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French manufacturer takes 10% stake in Hankook (Update)

Towards the end of January, news broke of a partnership agreement between Michelin and Hankook Tire, whereby the French manufacturer took a 10 per cent stake in the Korean company. The deal was signed in Seoul by Hankook Tire president Choong Hwan Cho and Michelin Asia-Pacific president Jean-Marc François and, according to the official communiqué, the purpose was to allow the companies to exploit synergies in a search for common opportunities to develop their respective positions in the tyre market.

18th February 2003/by Tyrepress Editors

“Michelin – The BMW In The Tyre Industry”

Business newspapers in France and England are commenting on a paper from the french analysts Gaetan Toulemonde and Alexis Boyer both from DB Global Equities are recommending Michelin shares as a clear “buy”. The share price – at about 31 Euros at present – has, according to the analysts, the potential to rise to 50 Euros within 12 months. Michelin is seen by them as “the BMW in the tyre industry” with strong brands and an excellent brand strategy. It is expected that Michelin will announce in a press conference at the end of February a turnover for 2002 of about 15.7 bn Euro and an operating profit of 1.1 bn Euro. For this year the company is aiming for a turnover of more than 17 bn Euro and an operating profit of more than 1.2 bn Euro. The stock capitalisation at present is 4.6 bn Euro.

21st January 2003/by Tyrepress Editors

RFID First For Michelin

As reported in T&A RFID tyre identification systems are about to become an element of tyre production and management. After testing on truck and earthmover tyres, Michelin has begun fleet testing of Radio Frequency Identification tagging on passenger car and light truck tyres. The technology allows the tyre identification number to be associated with the vehicle identification number (VIN) making the tyres uniquely identifiable with an individual vehicle, telling when and where the tyre was made, maximum inflation pressure, tyre size, etc.. The ability to identify and track individual tyres through their life cycle has attractions for tyre management services, but ultimately may have applications in the control of the tyre life cycle, including retreading and recovery.

15th January 2003/by Tyrepress Editors

Kirkby Tyres: Re-focusing For The Future

Product News, UK News

Kirkby Tyres is a major wholesaler in the agricultural sector and is increasingly turning towards that market to develop its business. Kirkby Tyres has been around for a long time, almost 50 years in fact. In that time the business has seen many changes but through all the changes it remains in the hands of the Rosenthal family, with Gordon Rosenthal, grandson of the founder “Joe Rose” at the helm.The company started as a casings collector and dealer, before developing into wholesaling. When the wholesaling of new tyres outgrew the casing side, the company made the decision to concentrate on new tyre distribution. Gordon Rosenthal took over from his father, Leslie Rosenthal, as Managing Director in 1980. Gordon is now Chairman, with Dave Dorrity joining the company in 1999 as Managing Director.Kirkby Tyres operates with three depots to cover the British Isles. The head office is at Liverpool and there is a depot in Perth, Scotland which offers a very similar stock profile to that in Liverpool, though the demand for high performance and premium car tyres is stronger north of the border. Ireland is covered from Dublin by Kirkby Tyres (Ireland) Ltd and in addition to the full range offered in the UK is the Irish agent for Ohtsu/Falken, and is the sole distributor of Wolfrace and Smiths alloy wheels in Ireland. The Group has a turnover in excess of 16 million pounds and employs 61 staff. It is worth noting that the breakdown of the business puts the agricultural sector at 45 per cent of the Group’s turnover, truck at 35 per cent, and car and earthmover at five per cent each.

9th January 2003/by Tyrepress Editors

Nokian And Amtel Sign Joint Venture Agreement

Nokian and Russian company Amtel Holdings have formally signed the joint venture agreement to produce and sell passenger and light truck tyres in Russia and CIS countries under the Nordman and Amtel brands. 900,000 tyres will be produced next year and 3,600,000 the year after. Upgrades of Amtel factories will require investments of US$ 25 million and the two partners intend to build a greenfield factory in Russia to produce premium tyres under the Nokian brand. The target is an annual production of 1.2 million tyres within three years of the start of the project.

30th December 2002/by Tyrepress Editors

Tyre Repairs And Materials

We are often told that we live in a throw-away culture; when something’s worn out or damaged, we replace it rather than repair it. But this tends not to be the case with tyres – for truck tyres especially, a properly-repaired tyre can give thousands of miles of service, thereby saving money. Of course, the accent is on the words “properly repaired”.

11th December 2002/by Tyrepress Editors

Kaplan Praises Sava Performance In Interview

In an interview with a Slovenian newspaper Jarro Kaplan, president of Goodyear’s Eastern Europe, Africa and Middle East region, paid tribute to the part played by Sava Tire in Goodyear’s global business activities. Since Goodyear took an 80 per cent stake in Sava in 1998, the Slovenian company has grown in international importance, exporting more than 90 per cent of its production to 70 countries, with plans to enter the US market soon. Kaplan described the Sava workforce as “well educated, highly productive and internationally oriented.” A five-year investment program in Sava was completed a year ahead of schedule and, says Kaplan, Goodyear is seriously considering further production expansion. In addition to the Sava brand, the factory produces Goodyear, Dunlop, Fulda and Debica brand tyres and is Goodyear’s only European factory to produce 17.5 inch truck tyres.

