Firestone East Africa to invest in equipment
Firestone East Africa Ltd. (Nairobi/Kenya) is set to commission a 114-million Shilling (0.8 million Pounds)truck and bus tyre-assembly machine as it struggles to emerge from a profit-decline over the last two years. The development will be coming on the back of another 1.1 million Pounds project. The new assembly machine is intended to enable enhancement of product range including the production of tubeless tyres. The firm has been shaken by huge profit drops since 2002.
Continue ReadingJapanese tyre makers boost Chinese output
Chinese media reports that Japanese tyre makers are poised to boost their production capacities in China. Bridgestone Corp. plans to launch a new plant in the eastern city of Wuxi in September and will also triple the monthly output capacity of an existing plant for truck and bus tyres in Shenyang, to 90,000 units. The moves will cost Bridgestone a total of around 20 billion yen (100 million pounds). Yokohama Rubber Co. is due to double the annual production capacity of its passenger car tyre plant in Hangzhou, to 1.4 million units. Sumitomo Rubber Industries Ltd. will launch production in Changshu, Jiangsu Province, in April. Demand for passenger vehicle tyres in China grew to around 60 million units in 2003 and is expected to show an annual rise of 20 per cent in the future, demand for truck and bus tires, 80 million units last year, is forecast to grow even faster at over 40 per cent.
Continue ReadingSmarTire Signs New UK Distributor for Motorcycle TPMS
SmarTire Systems Inc. has announced it has signed an agreement with Motohaus Powersports Ltd. to distribute SmarTires second generation tyre monitoring product for motorcycles in the UK. Motohaus Powersports is a well-established distributor of motorcycle accessories and has a strong base of dealers throughout the UK. With safety high on the agenda for UK riders and with tyre pressures so critical to the handling of modern high-performance motorcycles, we are excited to be offering SmarTires tyre monitoring system to the UK market, says Owain Evans, Managing Director at Motohaus.
Continue ReadingCooper wants to sell auto group
Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. is reported to want to sell off its automotive group. The automotive parts division accounted for almost half of last years sales. Cooper-Standard Automotive, based in Michigan, had revenues of about 1.66 billion US dollars in 2003. Cooper said it could use money gained from selling the auto unit to reduce debt or invest in tyre operations. Chairman Thomas Dattilo said the company may be better off concentrating on its tyre business and expanding overseas.
Continue ReadingMichelin Apollo to build new plant
Michelin Apollo Tyres would pump in about 67 million euro to set up a new plant at Ranjangaon in Maharashtra (India) to produce 350,000 bus and truck radial tyres annually. 51 per cent of the investment will come from Michelin, the balance from Apollo. As the production is scaled up in future so too will the investment.
Continue ReadingHankook gets image makeover
Hankook Tire has introduced a new corporate identity as part of efforts to engineer a new growth surge. The new logo aims to reflect progressive and innovative thinking, specialised technology, passion, sophistication, dynamism, and internationalism. It also visualizes brand individuality. The symbol stands for speed and flight and is combined with a mixed-script logotype. The new logo was designed by UK designer Neville Brody.
Continue ReadingAmtel to list 40 per cent of shares
Amtel plans a foreign listing of up to 40 per cent of its shares in October next year. Amtel controls a third of the Russian tyre market. The company expects a capitalisation of around 500 million US dollars. Amtel is considering buying a plant in Iran and is looking at expanding in Malaysia. Meanwhile an agreement with Nokian is being dissolved, though the final arrangement between the two has not yet been confirmed.
Continue ReadingGoodyear Delays Business Report’s Release
Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. on Tuesday again said it needed more time to finish a financial report for federal regulators because of its probe of accounting problems at overseas operations. The company said after the markets closed that it would tell the Securities and Exchange Commission that its annual 10-K report will be delayed because of the investigation of accounting problems in Europe and elsewhere. Goodyear shares plunged more than 5.6 percent, or 44 cents, in extended trading Tuesday, after closing at 7.84 dollars, up 26 cents, on the New York Stock Exchange. However, after-hours trade climbed on the news of the delay, rising 3.5 per cent to 8.12 dollars on INET.
Continue ReadingCooper Tire to Launch Avon Tyres in the U.S. & Canada
Cooper Tire & Rubber Company plans to launch AVON Tyres USA, a new collection of performance passenger, light truck, sport truck and motorsport tyres. Completely new to the U.S. and Canadian markets, the AVON Tyres USA line is the first ever to have been designed and engineered from consumer feedback data. All data was collected and analyzed by The Tire Rack, the country’s largest independent tyre tester, through its web site, www.tirerack.com.
