John McNaught – “Confident, but not complacent”
John McNaught joined Bridgestone UK in February last year as Managing Director, moving from Continental, where he had been responsible for the companys commercial tyre business. Since his move to Bridgestone, he has kept something of a low profile as he got to grips with his new position, but a year later, he agreed to talk to T&A about his plans for Bridgestone.The chance to move to Bridgestone came after about a year working for Continental and it was too good to turn down, he said. It was something of a departure after a career spent mostly in sales and distribution and an eye-opener; I used to think that manufacturers had an easy life, he admits.
Continue ReadingSurvey shows popularity of mobile fitting
AA Tyre Fit carried out a survey of 50 randomly chosen drivers who had used the companys mobile tyre fitting service within the previous 60 days. 21 of the respondents were fleet customers, the remainder retail.86 per cent said they would use mobile fitting in preference to visiting a fast-fit centre, while four per cent preferred the latter. The reasons given for preferring mobile fitting were more convenient and it allows me to make more efficient use of my time. Location of mobile fitting was split almost equally between home, office and roadside.The findings came as no surprise to AA Tyre Fit General Manager David Goodyear, who said: Customers have a perception of fast-fit centres as dirty and unpleasant places where they can spend an hour or more hanging around while their new tyres, which are nearly always a distress purchase, are fitted.
Continue ReadingGibara bows out as Keegan takes over
Goodyear has announced that Samir Gibara (64) will resign as chairman at the end of June. The board has elected Robert J. Keegan (55) as his successor and, in addition, Keegan will continue to serve as Goodyears CEO and president.Enter Robert J. Keegan. He is from outside the tyre industry, having been president of the Consumer Imaging business and an executive vice president of Eastman Kodak Co. before joining Goodyear in October 2000 as director, president and chief operating officer. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics and a master of business administration degree in finance.Keegan was taken on as the man to succeed Sam Gibara and he was elected as CEO at the beginning of this year, assuming management responsibility for the company. One things for certain - the ball is well and truly in his court and it is with him that the buck now stops.
Continue ReadingAlcoa Aluminium forged wheels for Jeep Wrangler
Alcoas 16-inch forged Aluminium wheels will feature on the limited edition Jeep(R) Wrangler Rubicon Tomb Raider model based on the custom Wrangler Rubicon featured in the upcoming movie, Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life.Chrysler Groups Jeep brand approached Alcoa to design, produce and ship product in less than three months. Says Joel Alent, Account Manager for Forged Speciality Wheels, Our ability to produce low volume speciality wheels and meet the quality and delivery needs of higher volume OEM products makes this an ideal partnership. Alcoa Wheel and Forged Products plant in Cleveland delivered. They conceived, sourced and shipped the short run of 5,000 wheels to the customer in less than three months.
Continue ReadingDoes the UK wheel sector need an industry body?
In talks with Terry Bray of Smiths Wheels the subject of controls came up in the conversation. It was not the first time that controls have been discussed by wheel manufacturers. The lack of controls is at best, a serious irritation to the producers of quality products. It does seem strange that one of the key elements in the vehicles ability to remain in contact with the road surface can be changed from that specified by the manufacturer without the replacement component having to undergo testing procedures or meet any national standards.When consumers buy products they do so in the belief that they are buying goods which are inherently safe. To sell products which may not be safe is questionable.
Continue ReadingTitan International announces Q2 Dividend
The Board of Directors of Titan International, Inc has approved a quarterly cash dividend of $.005 (one half cent) per common share for the second quarter of 2003. The cash dividend is payable July 15, 2003, to stockholders of record on June 30, 2003.
Continue ReadingKumho: Big change and no change
Kumho Industrial, until recently the owner of Kumho Tire, has been trying to find a new investor for the tyre division. An investor that would allow the incumbent management and strategies to remain in place, albeit in an enhanced form.The new arrangement is such that the Tire Business Unit has been acquired, with a 50 per cent share being taken by the Military Mutual Aid Association, a military pension fund. Kumho retains a 30 per cent share, and the balance is made up from a number of smaller investors. This establishes a new joint venture with an initial value of 1.2 billion US Dollars.T&A visited J. M. Kim, managing director of Kumho UK, to get a first hand reaction to the new joint venture.
