Michelin 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 ReadingMontupet Invest in North Irish Wheel Production
Automotive supplier Montupet S.A. (France) felt a recession of around three to four per cent in sales in 2004, or 423 million euros. However the company’s annual general meeting has reported a net profit of 17.72 million euros, but more importantly reduced its debts to 22 million euros. Investments including that into Renault engines, a Canadian plant for Chrysler/USA and the modernisation of a Belfast aluminum cast wheels factory, were valued at 26 million.
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.
Continue ReadingCentenary of the Gordon Bennett cup
150 vintage vehicles from 11 countries will attempt to resuscitate the spirit of the Gordon Bennett cup 1905, with the support of Michelin and SATCAR. The event, the ancestor of today’s Grand Prix and Formula One races, will be held during the 2005 Automobile Club d’Auvergne2-5 June. Participants will travel to Clermont-Ferrand from Germany, Austria, the UK, Ireland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, France, Switzerland, Mexico and United States to cover the same track as a century ago, a 140 kilometre (90 mile) track at the foot of Puy-de-Dôme at the heart of the Auvergne volcano park. The line up of cars will include the five vintage cars that actually took part in the Gordon Bennett Cup: two Napier Gordon Bennett (1903), a Mercedes 60 HP 2-Seater (1903), which entered history when Jenatzy won the Gordon Bennett Cup in 1903 in Ireland, a Pope Toledo Gordon Bennett (1905), and a Panhard Levassor Z40 (1905) which will run for the first time since it was revamped.
Continue ReadingCooper Tyres Championship Kicks Off
Drivers from 15 different countries, including Great Britain, Venezuela and Canada, will be among the contenders of the opening two rounds of the 2005 Cooper Tyres Championship for Formula Ford 2000 cars, that kicks off as part of the Grand Prix of Atlanta ALMS event at Road Atlanta next weekend. Drivers Jay Howard and Joey Foster will be representing Britain. Howard contested two races in the Cooper tyres championship last season, winning once at Infineon Raceway. Foster won the Formula Ford Festival and World Cup at Brands Hatch in 2003, and will drive for Cape Motorsports, which has won the title in three of the last five years.
Continue ReadingTyre Choice the Key to Loeb’s Victory
Sebastien Loeb drove his Michelin clad Citroen to victory yesterday in Rally New Zealand. At the finish the 31-year-old reigning world champion had a 49.8 seconds margin over Finn Marcus Gronholm in a Peugeot with last years winner, Subarus Petter Solberg, a further 18.9 seconds back in third place. The Norwegian Solberg still leads the drivers championship after four rounds by one point from Loeb with Peugeots Markko Martin two points further back. The heat of New Zealand’s summer put further pressure on Michelin and Citroen to “At Citroen we have worked over the year on this type of gravel. We changed a bit of everything since last year, said Loeb.” “We changed the suspension, the engine and we also have some new version of the tyre. This means the car is really feeling perfect and its looking good for the future.”
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.
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