6th December 2002/by Tyrepress Editors

Continental Truck Tyres: Restructuring Pays Off

It was in mid-2001 that we reported on the plans of Continental Tyre group to drastically re-organise its commercial tyre operations in the UK. How successful was it? The result was no cosmetic tinkering with the problem, but a root and branch reform that ushered in a fundamental change in the way the manufacturer brought its tyres to market. Conti’s plan was to form a network of independent truck tyre dealers, each with their own territory, to provide an effective nationwide service capability. The commercial division of the Conti-owned equity, NTS, disappeared, with some depots being bought out, others purchased by outside parties and a handful joining ContiNetwork, as the new chain was called.Certainly Continental needed to take some action, as its commercial tyre activities were consistently posting losses, and the radical surgery that was the introduction of the ContiNetwork was seen as the best way. So, 18 months or so on, has it worked? Has the patient recovered? At the time, there were some mutterings that the whole exercise was merely a precursor to Continental quitting the truck tyre business – something which, to be fair, the company has always vehemently denied.The company had turned its loss-making commercial activities into a profit, the ContiNetwork members were happy with the volume and profit they were making and the fact that no fleet customers had been lost indicates that they must be happy.Arthur Gregg, Business Director for Commercial Tyres, certainly believes that the future is bright and pays tribute to what has been achieved over a relatively short period. “We’ve gone from loss to profit and established what we regard as the UK’s premier independent network,” he said, concluding: “the truck tyre business makes a profit for us and for our partners.”

28th November 2002/by Tyrepress Editors

Retread Market: The Current State Of Play

T&A looks at the recent history of retreading, the threats and the opportunities. According to RAPRA, the number of tyres generated in the UK that would be suitable for retreading is around 15 per cent of car tyres and 50-70 per cent of truck tyres. However, it is reported that only nine per cent of car tyres are retreaded and as few as 24 per cent of truck tyres. It should be noted that many customer own tyre contracts include retreaded tyres which do not get included in this figure and these may amount to as many as 35% of the total retread truck tyre volume in the UK.In 1994 an estimated 14 per cent of the UK car tyre replacement market was taken by the retread sector. This dropped to 12 per cent by 1998 (something around 16 million tyres) and collapsed to eight per cent in 1999 and is continuing to fall. This is a far cry from the 20 per cent market share held in the 1970s and 1980s (when, ironically, the quality was perhaps not quite so good as it is today). Figures for the tonnage retreaded show an increase between 1999 and 2000 from 76,000 tonnes to 77,000 tonnes.Truck retreading is not a particular problem, though there are shortages of casings in some sizes, particularly older more popular retread sizes. The truck tyre market is looking at the cost per kilometre, and retreading lowers the cost per kilometre and makes tyre use much more cost effective. The truck operator sees retreads as a tool to lower running costs.

28th November 2002/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone To Raise Prices In US

Bridgestone/Firestone North America is raising prices from 1st January because of increased raw material costs. The increases – up to 5 per cent – will apply to car and light truck tyres for the Bridgestone, Firestone and Dayton brands, as well as associate and private brands. Bridgestone, Firestone and Dayton heavy-duty and medium-duty truck tyres will rise by 3-4 per cent. The move follows similar increases in the US by Goodyear, Michelin and Cooper.

19th November 2002/by Tyrepress Editors

Analysts Downgrade Goodyear

In the United States, analysts UBS Warburg have downgraded Goodyear stocks from “Hold” to “Reduce” and the price target per share from $8 to $5.50. The analysts accept that the company’s sales performance overseas is improving, but Goodyear is struggling in the US and the analysts cite five reasons why it might be difficult to make further progress in this market.

6th November 2002/by Tyrepress Editors

Tyre Sales Benefit From Angola Peace Dividend

Since the ending of hostilities in Angola, the tyre and associated industries have enjoyed something of a sales boom, especially truck tyres as the country’s roads are restored. One tyre dealer in Luanda said that, while the war was going on, he was lucky to sell three truck tyres a day, but since the advent of peace, his tyre sales have grown to 20 units daily.

23rd October 2002/by Tyrepress Editors

Maxxis To Build Plant In Thailand

Maxxis International, perhaps better known in the tyre world as Cheng Shin Rubber, is to build a new factory in Thailand to produce passenger and light truck tyres. Phase 1 of the multi-phase project will be completed in late 2004, when the factory will be producing 10,000 tyres a day, employing 1,700 staff. The site, in Rayong City, south of Bangkok, covers 72 acres. This new venture is the latest in a series of expansions for Maxxis; it is expanding its factory in mainland China, has moved to a larger distribution centre in California and expanded its US HQ in Suwanee, Georgia.

8th October 2002/by Tyrepress Editors

Return To Algeria For Michelin

By forming a company – Michelin Algerie – Michelin has made the first move to re-open its factory in Algeria, which was closed in 1993. A Government-led privatisation programme has been aimed at attracting foreign investment and Michelin is said to be “waiting for some answers from Government” before deciding whether to re-start production. Should this happen, the factory will employ 500 people and manufacture truck tyres, 60 per cent of which will be exported.

21st August 2002/by Tyrepress Editors

Fire At Goodyear Factory

Arsonists have been blamed for a fire at Goodyear’s Wolverhampton UK factory, in which 4,000 truck tyres and three lorry trailers were destroyed. 120 firefighters took two hours to bring the 70 ft-high flames under control and residents were told to stay indoors with windows closed against the emissions. Although the fire has been put out, experts have warned that the tyres could continue to smoulder for up to two days.

16th August 2002/by Tyrepress Editors