Wheels
The 2007 sporting season has been the year for World Cups, and Cooper Tire is about to embark on its third season with the World Cup of Motorsport, A1GP. Zandvoort, in The Netherlands, will host the opening race event of A1GP’s third season, on September 29/30. Cooper Tire has been the official tyre partner of the championship since its inception in 2005, and was reportedly chosen as the sole tyre supplier for its rich motorsport heritage and expertise.
Volkswagen has approved the Hofmann geodyna 6900p automatic wheel balancer for use in the manufacturer’s authorised service centres. Snap-on Equipment will supply the machine with automatic wheel data entry under the designation VAS 6420. The geodyna 6900p joins another five Hofmann wheels balancers approved by VW.
After years of perfecting the Rent’N Go wheels and tyres hire purchase retail concept, RNG President Bob Catino announced the official launching of the company’s franchising programme in the US. “While I always felt our expansion would be through franchising, it has happened a bit faster than I thought it would. The system is ready and the results from operations indicate the time is right to launch our franchising initiative,” says Catino.
Rent’N Go started coming together for Catino after he met Jim Taylor, a veteran of the wheel and tyres business. They became fast friends working on developing the first Rent’N Go store in Tamarac, Florida. Taylor is the company’s vice president of operations.
Volkswagen Group has approved the John Bean Visualiner 3D Arago wheel aligner for all vehicle marques under the Group’s umbrella. John Bean, a brand within Snap-on Equipment, has reportedly developed a special version of the alignment system to meet VW’s exacting standards. As a result all authorised service centres can now carry alignment work to OEM specification.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has ended an investigation into allegations of a safety defect on the Pontiac GTO, built by Holden. The alleged fault involved the clearance between the front tyres and the suspension components. NHTSA said it could not find a safety defect and was closing its investigation. However, according to a report in the Sydney Morning Herald, the investigator said it appeared there was a problem with the suspension settings on many cars.
Despite the US government closing the issue, General Motors still faces a class-action suit filed in California on behalf of owners of 2004 and 2005 model year GTOs, which the suit contends are prone to tyre failure due to the alleged suspension problem. The company denies any defect.
Alcoa Wheel Products has signed a contract to supply TechArt Automobildesign with forged wheels treated with Alcoa’s Dura-Bright Technology; an industry-leading surface treatment. These forged wheels will be supplied for the TechArt Cayman, Boxster, 911 Carrera and 911 GT Street. All wheels also fit the Porsche series cars too. In addition to keeping wheel shiny, Alcoa reports that Dura-Bright eliminates corrosion resulting from scratches – both common complaints from the consumer.
TechArt, a major tuner of Porsche cars, asked Alcoa Wheels to provide them with the highest technology wheels available today. Additionally, they wanted highly stylized and light weight wheels that would help further improve the very high performance of their cars. Alcoa met all expectations with a series of Dura-Bright forged wheels which will be launched at the 2007 IAA Frankfurt Auto Show.
Continental continues its market leading OE position with a different type of vehicle. The latest success story for the Continental Industrial Tyres team is the skiers’ best friend, Kaessbohrers ski-slope preparation vehicle.
Continental’s CSE tyres will spring into action at the start of the skiing season preparing the slopes removing bumps and ruts at popular ski resorts across Europe. For many years, Continental Industrial Tyres have supplied the tensioning wheels and tyres for this application. The most recent win was negotiated between Kaessbohrer, the ski slope vehicle manufacturer, Continental and their rim supplier Lemmerz. Continental has now boosted its tensioning wheel market share from 60 per cent to 100 per cent.
Alcoa Wheel Products has announced an exclusive supply agreement to provide all wheels for the new highly exotic Lamborghini Murcielago Reventòn. Lamborghini looked to Alcoa Wheels to provide speciality wheels with quick to market processes for this truly exotic vehicle. According to the wheel manufacturer, Lamborghini required Alcoa’s flexibility and manufacturing expertise to develop a unique wheel to compliment the unique appearance and performance of the ultra-exclusive Murcielago Reventòn.
Alcoa will supply directional-specific 18”x8.5” front and 18”x13” rear wheels, each forged from a single block of 6061-T6 aluminum. Each wheel is engraved with “Alcoa Forged”. It is rare to have such engravings in the wheel which highlights Lamborghini’s desire to offer their customers something new. All wheels are finished in Lamborghini Bright Black paint and fitted with carbon fibre “winglets” adding to the design of the wheel and complementing the overall appearance of the vehicle.
OZ has used its unrivalled knowledge of the track to produce another alloy, which it hopes will be a winner. Engineers have spent years combating the physical effects of a wheel turning on an axis. The so-called gyroscopic effect of “unsprung weight” can impact on steering, acceleration, handling and braking. So technicians have honed the Botticelli to improve driving dynamics, finish and durability.
