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.
Two men who profited from inside information regarding Apollo Tyres’ plans to acquire Cooper Tire & Rubber in 2013 have been charged by the US Securities and Exchange Commission, and parallel criminal charges have also been filed by the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts. The SEC is now attempting to recover more than US$1.1 million made through the illegal trading of Cooper Tire stock.
As of 1 April, Joaquin Gonzalez Jr. has taken on the role of president at US tyre wholesaler Tire Group International. Prior to his appointment to this new role, Gonzalez served as the company’s chief marketing officer. He joined TGI in 2006 as chief operating officer.
Another innings of Nexen Tire baseball sponsorship is about to begin: The tyre maker has renewed its partnership agreements with four Major League Baseball (MLB) teams in the US. It will thus continue its relationship with the LA Dodgers, Texas Rangers, Detroit Tigers and the LA Angels for the 2015 baseball season.
The latest generation Lexus RX was introduced at the New York International Auto Show this week, and Michelin says it will supply its Premier LTX as an original equipment fitment to North American market versions of the RX that ride on 18-inch (tyre size 235/65 R18) and 20-inch (tyre size 235/55R 20) rims.
Shandong Linglong Tire has appointed John Hagan as chief operating officer of its Americas division. Previously, Hagan was national vice president for Kumho Tires USA, which he joined in 2013. Hagan brings with him 20 years of tyre industry experience. In addition to working for Kumho, he has held positions with Toyo Tires USA and Pirelli North America.
According to a progress update on the the Yokohama tyre factory currently being built in the United States, work on the approximately 1 million square foot (92,900 square metre) commercial vehicle tyre plant in West Point, Mississippi is on schedule and now nearing completion. Many of the key construction, equipment installation and job recruitment milestones have reportedly been reached on schedule, and the Yokohama Tire Manufacturing Mississippi facility is now on target to begin production in October 2015.
The first Formula E race to be held in the USA saw Nico Prost triumph at the end of a duel that had the 20,000-strong crowd spellbound right up to the very end. The streets of Miami were packed, with tickets everywhere sold out, while millions of fans around the world watched on TV, computer or smartphone.
Kumho Tire will finance the construction of its new one million square-foot manufacturing plant in Macon, Georgia, USA through bond issuance. Local news sources report that the Macon-Bibb County Industrial Authority agreed to issue bonds of up to $600 million for the plant in December. Kumho will sell up to $300 million of the total […]
No sooner had Shandong Deruibao Tire Co., Ltd. entered into apparent “restructuring” proceedings on 7 February then we at Tyres & Accessories started hearing about it on the grapevine (see page 40 for full coverage of this story). Of course, companies face difficulties in any business from time to time, but this case has particular resonance with many because it is emblematic of what is going in China. There are two things the market is interested in – what’s behind the pressures Deruibao are facing and what the knock-on effects will be.
The retired president of Boeing International has been elected to the board of directors of The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company. Laurette T. Koellner, 60, spent 11 years with The Boeing Company in a variety of financial and business leadership roles. Post Boeing, she served as executive chairman of International Lease Finance Corporation, a subsidiary of American International Group, Inc. (AIG) until its May 2014 sale to AerCap Holdings.
General Tire is celebrating its centenary this year. The company traces its origins to Akron, Ohio, where William F. O’Neill and his partner Winfred E. Fouse had the idea of producing superior quality tyres and founded the company in 1915. At the time, there were more than 300 companies making tyres in the USA. But unlike their competitors, from the outset the two partners put their faith in high quality, initially focusing on the truck market. Here they pioneered an oversized pneumatic tyre called the General Jumbo. Back in those days, trucks ran on solid rubber tyres and the pneumatic tyre was an innovation that soon caught on. A nationwide team of loyal, competent and independent dealers helped ensure that the brand rapidly proved a success.
Within less than 100 days, Bibendum – better known as the Michelin Man – has travelled through 44 countries and clocked up a staggering 1.3 million miles on his journey. He’s been out and about as part of Michelin North America’s geocaching event, held to celebrate the tyre maker’s 125th anniversary. This quest has now come to an end, and the company says using geocaching as a means to mark 125 years in the business was an “ideal match” for Michelin’s vision of mobility.
Bridgestone Commercial, a division of Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations, has appointed a new president for its commercial tyre division. As president, Commercial OTR, Taylor Cole will be responsible for leading Bridgestone’s North American commercial and strategic direction. The tyre maker says he will be instrumental in “harnessing resources for continued growth of the division, solidifying Bridgestone’s commitment to the mining, construction, aggregates, as well as road and bridge and port business segments.”
Happy 100th, General Tire. This year marks the centenary of the brand’s debut, and although it has witnessed a few changes, and changes in fortune, in the past hundred years, the ‘General’ begins its second century in good shape and today boasts a wide range of car, 4×4, truck and industrial tyres.
In the US, Bridgestone is bidding farewell to one of its top managers and welcoming another on board. After a total of 16 years in the ‘rubber city’ of Akron, Ohio, Bridgestone Americas’ chief technology officer Hideo Hara is returning to Bridgestone Japan to assume the role of Bridgestone fellow. And within the tyre maker’s agricultural business, Tony M. Orlando has been appointed to lead operations.
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.