Wheel and automotive parts manufacturer Hayes Lemmerz International Inc. has reported a third quarter loss of US$59.6 million, up from US$13.3 million a year earlier. The company has been quick to point out, however, that this figure includes the sum of US$39 million paid as an asset impairment charge for their suspension facilities in Indiana and Michigan. Third quarter sales for the company were also down 2.4 per cent to US$589.5 million.
Volvo group commercial vehicles in Europe will be riding on Goodyear Dunlop tyres after the two companies recently signed a deal for the supply of OE tyres. The three-year agreement covers all European-manufactured Volvo trucks and buses and Renault trucks with rims 16” and larger. The tyres will be supplied from Goodyear Dunlop factories in Germany, Luxembourg, Slovenia and Turkey.
As part of its plans to expand into east Asia, Turkish corporation Sabanci has agreed to purchase a controlling stake in the Indonesian tyre-yarn firm PT Branta Mulia Tbk.
Ulu Lastik Kaplama has become Turkey’s latest Bandag shop. The Bandag retreads produced and delivered by Ulu Lastik Kaplama are designed to help fleets reduce their tyre budget while increasing vehicle uptime. Owner Halil Ulu and his sons Menderes Ulu have more than 15 years of experience in truck tyre servicing.
Ideally situated on the main road of Denizli, the tyre shop is within easy reach of the national road network and offers all tyre related services: wheel alignment, balancing, repair and fitting of truck and OTR tyres. The clear predominance of road transport and the retread ratio of 25 per cent in the region convinced Halil Ulu and his sons to opt for the only retreading system that really cuts tyre operating costs.
With unit sales of 7.06 million expected for 2006, a domestic replacement market share of 26 per cent and thriving export sales, no wonder Lassa producer Brisa is expanding its manufacturing and warehousing headquarters. As Brisa (Bridgestone Sabanci Tyre Manufacturing and Trading Inc) continues the $176 million production expansion programme it started at its Izmit plant in Turkey in 2004, Tyres & Accessories went to see how the plans are developing and visit some of the company’s retail outlets in Istanbul.
The head of one of the UK’s leading specialist rubber recycling companies says there should be more recognition for the contribution such firms make to protecting the environment, conserving natural resources, creating jobs and boosting exports. Michael Hopkinson, chairman of Rosehill Polymers of Sowerby Bridge, West Yorkshire, says that dealing with the UK’s huge amount of waste rubber is a growing problem which needs to be addressed urgently at government level. Rosehill Polymers, established nearly 30 years ago, utilises around 3,600 tonnes of recycled tyre rubber annually most of which is converted into products for the rail industry by a system which incorporates Rosehill’s own Flexilon polyurethane binder formulation.
Marco Tronchetti Provera may be an extremely qualified financial manager, but with regards to major financial transactions his timing has most definitely been off. A few years ago Pirelli bought a major share of Telecom Italia at a premium price that could be seen only a few months later. However it is easy to see with hindsight and no-one could have predicted the events of 9/11 and its implications on the world’s stock markets.
Just a few short weeks ago another financial transaction failed. Provera’s plan to generate 1 billion euros through a sell-off of parts of Pirelli’s tyre business was ill-fated from the beginning. This time the window of opportunity closed too fast. Competitors were forced to issue earnings warnings and overnight stock holdings in tyre companies were no longer considered ”sexy.”
Brazilian Felipe Massa withstood the heat of the Turkish Grand Prix, capitalising on his first F1 pole position by taking the chequered flag. However, Massa’s Bridgestone-equipped Ferrari was upstaged by fierce fighting for second place between defending champion, Renault’s Fernando Alonso (Michelin), and Michael Schumacher in the closing stages of the race. Despite driving a consistent race, Honda’s Jenson Button finished fourth. The result puts Alonso 12 points clear at the top of the drivers’ championship.
PCL has reported excellent feedback from Reifen visitors viewing its world-leading portfolio of tyre inflation products. UK-based PCL welcomed representatives of tyre shops, mobile tyre vans, garages, car dealers, fleet and transport managers from Portugal, Spain, Turkey, Thailand, Germany, Poland, Korea and Iceland. Substantial orders were placed for the EC-approved Airforce – PCL’s brand new generation of mechanical handheld air line gauges.
Together with joint venture partner Inci (40 per cent of the shares), in June Hayes Lemmerz inaugurated a new aluminium wheel casting plant in Manisa (in the Izmir region of Turkey). Production is based on the low-pressure process and operates at the same standard as at all the original equipment manufacturer’s other facilities. 400,000 wheels will be manufactured this year, with some 17-inch products being sold to Toyota. In the next year production will increase to approximately 1 million units with further expansion plans in the offing dependent on the order situation.
The International FIA-GT Championship will take the green flag this weekend. The series begins at the historic Silverstone circuit after the first event scheduled in Bucharest was postponed to the autumn. Pirelli Competizioni will be at the British track, aiming for top performance and significant results.
In Sofia, Bulgaria’s Economy and Energy Minister Rumen Ovcharov and the Vice President of French company Montupet, Didier Crozet, are expected to sign the contract for the construction of an aluminium car parts manufacturing plant in the Industrial Park of Russe. The total investment will be 70 million Bulgarian Leva (35 million Euros) and 500 new jobs will be created in a three-year period.
Automechanika Shanghai 2006, which is being held at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre from 30 November to 2 December “will be twice the size of its predecessor in 2004”, say the organisers. 23,000 square metres of space in two halls has been earmarked for the show.
The 2004 event was the show’s debut and the fact that National pavilions from Germany, Singapore and Turkey have already confirmed their participation in this year’s show demonstrates the growing importance of China in the world automotive sector.
Managers at Pirelli’s Carlisle facility have reportedly told unions that they want to keep workers’ annual pay increase below the rate of inflation. Pirelli’s Wolfgang Meier, who replaces previous UK industrial director John Nixon, is said to have argued that workers must accept lower pay rises to keep the site competitive. He also suggested that some manufacturing functions would have to be outsourced. However, Pirelli representatives downplayed The News & Star coverage, saying that Meier’s comments were taken out of context.
Pirelli achieved extremely positive results overall in the Lisbon-Dakar, the first of the year’s rally-raids. The optimum fourth place of the private Tatra entered by the Petrobras team and driven by the talented Brazilian specialist De Azevedo, showed once more the strong qualities of the Pirelli Truck tyres, built in Izmit, Turkey.
As well as scoring an optimum overall placing, the fast Brazilian driver also became the top placed private entrant, confirming his notable ability and the high calibre of his team. The retail standard Pirelli PS22 tyres demonstrated their decidedly robust qualities and were able to deliver exceptional torque, even in the most difficult conditions and situations. The tyres’ achievement of three second and two third places on different Dakar stages also confirms the exceptional speed capability of these tyres by Pirelli Truck.
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