Cooper Tires with changes in Top-Management
Pat Rooney, CEO and Chairman of Cooper Tires Ohio/USA, is to retire on June 3rd 2000. Tom Dattilo, currently President and COO, will succeed him.
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New Record in Winter Tyres Sales
Never before so many winter tyres were sold in Germany. The dealers association BRV estimated 17 million units (= +15.3%) for 1999. Also the aftermarket in summer tyres was in plus (+0.9%) with 23 million in total.
A Job With Future, But Vacant
The image of jobs in tyre repairing and fitting is not the best in Germany. In spite of being a “job with future” and a high level of unemployment (more than 10 per cent) not enough young peoble wants to occupy the vacancies.
Change of rights for Tyrexpo Asia
E.C.I. have confirmed the acquisition of the rights to the Tyrexpo Asia exhibition from Tarsus Exhibitions.
RMA Takes Over BIPAVER Retreading Administration
At a recent BIPAVER meeting, it was agreed that the UK’s Retread Manufacturers Association should take over the administration of the retreading section of BIPAVER. Said an RMA spokesman: “We recognised a need for consistent representation, particularly in what is proving to be a very difficult time for the retreading industry. To form two separate divisions under the BIPAVER umbrella seemed to be both logical and sensible.”
EDI Connects Tyre Retailers And Industry
At the beginning of February, German tyre dealers and the tyre industry signed an agreement that will introduce EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) as the uniformed system of electronic communication between the two business partners throughout the country.
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Record BRV Membership
Membership of the German tyre retailers’ association BRV (Bundesverband Reifenhandel und Vulkaniseur Handwerk) reached record levels in January, when 82 new tyre retailers joined. The association now has 1,115 members with 1,443 outlets, which represents around 73 per cent of the 3,500 tyre dealers in Germany.
Michelin Factory For India
Following a recent feasibility study, Michelin has announced that Bangalore is the most likely site for a new manufacturing plant, as various producers have factories in this region. Other cities being considered are Pune and Baroda.
New Power Plant To Be Installed At Michelin UK Plant
London-PowerGen CHP Ltd is to construct a new £40million combined heat and power (CHP) plant at Michelin’s UK manufacturing site in Stoke-on-Trent. The building of the site is viewed by Michelin as a vote of confidence in the plant, which is at present shredding 473 jobs from its 2700 workforce. It is anticipated that the CHP plant will be operational by the end of 2001 and will meet Michelin’s energy requirement for at least 15 years, under a long term energy supply agreement.
Yokohama To Phase Out Truck & Bus Production At Hiratsuka Plant
As part of a policy to consolidate truck tyre production under one roof, Yokohama Rubber Co Ltd has announced it will phase out production of truck and bus tyres at its Hiratsuka, Japan plant by the beginning of 2002. All radial truck and bus tyre will then be produced at the company’s larger plant in Mie, Japan and the Hiratsuka plant will concentrate on the production of non-tyre products.
Michelin Subsiduary Reduces Workforce In Poland
Michelin subsiduary Stomil-Olsztyn has announced that it will be reducing ist workforce by 120 people during this year. At the same time, a further 70 full time employees have reverted to part-time. Stomil-Olsztyn are located in the regions of Warmia and Mazury in northern Poland and employ around 4.000 workers who produce passenger, truck, light truck and agricultural tyres as well as tyre fabrics and curing moulds.
Scrap Tyre Open Forum
Around forty people from all sectors of the tyre industry, the waste collection industry and the trade press met in an open forum meeting to discuss the different aspects of the scrap tyre situation and to examine market trends. Among the topics on the agenda were retreading, recycling and re-use. Retreading in the UK (especially car tyre retreading) is going through what is probably its worst-ever period for sales. The situation at the forum was described as “an environmental disaster” by one delegate. Recycling suffers from a lack of investment; backers are scared off by the instability of prices in the scrap tyre collection market, at least at local level. Re-use brought up the subject of part-worn tyres, the UK market for which is estimated at around three million units. The futures for landfill engineering and energy recovery were also discussed at length. It was not only the various disposal methods that were under discussion – there were complaints about whether the playing field was as level as it should be and the Environment Agency was criticised by some for the length of time it took to evaluate test results. Possible future statutory control measures were discussed, particularly the fear that these might be imposed on the industry as a whole, or on one sector. Unless the industry can come up with an effective voluntary scheme, this was regarded as inevitable. More about this in TYRES & ACCESSORIES’s March issue.
