Maxxis to Construct New R&D Centres in Asia and US
Maxxis is planning to complete construction of three new technical centres in Asia and the US in the next eight months. Construction is complete on the first new centre, near Shanghai, China. Here workers are reportedly putting the finishing touches on the six-story, 143,182-square-foot facility, which will employ 200 engineers. Plans are also underway for construction of a proving ground, expected to open in 2008.
Continue ReadingMaxxis and Yamaha Partner to Produce ATV OE Tyres
Maxxis and Yamaha engineers have partnered to produce OE tyres for all four models of Yamaha’s “cutting edge ATV.” Maxxis will supply the M951 and the M952 tyre for use with the ATV the company calls Rhino. “We’re very pleased with the outcome of this project. The Rhino is on the forefront of the ATV market, and collaborating with Yamaha has allowed us to create a tire perfectly suited for the demands of this special machine,” said Scott Griffin, specialty tyre manager at Maxxis.
Continue ReadingPonton Appointed Head Goodyear Retail Operations
Goodyear’s North American Consumer Tire Business has named Brett Ponton to the position of vice president, Goodyear North American Consumer Retail. In this position, he will be responsible for all company-owned Goodyear retail stores in North America. Overall, Goodyear’s retail operations group is responsible for 763 company-owned tyre stores, 139 of them operated under the Just Tires retail format.
Continue ReadingTBC Shareholders Approve Sumitomo Purchase
The shareholders of US wholesaler, TBC Corp, have approved the company’s purchase by Sumitomo Corp of America. Sumitomo America, a subsidiary of Japan’s Sumitomo Corp will pay $35 in cash per TBC share. Including debt, the total acquisition value is about $1.1 billion. The transaction is expected to close later this week, the company said in a statement
Continue ReadingCooper Makes Tender Offer to Buy Back Debt Notes
(Akron/Tire Review) Cooper Tire & Rubber Co has commenced a cash tender offer for specified series of its outstanding debt, and is offering to purchase up to $175 million in an aggregate principal amount of its outstanding 7-3/4 per cent notes due 2009, 7-5/8 per cent notes due 2027, and 8 per cent notes due 2019. The tender, said Cooper, will expire at the close of business on 13 December.
Continue ReadingMacDicken Leaving TIA
(Akron/Tire Review) Becky MacDicken, director of government affairs with TIA, has announced her resignation. She is leaving the association as of 2 December to work with the Pennsylvania state government on a business education initiative. MacDicken, who has been with TIA for more than five years, has played an active role in helping shape TREAD Act regulations for the tire industry, and numerous other legislative and bureaucratic issues impacting tire dealers and the industry at large.
Continue ReadingMarangoni Creates New Group Communications Role
Mario Apolloni has been appointed as head of group communications, a move that became effective on 1 October 2005. According to the tyre, retread and retreading systems manufacturer, this new department was created in order to strengthen the image of the business on an international level. It will be my task to oversee all the press communications of all the different Marangoni divisions, Mario Apolloni said in a press statement, adding “I am confident that we will continue to co-operate in this important new area with friendliness and efficiency.”
Continue ReadingTreadways Hires Private Brand Development Manager
(Akron/Tire Review) Treadways Corp. has hired Ed Nini as market development manager for its private brands unit. In his new role, Nini will be responsible for competitive price analysis, market share analysis and coordination, and Treadways’ supplemental pricing programs. Nini is new to the tyre industry and was previously employed with Dow Jones as its senior marketing manager. He will be based at Treadways’ headquarters in East Norriton, Pennsylvania.
Continue ReadingSumitomo Rubber Publishes Strong Q3 Results
Sumitomo Rubber Industries has published sales of 120 billion yen (£581 million, up 8 per cent year-on-year) and operating profit of 9.3 billion yen (£45 million up 18.6 per cent year-on-year). Analysts report that results were ahead of plan and tyre sales particularly “outperformed forecasts.” Exports are reported to have been particularly strong and high performance tyres are said to have sold well domestically. As a result of the strong quarter Sumitomo has raised its full year forecast to sales of 500 billion yen (up 6.3 per cent) and operating profit of 46 billion yen (up 1 per cent). However, Deutsche Bank analysts said: “We feel that the company is somewhat conservative about our fourth quarter. Our current forecasts are sales of 496.0 billion yen [and] operating profit of 50.0 billion.”
Continue ReadingMichelin Man Speaks for the First Time in 100 Years
Bibendum, the well-known Michelin man character, has uttered his first words more than 100 years after he was created. And what did he have to say? “I’m letting off fireworks” – the title of a 30 second radio advert airing this week on 59 British radio stations and in 10 other countries around the world.
Continue ReadingPirelli North America Receives ISO Certification
Rome, Georgia-based Pirelli Tire North America (PTNA) has received ISO 9001:2000 accreditation and ISO/TS 16949:2002 technical specification. Guy Mannino, PTNA’s president, was informed at the recent SEMA Show in Las Vegas that the company had been awarded the coveted certification.
Continue ReadingG&S Tyre Services Suffers Fire
Barking based G&S Tyre Services has suffered a “serious” fire in which the company lost between 7000 and 8000 casings. However despite the serious nature of the fire, no injuries have been reported and sales manager Jim Bowley has reported that it is “business as usual” for the company. About 80 fire fighters were called to the company’s Kingsbridge Road site in the early hours of 12 November.
Continue ReadingContiLifeCycle Concept
Continental Truck Tyres has introduced a ‘cradle to grave’ ContiLifeCycle tyre management concept, which it claims can reduce tyre operating costs by as much as 25 per cent. The manufacturer’s aim is to encourage hauliers to think beyond the tyre management basics of purchase price, service life and reliability, and to consider the impact correct tyre maintenance can have on vehicle running costs.
Continue ReadingWRAP Selects EER Ltd
After a competitive tender process, WRAP (the Waste & Resources Action Programme) has chosen US-based EER Limited, an international consulting firm specialising in waste tyre reuse, recycling and recovery, to carry out a comprehensive study of international ‘Best Practices’ for recycling scrap tyres into marketable products. “EER Limited’s wide-ranging international experience was important in the decision making process,” said Steve Waite, WRAP’s Tyre programme manager.
Continue ReadingMAHA at Aftermarket Show
MAHA has signed up for next year’s Aftermarket Show. The event, which runs from January 12 to 15 2006 at Birmingham NEC, has grown “rapidly” in recent months, according to organisers. On display at the MAHA stand will be the LPS 3000 High Power Dynamometer Roller Set and Display Console. The company will be demonstrating the product’s capabilities through pre-recorded results of actual tests. With the roller set on the stand, MAHA will also show the workings of the hardware.
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