiations includes a plan to change the working model of the car tyre production from the current continuous three-shift/seven days work to the discontinued three-shift/five days operations and to re-organise operations. This would result in the annual production capacity at the Nokia factory to fall from the current 6 million or so tyres to around 4.5 million tyres in 2009.

The discontinued three-shift work and the re-organisation measures would create a need to cut personnel by some 450 people, of which approximately 100 would be white-collar personnel. The aim is to carry out part of the personnel cuts by pension arrangements and other voluntary solutions.
The new factory working model and re-organisations would reduce Nokian Tyres’ costs in Nokia by around 30 million euros.

9th December 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

G8 International FZE – Trading Partners

We have been hearing a lot about the G8 group of countries recently, but this article is concerned with another G8 – G8 International FZE, a trading company established in the Sharjah free trade zone of the UAE.

Originally, the purpose of G8 was to procure various raw materials for the automobile tyre and tube industry in India and other parts of the world, but the scope of the business has expanded somewhat. As well as offering a range of synthetic and natural rubber, sourced mainly from Russia and India, G8’s products include five types of carbon black, chemicals used in tyre manufacturing, such as zinc oxide, sulphur and stearic acid among others and a range of tube valves. G8 also trades in metals, minerals (rock phosphate), fertilisers and commodities such as sugar.

1st December 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Yokohama Income Declines in H1 2008

Yokohama Rubber has announced experiencing a 53.7 per cent decline in operating income for the six months to September 30, 2008 in comparison to the same period of the previous year, to 5.6 billion yen (£37.7 million), despite a 1.3 per cent increase in net sales, to 256.6 billion yen (1.7 billion). Net income for this first half of the current financial year declined 95.7 per cent, to 554 million yen (£3.7 million). For the three months ending September 30, 2008, net sales were 133.5 billion yen (£898.8 million), an increase of 1.8 per cent. Operating income decreased 81 per cent to 1.5 billion yen (£10.1 million) and net income dropped from 29.5 million yen (£198,600) in 2007 to a loss of 7.03 million yen (-£47,000) in the recently concluded quarter of this year.

13th November 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Toyo Establishes Russian Sales Office

Toyo Tire & Rubber has announced the joint establishment, along with Mitsubishi Corporation, of a Russian tyre sales subsidiary. The new subsidiary, known as Toyo Tire Rus LLC, was formed on October 23. According to the Japanese manufacturer, Toyo Rus LLC was established primarily for expanding the brand presence of Toyo tyres and improving the brand’s position in this growing and increasingly motorised BRIC market.

12th November 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Pirelli – Russian Technologies JV Agreement Signed in Moscow

On November 6 Pirelli & C. SpA and Russian Technologies State Corporation signed an agreement formalising a joint venture between the two companies. Although details of the JV are still to be finalised, Pirelli reports that the production of tyres in Russia will begin before the end of 2010.

7th November 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

‘Pimp My Shopping Trolley’

Motorists with cash in their pockets have given chrome wheels the nod for the last decade, but in America these look-at-me vehicle accessories are losing favour with drivers pummelled by rising fuel and other costs. In an article published by USA Today, König Wheels sales manager Jim Fisher commented that the fashion for chrome wheels “might come back, but it’s going to be a while…..we’re selling something that people don’t need.”

6th November 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Grass Roots Environmentalism

With raw materials continually rising in cost and supplies becoming stretched further all the time, one more solution to the problem of expensive natural rubber supply may be on the cards. Cooper is partnering The Program of Excellence in Natural Rubber Alternatives (PENRA) to research the possibilities of a new domestic source. At the head of the field of possibilities is the Russian Dandelion, scientifically known as Taraxacum kok-saghyz (TKS). Its roots can be processed into natural rubber, which would serve as the polymer for multiple compound components of a tyre, including the sidewall, base and tread. Russian Dandelions have a similar appearance to more common dandelions but also possess a more complex root system.

“Cooper is extremely excited to participate in this innovative ‘green’ project,” said Chuck Yurkovich, Cooper Tire’s vice president of Global Technology. “This new process involves forward-thinking technology with potential to bring a competitive substitute supply of natural rubber that will be produced in the United States, reducing our dependency on off shore imports. In addition to providing a supply of natural rubber that is critical to a number of industries, it’s also an opportunity for Cooper to remain competitive in the market place with an environmentally friendly product that creates jobs here in the United States.”

6th November 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Hankook Profits Down 45% in Third Quarter

Third quarter sales grew 24 per cent year on year at Hankook Tire, the company’s latest figures reveal. However, as has been the case with so many companies in this second half of 2008, increased sales have not translated into a better bottom line.