Three-piece modular wheel technology allows for extreme sizes and a high degree of lip depth on the inner and outer rims. The forged flange offers superior mechanics, lightweight and versatility of form otherwise impossible to achieve in wheels sized 19, 20 and 22 inches.
(Akron/Tire Review) Hennessy Industries has introduced the Coats 1250-3DV wheel balancer, which it says will help shops increase profits by streamlining operations and providing self-training capabilities. “Today’s new vehicles have larger wheels and special applications that are difficult to service with older balancers,” said Don Vanderheyden, Hennessy’s group marketing manager. “In addition, the increased use of hidden tape-weight balancing demands newer technology and custom balancing techniques. The 1250-3DV was designed to help address those issues.”
The Board of Directors of Titan International, Inc. has approved a quarterly cash dividend of $.005 (one half cent) per common share for the third quarter of 2007. The cash dividend is payable October 15, 2007, to stockholders of record on September 28, 2007. Titan International, Inc., a holding company, owns subsidiaries that supply wheels, tyres and assemblies for off-highway equipment used in agricultural, earthmoving/construction and consumer (including all terrain vehicles) applications.
The Mazda CX-7, available in the UK from this month, boasts the Bridgestone Dueler H/P Sport tyre as original equipment. The Dueler H/P Sport is Bridgestone’s first SUV tyre derived from Formula One technology and was designed to bring driving agility and comfort to the increasing number of powerful SUVs on the roads today. According to the company, it gives drivers the best of both worlds by offering excellent wet and dry handling, sharp steering precision and an aggressive edge design that gives the tyre a sporty look while ensuring a comfortable ride with low noise levels.
The Mazda CX-7 is heavily orientated towards a sports car in its styling and driving dynamics, but retains the commanding road presence of a sports utility vehicle. There is ample space for five occupants to travel in comfort, with sports utility-style rear-seat functionality and generous boot space – making it ultra-practical.
Ranger Products has given the new R2600HD its US launch. The super-duty truck tyre changer is designed for servicing truck, bus and other commercial and OTR tyres and wheels. The addition of the R2600HD greatly extends Ranger’s market presence from general tyre repair to larger, more specialized commercial truck garages and service outlets.
Features include an electric-hydraulic drive system, multi-directional, self-centring hydraulic clamp chuck, quick positioning mount/demount arm, hydraulic sled and a single piece frame for superior rigidity. Hydraulically operated spreader-type jaws ensure secure clamping of virtually all rims and off-road style wheels.
Hayes Lemmerz reported on September 6 that its sales for the fiscal second quarter ended July 31, 2007 were US$570.3 million, up 19 per cent from $480.8 million in the corresponding quarter of 2006. The sales increase came from strong international steel and aluminium wheel sales, metals cost recovery and favourable currency fluctuations, the company said.
For the fiscal second quarter, the company reported adjusted EBITDA of $48.5 million, up $6.6 million from $41.9 million a year earlier, and a loss from operations of $4.8 million, compared with year earlier earnings from operations of $7.4 million. “We continue our strategy of restructuring our business, executing our operating plan, and extending the lead in our global wheel business,” said Curtis J. Clawson, president, CEO and chairman of the board.
As part of the company’s ongoing restructuring efforts, Hayes Lemmerz reached “important milestones” in the second quarter that it believes significantly improve its long-term outlook, while imposing one-time transaction costs. “We greatly strengthened our balance sheet by raising $193.1 million through an equity rights offering and a direct equity investment, and paying down $130.8 million of long term debt,” said Clawson. The balance sheet restructuring, which included the rights offering, new senior credit facilities totalling approximately $495 million, and 130 million euros of 8.25 per cent senior unsecured notes issued by a European subsidiary, “improved our liquidity by $80 million, will generate interest cost savings of approximately $24 million annually, and extends all significant debt maturities until 2013 or later.”
Tiger Automotive has thrived since its unbundling from Tiger wheels last December, and the company’s latest financial bear testimony to the wheel and tyre distributor’s good health. Tiger Automotive reports that in its first full year as a company listed with South Africa’s JSE stock exchange in its own right, it has achieved a 19 per cent increase in headline earnings, to Rs 1.242 (£0.085) a share. Revenue has risen 17.3 per cent to Rs 1.1 billion (£75.3 million). The company reports that these results counter the typical pattern of lower earnings in the second half. At the half-year stage, headline earnings were 15.2 per cent up at Rs 0.61 (£0.042), and the forecast was for a slight increase in full-year earnings.
“This pleasing rise in earnings was achieved because we were able to rectify – although not completely – problems that impacted on the first half,” said group managing director Keith Rivers.
Pre-tax profit (for the year to 30 June) increased 15.5 per cent to Rs 101.3-million (£6.9 million), while attributable profit was up by almost Rs 10 million to Rs 73.7 million (£5.04 million). In lieu of an annual dividend, the company is making a capital distribution of Rs 0.49 (£0.03) a share.
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