Linglong Tire’s R&D, European factory plans – Wang Feng gives details
Speaking at the signing ceremony of Shandong Linglong Tire’s agreement with German football club VfL Wolfsburg, the tyre maker’s CEO spoke of the “first class exposure” and substantially increased brand awareness the partnership will bring. He also discussed Linglong Tire’s growth ambitions and the role Europe will play in achieving these.
Continue ReadingContinental buys mould manufacturer A-Z
Continental has acquired German tyre mould and container manufacturer A-Z Formen- und Maschinenbau GmbH. The Bavaria-based specialist reports that the tyre and automotive components maker has taken over the interests belonging to both former shareholders. Further details will be made public in January, and employees were informed of the deal at a plant meeting yesterday. “Continental has belonged to A-Z Formen- und Maschinenbau GmbH’s clientele for many years,” shared the mould manufacturer in a statement. “The Runding-based company will, together with its subsidiary in the Czech Republic (A-Z Czech S.r.o.; d.Red.), become an important part of the Continental group and continue its long-term positive business growth.
Continue ReadingNew logo, headquarters for Toyo Tires in anniversary year
Toyo Tire & Rubber has unveiled a new commemorative logo to mark the 70th anniversary of Toyo Tire & Rubber next year. A further, more tangible change will also take place in conjunction with the anniversary – the company is shifting to a new headquarters.
Continue ReadingGoodyear relocating Latin America HQ to Akron
According to a report emanating from Goodyear’s hometown, the tyre maker intends to bring its regional headquarters for Latin America back to company headquarters in Akron (Ohio, US) next year. The Akron Beacon Journal wrote on 16 December that efforts to relocate the headquarters in São Paulo, Brazil will begin early in 2015 with the transfer of senior management to Akron. Goodyear will spend several months evaluating which other positions it will move from São Paulo to the US, the Akron Beacon Journal added. The headquarters has been based in São Paulo since 2005, after it was moved from Akron.
Continue ReadingOn the buses – Hankook wins second award for Blue Bird supply
It’s now two years since Hankook Tire began supplying AH12 steer and Z35A drive axle tyres to bus manufacturer Blue Bird Corporation for original equipment fitment on its school buses, and the US-based company has recognised Hankook’s efforts by bestowing it one of ten 2014 Outstanding Supplier Awards; Hankook award success was in the Polymer category. This is the second year in a row Hankook has received the award; the tyre maker says its back to back wins underscore the commitment shown in its original equipment activities with Blue Bird Corporation.
Continue ReadingHankook Tire linked to Halla Visteon bid speculation
According to news published by both Reuters and Bloomberg, South Korea’s Hankook Tire may submit a joint bid with private equity company Hahn & Company to acquire a majority share in climate control system specialist Halla Visteon Climate Control Corp. Reuter says its information comes from a Hankook Tire official, who was not named, while Bloomberg’s report is based on an e-mail from the tyre maker that confirmed interest in jointly purchasing the 70 per cent company share that Visteon Corp. presently holds.
Continue ReadingFootball & tyres: Linglong Tire partnering with VfL Wolfsburg
As of 1 January 2015, Shandong Linglong Tire will become an international partner to German Bundesliga and Europa League football club VfL Wolfsburg. The multi-year deal sees the tyre maker become a sponsorship partner to the Wolfsburg men’s team in markets outside of Germany. The partnership includes a commitment with Wolfsburg United, the international sporting project from VfL Wolfsburg, and will subsequently support respective Unicef projects and the VfL football school.
Continue ReadingCeat lays foundation stone for new tyre factory
On 11 December 2014, Indian tyre maker Ceat Ltd laid the foundation stone for its new manufacturing facility in Buti Bori near Nagpur, Maharashtra state. The stone laying follows the 30 October approval by Ceat’s Board of Directors to invest Rs 4.2 billion (£42.4 million) to set up a plant producing tyres for two and three-wheeled vehicles. The facility’s planned capacity is 120 tonnes per day.
Continue ReadingThai government propping up rubber prices with US$183 milion of support
The Thai government is buying rubber from the market via a 6 billion baht (US$183 million) buffer fund to support prices. According to a Reuters report, a private fund has also been set up to support domestic rubber futures.
Continue ReadingContitech’s purchase of Veyance gets US regulatory approval
In a letter to stakeholders dated 12 December 2014, Veyance Technologies representatives confirmed that the United States Department of Justice has endorsed its takeover by Continental AG’s ContiTech division. However, while the company had also hoped to secure approval from Brazilian authorities this year, this part has not yet been completed. Due to Christmas holidays all round any decision is now likely to be made in 2015. Nevertheless Veyance representatives said “they are confident that we will secure the approval from the Brazilian authority and close very soon thereafter”.
Continue ReadingNew owner for insolvent Reifen Ihle’s retreading operation
The retreading business belonging to insolvent German tyre company the Reifen Ihle Group now has a new owner. The sales contract was signed late last Friday, and follows the divestment of the firm’s 12 Point S tyre retail centres to regional retailer Reifen Müller at the end of October. R-I-G Technische Produkte GmbH has been acquired by Frankfurt am Main-based holding company Prolimity Capital Partners and will now be operated under a new entity, Rigdon GmbH.
Continue ReadingGoodyear Dunlop opens winter test circuit in Finland
Goodyear Dunlop has opened a new winter tyre testing facility, the Arctic Centre, in Ivalo, Finland. Located 300 km north of the Arctic Circle, near the town of Ivalo in North Eastern Finland, the Arctic Centre is one of Europe’s leading winter tyre testing centres, and as of December 2014, will be exclusively used by Goodyear Dunlop. Jean-Pierre Jeusette, general director of Goodyear’s Innovation Centre, Laurent Colantonio, director of global tyre performance prediction and, representing the company‘s Nordic Region, Ludvig Nauckhoff, general manager Nordic were present as the ribbon was cut.
Continue ReadingMichelin to cut 10% of Western European dealers from its Exelagri network
In early December, Michelin shared plans to “further develop” its Exelagri dealer partnership programme “with a new vision.” While the French tyre maker aims to increase the size of its 2004-established agricultural tyre dealer network from the current level of 770 partners to 1,000 in the next ten years, Michelin’s plans involve placing much more attention on the growing Eastern European market. In a press statement released in its German-language markets on 3 December, Michelin relayed an intention to boost its Eastern Europe market presence from 38 to 350 points of sale. But the figures Michelin gave also tell another story – if the company achieves the stated ten-year goals, it will involve a considerable reduction in the number of Exelagri partners it has in Western Europe. In response to our questions, Michelin’s headquarters in France explained how and why it intends to divest partners in Western Europe.
Continue ReadingCooper releases new precision challenge football video with Arsenal players
In its role as Arsenal’s official tyre partner, Cooper Tire Europe has produced a video examining the accuracy of five Arsenal players. In the video, Cooper overlays graphics onto the original video, examining the varying styles and techniques as the players tried out the precisions shooting challenge. The five players were Santi Cazorla, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Mesut Ozil, Lukas Podolski and goalkeeper, Wojciech Szczesny.
Continue ReadingDuensing to succeed Wente as ContiTech boss
It was decided at yesterday’s meeting of Continental AG’s Supervisory Board that, as of 1 May 2015, Hans-Jürgen Duensing will join the company’s Executive Board and simultaneously take charge of the ContiTech division. He will take over from Heinz-Gerhard Wente, who has requested the termination of his contract on 30 April, thus ending a career with Continental spanning more than forty years.
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