Yokohama Rubber Company Ltd is in the process of patenting a method of producing radial tyres for construction vehicles. The new tyre production method reportedly facilitates “a vast reduction in facility costs.”
(Akron/Tire Review) Both Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. and Yokohama Tire Corp. have hired new PR firms.
After a lengthy search, Goodyear’s North American Tire unit settled on Coyne Public Relations of Parsippany, New Jersey, as its new US agency. “We were very pleased with the work of all three ‘finalist’ agencies,” said Ed Markey, vice president of PR and communications for Goodyear North American Tire. “Coyne impressed us with a combination of solid strategic thinking, creative tactical ideas and great collaborative chemistry. We believe Coyne’s capabilities and approach to public relations are the best fit for Goodyear.”
The Tyre Industry Federation (TIF) has strengthened its position as the leading authority for the tyre industry by voting to accept the Industrial Tyre Association, National Tyre Distributors Association, Retread Manufacturers Association and Tyre Recovery Association. The federation now includes all the significant associations within the tyre industry and is representative of the whole tyre supply and disposal chain in the UK.
Yokohama has announced that it has entered into two new joint venture operations in China. Shandong Yokohama Rubber Industrial Products Co, Ltd, will produce and sell conveyor belts, and Yokohama Tire Sales (Shanghai) Co, Ltd, will sell tyres, both are set to be established in early 2006.
Yokohama Tire Corp has resolved the last phase of its patent and trade dress infringement suit relating to Wanli S-1099 tyres sold in the US. It is not clear whether or not the case will have any bearing on the European tyre business and Belgian wholesaler Deldo, the exclusive European distributor of Wanli tyres, still lists the S-1099 in its catalogue. Speaking on behalf of the company, Phillip Delcroix told Tyres & Accessories he was “not aware of any problem.”
Continental Automotive Systems is opening its new headquarters in Shanghai China today, and has announced plans to build a new technology centre in Yokohama, Japan creating 250 new engineer positions.
By the year 2010, the Automotive supplier intends to generate at least 50 per cent of its new sales through agreements with non-European automobile manufacturers. It wants to double sales in Asia and is therefore intensifying its presence to strengthen its
position in this growth market.
The Yokohama Rubber Co Ltd posted a 10.7 per cent increase in operating income, to 4.8 billion yen, in the interim fiscal period ended 30 September. The increase is attributed to a 6.1 per cent increase in net sales, to 201.3 billion yen. Furthermore the company reports that growth in unit sales of tyres and progress in reducing costs more than offset increases in raw-material costs. Leading the sales growth were gains in Yokohama’s tyre operations in North America and in Europe. The company also registered growth in sales of tires in Japan. A decline in income taxes was the chief reason for a 12.6 billion yen increase in net income, to 13.4 billion yen.
The Yokohama Rubber Co, Ltd, has announced that it will establish Yokohama Rubber (China) Co, Ltd, in Shanghai, China, to exercise overall control of business operations at each of its companies in China. Yokohama Rubber (China) will be capitalised at $30 million.
Yokohama Rubber has engaged in businesses in China through three production and sales companies: Hangzhou Yokohama Tire Co, Ltd (established in December 2001), producing and selling tyres for passenger cars; Yokohama Hamatite (Hangzhou) Co, Ltd (established in February 2004), producing and selling sealant for passenger cars; and Yokohama Hoses & Coupling (Hangzhou) Co, Ltd (established in December 2004), assembling and selling high-pressure hoses. As part of its further business expansion in China, Yokohama Rubber says it intends to establish a joint venture company to produce and sell conveyor belts in January 2006, and another joint venture company to sell tyres in April 2006.
(Akron/Tire Review) Continuing its emphasis on its sub-brand products, Yokohama Tire Corp. launched two new tyres during last week’s SEMA Show – the Advan S.4 all-season UHP, and the Parada Spec-X for the custom/tuner market segment.
Goodyear’s ultra-high performance Eagle F1 GS-D3 has been awarded first place in a test of 11 top competitors conducted by the editors of Car & Driver. The F1 was praised for its strong wet performance and for have dry handling characteristics comparable with the best dry performers. Continental’s ContiSportContact 2 took second place earning compliments for its “very good” performance in the wet. Yokohama’s Advan Neova AD07 took third place and was praised for its grip: “If you’re looking to cut the quickest lap times while using a street tyre, this is the one to have,” the magazine reported.
(Akron/Tire Review) Yokohama Rubber Co. has released its Intelligent Tire Pressure Monitoring System (Intelligent TPMS), which not only measures tyre inflation pressure, but also identifies road conditions and tyre motion across the road surface.
Yokohama said that combined with “sideslip (stability control systems) prevention systems being installed on more and more vehicles, Intelligent TPMS can detect vehicle sideslips 0.2 seconds faster than existing systems – a difference of 11 meters of travel at a running speed of 100 kilometers per hour.”
The Yokohama Rubber Co, Ltd has announced a 2.3 per cent increase over its initial forecast for the first half of 2006 (1 April 2005 to 30 September 2005). This means the company expects to record 200 billion yen in net sales, 3.5 billion yen increase in ordinary profit (a 133.3 per cent increase) and 13 billion yen in net income (up 8.3 per cent). According to Yokohama, these upward revisions reflect an increase in the volume of sales in the company’s overseas tyre business, profit improvements in North America, and the weaker-than-expected foreign exchange rate of yen.
The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd. has announced that its Advan Sport (V103S) tyre has been approved as original equipment tyres for the new 911 Carrera 4 by Porsche AG. The V103s is the latest addition to Yokohama’s ADVAN Sport flagship series. Yokohama will supply the tyres in 235/40ZR18 (91Y) for the front and 295/35ZR18 (99Y) for the rear. The new 911 Carrera 4 will be the eighth Porsche model since 1989 to run with factory-fitted Yokohama high-performance tyres.
Yokohama Rubber’s IAA exhibit was designed to continue the manufacturer’s strategy of pushing its premium Advan range. Under the banner of “Further Evolving Advan – A Global Flagship Brand” Yokohama showed visitors its commitment to becoming a world leader in tyre brand development through three aspects – its flagship product line-up, OE activities and motorsports activities.
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Bridgestone Corporation has announced that it has succeeded with the practical application of Bridgestone Support Ring run-flat system. The support ring will be delivered to Toyota Motor Corporation for use in its new RAV4 for the European market. This system has been in development since 2002 based on technical collaboration with Germany’s Continental AG and The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd.
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