Striking Cooper Employees Return to Work
(Akron/Tire Review) About 1,700 union workers at Cooper Tire & Rubber Co.’s Texarkana, Ark. plant are returning to work, ending a month-long strike. Last week, it was reported that a tentative agreement between the United Steelworkers of America Local 752L and Cooper had been reached. Yesterday, 708 employees approved the contract proposal, while 632 members voted against it. Details of the agreement were not obtainable at the time of print.
Continue ReadingGoodyear Extends Debt Maturities
(Akron/Tire Review) The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co announced that it has closed $3.65 billion in new credit facilities, including a $1.5 billion asset-based revolving credit facility due in 2010. Other credit facilities include a $1.2 billion second-lien term loan due in 2010 and a $300 million third-lien secured term loan facility due in 2011.
Continue ReadingMarangoni Adds New Locations to Ringtread Network
(Akron/Tire Review) Marangoni Tread North America Inc. has added four new Ringtread plants in the Northeast, Sourtheast, North Central and Northwest regions of the US Two of the new plants were converted from competitive precure systems, said Marangoni, while the other two are additional facilities opened by existing Ringtread dealers.
Continue ReadingMichelin to Construct New OTR Plant in Brazil
(Akron/Tire Review) Groupe Michelin has announced plans to build a new OTR tyre plant in Brazil near its existing tyre plant in Campo Grande. The new plant, scheduled to begin producing tyres in the second half of 2007, will produce 25- to 49-inch tyres. Initial capacity will be 40,000 tons, according to Michelin, while long-range capacity could reach 55,000 tons. Michelin said in a statement that the new plant will help it better serve its North and South American OTR customers.
Continue ReadingContinental Automotive Appoints Director
(Akron/Tire Review) Continental Automotive Systems has appointed David M. Mestdagh as director of the company’s North American aftermarket business. Mestdagh will be responsible for overall business strategy, product quality and performance and will oversee development of sales and marketing activities for the company’s ATE brand. Previously, Mestdagh served as national accounts sales manager for Visteon Corp.’s aftermarket group and has held various positions – including national retail sales manager, program group manager and sales and marketing development manager – at Federal-Mogul Corp.
Continue ReadingBMW goes on the “Attack”
BMW has chosen the Continental Road Attack as original equipment for its R1200RT motorcycle. The sports-touring tyre is the first OE contract for the new radial. The tyre was developed “hand in hand” with BMW to achieve the contract and was specifically tailored to the R1200RT performance requirements, says UK distributor Cambrian Tyres. BMW has also extended homologation to fit the tyre to the R1100S, R1150R and K1200RS models. Continental is also original equipment supplier to BMW’s GS range in the form of the “world conquering” TKC80 enduro tyre, that fitted to the bikes of Charley Boorman and Ewan Mcgregor in their “Long Way Round” project.
Continue ReadingEIB Lend a Hand to Conti Brazil
The European Investment Bank is providing a loan of 40 million euros to Brazil so that the development of a new Continental production facility can be put into operation. Brasil Produtos Automotivos Ltda will manufacture passenger car tyres of which the majority will be exported to the NAFTA market to satisfy the growing domestic demand. The site’s annual capacity will be more than 4 million tyres. The project will create some 600 jobs and is to be completed by the end of 2007.
Continue ReadingAlcoa Posts First Quarter Results
Alcoa has announced first quarter revenues of $6.3 billion, a four per cent increase from the sequential quarter. Income from operations was given as $273 million, or $.31 a share. According to the company its income measures include negative impacts totaling $0.09 per share for the tax impact on Alcoas sale of its Elkem investment ($39 million after tax); restructuring charges ($25 million after tax); and costs of integrating the recently acquired Russian business ($12 million after tax). The fourth quarter of 2004 included a gain of $37 million, or $0.04, on the Juruti transfer, while the first quarter of 2004 include a gain of $58 million, or $0.07, on the sale of specialty chemicals.
Continue ReadingGoodyear Appoints European Legal Chief
Goodyear Dunlop has appointed Dominque Golsong as its European legal chief, reports Lawyer News. Mr Golsong, the former associate general counsel of Dow Corning Corporation, the silicones and silicones-based products, technologies and services company, joined the manufacturer last month in his new position. Replacing Philip Regnault, who retired after three years with Goodyear Dunlop he will be responsible for the company’s EU strategic business unit as well as the Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa strategic business unit. Prior to Dow Corning, Mr Golsong was a corporate lawyer in Linklaters Brussels office, after which he joined New York-based firm Sullivan & Cromwell.
Continue ReadingNHTSA Bows Again to Car Manufacturers
(Akron/Tire Review) Initial analysis of NHTSA’s final regulations mandating tyre pressure monitoring systems (TPMS) on all new passenger vehicles shows the new regulations are badly flawed, raising questions about how well they will protect drivers. And they illustrate clearly just how much sway the car manufacturer lobby has with the safety agency, and how little consideration the logical and correct argument raised by the tyre industry and the automotive aftermarket really received.
Continue ReadingF1 Teams Boycott FIA Meeting
(Akron/Tire Review) Associated Press has reported that nine Formula One teams and five F1 car manufacturers will boycott a meeting this week with the FIA in another move interpreted as increasing their bid for a new grand prix series. FIA’s meeting on 15 April was reportedly called to discuss 2008 race season regulations. The only race team and constructor committed to attending the meeting is Ferrari, which signed a multi-year deal to remain in F1.
Continue ReadingMichelin to Use Technology to Break Away
By Alex Law MacLeans magazine Nunc est bibendum. Horace originally meant that to be a call to merriment, or, in a more literal translation, Now is the time to drink. When Michelin first used the phrase decades ago on an advertising poster, it was the tagline to a sketch of a man made out of tyres (now known as Bibendum) who was looking down a stretch of pavement filled with the kind of debris normally found on the worlds roads at the time. The message then meant, I can handle all that.
Continue ReadingBrits Clinch Porsche Michelin Supercup
British driver Richard Westbrook clinched victory for the Lechner Racing School Team at the seasons opening round of the Porsche Michelin Supercup in Bahrain. According to race commentary Westbrook started the 12-lap race from pole position and though he lost the sprint to the first corner against Christian Menzel of Germany he regained the lead in the seventh lap. Westbrook is only the second British driver since Kelvin Burt in 1994 at Silverstone to win a Porsche Michelin Supercup race.
Continue ReadingAvon Takes Australian Control Tyre Contract Again
Avon Tyres Racing and the Ford Racing Formula Ford Australian championship will continue their association due to the recent selection of the Avon ACB10 Semi Slick as control tyre for a further six years. Completion of the agreement in 2010 will make Avons 15-year control tyre selection the longest such arrangement in the world, says the manufacturer. Commenting on Avons involvement in the Australian Formula Ford championship, Julian Baldwin, Avon Tyres’ director of marketing and motorsport, said: “As part of Avons worldwide support of the Formula Ford class we are very happy to be associated, once again and on a continuing basis, with the Formula Ford Australian championship.”
Continue ReadingYokohama to Exhibit at Auto Shanghai
Yokohama Rubber will participate in the 11th Auto Shanghai 2005, which runs from 22-28 April in Shanghai, China. In an effort to enhance its image as a supplier of high performance tyres, the company will show AVS dB and ASPEC A380 high-performance passenger-car tyres manufactured by Hangzhou Yokohama Tire; Yokohama’s manufacturing and marketing subsidiary in Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province, China. It will also exhibit GEOLANDAR H/T-S on-road-use SUV tyres to be manufactured and marketed by the subsidiary this year.
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