Goodyear India: Annual Results
For the year-ended December 2004, Goodyear India recorded a turnover increase of 26 per cent to 7.031 billion rupees (£88.3 million), while the operating profit margin dropped to 3.6 per cent from 4.7 per cent. Helped by the sharp drop in the interest costs, the post-tax earnings rose to 52 million rupees from 10 million rupees the year before. The company repaid high-cost debt by borrowing from its parent Goodyear Tire, US. As a result, the interest cost dropped to 75 million to 133 million rupees.
Continue ReadingFirestone East Africa Becomes Sameer
The company formerly know as Firestone East Africa was given a new logo and rename Sameer Africa at a ceremony in Nairobi. The new company will operate as an independent tyre maker, according to reports by Nairobi’s The Nation newspaper.
Continue ReadingMichelin’s Confident AGM
Executives at Michelin’s AGM have reiterated their target of achieving at least the same operating profit margin in 2005 as they did in 2004, despite lower volumes in the first half of this year. At the same time the company appointed Michel Rollier as new managing partner.
Continue ReadingRalph Schumacher Gets Tyre Penalty
Ralf Schumacher has been given a half-second penalty after a mix-up with his cars free practice tyres for the Monaco Grand Prix. Stewards discovered Schumacher had used a left front tyre on his Toyota that had not been officially allocated to him during the session. Supplier Michelin blamed human error for the mistake and Schumacher will now have to add a half-second to his aggregate qualifying time as a penalty. It’s the second time in three races that Schumacher has been penalised. He lost a point at the San Marino Grand Prix after being given a 25 second penalty for a pit-lane offence.
Continue ReadingVredestein’s New 4 Xtreme
This week saw the official launch of Vredestein’s first high performance SUV winter tyre the Wintrac 4 Xtreme. The manufacturer has transferred the characteristics of its passenger car tyre Wintrac Xtreme to the 4 Xtreme in an attempt to enter the growing 4x4 tyre market, a segment Vredestein describes as “a phenomenon.”
Continue ReadingBandag Retreading Material Prices
(Akron/Tire Review) Bandag Inc is increasing prices on “most of its retreading materials” for North America, the company has announced. According to Bandag, all tread rubber products in the US will increase by a per-pound weighted average of 12 cents (US). In Canada, the increase will be 17 cents (Canada). Both increases take effect on 1 May. Bandag officials said that increasing raw material costs cannot be offset by increased efficiencies or productivity.
Continue ReadingNHTSA Denies RMA Petition
(Akron/Tire Review) The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has formally denied the Rubber Manufacturers Association’s petition to establish recommended cold inflation pressure using a tyre pressure reserve. The petition requested that NHTSA include a reserve tyre pressure sufficient to allow tyres to carry the maximum load of a vehicle at the new tyre pressure monitoring system (TPMS) regulation trigger point. The Tire Industry Association (TIA) had supported RMA’s petition and expressed disappointment with the agency’s ruling. “We are disappointed that NHTSA decided not to build in an additional safety measure and grant the petition for reserve inflation pressure,” said Roy Littlefield, executive vice president of TIA, in a statement. “With this decision coming on the heels of the TPMS ruling, TIA is frustrated with NHTSAs apparent lack of interest in what the tire industry has to say.”
Continue ReadingSMMT Appoint New President
Roger Putnam, chairman of Ford of Britain, is to take up the position as president of the SMMT. He succeeds Tod Evans, former chairman, Peugeot Citroën Automobiles UK Ltd, in leading the motor industry trade association for the 12 months from June 2005. Commenting on the announcement, Roger Putnam said: “I am proud and honoured to become SMMT president for 2005-06. The industry faces some significant challenges in balancing the needs of its customers, in coping with regulatory pressures, and in dealing with a challenging manufacturing environment. I want to play my part in ensuring that issues like skills, R&D and productivity are given the profile they deserve.”
Continue ReadingCooper Sets Price For Tender Offer
(Akron/Tire Review) Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. announced that it has priced its fixed-spread tender offer to purchase the $350 million aggregate principal amount outstanding of its 7-3/4 per cent notes due 15 December, 2009. Cooper will pay $1,095.05 for each $1,000 principal amount of the notes tendered and accepted for payment in the tender offer, plus $34.44 for accrued but unpaid interest, said the company. The tender offer is scheduled to expire at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday, May 20, unless extended, Cooper said.
Continue ReadingCordenka to Increase Tyre Rayon Production
Cordenka has announced that it will invest 5 million euros in the modernisation of its rayon production facilities in Obernburg. The move is designed to further increase the plant’s capacity for rayon yarns destined for reinforcing (ultra) high-performance car tyres. In 2004 the company expanded its capacity by 1500 tonnes. Now Cordenka is aiming to expand by a further 1500 tonnes, taking the total capacity to some 32,000 tonnes. The company reports that it would like to make the 40,000 tonne mark in subsequent years. According to the Cordenka, the ongoing strong demand for rayon tyre yarns has resulted from developments in the field of ultra high-performance tyres and also reflects growing market interest in run flat tyres.
Continue ReadingMontupet to Construct Bulgaria Plant
Montupet S.A., the French aluminium wheel manufacturer, is to put 70 million levs (£24.6 million) in the construction of a new production plant in Bulgaria, according to the Bulgarian investment agency.
Continue ReadingToyo Increases Production at Kuwana Plant
Toyo Tire & Rubber Co., Ltd is to increase the volume of passenger car and light truck tyres produced at the company’s Kuwana Plant by approximately 1,000,000 units and 120,000 units a year, respectively, by the end of 2005. The company plans to invest 2.8 billion yen in this expansion of production, designed to address flourishing demand in overseas markets. Toyo is also working to build a manufacturing base in North America, raise the production capacity of a joint-venture plant in China, and launch another joint-venture plant for truck and bus tyres in China. The increase in output at the Kuwana plant is said to be part of this ongoing effort.
Continue ReadingAvon Renews Racing School Contract
Avon Tyres has renewed its association with Castle Combe circuit and has agreed a new contract to provide tyres to its racing school. The tyre manufacturer has been involved with the track for 50 years making it the longest motorsport sponsorship in the world.
Continue ReadingTyres Blamed for Ferrari’s Poor Showing
Rival teams have blamed Ferrari’s poor start to the Formula One season on its Bridgestone tyres. Speaking in a press conference prior to the Monaco Grand Prix, Michelin supplied drivers including Red Bull Racing’s David Coulthard, Renault’s Giancarlo Fisichella and McLaren’s Kimi Raikkonen all pointed to inferior Japanese rubber as the reason for Ferrari’s struggles.
Continue ReadingJaguar Plant Number One in US Initial Quality Study
Ford Motor Company’s Halewood Jaguar assembly has earned the Gold Plant Quality Award for assembly plant quality in the European region, according to the J D Power and Associates. The 2005 US Initial Quality Study (IQS) found that the Jaguar X-Type, receives a score of 70 problems per 100 vehicles, the best score among European plants assembling vehicles for export to the United States. The Halewood plant, which was first included in the IQS in 2002, has shown a 55 per cent quality improvement to 70 problems per hundred in 2005 from 157 in 2002.
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