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.
Pirelli has begun to install a fourth MIRS production line at its US factory in Rome, Georgia. Production will be in full swing by June 2005 and the new line will produce predominantly Scorpion Zero SUV tyres, including the new 26 inch tyre, recently shown at the SEMA exhibition. Rome will become Pirelli’s main source of performance SUV tyres, with all of its 4×4 output being tyres of 22 inches or larger.
Bandag Inc has agreed wide-ranging, six-year contract with US Xpress, the fifth largest publicly owned haulage company in the US, Modern Tire Dealer has reported. The agreement will come into effect at the beginning of January 2005 and will see Bandag manage a “total tyre programme” for 5,500 tractors and 14,500 trailers.
“Our tyre management services will help US Xpress better predict and manage tyre costs, and allow them to focus more time and resources on their core strength of meeting shipping customers´ needs,” says Martin Carver, Bandag´s chairman, CEO and president.
“By consolidating all of our of tire management tasks, we will reduce operating expenses,” commented Max Fuller, co-chairman of US Xpress. “We also believe we will increase our fleet´s uptime, which will ultimately lead to higher levels of customer satisfaction.”
Flying in the face of suggestions that the US is outsourcing all of its positions abroad, Goodyear has announced that its new belt plant has increased its production capacity, while creating more jobs. In the past year the company has created more than 100 job, increasing its workforce by more than 35 per cent. The company says its expansion is a result of “growing demand from stepped up global mining activity.”
The Marysville plant is currently producing one of the largest orders in the plant’s 37-year history to be shipped to Latin America. The Goodyear Flexsteel ST3600 steel-cord conveyor belt is eight miles long and weighs 1,300 tons. When completed, the order will be shipped to one of the world’s largest open-pit mines located in the Atacama Desert of Chile, which produces copper, gold and silver.
According to Dennis Hare, business manager for Goodyear’s conveyor belt products, the overland belt will transport crushed ore four miles to the mine’s processing plant for separation of metals.
BorgWarner Germany, an indirect subsidiary of BorgWarner, Wilmington, USA, has officially published its takeover offer for Beru. As previously announced, the offered purchase price amounts to 67.50 euros per share. The acceptance deadline is 24 January 2005.
According to Deutsche Bank analysts, the most interesting point about the offer it’s the fact that BorgWarner does plan to opt for a “squeeze out” or a domination agreement “for the time being.” However, there is clause stating, if Beru’s AGM agrees to a domination agreement or a squeeze out within one year after publication of the offer and the price is higher than the current takeover price then BorgWarner is bound to pay the difference to those shareholders who have tendered their shares.
The closing of the share purchase agreement and the exercise of the share purchase option agreement remain subject to regulatory approval of the relevant authorities. More details are expected in the next few days.
Deutsche Bank analysts are reporting that US tyre replacement shipments have “picked up” in November, increasing 6 per cent year over year. This was the first positive year over year comparision since June. The analysts also suggest that Cooper Tire may have slightly under-performed in the market. In spite of this the analysts also report that Cooper is currently proceeding above its –10 per cent volume assumption for the quarter.
Cooper Tire has been given the ‘go-ahead’ to sell four of it Cooper-Standard Automotive plants having reached an agreement with the United Steelworkers of America (USWA) union. As a result an appeal to the US 7th Circuit Court of Appeals will be dismissed.
Previously Cooper had been under an injunction granted on 2 November, by the US District Court in Indiana. This followed a complaint filed by the USWA asserting the right to negotiate new labour agreements with a buyer before a sale of the four union facilities.
Cooper has already announced a definitive agreement to sell Cooper-Standard Automotive for $1.165 billion to an entity formed by The Cypress Group and Goldman Sachs Capital Partners.
“I am pleased that the talks with the Steelworkers have produced an expedited and favorable conclusion,” said Thomas A. Dattilo, Cooper’s chairman, president and CEO.
Mr Dattilo added: “We have continued working toward closing our transaction with the Cypress Group and Goldman Sachs Capital Partners throughout the process of negotiating with the union. This agreement certainly brings us closer to concluding the sale of Cooper-Standard Automotive, without any additional cost to Cooper Tire & Rubber Company. We continue to believe that the transaction will close before the end of the year.”
Exact details of the agreement have not been released. Cooper expects its deal with Cypress/Goldman Sach to be completed by the end of the year.
BERU has received a three-year contract for its TPMS systems worth in excess of 80 million euros. The company says it will begin producing for the order “in the middle of 2005” when it will supply pressure monitoring systems for the US market of a European automobile manufacturer’s model. The company has not yet named the manufacturer.
