Continental appoints EMEA, APAC regional replacement tyres heads
Continental has announced new heads for its passenger car and truck tyre replacement business in the EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa) and APAC (Asia-Pacific) regions. Ferdinand Hoyos (45) will manage Continental’s EMEA replacement tyre business, while Dalibor Kalina (47) will take over Hoyos’s former role as APAC head. The appointees will take up their new positions on 1 January, 2022. Hoyos has been heading Continental’s replacement tyre business in the APAC region since 2018. He succeeds Philipp v. Hirschheydt (47), who is moving to Continental’s Automotive group sector.
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Prometeon UK appoints North East BDM
Prometeon Tyre Group UK has appointed Jamie Courtnage as Business Development Manager for the North East. He is responsible for new business and account management for Prometeon’s customer base of truck, bus and coach operators and tyre dealers in the eastern part of the country from Norwich to the Scottish Borders.
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Prometeon ramps up tyre production in Gravataí, Brazil
Prometeon announced plans to increase production at its Gravatai, Rio Grande du Sul, Brazil at the end of September. According to several local news sources, the expansion plans were announced during a meeting with local Governor Eduardo Leite at the Piratini Palace.
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Continental appoints Katja Dürrfeld chief financial office
Continental has appointed Katja Dürrfeld (49) as its new chief financial officer, effective from 14 December 2021. Dürrfeld assumes responsibility for group finance and controlling as well as group information technology immediately, taking over from interim CFO Nikolai Setzer. Setzer had added the role to his existing duties following the departure of Wolfgang Schäfer on 17 November, while Dürrfeld had held the provisional management of these areas below the executive board level. Currently head of Finance, Controlling and Information Technology for the ContiTech business area, she will also take charge of finance and controlling in the future automotive group sector from 1 January, 2022, as was previously announced at the end of September. The supervisory board has also extended the appointment of Dr Ariane Reinhart (52) as executive board member for human relations and sustainability and director of labour relations.
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John Howe named Michelin UK & Ireland MD
Michelin Tyre plc has appointed John Howe as Managing Director for the UK & Ireland, with effect from 1 January 2022. He will also hold the role of B2C Sales Director, with responsibility for the company’s car, motorcycle and bicycle markets.
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France: Michelin, unions sign telework agreement
Michelin and labour unions have signed various successive telework deals covering its workforce in France since 2019 and worked together since the start of the Covid-19 crisis to develop a teleworking vision, strategy and arrangements. On 2 December, senior Michelin management and representatives from four unions signed a new telework agreement.
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NASCAR award for Goodyear motorsport chief
US motorsport entity the National Association of Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) has bestowed Goodyear’s Stu Grant its 2021 Buddy Shuman Award. The general manager for global race tyres at The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company gained this accolade at the organisation’s annual awards celebration on Saturday.
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Goodyear’s Malaysian tyre plant under investigation
Goodyear Tire & Rubber Cos Malaysian tyre factory has been under scrutiny for at least two years following questions relating to working conditions. At the end of November, US Department of Homeland Security officials interviewed local staff as part of investigations that “could lead to US prosecutions”, according to Reuters, which added Goodyear faces “related lawsuits and two ongoing investigations by regulators in Malaysia and the United States, each looking into potential exploitation of foreign workers.” In response to the investigation and related reporting, Goodyear issued the following statement: “Goodyear takes seriously any allegations of improper behaviour and is committed to ensuring that our business practices and those of our associates, our supply chain, and our vendors adhere to both our policies and all applicable legal requirements.”
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Halfords ‘motoring revenue’ will be 70% post National Tyres acquisition
According to Halfords, the acquisition of National Tyres delivers “on its strategy to become a Motoring Services focused business”. Halfords Autocentres has always been amongst the most profitable parts of the overall Halfords Group businesses and financial figures have consistently shown that autocentre-related revenue is amongst the fastest-growing parts of the group. But what the National Tyres acquisition specifically means is that what Halfords terms “motoring revenue” will “represent more than 70 per cent of Group pro-forma revenue”.
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Pirelli CEO wins Romanian Order of “Industrial and Commercial Merit”
The executive vice chairman and CEO of the Pirelli Group, Marco Tronchetti Provera, was recently named as a Commander of the Romanian order of “Industrial and Commercial Merit” in appreciation of his “important contribution to the strengthening of the bilateral relationship” between Romania and Italy.
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Stellantis’ Alison Jones named SMMT president
The Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders (SMMT) has appointed Alison Jones, Stellantis senior vice-president and country manager UK, as its new president. Jones’ appointment to the role of president, which takes effect 1 January 2022, follows a year-long tenure as vice-president at the SMMT, where she contributed to the organisation’s direction and strategy.
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Dieselgate probe: Continental ends relationship with CFO Schäfer
During an extraordinary meeting held yesterday, the Continental AG Supervisory Board agreed to mutually terminate Wolfgang Schäfer’s appointment as chief financial officer and member of the company’s Executive Board, effective immediately. Continental states that Schäfer’s departure from the company is linked to investigations by the public prosecutor’s office in Hannover, Germany, into the use of illegal defeat devices in diesel engines and shortcomings from Continental’s side in the ongoing investigations.
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Matteo Tiraboschi to succeed Bombassei as Brembo chairman
The Board of Directors of Brembo S.p.A. has named Matteo Tiraboschi, currently executive deputy chairman, preferred candidate to become its chairman following the resignation of Alberto Bombassei. Tiraboschi’s appointment will be on the agenda at a General Shareholders’ Meeting scheduled for 17 December, along with a proposal to amend the company’s by-laws in order to create the new role of Chairman Emeritus.
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Continental appoints Reinhold CST spokesperson, promotes Hannig
Julia Reinhold has joined Continental as Press Spokeswoman for Commercial Specialty Tires. She is responsible for media relations in the Material Handling, Port, Earthmoving, and Agriculture business areas and succeeds Anika Hannig, who has become Head of Communications for the Specialty Tires business unit.
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Repairify launches at SEMA Show
New multinational “portfolio company” Repairify is making its industry bow at the US Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Show in Las Vegas. The company, part of Kinderhook Industries, LLC, includes asTech, the Texas automotive technology firm specialising in remote diagnostics that acquired Dunstable-based RED (EU) Ltd in March 2021, as well as other businesses engaged in automotive servicing, such as adasThink, BlueDriver, FleetGenix, and Mobile Tech RX. Repairify represents Kinderhook’s new strategic initiative to align this family of brands, with the aim to “emerge as a global leader in Automotive Technology and Intelligence to help the automotive collision, mechanical, and dealership sectors master the modern vehicle.”
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