Continental donates to help Syrian refugees
Tyre and automotive systems manufacturer Continental has donated €100,000 to German non-governmental aid agency Welthungerhilfe in order to support Syrian refugees now living in camps in the Middle East and Turkey. Continental shares that this donation complements activities its employees have carried out at several Continental locations.
Continue ReadingHankook building winter tyre proving ground in Finland
Ivalo is the destination of choice for many tyre makers when it comes to testing winter and cold weather products, and Hankook Tire has announced plans to establish its own European winter tyre testing facility near the Finnish village. The company recently signed a contract to build this together with Test World Oy.
Continue ReadingPep Boys to Bridgestone: New deal or no deal
The Board of Directors at US automotive aftermarket retailer The Pep Boys – Manny, Moe & Jack has declared the US$15.50 per share merger agreement received by Icahn Enterprises superior to the $835 million Bridgestone Retail Operations was prepared to pay, not least because it isn’t subject to due diligence or financing conditions, and it contains a ‘hell or high water’ anti-trust covenant. Pep Boys have now lobbed the ball back into Bridgestone’s court, and the tyre maker has two days to come back with a better offer.
Continue ReadingGoodyear announces pricing of €250M European notes
Goodyear Tire & Rubber subsidiary Goodyear Dunlop Tires Europe B.V. (GDTE) has priced a private offering of €250 million aggregate principal amount of senior notes due 2023. The notes will be offered by GDTE at a price of 100 per cent of their principal amount and will bear interest at a rate of 3.75 per cent per annum. Goodyear expects this offering to close on 15 December 2015, subject to customary closing conditions.
Continue ReadingMichelin to supply European markets from newly-expanded site in Hungary
In 2016 Michelin intends to develop its logistics centre in Vác, Hungary into a centre for tyre distribution within Europe, and to realise this aim has undertaken a €7 million expansion of the site. In a Hungarian-language press statement the tyre maker reports that the 30,000 square metre facility has been handed over and is ready for its new responsibilities; from 1 January 2016 it will supply tyres to 15 countries in Central and Southern Europe (Michelin names the Czech Republic, Albania, Austria and Bulgaria as four of these), and will receive tyres from all of Michelin’s European factories.
Continue ReadingIcahn offer would result in ‘Superior Offer’, says Pep Boys board
US automotive aftermarket chain The Pep Boys – Manny, Moe & Jack gives word that its Board of Directors have determined the proposal from Icahn Enterprises L.P. to acquire Pep Boys for US$15.50 per share in cash would be expected to result in a “Superior Proposal” (as defined in the companys agreement and plan of merger with Bridgestone Retail Operations, LLC). This opinion was reached after consultation with the company’s independent legal and financial advisors, however at this stage Pep Boys are still on track to take up the Bridgestone share offer.
Continue ReadingYokohama simulation technology to support rubber innovation
Yokohama Rubber has announced its development of a simulation technology for multi-objective design exploration of rubber materials. The new technology is said to have been developed to “support innovative thinking about rubber material design.” Yokohama Rubber states an aim of using such innovative thinking to “create tyres that meet the highest standards in areas that normally are at odds with each other, such as low fuel consumption and safety or ultralight weight and high rigidity.”
Continue ReadingGoodyear Dunlop offering €250 million of senior notes
Goodyear Tire & Rubber has announced that its European subsidiary, Goodyear Dunlop Tires Europe B.V. (GDTE), is commencing a private offering of €250 million aggregate principal amount of senior notes due 2023. The notes will be senior unsecured obligations of GDTE and guaranteed on a senior unsecured basis by Goodyear and certain of its wholly-owned US and Canadian subsidiaries that also guarantee Goodyear’s obligations under certain of its senior secured credit facilities and senior unsecured notes.
Continue ReadingIcahn offers counterbid for Pep Boys
Bridgestone Americas’ cash tender offer to acquire US automotive service and retail chain The Pep Boys – Manny, Moe & Jack for US$15.00 a share has been challenged by Icahn Enterprises L.P. The New York-based master limited partnership and owner of automotive aftermarket distributor Auto Plus has written to the Pep Boys’ board, proposing to pay a cash sum of $15.50 per share to acquire the entire outstanding stake in the company – an offer it believes “clearly superior” to the Bridgestone transaction.
Continue ReadingBridgestone CEO accepts Thai investment advisor position
The chief executive officer and chairman of the board at Bridgestone Corporation, Masaaki Tsuya, has been appointed honorary investment advisor to the Thailand Board of Investment (BOI). The role was established last month with the purpose of assisting the BOI in promoting Thailand as an attractive investment destination both in Southeast Asia and throughout the world.
Continue ReadingHeuver Tyrewholesale plans for agricultural growth with new product manager
Pieter Dubois has been appointed as Heuver Tyrewholesale’s agriculture product manager. Previously employed as an account manager in Belgium and Luxembourg, Dubois said the move would allow him to return to his agricultural roots, envisaging some “fine-tuning” for the wholesaler’s existing segment team. Bertus Heuver, director Heuver Tyrewholesale, said Dubois would use “his enthusiasm and ambition to play a leading role” in the company’s agricultural operations. His appointment is also described as “the next step in [Heuver Tyrewholesale’s] planned growth scenario.
Continue ReadingGoodyear implements direct online sales in US
Last January at its annual dealer conference, Goodyear unveiled plans to launch direct-to-consumer online sales across the US through its Goodyear.com website. Since then, Michelin has bought into two large European e-tailers and Apollo has acquired another. Clearly 2015 has been the year that tyre majors have allowed their online retail strategies surface. And while approaches differ between manufacturers and markets, Goodyear’s US approach is by far the most direct. At the moment, this approach centres on North America, however what we learn from Goodyear’s case is valuable in any market. In mid-November Tire Review editor Jim Smith met with Goodyear’s Mike Dauberman, senior director of marketing and interactive, and Bill Friel, general manager of consumer dealer retail, and here gives Tyres per cent Accessories readers access to their conversation.
Continue ReadingZenises hosts Rome partners day
Zenises recently held its first Italian convention to present its brand portfolio at the historic 900 year old Castello della Castelluccia in Rome. Fifteen partners from various Italian regions attended the gathering at which the 2016 brand development strategies in Italy were unveiled. In addition to cementing Zenises commercial agreements, new marketing concepts were also presented to ensure that the Italian market will be well served for 2016.
Continue ReadingPirelli Calendar 2016: First images released
Following the launch of its 2016 Calendar earlier this week, Pirelli has released a set of Annie Liebovitz’s celebrity portraits. The images (viewable below) feature one of the greatest ever tennis players, Serena Williams; rock legend and writer, Patti Smith; one of the world’s most prominent comedians, Amy Schumer; and the hugely popular Chinese microblogger, Yao Chen. Liebovitz has taken the tyre giant’s flagship marketing activity in a new direction in the 2016 edition – apparently at Pirelli’s behest – and Tyres & Accessories was impressed with the results; read the full report from the press conference on Tyrepress.com.
Continue ReadingTrelleborg receive double awards from AGCO
Trelleborg has been named AGCO 2015 ‘Best Quality Performance’ for China and also received the AGCO EAME 2015 ‘Supplier of the Year’ award in the “Logistics” category. Paolo Pompei, president Agricultural & Forestry Tires at Trelleborg Wheel Systems, says: “This double recognition of Trelleborg as a partner to AGCO is an exceptional achievement for us and a testament to the commitment that we share with AGCO; to improve the efficiency, productivity and sustainability of future farming. We are extremely proud of these awards since they acknowledge the huge efforts Trelleborg is making to support joint-initiatives with AGCO.”
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