Truck Tyres
Yokohama Tire Corp. is recalling 69 Yokohama brand medium truck tyres because of shoulder area compound problems, Tire Review has reported. The company said the defective tyres contain a “non-specified compound in the shoulder area of the tyre” and “during extended running, the shoulder area of the tyre could lift, resulting in degraded ride and handling” and potentially a tread separation.
Birla Tyres is expecting its turnover to reach 6.5 billion rupees (£80 million), New Delhi’s Business Standard has reported. Speaking to a press conference at the launch of a new truck tyre (the BT 339+), Amit Choudhury, vice president (technical services) Birla Tyres, said: “With several products already launched and a few more in the pipeline, Birla Tyres is on a fast growth track. We garnered a market share of 11 per cent in truck tyres across the country, and 30 per cent of our products are exported to about 30 countries including Pakistan, Afghanistan, Vietnam and Belgium. We expect our turnover to touch 6.5 billion rupees in the current fiscal.” Referring to the newly-launched product, he said: “The new product is an extension our main brand BT 339, with higher physical dimensional features. It is specially designed for multi-axle vehicles.”
At present the company’s truck tyre factory in Balasore, Orissa, produces 87,500 truck tyres each month. “The production capacity will go up to 93,000 tyres per month by June 2005,” Mr Amit explained. The Balasore plant was formed as a technical collaboration with Pirelli Ltd. The company owns 2,000 retail outlets, 52 stock points and 80 carrying-forward agents across the country, he added.
Local union officials at Yokohama Tire Corp’s Salem plant have agreed to a new labour agreement, guaranteeing job security for more than two years. Mike Amos, president of Local 1023 of United Steelworkers of America (USWA), told local newspapers that members voted by a three to one majority to ratify the collective bargaining agreement. He said about 80 per cent of approximately 670 members voted.
Bridgestone Retread Systems is relatively new to the retreading market, having entered the sector in the past year through a joint venture between Bridgestone and Marangoni/Ellerbrock. The idea behind the new company was to was to bring together and direct Bridgestone’s retreading activities in Europe from a central point; hence its location in Brussels. The joint venture with Marangoni Tread and its German subsidiary, Ellerbrock Tyre Retreading Technology, allows the Japanese manufacturer to cast its retreading net even further; and it can now offer its partners the support and assistance to gain the ECE 109 and the ISO 9001-2000 certifications.
The Malcolm Group, one of Scotland’s largest road transport companies, has signed a three year contract with Michelin for the supply of truck tyres for its fleet. The deal covers 335 tractor units and 1,000 trailers, all to be fitted with Michelin E type tyres.
In its recent first half 2005 results, Toyo Tire & Rubber reported that operating income rocketed 120.8 per cent. This was said to be due to a 25.9 per cent increase in sales of high value products, with general sales improving by 8.7 per cent. Now, having exhibited at the Autosport Show, Toyo is claiming to have “kicked into overdrive” with its “best show ever.” Tyres & Accessories took the opportunity to catch up with marketing director, Mike Rignall.
Yokohama and the United Steelworkers of America have reached a provisional agreement regarding a new contract for the manufacturer’s Salem plant, according to American news sources.
The contract is pending approval by union members said Yokohama. However the terms of the new arrangement have not been disclosed. The previous contract, which expired in June 2003, was extended through negotiations. The Salem plant produces passenger, high performance and light truck tyres.
Goodyear is launching a line of ‘self sealing’ truck tyres into the American market. The tyres will feature a gel-like rubber compound designed to instantly seal tread punctures, reports the Beacon Journal.
The manufacturer claims its new technology can extend the life of a truck tyre by six times its average span. The product is aimed at trucks operating in harsh conditions, where the tyres currently last for an average of three weeks.
Cooper Tire & Rubber Company (Findlay/Ohio) has completed the sale of its automotive business, Cooper-Standard Automotive, to an entity formed by The Cypress Group and Goldman Sachs Capital Partners for approximately $1.165 billion in cash, subject to certain post-closing adjustments. As previously announced, $30 million of the purchase price will be held by the buyer until the post-closing working capital adjustments can be finalized.
Michelin Americas Truck Tires (MATT) informed the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) about voluntarily recalling of about 4,000 commercial truck tyres made in Ballymena (Northern Ireland). Size 10.0 R 22.5 of Michelin’s XDE manufactured between May 23 and October 24, 2004, can experience rapid air loss due to an irregularity of the inner liner. Michelin said until now the company has no reports of accidents involving the tyres, the company will replace the tyres free of charge.
Michelin North America is increasing U.S. replacement tyre prices on a variety of product lines.
• Passenger and light truck tyres will increase by up to 5 percent on Michelin brand and up to 6 percent on BFGoodrich, Uniroyal and private and associate brands effective March 1, 2005.
• Commercial truck tyres will increase by up to 6 percent on both Michelin and BFGoodrich brands effective March 1, 2005.
• Earthmover tyres will increase by 5 percent effective Jan. 1, 2005.
• Agricultural tyres will increase by up to 6 percent for radial tyres and up to 12 percent for bias tyres effective Jan. 1, 2005
• General aviation tyres will increase 5 percent worldwide effective April 1, 2005.
Today, every company that wants to be successful in fleet business needs a lot more than just good products, nowadays that is just a prerequisite. Those responsible at Bandag Inc in Muscatine, Iowa, are convinced that the right service and the right network is even more important than the products. Bandag claims that it has both, and is trying to further integrate all of its 220 European dealers into a single global retreading network. In order to promote this policy, the company invited 20 of its dealers from around the UK and Ireland to visit its American headquarters.
Bridgestone Firestone North America and Bridgestone/Firestone Canada have jointly announced price increases. Prices are due to increase by 5 per cent on passenger and light truck tyres, 7 per cent on truck and bus tyres and 10 per cent or more on agricultural and off-the-road tyres. The companies say the increases will affect Bridgestone, Firestone, Dayton, associate and private brand tyres and will come into effect from 1 January 2005.
According to Mark Emkes, CEO and chairman of Bridgestone Americas Holding, parent company of BFNT and BFCA, “Our tyre companies are facing an unprecedented continuation of rising raw material prices on a number of different fronts. From steel to petroleum to rubber chemicals, we have seen cost increases that simply can not be offset by the increases in efficiencies and productivity that we have implemented at all levels of our company. The action we announced today is a necessary step in addressing these escalating costs.”
The prices increases announced by a number of leading manufacturers are good news for their share prices, say market analysts Deutsche Bank. Bridgestone/ Firestone announced a 5 per cent across the board price increase for passenger car and light truck tyres in North America, effective 1 January 2005, with heavy truck tyre prices set to increase by 7 per cent. According to the analysts, this news is particularly significant because BFS was one of two companies (along with Michelin) that did not raise prices during the last round of price hikes that were rolled out by Goodyear, Cooper Tire, Continental and others in October. This means that “most tyre companies will elect to raise prices once again in early 2005, and that price increases will mitigate higher raw material costs,” says Deutsche Bank.
Motorsport isn’t just about speedy overtaking manoeuvres and exciting finishes. Instead a major part of its attraction is owed to the people that live for motorsports and who – if missing – would make the event that bit less interesting. Without doubt one of these people is Pierre Dupasquier. For 30 years the Michelin motorsport director has been generally regarded as the driving force behind the French tyre manufacturer’s involvement. In addition, he is one of the few who, although not a driver himself, is allowed to comment on races on TV. Tyres & Accessories had the opportunity to meet the passionate 67 year old Frenchman and talk about the coming season.
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