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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

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

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

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

Restructuring Benefits Conti Figures

Continental’s second quarter results are generally encouraging; better than forecast by analysts. Group sales were up slightly (0.2 per cent) compared to Q1 last year, at 2.925 billion Euros. Operating income was 193 million Euros. Divisionally, the best growth in sales was achieved by the Automotive Systems division, which gained 10.8 per cent. Revenue at the other divisions – car tyres, truck tyres and ContiTech – all fell, though all made a profit. Analysts regard Conti’s restructuring as the main reason for the good figures although the North American business of Conti General continues to have an adverse effect on profits.

2nd August 2002/by Tyrepress Editors

Pirelli Unveils Automatic Mixing System

Pirelli unveiled its automatic Continuous Compound Mixing system (CCM) which complements its MIRS tyre production system and allows extremely accurate and environmentally-friendly mixing of up to 40 components. Seven patents have been applied for, with the first one granted in North America. Together, says Pirelli, CCM and MIRS will mean “a new generation of tyres, with performance unimaginable up to now.”

20th June 2002/by Tyrepress Editors

US Tyre Tests Condemned As “Extreme”

Following the Firestone recall, the US Government ordered a thorough overhaul of tyre safety standards. One of these is a new drum-test, which requires tyres to be tested for longer periods and at higher speeds. The Rubber Manufacturers Association has described the new tests as “extreme” and estimated that almost half of today’s car and light truck tyres would not pass the new test.

10th June 2002/by Tyrepress Editors

Sava Introduces New High Performance Tyre Intensa

Slovenian tyre manufacturer Sava, since 1998 owned 60 per cent by Goodyear, presented their new high performance tyre “Intensa” for middle and upper class vehicles to the press and an international group of 360 retailers, from 21 nations, in Planica at the end of March. The directional tyre, which will replace its predecessor “Rapidex”, has been developed in co-operation with the Luxembourg R&D-department of Goodyear and will appear in 27 different sizes from 185/65 R 14 86H up to low profile dimension 235/40 ZR 17 90 W.The new tyre is made at a production plant that is regarded as one of the best and most powerful within the Goodyear organisation. In the past year the 1,400 employees manufactured seven million tyres – however just 57 per cent of these had the brand name Sava on their sidewall. The other 43 per cent were other group brands – Goodyear, Dunlop, Fulda, Debica and, until the end of 2001, some sizes of Kelly. All these brands are produced in parallel at the plant located in Kranj. The turnover of Sava could be increased 13 per cent up to 210.7 million US-Dollar under the leadership of Richard A. Johnson, former European finance boss of Goodyear. This year Sava aims to reach a result of 7.3 million units and a turnover of more than 233 million US-Dollar. Today, it is almost exclusively passenger car and light truck tyres that are manufactured in the production facility. The production of truck tyres has been shifted towards other plants in Poland and Turkey in recent years. Further foreign markets for the brand, which is well known in Central and Eastern Europe, include Western Europe, but especially South America, Middle East and Asia. Further highlights in the event programme were the guided tour through the factory in Kranj as well as a visit to the World-Cup final in ski-flying which is traditionally held in Planica.

17th April 2002/by Tyrepress Editors

Pirelli Is On Track

In an interview with Neue Reifenzeitung, Dr. Francesco Gori, who is head of the tyre divisions worldwide, revealed that in 2001, Pirelli achieved almost the same turnover and EBIT figures as it had in 2000. In the future, Pirelli will invest more in passenger car tyres and less in the truck tyre business, but will not sell the Truck Division. Pirelli is successful with truck tyres mainly in southern Europe and Latin America. From July 1st, Pirelli will change the terms of its agreement with its alliance partner Cooper in the USA and will once again resume full responsibility for the Pirelli brand. In Europe, the company is optimising its structure, moving responsibilities increasingly towards its Milan headquarters, to oversee European operations as a single market.

16th April 2002/by Tyrepress Editors

Firestone Truck Tyres Found To Be Okay

NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) has closed an investigation into Firestone’s truck tyres STEELTEX, saying that there is no design- or manufacturing defect. Good news for a change for troubled Bridgestone/Firestone in the USA.

15th April 2002/by Tyrepress Editors