Tyrepress.com http://www.tyrepress.com/ en-gb Tyres and Accesories http://www.tyrepress.com/files.php?file= http://www.tyrepress.com/ http://www.tyrepress.com/News/business_area/25/18973.html Corporate News 2010-03-10 15:45:00 Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co’s chairman and outgoing chief executive of Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. received a pay package worth as much as US$17.196 million in 2009. While Keegan’s “non-equity incentive plan compensation” virtually doubled from $4.6 million to $9.514 million during the period, total pay was only 5.39 per cent up on the $16.317 million he received last year. In 2008 Keegan’s package was worth $23.6 million, according to company’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing. http://www.tyrepress.com/News/51/north_america/18972.html North America 2010-03-10 15:57:00 Kumho Tire USA has launched its new eco Solus HM tyre; its first eco-friendly tyre for the US market. Kumho says the all-season tyre is “less impactful on the environment while delivering exceptional performance.” The Korean manufacturer also offers a 100,000-miles tread wear warranty with the tyre: “one of the highest treadwear warranties available from any tyre manufacturer,” Kumho claims. The tyre is available in 23 T-rated sizes covering 13- to 17-inch diameters. (Tire Review) http://www.tyrepress.com/News/LEGISLATION/66/18971.html Import Tariffs 2010-03-10 15:45:00 In the USA, the TIA says it is still working to either reduce or eliminate the added tariff placed on China-made consumer tyres by the Obama Administration last September, reports Tire Review. The three-year tariff adds 35 per cent to the price of consumer tyres exported to the US from China, dropping to 30 per cent in its second year and 25 per cent in the third. http://www.tyrepress.com/News/LEGISLATION/66/18970.html Import Tariffs 2010-03-10 15:43:00 US exporters have been hit with an additional tariff by Brazil, a WTO-backed retaliation for what it calls “illegal” subsidies to US cotton farmers, reports Tire Review. Brazil’s new tariff structure, set to engage in 30 days barring a last minute agreement between the two countries, hits a wide range of products, including cars (from 35 to 50 per cent), cotton and cotton products (a full 100 per cent increase) and – most importantly around these parts – tyres (jumping from 16 to 32 per cent). In all, some 100 goods are now subject to higher import rates by Brazil, and could total $830 million annually. http://www.tyrepress.com/News/tyrepress_magazine/18969.html MAGAZINE 2010-03-10 15:13:00 Magazine and online subcribers can now view the March 2010 issue of Tyres & Accessories/Neue Reifenzeitung's Retreading Special supplement. The latest edition of the increasingly popular retreading publication features exclusive articles on Maragoni's rise to prominence as a retreading global player; Michelin on converting customers to a four-life strategy; Vipal's ecological sensitivities; what the future holds for truck tyre retreading; Goodway's Chinese plant expantion; Malatesta's belief in retreads and Obo Banden's establishment in a new market niche. Click more to read the complete 32-page product. http://www.tyrepress.com/News/PERSONNEL/18968.html PERSONNEL 2010-03-10 15:09:00 Hankook has announced the promotion of Dr Claus Oberbeck to head of development at the company’s European Technical Centre. Oberbeck has a strong history of technical research and development in ultra-high performance tyres having worked most recently as the head of an international project team developing new concepts and putting those concepts into practice in series production. His appointment provides further evidence of the company’s continued strengthening of its UHP tyre position, with an engineering team now numbering over 40 members. http://www.tyrepress.com/News/1/5/18967.html Exhausts, Batteries and Brakes 2010-03-10 14:42:00 The share of electrified powertrains is expected to increase significantly in all major automotive markets as a result of marked decreases in the cost of batteries over the next decade. Yet the desire to capitalise on this growing market may lead to problems in the years ahead: According to Roland Berger Strategy Consultants, planned investments in battery production will result in significant overcapacity occurring between 2014 and 2017, especially in the US and in Japan. As a consequence, experts at the strategy consultancy believe only six to eight global battery manufacturers will survive the next five to seven years. This is the conclusion the company drew from its “Powertrain 2020 – Li-ion batteries – The next bubble ahead?" market survey. http://www.tyrepress.com/News/business_area/70/18966.html Raw Materials 2010-03-10 11:57:00 Some 18 million truck and bus tyres are said to be retreaded in North America each year and a further nine million in South America, and to meet growing demand for the raw materials used in retreading both within the region and worldwide, Lanxess’s Performance Butadiene Rubbers (PBR) business unit is “considering the possibility” of manufacturing ESBR-BMB (emulsion styrene-butadiene rubber black masterbatch) in Brazil in the future. Options for doing so at its Triunfo or Caxias production sites are currently being examined. http://www.tyrepress.com/News/business_area/Manufacturing/18965.html Manufacturing 2010-03-10 10:20:00 Aufine Group has announced plans to execute a 5 per cent price increased “for all the shipments from 1 April 2010” because of the increasing cost of production materials, especially rubber. Writing in a customer newsletter, company representatives explained that price has been “soaring highly within the past several months…Most of the Chinese manufacturers are under such great pressure and have increased their prices. We are really so sorry for it and your kind understanding on it will be highly appreciated.” http://www.tyrepress.com/News/business_area/18964.html BUSINESS NEWS 2010-03-10 10:02:00 Speaking to the German language automotive publication Automobilwoche, the head of Continental AG’s Passenger Car Tyre division, Nikolai Setzer, indicated that price rises are impending. Although exact price adjustments will vary from market to market, he said “the increases are expected to be in the vicinity of three to five per cent.”