Continue ReadingUSWA contract at Asheboro
Officials at Goodyears wire plant in Asheboro (North Carolina/USA) reported Tuesday that an arbitrator has completed his confidential review of union authorisation cards from employees at the facility. Based on the review, which followed a 90-day union campaign at the Asheboro manufacturer, the arbitrator determined that a simple majority was achieved. Thus, the USWA is recognised as the exclusive representative of the Asheboro bargaining unit employees, as defined previously by the union and the company. Over the next several weeks, Goodyear and USWA officials will meet to discuss the bargaining process going forward.
Continue ReadingAcquisition Rumours Regarding Michelin/Gajah Tunggal Unfounded
Tim Chesney, the Managing Director of Romney International Limited, the exclusive distributors of GT Radial brand tyres in the UK and Ireland, would like to state unequivocally that the recent story about PT Gajah Tunggal Indonesia (GT) being acquired by Michelin, is untrue. This story first appeared earlier this month in the US based Modern Tire Dealer magazine. It was subsequently reported on the Internet sites of other trade press. Tim Chesney says that this account is without foundation and it should be disregarded. The extent of the inaccuracy of the story is shown in the supposed facts given by Modern Tire Dealer magazine. They quoted Gajah Tunggals daily radial tyre production capacity as being just 12,000 pieces when the correct figure is around 25,000 pieces, says Tim Chesney. He goes on to say that the reality is Gajah Tunggal has embarked on a major and exciting expansion programme. This will see the introduction of many new sizes, series and tread patterns, including the all new GT Champiro BAX asymmetric series and the Champiro BXT.
Continue ReadingNokian to terminate joint venture with Amtel
Nokian has announced its intention to terminate the Joint Venture with Russian company, Amtel. Under the terms of the agreement Amtel produced Nokians intermediate brand, Nordman. Nokian has established its own logistical centre in the Moscow area and is now concentrating its marketing strategy on the Nokian brand alone. The company is building a new tyre factory close to St. Petersburg. It is expected that this factory will commence production in 2005.
Continue ReadingMichelin expect strong growth in China
According to the Shanghai Daily, Michelin will continue to expand its Chinese venture by investing several hundred millions of US dollars in automobile tyre production plants. Expansion efforts are expected to continue for five years, at which annual production capacity will top several million units of tires, said Eric Jugier, chairman of Michelin (China) Investment Co Ltd. In 2001, Michelin established a joint venture with Shanghai Tire & Rubber with an investment of 200 million US dollars in exchange for a 70 per cent stake. Michelin also plans to add up to 200 retail shops in China this year. Jugier said he expected Michelins business to grow much faster than that of the industry as a whole. The Chinese tyre sector is expected to grow by about 30 per cent annually for the next five years. In 2003 there was a 36.7 per cent increase in vehicle manufacture and China is expected to produce 125 million tyres in 2004, one-third of which will be exported.
Continue ReadingSmarTire Signs Agreement with Lexani Wheel Corp.
SmarTire Systems Inc. has signed a distribution agreement with Lexani Wheel Corp., a premier manufacturer of luxury alloy wheels based in California. Lexani will bundle SmarTires tyre pressure monitoring system with its innovative Johnson line of custom wheels. Lexani wheels are sold through an extensive dealer base and are well known in the American automotive aftermarket, boasting a prestigious list of clients and countless award-winning show vehicles. A purchase order accompanied the distribution agreement.
Continue ReadingBridgestone perform well in German tests
Bridgestone tyres have headed the rankings in comparative tests conducted by German ADAC motorwelt. Reports published in the March issue place the B330 Evo 165/70 R 14 T and RE720 205/55 R 16 W at the top of their respective categories in side-by-side evaluations of summer tyres from competitive suppliers to the European marketplace. Both brands, Bridgestone and Firestone, were highly placed. With a VW Polo as the test vehicle, the Bridgestone B330 Evo emerged ahead of 15 rivals. The Firestone F590 FS also occupied a high position on this list. In the 205/55 R 16 W class, the Bridgestone RE720 ranked first among a line-up of 15 tyres put through their paces on an Audi A4. Here too, the Firestone brand fared well, with the Firehawk TZ 200 filling third place in the points total.
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