USA Archives - Page 236 of 268 - Tyrepress

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.

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Freightliner LLC Selects Goodyear as Standard Supplier

The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company announces that Freightliner LLC, North America’s largest manufacturer of heavy-duty trucks, has named Goodyear as its standard tyre supplier. Officials of Goodyear and Freightliner recently signed the agreement, and Freightliner has begun communicating this decision to its network of truck dealers. “Being awarded new business is a testament to what Goodyear offers, in terms of products, service and a network of commercial outlets. And having a customer like Freightliner choose Goodyear to be its standard tyre supplier really makes us proud,” said Steve McClellan, Goodyear’s vice president of commercial tyre systems. Goodyear is supplying a variety of truck tyres for Freightliner LLC’s various commercial vehicle needs. This includes supply to the company’s commercial vehicle brands Freightliner, Sterling, Western Star, American LaFrance and Thomas Built Buses.

16th December 2003/by Tyrepress Editors

SmarTire Q1 results

SmarTire Systems has announced results for the first fiscal quarter ended October 31, 2003. Gross revenue for the first quarter totalled 427,526 US dollars, an increase of 29,937 US dollars over the same quarter in fiscal 2003. SmarTire recorded a quarterly net
loss of 3.26 million US dollars compared to a net loss of 2.07 million US dollars. “Our first quarter results were affected by an inventory shortage caused in part to transitioning the manufacturing of our products to Hyundai Autonet (HACO),” says Robert Rudman, President and Chief Executive Officer of SmarTire Systems. “HACO is quickly finalizing its production line and is preparing a build of SmarTire TPMS products to fill the backlog of orders booked but not shipped in Q1.”

15th December 2003/by Tyrepress Editors

Andreas Niegsch: “Our brands are our greatest asset”

It has been an eventful – some might say traumatic – year or two for the Goodyear Corporation as it struggled to integrate Dunlop within its organisation across Europe and the USA. One of the countries that has seen a great deal of change is the UK, where a number of different methods of restructuring have been tried, with varying levels of success. Recent changes affected the management at the highest level – Goodyear and Dunlop had their own MD’s, reporting to Marco Molinari, who was in overall control. When Molinari left the company, it was decided to change the management structure and responsibilities. Out went the two separate MD posts and a General Manager was brought in.

That person was Andreas Niegsch, a 39-year-old German who only joined Dunlop in 1998. One year on, the structure is in place and beginning to produce results and Andreas Niegsch found the time to give his first press interview, with T&A. Where Andreas Niegsch’s position differs from that of his predecessors is that he is responsible purely for the sales organisation at Goodyear Dunlop and the UK factories report to Goodyear Dunlop Europe. By not being responsible for manufacturing, Andreas Niegsch is free to concentrate on sales and in getting closer to the market and the customer.

The new structure has separate sales divisions for consumer, commercial, farm, earthmover, motorcycle and motorsports tyres and these are supported by functions such as HR, logistics and finance. Retail is treated as a separate profit centre and a new marketing department has been created to support all the product groups. Given enough time, things will turn around, said Andreas Niegsch, as the company has the funds and has bought itself the time to implement the necessary changes. However, whatever else changes, he believes that Goodyear Dunlop still has those two priceless assets; two brands that are worth their weight in gold.

12th December 2003/by Tyrepress Editors

Pirelli takes up the challenges in the United States

Although the results of the Pirelli group have improved during the first nine months of this year, it is the tyre business that really shines. What was taunted by analysts as the “old economy” two years ago now represents the pearl of the company. That tyres participate in the company’s turnover with “only” around 45 per cent, but with an EBIT of 174 million Euro for the first nine months in the face of expected 194 million EBIT for the company as a whole says it all. As in previous years Pirelli’s General Manager Tyres Francesco Gori travelled to Las Vegas in order to deepen contacts to the market, from which the Italian tyre manufacturer still expects a lot in the future.

