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Accuride Corporation has appointed Dr Omar Fakhoury as vice president / general manager of Gunite Corporation. Gunite, a subsidiary of Accuride Corporation, supplied wheel-end systems and components for the heavy and medium-duty truck market.
(Akron/Tire Review) The United Steelworkers (USW) has made an initial contribution of $100,000 for relief to the victims of Hurricane Katrina. The USW said that thousands of members live and work in the Gulf Coast areas most affected by the hurricane, and many are in immediate need of temporary shelter, food, and medical supplies, as well as longer-term help in repairing damage to their homes.
The union contributed $50,000 directly from USW International, which was matched with an additional $50,000 from the Steelworkers Humanity Fund in Canada. The USW also urged members and the union’s locals to add their contributions to the USW’s initial $100,000 seed money for the relief effort.
(Akron/Tire Review) Amtel-Vredestein plans to double its authorised capital up to 5.45 billion rubles via an additional stock issue. Shareholders approved the offering last month in Moscow, in an move expected by many industry watchers. It had been rumoured that Amtel-Vredestein would hold an initial public offering for the new company, a subsidiary of Amtel Holdings Holland BV. The new issue will comprise three million ordinary shares at par value of 1,000 rubles.
Pirelli has announced that it will provide original equipment for the new Audi RS4 range. The Italian tyre manufacturer made the announcement at the Pirelli proving ground in Vizzola Ticino – exclusively fitting the vehicle with the company’s ultra high performance P Zero Rosso and P Zero Corsa Asimmetrico tyres.
While much has been made about the enormous potential of the emerging Chinese tyre market, the opportunities go further than this alone. For every tyre that is produced and used in the People’s Republic there is a potential money-making opportunity for the retreading and collection aspects of the tyre business.
It is not overstating the situation to say there is huge potential for retreading in China. Currently around 265 million tyres are produced in China each year, across all segments. At the same time the domestic market’s 3 million vehicles currently demand 130 million tyres annually, according to a Hong Kong Trade Development Council report.
Tyre supplier Michelin is set to shed at least two F1 teams next year, online news sources have reported. Michelin currently dominates the Formula 1 grid, supplying tyres to 70 per cent of entrants. Michelin CEO Edouard Michelin is expected to announce which teams will swap suppliers to Bridgestone at Spa this weekend. Further speculation has suggested that Michelin may pull out of F1 completely at the end of 2006. Teams tipped to move to Bridgestone include Red Bull and Williams. Toyota is also reported to be under pressure to team up with the fellow Japanese company.
Ex-Grand Prix star and BBC MotoGP commentator, Steve Parrish, visited Bridgestone UK’s Warwick HQ last week to draw the winner of the second phase of the manufacturer’s 2005 dealer and customer promotional campaign: ‘Grip the Road – Escape to Freedom’
Stapletons (Tyres Services) Ltd has confirmed that chief operating officer Alan Denton has resigned from the company. According to a company spokesperson, Mr Denton left the company in order to “pursue other interests.” The news comes one year after he was named COO.
“Alan has provided strong leadership and has made significant contributions to the whole business and we wish him all the best for the future,” commented Kenji Murai, Stapletons’ chief executive officer. When Alan Denton became COO last September, he replaced then managing director, Mike England. For the immediate future, Mr Denton’s responsibilities will be transfered to Kenji Murai.
A Dutch tabloid’s list of the top 500 richest people in the Netherlands has sparked rumours that Continental AG has bought InterSprint. The Dutch rich-list rated InterSprint’s owner, Job Van Vliet, as the 205th wealthiest person in the Netherlands.
In addition, the report quoted the normally understated Mr Van Vliet as saying that he only owned 5 per cent of the company and that the remaining 95 per cent stake was held by Continental through Conti-Gummi Finance. One explanation for the story is that, due to his reserved nature, Mr Van Vliet tried to distance himself from the reports suggestion that he was one of the richest men in the Netherlands.
However in Hanover, Continental AG denied that there was any truth in the report. In a firm rebuttal, Continental passenger and light truck marketing director, Lars Fahrenbach, told Tyres & Accessories that the company is aware of the report but Continental does not own any of InterSprint either directly or indirectly, nor does it ever plan to do so.
Director of BRMA, John Dorken, successfully completed the trek he undertook in the High Andes to raise funds for the Medical Aid and Relief Charity for the Children of Chechnya. He raised £6000 and received some generous contributions from a number of companies including Michelin, Continental, Bridgestone and Pirelli.
Dunlop has appointed Bartle Bogle Hegarty London as its above-the-line agency for its Europe, Middle East and Africa business. BBH will work closely with Dunlop’s other agencies Claydon Heeley Jones and Mason, AgencyRepublic and Universal McCann in London.
The manufacturers five-year relationship with former marketing agency, 180 Amsterdam, ended in June.
Health and safety regulations apply to all businesses. But there are some matters that need to be given special consideration by employers. The government has earmarked ‘Lifting and Handling’ in the workplace as one of these key areas. In As far as tyres are concerned this has particular significance with regards to tyre bays, where fitters manually handle heavy tyres and wheels during the tyre changing process.
According to the HSE (Health and Safety Executive) more than a third of all ‘over-three-day’ injuries reported each year are caused by manual handling – ‘the transporting or supporting of loads by hand or by bodily force’.
Dunlop is introducing a series of ‘Great and British’ Dunlop Motorsport Festivals for the 2006 season.
A major marketing programme, to broaden the appeal of motorsport in the UK and to introduce new spectators to the sport, will also support the weekend events.
The complete list of championships is due be announced shortly, however the John Cooper Mini Challenge, Radical Enduro and Radical BiDuro Championships, and Avo Ginetta Championship have already signalled their commitment to the package, which is backed by the British Automobile Racing Club (BARC).
International Automotive Distributors Limited (IAD) has acquired the ADS business unit of Unipart Automotive.
Trading as Maccess, the company currently has 14 locations across the UK and will gain a further five sites from ADS. This coordination of resources has been done to improve product availability and offer, as well as delivery service levels to customers of both businesses.
The British Rubber Manufacturers' Association has issued a statement, designed to answer some of the queries from both motorists and tyre depots, concerning self supporting run flat tyres (SSTs).
The BRMA notes that these are being increasingly fitted to new vehicles and are fast becoming an established feature of the tyre industry landscape.
The fact that many questions exist about their reparability, retreadability and whether they can be used with "conventional" tyres became apparent at the NTDA seminar, held alongside the Brityrex International exhibition in May.
In order to help answer these questions, the BRMA statement addresses the points that arise most frequently. It is reproduced here and can also be accessed on the BRMA website, www.brma.co.uk
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