5th November 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

CV Fleets Face Tough 2009

At the beginning of 2008, before talk of the economic slowdown was headline news, truck fleets were suffering from high fuel prices, increased regulation and low-cost competition from abroad. In retrospect, when some of these fleets called in the administrators during the first quarter of the year it was a sign that harder times were coming. But now that it is widely accepted that we are entering a recession, what does this mean for the tyre businesses supplying fleets?

The latest new truck registration data makes fairly miserable reading, but sources within the tyre business are predicting that fleet sales will ultimately be insulated from the worst effects of a recession. According the SMMT data, new commercial vehicle registrations were down 19.2 per cent in September and 0.7 per cent to 377,531 for the year-to-date. When this is broken down, it is clear that the van market has born the immediate brunt of the credit crunch (down 22.1 per cent for the more and 4.6 per cent year to date), with truck registrations actually growing 3.6 per cent for the rolling year. Despite this, some sources have predicted that OEM production could be down by as much as 20 per cent in 2009. The main European tyre manufacturers are taking this trend seriously enough to have cut European truck tyre production by around 10 per cent on average.

4th November 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

1,100 Jobs to go in Tenneco Restructuring

Automotive emission control and ride control products manufacturer Tenneco Inc. is to restructure its global operations. In an announcement made on October 29, the company said it would further reduce structural costs and capacity in response to the worsening industry downturn. Approximately 1,100 jobs will be axed as a result of the restructuring and five facilities closed. In total Tenneco expects to generate around US$64 million in annual savings once all changes are fully implemented.

31st October 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Nokian Tyres Reports Positive Third Quarter Results

Despite announcing the need to idle workers at its Finland factory to adjust production, the latest financial figures for Nokian Tyres shows a company doing well in 2008. Results for the quarter ending September 30 show net sales, operating profit and net profit have increased both during the three-month period and during 2008 as a whole.

31st October 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Michelin Revises Full Year Targets

Michelin’s financial results for the quarter ending September 30, 2008 show a slight increase in sales during the three month period. However, upon releasing its figures the company also warned that a drop in European and North American demand makes it unlikely that previously set targets will be reached. In July, the Michelin Group based its estimated result of around 8.6 per cent for the full year on the assumption that “second half markets do not worsen beyond estimated levels” forecasted at the time. It now reports the different trends recorded since early October point to a sharper deterioration of demand in most European and North American countries. If this trend is confirmed in November and December, Michelin should post 7 to 7.5 per cent operating margin before non-recurring items for fiscal 2008. The company’s 2007 operating margin stood at 9.8 per cent.

30th October 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Konstrukta Celebrates 15 Years in Tyre Machinery Manufacturing

International News, News, Product News

The Konstrukta Group has recently restructured organisationally from being one entity into five separate divisions in fields as diverse as explosives, mechanisation and automation, rubber and tyre manufacturing machinery and economics. Based in Trencin, Slovak Republic, the company has invested 1.6 million US dollars in the upgrading and development of its R&D centre for rubber technology. “The current pattern of consistent growth within rubber related industries demanded that we give ourselves every opportunity to make sure we were in a position to increase our market share,” said Jan Dugacek, managing director of the tyre machinery division.

The tyre division provides research, development, production and supplies of technological equipment for the tyre industry – extrusion lines for inner liner production, steel cord and textile cord cutting lines, auxiliary equipment and spare parts. The extrusion lines are designed for production of tyre components including treads and sidewalls for the manufacture of car, light truck, truck, bus agricultural and OTR tyres.

24th October 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Pirelli Russia Factory Work to Begin March 2009

According to Russia’s Interfax news service, construction work on Pirelli’s tyre factory in Togliatti will begin in March 2009. This announcement was apparently made by Vladislav Kapustin, head of the Samara region’s Industry, Energy and Technology Ministry, at a press conference during the opening of an automotive industry trade show in Togliatti.

“The talks with Pirelli are proceeding successfully,” said Kapustin. “An entire Pirelli delegation visited the future site of the plant in Togliatti. Pirelli’s plans are to begin work at the site in March. Practical plans are not being revised.”

15th October 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Russian Tyremakers Voice Support for Increased Import Duties

Russia’s leading tyre and rubber industry companies have met as part of a subcommittee organised by the Russian Federation’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The meeting, conducted by subcommittee chairman, Sibur-Russian Tyres’ Igor Karavaev, was held to discuss varying issues including import duties, the regulatory use of winter tyres in the Russian Federation and the issue of end of life tyre recycling.

10th October 2008/by Tyrepress Editors