On the largest tyre market of the world, the USA, Pirelli was not very lucky during the last 20 years. From all of this nothing is left. There is nothing in common and the two keep out of each others’ way. Nevertheless, Pirelli did not give up the US market. After the MIRS factory started in Rome/Georgia earlier this year, ever more strongly, the Italians will generate a turnover of approximately 250 million Euro this year with American customers and for the second time in a row will end a financial year in Northern America with a profit. This is all the more remarkable as that the initial costs of the MIRS factory are to be borne. This time Pirelli is taking the difficult and time-consuming route into the market via the OE manufacturers. But a glance on Pirelli’s OE business, which shines with high growth rates, is worth while: here Pirelli proceeds rather selectively; anyway, the Italians do not supply bread and butter tyres with weak margins. On the one hand it concerns high-quality ultra high performance and expensive Off-Road tyres, which are manufactured in Rome, and on the other hand the company supplies tyres from the Brazilian factories into the American original equipment to customers such as Ford and Chrysler. Beginning next year, Gori says, a considerable volume will also come from the newly built Brazilian tyre factory in Salvador (Feira de Santana, Bahia). This factory is considered as particularly efficient and economical, so that the OE business in Northern America might be good fun not only under volume criteria, but will be profitable as well. And concerning sales prospects Pirelli shouldn’t have any real worries, because right now there are dozens of dimensions that are homologated with General Motors, these will be followed by orders. Thus the growth in the North American OE market will continue.

However, also on the American replacement market Gori has set himself and his staff ambitious goals. According to Gori the tyre manufacturer succeeded in finding new dealers, that were interested in Pirelli, and these in sufficient numbers. Tyre dealers observe the market very closely and notice quickly, in which direction trends go and with whom they should form a coalition, in line with Gori’s perception. The good position within the OE business, in addition with predominantly high-quality tyres, let Pirelli become ever more a valuable partner for the replacement business. In the last few years Pirelli grew in North America annually by almost 20 per cent and this is what Gori wants to realise for the coming years, too. However, with all optimism Gori refers to the extremely hard competition in North America, where each manufacturer wants to maintain ground. Pirelli could improve drastically all services, delivery speed, etc., and even concerning the prices the tyre manufacturer was able to position the brand better than last year. “But,” acknowledges Gori, “we are still far away from what we want and what we have to reach.”

North America is the big challenge for Pirelli, here the Italians find larger growth prospects even over years, which must be exhausted. The termination of the co-operation with Cooper was in reality, at least it looks that way today, a completely new beginning in Northern America. Concerning the costs of distribution and services over the whole of the continent, Gori calms down: there was no problem, everything is on schedule.

10th December 2003/by Tyrepress Editors

Hayes Lemmerz Reports Q3

Hayes Lemmerz has reported financial results for the three months ended October 31, 2003. The Company said that earnings from operations totalled 13.9 million US dollars for the quarter, with gross profits remaining consistent, as compared to the same period in 2002. This is despite the increased depreciation expenses and lower OEM production requirements. Net sales for the three month period totalled 530.9 million US dollars, compared to 535.4 million US dollars for the comparable period in 2002. The Company reported a net loss of 10.0 million US dollars, compared to net income of 3.7 million US dollars for the comparable three months in 2002.

10th December 2003/by Tyrepress Editors

Yokohama plans tyre plant in Thailand

Yokohama is set to invest 5.5 billion Yen (US$ 50.8 million) to build a new factory in Thailand, producing steel radials for trucks and buses. The new factory – Yokohama’s second for CV tyres outside Japan (the first is in the USA) – will initially produce 300,000 tyres annually, with this figure doubling to 600,000 units by 2007. The tyres will be marketed world-wide.

5th December 2003/by Tyrepress Editors

Goodyear OE on Fleetwood RVs

In the USA, Fleetwood RV and Goodyear have announced that Goodyear tyres will be fitted as OE on Fleetwood’s range of recreational vehicles. Goodyear makes a range of tyres specially for RVs, for 19.5“ and 22.5“ rims. The announcement was made at the 41st RVIA show and a seminar was organised to inform Fleetwood dealers on the range and benefits of Goodyear RV tyres.

5th December 2003/by Tyrepress Editors

TBC Corporation Completes Acquisition of NTB

TBC Corporation, one of the USA’s largest marketers of automotive replacement tyres, has announced that it has completed its acquisition of National Tire & Battery from Sears, Roebuck and Co.

3rd December 2003/by Tyrepress Editors

Goodyear’s Two Piece Wins Top 100 Award

When Goodyear’s Global off-the-road business unit formally launched the Two Piece Assembly this summer it called the new product “revolutionary”. Now it can be called “award winning.” The Two Piece Assembly has won Construction Equipment magazine’s Top 100 award for 2003.

