Dirk Reurslag Appointed VMI Vice President Sales & Projects
Dirk Reurslag was appointed as the new vice president sales and projects of VMI effective 16 August 2010. He succeeds Harm Voortman, who has recently been appointed as CEO of the VMI Group.
Across the Atlantic they are called tires, while over here we use a “Y” and say tyres. This tag provides the latest tyre business news emanating from the United States of America (USA), whichever way you spell it.
Dirk Reurslag was appointed as the new vice president sales and projects of VMI effective 16 August 2010. He succeeds Harm Voortman, who has recently been appointed as CEO of the VMI Group.
Goodyear has revealed that it will raise its US consumer tyre prices by up to 6 per cent on 1 October due to the persistent rise in raw materials costs. The increase will, according to US sources, affect all of the company’s brands, including Goodyear, Dunlop and Kelly.
Yokohama Tire Corp. has launched SmartSolution, a new communication and promotion push targeting commercial tyre dealers, fleet owners and truck operators in the USA, reports Tire Review. “Now more than ever, fleet owners and truck operators are faced with the pressure of effectively managing tyres as assets in their business,” said John Cooney, Yokohama director of commercial sales.
Orange may well be the new green, at least when it comes to reducing dependency on petroleum resources. This is the message Yokohama Tire Corporation’s director of technical services Dan Guiney is bringing with him to the Tire Industry Association Environmental Symposium, scheduled to be held between September 30 and October 2 in the US state of Maryland. Guiney will discuss the technology involved in Yokohama’s utilisation of orange oil to create a passenger car tyre that is 80 per cent petroleum free.
“Yokohama is a leader in showing how to break free from conventional thinking in order to develop products that are environmentally friendly and cost-efficient. TIA is proud to be able to provide our Environmental Symposium attendees with such a world-class opportunity,” said TIA executive vice president Roy Littlefield.
Sibur-Russian Tyres has been awarded a US$8 million contract to supply Cuba’s Ministry of Agriculture with tyres. Under the arrangement the Russian tyre maker will ship 40,000 truck and agricultural tyres to the Caribbean nation. Sibur-Russian Tyres states the decision to participate in the tender process for this contract lines up with its strategy of entering the Central and Latin American markets. The company has already entered into contracts to supply products to Brazil, Venezuela and Ecuador.
Jojo the boxer has unfortunately failed to bring a tyre connection into the winner’s circle at this year’s Hambone awards. The three year old dog from Jacksonville, Florida was nominated for the distinction after catching the large UPS delivery truck he was chasing by biting into its tyre.
Accuride Corporation has negotiated a new collective bargaining agreement with the unions representing 215 workers at the company’s aluminium wheel manufacturing facility in the US state of Pennsylvania. The existing agreement representatives with the International Union, United Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America was set to expire at midnight September 3, 2010. The new agreement for the Erie plant is effective September 4, 2010, through September 3, 2014.
Goodyear Tire & Rubber has announced it has priced its offering of an additional US$100 million aggregate principal amount of its 8.25 per cent senior notes due August 15, 2020. The notes will be senior unsecured obligations of the company. The notes will be sold at 100.75 per cent of the principal amount. Goodyear expects the offering to close on August 25, 2010, subject to customary closing conditions.
Retreading tool and rasp manufacturer B&J Rocket Sales AG has reported that its sales are back on the up after the recession. Speaking to Tyres & Accessories, managing director Andreas Mueller explained that during the first 7 months of 2010 sales showed “a strong upward movement” compared to the previous year. This probably isn’t too surprising considering the fact that like other players in the sector sales plummeted due to the economic recession. But in B&J Rocket’s case the effects of the recession were amplified by the fact that 2008, says Mueller, was the exact opposite of 2009 – it was a record year.
Rubber prices have reached their highest level in more than three months, in part due to concern that rainfall in key producing countries will reduce supply of the commodity. Heavy rain is expected across Thailand, the world’s number one producer, and a La Nina weather event may persist in Southeast Asia until at least the end of this year.
Borrachas Vipal has implemented a number of changes in its management structure, which the company says are designed to “leverage growth for the company and its shareholders.” Daniel Paludo has been appointed director-general and is responsible for Borrachas Vipal – Retread Division. At the same time João Carlos Paludo was sworn in as vice-chairman of Group Vipal.
Goodyear Tire & Rubber has been awarded a five-year contract to supply tyres and related services to the second largest transit bus fleet in the US. The deal with the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority – Metro, for short – places responsibility for some 2,550 buses that cover a total of more than 100 million miles each year in Goodyear’s hands.
North Carolina’s Stanly County and two towns located within the area are offering Michelin US$900,000 in incentives for the promise of adding 70 jobs to the company’s Norwood aircraft tyre facility. The Norwood operation currently employs 320 people and Michelin intends to spend $11.3 million to add a retreading capability to the plant during the second half of 2010.
Cooper Tire & Rubber’s Findlay, Ohio plant has been awarded IS0 14001 environmental management system (EMS) certification. In doing so, it has become the company’s third US tyre manufacturing facility to gain this certification; Cooper’s Texarkana, Arkansas plant was certified in May 2009 and Tupelo, Mississippi a year earlier.
In a press release, Carlisle Tire & Wheel has confirmed production will end at its namesake Carlisle facility before the end of 2010. News of the site’s impending closure was first announced in July 2009 and relocation of production to a plant in Jackson, Tennessee began last April. Following the factory’s closure Carlisle’s 24,000 square metre distribution facility will remain operating in the town.
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