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500 Jobs Set To Go At Wolverhampton

In common with other manufacturers in the UK, Goodyear has been suffering cost and productivity problems at its plant, which is not competitive in global markets. In October last year, Goodyear Wolverhampton took the step of issuing an HR1 notice to the Department of Trade & Industry, which in effect gave the workforce a number of possible solutions to the problem and a 90-day deadline to arrive at an answer. Since the issuing of the notice, discussions have been on-going between management and unions to try to thrash out a mutually-acceptable solution. Eventually, such a solution was agreed, which involved workers moving from a four-shift to a five-shift system, and which was recommended to the workforce by the unions. However, this recommendation was ignored and, in a ballot of the Wolverhampton workforce, the proposal was rejected. The reaction of Goodyear’s management to this was immediately to announce that it had “no other option other than to instigate actions that will make some 500 associates redundant from the Wolverhampton plant. Later it was announced that “only” 240 jobs are to be lost at Goodyear’s Wolverhampton factory. This is on top of 215 redundancies earlier in January, but the total figure of 455 is less than was originally expected after cost-cutting proposals from management were rejected by the workforce, despite being recommended by the unions. A Goodyear spokesman is reported as saying that the job losses could save the plant from closure.

30th November 2001/by Tyrepress Editors

Tyrexpo Europe Review

This year’s Tyrexpo show was held only a matter of weeks before a rival exhibition, being run alongside an already-successful aftermarket exhibition. It would be naïve to believe that the existence of two shows so close together has had anything but an adverse effect on both events, and the fear was that the tyre industry would be the loser if we had two bad shows. The total number of visitors to Tyrexpo Europe was a disappointment, but many of the exhibitors expressed themselves satisfied with the quality of visitors. Opinions were polarised – some were happy, others not, some said that the UK needs a dedicated tyre show, others were not so sure. One thing on which all were agreed is that we cannot afford the same two-exhibition situation in two years’ time. Our review covers exhibitor’s reactions – warts and all.

30th November 2001/by Tyrepress Editors

AutoExpress Award For Conti Tyre

The ContiPremiumContact has been named as best tyre in the Product Honours Awards from UK motoring magazine AutoExpress. Judging criteria included wet and dry handling, aquaplaning, braking and fuel economy.

30th November 2001/by Tyrepress Editors

New Power Plant To Be Installed At Michelin UK Plant

London-PowerGen CHP Ltd is to construct a new £40million combined heat and power (CHP) plant at Michelin’s UK manufacturing site in Stoke-on-Trent. The building of the site is viewed by Michelin as a vote of confidence in the plant, which is at present shredding 473 jobs from its 2700 workforce. It is anticipated that the CHP plant will be operational by the end of 2001 and will meet Michelin’s energy requirement for at least 15 years, under a long term energy supply agreement.

7th December 2000/by Tyrepress Editors

Cooper 4×4 Tyre To Be Made In UK

The Cooper Discoverer Sport HP – a 4×4 tyre designed specifically for roads in Europe – is to be manufactured at Cooper-Avon’s factory at Melksham in the UK.

7th December 2000/by Tyrepress Editors

Expert “Was Aware Of Firestone Problems In 1999”

A tyre expert hired by Bridgestone/Firestone has identified cracks in the belt skim – the rubber compound used to bond steel belts – as the cause of problems with some Firestone tyres. However, another tyre consultant, Rex Grogan, said that he told the company back in April 1999 that he had found the same problem. He blamed the use of inexperienced personnel working at the Decatur plant during a labour dispute.

7th December 2000/by Tyrepress Editors

Vredestein To Produce Bicycle Tyres In Malaysia

Vredestein BV has announced an imminent joint venture with Fung Keong Rubber Manufactory in Malaysia, for the production of bicycle tyres. Production will take place at a new local site. Ian Wilson, Managing Director, Vredestein UK informed TYRES & ACCESSORIES “The new venture with Fung Keong represents a step forward in the right direction and highlights our policy of continually exploiting lucrative market opportunities.”