2nd December 2003/by Tyrepress Editors

Volvo trucks picks Goodyear in USA

Goodyear has signed an agreement whereby its tyres will be fitted as standard on all Volvo trucks sold in North America over the next three years. The tyres will be manufactured at Goodyear’s plants at Danville and Topeka and products will include the new generation G395 LHS plus Goodyear’s complete commercial portfolio of application-specific tyres. The tyre manufacturer says it is delighted to be associated with a prestigious brand such as Volvo and expects considerable benefits in sales of replacement tyres.

24th November 2003/by Tyrepress Editors

Goodyear delays publication of third quarter’s figures

Yesterday Goodyear communicated to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that they had not yet completed the restatement of the previously announced results for 1998 through to the second quarter of 2003 and, therefore, would not be in a position to submit the figures for the third quarter of 2003. Goodyear shares fell by 9 cents to 6.64 US dollars.

18th November 2003/by Tyrepress Editors

Iraqi Car Market Booms

Global Insight, Inc has announced its forecast findings on the newly-emerging Iraq light vehicle market. According to the Global Insight study, basic light vehicle demand during 2005-2007 should stabilise at estimated 200,000 units, after an immediate post-war surge to 250,000-300,000 units. Since the end of the Iraqi war, used car exports to Iraq have risen very sharply, trending towards the lowest priced cars available from the neighbouring regions of the UAE, Kuwait and Jordan. Between May and September of this year, it is estimated that 100,000 used cars have been shipped to Iraq, with Kuwait alone reportedly shipping 18,000 used cars to Iraq during this same period. Oil wealth, a free trade environment, external spending and financial support all augur for an Iraq potentially wealthier than some of its neighbours. Global Insight’s macro economic forecast shows GDP rising from 1,000 US dollars per capita in 2003 to close to 3,000 US dollars by 2009. The new car market will be seen to grow as the Iraqi economy makes these gains.

13th November 2003/by Tyrepress Editors

US privacy campaigners attack RFID

RFID chips proposed for use in tyre identification and TPMS are coming under attack in the USA as an invasion of privacy, as campaigners say that the information recorded can be collected and used to monitor the car driver’s activities. As the price of RFID chips drops, tagging individual items will become the norm. According to Katherine Albrecht of the New Hampshire-based privacy rights group Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and Numbering, tagging individual items “only becomes helpful if you want to register individual items to individuals.” She contends that the RFID chips Michelin is already embedding in its tires, to help in product recall cases, someday could be used to track people as they drive past chip readers on highways or in parking lots. In California, a state senate subcommittee in August held the first-ever public hearing on RFID and privacy, and more hearings are planned for later this fall. Legislation is expected to be introduced early next year that could influence policies in other states.

10th November 2003/by Tyrepress Editors

Goodyear expands hydraulic hose business

Goodyear Engineered Products has added high-pressure braided, spiral and thermoplastic hoses to its product range, making the company a full-line provider of hydraulic hoses and providing a single-source supplier to the sector. The US fluid power hose market is worth in excess of $1 billion and growing at an annual rate of over three per cent.

6th November 2003/by Tyrepress Editors

Pirelli is on schedule

For Pirelli the current year is on schedule in the face of good sales and earnings. Higher prices for raw materials won’t burden Pirelli’s results before the new year. Talking to TYRES & ACCESSORIES at the SEMA show in Las Vegas, Dr. Francesco Gori, Managing Director of the Pirelli Tyre Sector, again affirms the good business in the USA. For the second time in a row Pirelli will end a year making a profit on the biggest tyre market in the world. This is even more remarkable, because Pirelli has just opened its MIRS-plant in Rome, Georgia, for which the company has incurred launch costs. During the last years the Italian company was pleased with an annual sales growth of about 20 per cent. This was partly because of the OE business Pirelli undertakes with car makers Ford and Chrysler. But not only that, the tyre maker has gained ground also on the replacement market after the sell-out through mass merchandisers has been stopped. In Latin America Gori expects Pirelli to be clearly number one ahead of Goodyear, whose Mexican activities structurally belong to the North American business (Nafta). The prospects are rather good that Pirelli will generate sales of more than 3 billion euro during this year solely with tyres; during last year this economic indicator stood at 2.857 billion euro. Exact figures concerning third quarter performance will be published on November 11.

6th November 2003/by Tyrepress Editors