Cooper Personnel Changes
(Akron/Tire Review) Carl Casalbore, vice president of marketing and retail sales at the Cooper Tire & Rubber Co., has announced his departure from the company, and Robyn N. Dashnaw has been appointed territory sales manager by the Findlay, Ohio-based tyre manufacturer.
Continue ReadingBandag Announces First Quarter Results
(Akron/Tire Review) Bandag Inc. has reported consolidated net earnings of $6.0 million, or $0.30 per diluted share, for the first quarter of 2005. Consolidated net sales were $186.6 million, an increase of 8 per cent, compared to consolidated net sales of $173.5 million in first quarter 2004. For the first quarter of 2004, Bandag reported consolidated net earnings of $4.0 million, or $0.20 per diluted share.
Continue ReadingTreadways Announces Organisational Changes
(Akron/Tire Review) Treadways Corp has announced several organisational changes, effective 1 May. First, Lyle Symonds has been appointed senior vice president of private brand sales. Mr Symonds will oversee Treadways’ Laramie, Eldorado, Jetzon and Telstar tyre divisions and will report directly to Roy Araki, president. Previously, Mr Symonds was vice president, sales and marketing for the company’s Eldorado division.
Continue ReadingTIA Appoints New TRRAC Members
(Akron/Tire Review) The Tire Industry Association (TIA) has recently made new appointments to its Tire and Rubber Recycling Advisory Council (TRRAC). The new council members include: • Doug Barr, president, Barr Formulated Products • Denise Kennedy, vice president, California Operations for Waste Recovery West • Monte Niemi, president, First State Tire Disposal According to TIA, TRRAC was formed about 10 years ago, and its mission is to “ensure the long term viability of tyre and rubber recycling worldwide while pursuing economic and environmental benefits.”
Continue ReadingBridgestone to Supply Run-Flats as OE to BMW
(Akron/Tire Review) Bridgestone Corp., parent company of Bridgestone/Firestone North American Tire (BFNAT), announced it will supply all-season Bridgestone-brand Turanza EL42 run-flat tyres and summer Bridgestone-brand Potenza RE050A run-flat tyres as original equipment on the 2006 BMW 3 Series performance car.
Continue ReadingPirelli Builds New Romanian Factory
Pirelli is to build a new tyre plant in Romania, The Cumberland News has reported. The new Romanian tyre plant will reportedly be of a comparable size to the Pirelli factory at Cummersdale near Carlisle and will initially produce 4.5 million tyres a year. However, unlike the Carlisle plant, which specialises in 4x4 tyres, the Romanian plant will produce the full range of Pirelli products, the newspaper reported.
Continue ReadingForecast Predicts Chinese Rubber Growth
A forecast by the China Minmetals & Chemicals Import and Export Chamber of Commerce says that demand from the tyre industry will be the major factor in a rise in the price of rubber and growth in the Chinese Rubber Industry in 2005.
Continue ReadingSurf’s Up With Toyo
“A beach party atmosphere, in Yorkshire, in April, may seem a little different from the norm, but thats how we do things here!” So said Toyo Tyre UK’s marketing director Mike Rignall as the tyre company celebrated its sixth year as official sponsor of the live action arena at the Ripspeed Donny Show.
Continue ReadingGEA Annual Dinner A Success
The Garage Equipment Association has reported that this year’s annual dinner was once again a success, with ticket sales continuing right up to the eleventh hour. The association’s new chief executive, Dave Garratt, welcomed guests. Mr Garratt’s predecessor, John Nelson, who unfortunately could not attend the dinner delivered a message via video, having been presented with a silver platter by Nevelle Marchant in honour of his service to the association.
Continue ReadingUS Replacement Shipments up 1 per cent
US replacement tyre shipments rose one per cent in March, Deutsche Bank analysts have reported. According to the report, this number is seen as relatively strong in the context of the seven per cent year on year increase experienced in February. The analysts predict a 2 – 3 per cent increase for the quarter.
Continue ReadingStapletons Appoints New Chief Financial Officer
Stapletons Tyre Services has appointed Taro Ikeba to the position of chief financial officer to join its expanding operation. Mr Ikeba joined Stapletons recently from his previous position at Itochu Finance Europe plc in London, where he was head of corporate finance. He will report to Stapletons’ chief operations officer Alan Denton, and his core responsibilities will include managing the company’s overall financial strategy.
Continue ReadingMichelin to Restructure in Future
Michelin is likely to embark on a major restructuring programme in the coming years. The news follows a meeting between Deutsche Bank analysts and Michelin. The fact that 24,000 people will be retired in the next five years (17,000 in Western Europe or 31 per cent of the workforce and 7,000 in North America or 33 per cent of the workforce) is said to allow for higher productivity gains and transfer of production to low cost countries.
Continue ReadingAnalysts Predict Flat First Half OP for Michelin
Analysts have predicted that Michelin’s first half operating profit could match last year. They added that a three or four per cent fall in volume should be offset by the effects of a strong price/mix effect of plus four or five per cent. The Deutsche Bank report states that the analysts expect first half operating profits to be 50 million euros higher than the consensus of 700 million or 9.3 per cent of margin. This translates into an earnings per share estimate of 5.5 euros for 2005 earnings and 6.5 euros for 2006 earnings, against a consensus of five and six euros respectively.
Continue ReadingPirelli OE on BMW M6
Pirelli tyres have been chosen as original equipment on the BMW M6, the German manufacturer’s new Luxury Sports Coupé, presented this week to the international press, exclusively shod with the ultra-high-performance P Zero Corsa System.
Continue ReadingSibur Reduces First Quarter Tyre Production by 25.5 per cent
Joint Stock Company Sibur reduced tyre production by 3.02 million units compared with 4.053 million units for the same period a year ago. The Russian Analytical Information Agency has reported that, in particular, Voltire cut tyre production to 585,000 units from 701,000 in 2004; Omskshina decreased output to 732,000 tyres from 1.425 million the year before and Yaroslavsky Tire Works cut production to 1.244 million from 1.493 million. At the same time Uralshina Ltd improved tyre output to 459,000 from 433,000 units. In total 3.121 million tyres are reported to have been shipped, a decrease of 586,000 tyres compared with the same period a year ago.
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