7th December 2000/by Tyrepress Editors

Honda Cuts UK Components

Honda is to reduce the numbers of components sourced in the UK. The ultimate aim is to have a 50/50 split between UK and mainland European-produced components (the current ratio is 75/25). Suppliers have also been asked to be “more competitive”. Currency fluctuations and the weak Euro were blamed for the move.

7th December 2000/by Tyrepress Editors

Dunlop Ceases Truck Tyre Manufacture At Birmingham

Dunlop Tyres UK announced today that it will cease truck tyre manufacturing at its Birmingham factory. 650 jobs from a total workforce of 1,700 will be affected. Car, light truck, motor sport and racing tyres will still be made at the plant. Dunlop says the move is part of a Europe-wide rationalisation process as a result of excess capacity in the European tyre industry and the current market situation.

7th December 2000/by Tyrepress Editors

Joint Venture Between Michelin And Blue Circle

In the UK, Michelin and cement manufacturer Blue Circle Industries have set up a joint venture company to prepare scrap tyres for burning in BCI’s cement kilns. Called Sapphire Energy Recovery, the company will prepare up to 200,000 tonnes of car and truck tyres a year for burning. BCI aims to make eventual energy savings of £6 million by replacing part of its coal and coke requirements with shredded tyres.

7th December 2000/by Tyrepress Editors

New Managing Director For Goodyear UK

It has been announced that Mr S McDonald has been appointed Managing Director of Goodyear UK, with additional responsibilities for the Goodyear/Dunlop integration in the UK. This appointment is part of an extensive series of strategic management changes within the company’s European Union organisation, all of which, will take immediate effect.

7th December 2000/by Tyrepress Editors

Scrap Tyre Disposal

The subject of scrap tyres is one which continues to exercise the minds of all sectors of the tyre industry and, with a ban on landfilling of tyres imminent, alternative methods of disposal are being urgently sought. The UK Government has produced a number of reports on the subject and these are looked into as part of our feature on scrap tyre disposal. Also included are details of possible disposal methods and machinery as well as latest news on the subject, for example the temporary closure and planned refurbishment of the SITA tyres-to-energy power station in the Midlands. Those disposing of tyres are under increasing pressure; not only to find new outlets to take scrap, but also from steep rises in overheads such as fuel. The problem of scrap tyres affects the industry from top to bottom and most observers expect the Government to introduce some method of producer responsibility if the industry does not come up with its own solution in the near future.

7th December 2000/by Tyrepress Editors

Finelist In Bid Rumours

There are rumours that an unnamed rival from continental Europe is to make a takeover bid for Finelist, the UK-based distributor of car components. Finelist has 40,000 trade customers and, during the last financial year, made pre-tax profits of £26.3 m (Euro 43.6 m) on a turnover of £483 m (Euro 801 m).

7th December 2000/by Tyrepress Editors

Survey By Michelin Shows Contradictions

In the UK, Michelin has carried out a survey of attitudes to tyre pressures. 83 per cent agreed that correct tyre inflation is important to safety and 88 per cent related correct pressure to fuel economy. However, 50 per cent check their pressures monthly, 30 per cent rely on services for pressure checks and 5 per cent “never check” tyre pressures.

7th December 2000/by Tyrepress Editors

A New Force In UK Tyre Distribution

Two Continental-owned UK wholesalers, Viking Express and Birkenshaw International, have merged to form Viking International. The new company is one of the UK’s largest wholesalers and will operate from twelve warehouses across the country. In charge is Alan Revie, who was MD of Birkenshaw, and he will be assisted by Grahame Rooke, who held a similar role with Viking. There will be no redundancies among the 260-strong workforce. The decision to merge was taken by Continental in Germany and was implemented very quickly, although the two companies have experience of working together, for example as suppliers to the tyre expert programme. Alan Revie is keen to point out that the merger is not the result of panic, nor is it a defensive measure, as both companies were successful in their own right. Instead it is a conscious attempt to create a single force to give a better service to customers. The merger is effective immediately, although it will obviously take time to sort out new livery and new signage. More details are available in the April issue of TYRES & ACCESSORIES.

7th December 2000/by Tyrepress Editors