The product will be developed at the BERU Group electronics facility with the first deliveries of the new Tire Safety System (TSS) planned for the middle of 2005, in good time before the relevant US legislation comes into force. BERU reports that the order will contribute between 15 and 20 million to the Group’s total revenues in the 2005/2006 financial year.
The USWA has reported that members in Statesville, North Carolina plant have “overwhelmingly ratified a three-year contract with Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company. The agreement represents the first the first contract at the plant since workers collectively chose the USWA as bargaining representative in February 2004.
According to the USWA, 95 per cent of those eligible to vote were in favour of the new agreement, which provides workers with a network of job security measures. “Provisions that restrict the company’s ability to contract-out work will maximize the utilisation of our skilled and experienced members,” said local union negotiating committee member, Terry Gentle.
“We’re pleased that we have reached an agreement with Goodyear-Statesville that makes our members in Statesville partners in the ongoing turnaround of this company,” added Tom Drescher, local union negotiating committee member.
The USWA represents 130 employees at the Statesville facility. Overall, the USWA represents more than 18,000 members employed at 14 Goodyear tyre and engineered product facilities throughout the US. First contract negotiations continue at facilities in Asheboro, NC and in Utica, NY.
Continental AG has reportedly won the “lion’s share” of a large order to supply Chrysler with its ESP anti-rollover system for (SUVs), according to the German automotive supplier. The deal means Continental will now supply all of the ‘big three’ US carmakers after winning an order from General Motors, said company spokesman Hannes Boekhoff.
The TIA has inducted Mario Marangoni into the TIA Hall of Fame. At the beginning of November, during the SEMA show, the TIA made the award in order to recognise the company president’s “leadership and entrepreneurial ability.” As a company, Marangoni sees the award as an achievement that recognises the success of the Italian tyre industry in addition to its international business.
Ducati’s MotoGP team has announced that it will change tyre suppliers next year. The team is leaving behind its long association with Michelin, “in order to seek advantages by being different.” As a consequence of the change, Ducati riders Loris Capirossi and Carlo Checa will use the same tyres as Suzuki and Kawaski. All the other major factory and satellite teams will use Michelin.
“We have a great respect for Michelin, and a good relationship with them. They always gave us the best tires that were available. But they also supply all the best factory teams, and all the best riders. We decided after a lot of discussion that if we have different tires, then that will give us different opportunities for success. And we also believe that the Bridgestone tyres have already reached a high level,” commented team manager, Livio Suppo.
Contental’s Malaysian joint venture partner, Sime Tyres, reports that it is on track to achieve 10 per cent increase in sales on the back of higher domestic and international demand, according to chief executive officer Mohd Shukri Baharom. Folowing the strong results, the company is expected to increase tyre production to 5.5 million this year, with exports projected to grow by 40 per cent.
In a move designed to further boost sales, the company says it will explore the regional market under the Asean Free Trade Area (Afta). “Afta will allow us to expand further,” Mr Shukri told journalists at a Simex 4×4 International Rainforest Challenge (RFC) 2004 briefing in Petaling Jaya yesterday.
Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company has appointed Joseph Copeland as senior vice president of business development strategy and restructuring. According to the company, the new appointment combines the business development responsibilities previously led by Rick Navarro, as well as the strategic and restructuring initiatives that were part of the previous assignment of chief financial officer Richard Kramer.
Goodyear presented three new high performance Dunlop tyres at the SEMA show in an effort to rejuvenate its North American line up of the fading brand. Independent tyre dealers and consumers that attended the show had the chance to see the Dunlop SP Sport Maxx, the company’s new “flagship ultra-performance tyre” that has already been released into the European market and that performed well in Autocar’s recent tyre tests.
According to Andy Traicoff, director of the Dunlop brand in North America, the tyre has been received enthusiastically from manufacturers seeking “original-equipment tyres for their high-horsepower models.”
Japanese tyre manufacturer, Bridgestone, has reported record figures for the first nine months of 2004, the company says. Bridgestone’s third quarter results show that the company produced a turnover of $15.8 billion, while making operating profits of $1.25 billion. The company says that this translates to a net profit of $724 million.
During the first nine months of 2004 Bridgestone recorded a turnover of $2.1 billion in Europe, while the company’s operating profits totalled $140 million. According to company, its US turnover reached $6.8 billion while its operating profit amounted to $235 million in this region. In the manufacturer’s home market of Japan, the company achieved roughly the same turnover but almost three times as much in terms of operating profit – $726 million.
If you would like the latest news from the Chinese tyre industry in Chinese, visit our partner site TyrepressChina.com. Or click below to continue on Tyrepress.