“Goodyear, All Systems Go!”
A lengthy report of a speech by Goodyear boss Sam Gibara, in which he tells of the group’s return to the position of number one tyre manufacturer. The speech encompasses a range of subjects affecting Goodyear – the importance of the Goodyear family and the Goodyear culture, above all the importance of people. The example of Nokian Tyres is held up as, size for size, it is probably the most profitable tyre manufacturer in the world. What Nokian can do, Goodyear subsidiaries can surely do? It is important to get the right mix of products and to shorten the time to market, it is important too to be able to supply customers with what they want, when they want it, and Mr. Gibara acknowledges that, in the past, fill rates have not been all they might be. A decisive factor in Goodyear’s success will be the effectiveness of its multi-brand strategy. Other tyre manufacturers have successfully developed such strategies and Goodyear, with its own name and that of Dunlop, has two very powerful brands in its armoury. Customers differ in their driving habits and incomes and thus they need different tyres to fulfil these various needs. Goodyear has the brands to satisfy all these customers. Finally, Mr. Gibara reiterated Goodyear’s goal to be not only be the number one tyre manufacturer in the world, but the most profitable one. And then he closed the meeting. Except that he didn’t; there was no meeting and there was no speech from Mr. Gibara. The article which can be downloaded in full length as PDF file (size: 2.84 Mbyte, Adobe Acrobat Reader required) is, in fact, an imaginative piece written by Klaus Haddenbrock, outlining what Mr. Gibara could have said on such an occasion. And Mr. Gibara’s reaction? See his letter in reply in TYRES & ACCESSORIES’s April issue.
Michelin Pilot Primacy – Second Generation for this Growth Segment
With the new Michelin Pilot Primacy, introduced to the trade press at the beginning of March and available through the trade this spring in a total of 33 sizes, the company intends to strengthen further its dominant role as original equipment supplier of high-performance tyres. Dynamic market development can be observed in all European states in this exacting segment, sometimes up to double-digit annual growth rates. Michelin, too, puts its faith in significant growth in this segment by introducing the second generation of the Pilot family, up-dated by the Primacy, a tyre conceived for original equipment but later also to be supplied to the refit market. The new tyre was specially designed for the requirements of high-mileage drivers, who expect not only safety reserves but also a high level of comfort during frequently long journeys in their fast top and upper medium-class cars. Among the car manufacturers’ specifications highest priority has been given to weight reduction, safety, ride comfort and easy handling. In the April issue of NEUE REIFENZEITUNG you can learn more about how Michelin wants to meet these requirements.
One Hundredth Birthday of Gummiwerke Fulda
For the 17th year running Gummiwerke Fulda held its dealer conference in March, this time in combination with celebrations in honour of the company’s one hundredth birthday. Last year Fulda boss Bernd Hoffmann had “to make do” with the presence of Goodyear’s top man for Europe, Valensi, but this time the management representation could not have been better. Sam Gibara, CEO of the group, made his welcoming speech to about 1,500 guests from all parts of the world, with Valensi and Gerd Grünenwald, responsible for marketing and sales Europe, also very pleased to help the company celebrate. Last year in particular and recent years in general proved to be very good years for Fulda. Until a few years ago the Fulda brand was heavily dependent on ATU and Stinnes, but that is now completely changed. Fulda’s German turnover is now spread over many small customers. Turnover with the two large ones is still important, of course, but gone are the days of total dependence. In Germany Fulda sells more tyres than Goodyear, but one has to add that Goodyear prices (trade to user) are significantly above Fulda’s. In the more recent past Fulda has had to compete with, or be measured against, Dunlop as well. It will be very interesting to see where the emphasis of Gerd Grünenwald’s and his team’s multi-brand strategy will lie. Details can be found in the April edition of NEUE REIFENZEITUNG.