Continue ReadingHampshire tyre fire
More than 2,000 tyres were engulfed in the blaze on Tuesday night, at the Chawton End Peugeot garage near Alton. About 200 people have been moved to safety. Mike Gates, spokesman for Hampshire Fire and Rescue, said although firefighting equipment had the flames under control, though firefighters had to pull back from the blaze due to the danger from stored oxygen and acetylene cylinders at the garage.
Continue ReadingProducer Responsibility – Managed Market versus Free Market approaches
Back in our April issue, the editorial column was devoted to the subject of producer responsibility and the fact that the Government had asked the tyre industry to re-think its approach towards the subject.It soon became clear that, from the united industry answer to the first consultation paper, this time there was to be no such degree of unanimity and different sectors proposed different approaches. On the one hand were the manufacturers - or at least some of them - who favoured what they described as a managed approach while on the other hand, retailers and wholesalers (many of this latter group would be obligated as importers of tyres) preferred what they called the free market approach. The two approaches are very different and, because it was recognised by the industry that a single industry response, rather than a number of different ones, would inspire more confidence in Government, an attempt was made to get major players round a table and try to find common ground.
Continue ReadingHankook wins Ford OE contract
Hankook Tire Manufacturing Co. will be supplying Ford with tires for the F-150. Supply to the worlds top auto maker should enhance the brand recognition of Hankook Tire in the global market, said Cho Choong-Hwan, Hankooks top executive. Hankook Tire America Corp. is expected to release more details on this domestic OE contract with Ford soon.
Continue ReadingAuto Shanghai attracts 200,000
Auto Shanghai 2003, the 10th International Automobile and Manufacturing Exhibition, proved to be a great success, with 730 exhibitors from 23 countries and a show area of 81,000 square metres. The event ran from 21st to 25th April and attracted almost 200,000 visitors to the Shanghai New International Expo Centre.The 200 or so exhibitors from the automotive supply industry included a group of 50 companies from Germany.The show was held against a background of rising numbers of cases of SARS and in view of this problem, the organisers took a number of precautionary measures. Shanghais municipal authorities took the decision to close the show three days early in order to avoid the expected floods of visitors from other regions of China over the weekend. In general, this was welcomed by exhibitors, many of whom said that the visitor response had been so positive that they had achieved their trade fair objectives, despite the early closure.
Continue ReadingSinclair to Lead Goodyear Global Communications
Charles L. (Chuck) Sinclair has been named senior vice president, global communications of The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, reporting to president and chief executive officer Robert J. Keegan. Sinclair will be responsible for leading Goodyears global team of communications professionals in the execution of a communications strategy and providing counsel to senior leadership on issues impacting the company. Sinclair replaces Robert J. OLeary, who has been named as senior vice president, public relations, community and government affairs of Goodyear customer Sears, Roebuck and Company.
Continue ReadingFirst quarter loss for Goodyear
Goodyear Tire & Rubber has posted a first quarter 2003 net loss of $163.3 million, compared to a 1Q loss last year of $63.2 million. Turnover for the period was up 7.1 per cent to $3.5 billion ($3.3 bn 1Q 2002), but much of this was due to the effect of currency translation - estimated by the company to be $139 million. Tyre unit volume in 1Q was down at 52.6 million units, compared with 53 million in 1Q last year. The loss before taxes was $135 million ($85.6 m 1Q 2002).The international tyre businesses generally performed well, but Goodyear continued to struggle with its tyre business in North America. Robert Keegan, President and CEO, was optimistic, however, saying that Goodyear was aggressively cutting costs to make the business competitive. He added: We have much work left to do, but our turnaround is on track.
Continue ReadingPirelli OE On BMW 5 Series
Pirelli P7 high performance tyres are to be OE on the new BMW 5 series, in sizes 205/60 R16 and 225/55 R16. This is the latest collaboration between the two companies, which has seen Pirelli P6000 Powergy tyres as OE on the BMW 3 series, P Zero Rosso tyres for the 7 series and the run-flat Eufori@ for the Mini.
Continue Reading“Mobile Billboards” For Bridgestone/Firestone
In the USA, Bridgestone/Firestone has turned more than 200 of the companys trailers into mobile billboards, featuring images of tyres and vehicles. One side of the trailer features Bridgestone tyres fitted to an Enzo Ferrari, motorcycle, 18-wheeler and stylised Grand Prix racing car. The other side pictures Firestone agricultural and racing tyres, with pictures of a tractor and an Indy Car. The brands heritage is emphasised by a picture of Harvey Firestone.
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