Continued OE Growth For Superior
Superior Industries International has announced that it has been awarded new and replacement aluminium wheel supply contracts from General Motors. The new contracts include the Hummer H2; painted and chrome wheels for the Buick LeSabre; and chrome wheels for the Cadillac Escalade. Key replacement contracts include redesigned wheels for the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickup trucks and the Cadillac Deville. “This new business continues our confidence in our future growth, said Louis L. Borick, Chairman and President.
Continue ReadingMichelin strengthens its partnership with Bentley
For their 2003 racing programme, Michelin will become Bentleys exclusive supplier in competition. This partnership involves the development and supply of tyres for preliminary testing at Sebring and the Le Mans 24 hour race. On the production car side, Michelin will become the supply partner for the new Bentley Continental GT.
Continue Reading180 Jobs To Go At Goodyear Wolverhampton
Goodyear has announced that 180 jobs will be lost at its Wolverhampton, UK, plant. The company has had to make the announcement to comply with employment legislation and the jobs could be lost as early as the beginning of next year. Uncompetitive production performance and low European demand for tyres were cited as the main reason. The job cuts will halve tyre production at Wolverhampton to 3,000 tyres a day.
Continue ReadingTyre Sales Benefit From Angola Peace Dividend
Since the ending of hostilities in Angola, the tyre and associated industries have enjoyed something of a sales boom, especially truck tyres as the countrys roads are restored. One tyre dealer in Luanda said that, while the war was going on, he was lucky to sell three truck tyres a day, but since the advent of peace, his tyre sales have grown to 20 units daily.
Continue ReadingUS Tyre Fire Still Burning After Four Days
Hundreds of thousands of scrap tyres on a three-acre dump in Pasadena have been burning since late Saturday night, sending flames 300 feet into the air. Between 50 and 60 firefighters are at the scene around the clock. The blaze started when a stolen car was deliberately set alight and the flames spread to the tyre dump.
Continue ReadingTough Year For Amcast
Joseph Grewe, CEO at Amcast said, The year to August 2002 had been a tough year, but things were getting better. North American wheel division continued to perform well with sales up 25 percent, more than doubling their operating income. Automotive sales increased by 30 per cent in total for the final quarter of the year against the same quarter in the previous year. Improved performance of the wheels operations and cost cutting exercises were offset by losses incurred at the Richmond plant affected by launch problems with five major new product launches. An underestimation of demand from the motor manufacturers forced Amcast to increase purchases and develop new unplanned capacity to meet the requested production flow. Despite the general good news the company performed slightly worse in 2002 than in 2001. Largely due to the problems at Richmond and continued poor performance from Speedline. Flow Control also saw a drop in income of 51 percent due to a lower market and one time IT expenses. However, the company reports that five out of eleven production facilities operated profitably in 2002 against only three out of eleven for 2001.
Continue ReadingRevenue Increases 28 Per Cent For Superior Q3
Superior Industries reported a 28 per cent increase in revenue for the third quarter 2002 against the same quarter for 2001. For the nine months to September 2002 revenue increased 23 per cent from 474,417,000 dollars in 2001 to 585,864,000 dollars. Net income over the same period increased by 39 per cent.
Continue ReadingSuperior Industries See Expansion in OE – End of Aftermarket
At Superior Industries 3rd quarter conference call the company announced expected growth of 15 per cent every year for the next three years. This was based on the expected demand from the OE market where the company was seeing growth in supplying the key manufacturers. Shipments to DaimlerChrysler were up to 6 per cent, whilst there was a 15 per cent growth in supplies to non-Ford/GM companies. Market share at Ford/GM continued to increase. However, the aftermarket revenue for the third quarter stood at 903,000 Dollars. Superior accepted that this was an indication that this sector of the market was nearing an end for the company. Current US capacity is around 14.5 million units, plus potentially 2 million from Hungary. In order to meet new demand the company was expanding production capacity at Rogers, Arkansas and at two other plants. Plus there was the possibility of another new plant being developed in the next two years, possibly in China producing wheels exclusively for the export market.
Continue ReadingContinental May Move More Production East
Continental has said that it plans to improve profitability by utilising cheap eastern European labour. CEO Manfred Wennemer told reporters in Moscow that the company would not invest in fully automated plants in the west, but would shift production to factories in countries with low labour costs. The 50 per cent target is not magical, neither would 60 or 70 percent represent a limit. Labour in the Czech republic is 25 per cent of that in Hanover, and Romanian labour is only 10 per cent of that in Germany.
Continue ReadingComponents Business Boosts Cooper 3Q Results
Cooper Tire & Rubber has published its third quarter figures. Turnover rose 6 per cent to $839 million (3Q 2001: $791 m). For the first nine months, sales have totalled $2.5 billion, with a net income of $88 million, up 87 per cent on the same period last year. Tyre sales were almost static in 3Q at $464 million ($462 m), while auto component sales were up 14 per cent at $381 million. The companys overall net income for the quarter was $23 million, compared to a loss in 3Q 2001 of $20 million, due largely to charges relating to settlement of class action litigation.
Continue ReadingSmarTire And Pirelli Agree On TPMS
Pirelli has reached an agreement with SmarTire for the application of tyre pressure monitoring systems. The system will be marketed under the brand X-Pressure and should be commercially available across key European markets. Francesco Gori, Head of Pirelli Tyre Division says, This agreement opens a new phase in the evolution of Pirelli which integrates the tyre with the vehicle. It may come that the tyre will have dialogues with the vehicles control systems.
Continue ReadingThird Quarter Loss For GM
General Motors has posted a loss for the third quarter, despite a strong performance. The loss occurred because GM wrote off almost all of its $2.4 billion stake in Fiat, saying that the 20 per cent stake in the Italian manufacturer is now worth only $220 million. Fiat claims that this seriously undervalues its auto operations.
Continue ReadingIndian Businesses Seek Cut In Duty On Tyres
In New Delhi, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry has called for a halving of excise duty on tyres and tubes from 32 per cent to 16 per cent.
Continue Reading“Personalityres” From Continental
Continental says it is looking at the possibility of introducing a range of tyres, incorporating colourful designs such as denim and leopard print. The concept is aimed at encouraging people to view their tyres as fashion accessories. The new product, which is a long way from production, is called Personalityres. We know the item reads like an April Fools Day joke, but it is true, although we dont know when (if ever) we will see such tyres, as the technical difficulties have been ignored. It has been featured on TV, radio and national press, so if Conti was trying to get publicity, it succeeded!
Continue ReadingAsia Vital To Auto Industry – Report
Automotive consultants Autopolis pinpoint Asia as critical to the worlds car and truck manufacturers in the coming years. While sales are expected to continue falling in Europe and North America, over the next decade sales in Asia (excluding Japan) will grow at over seven times the global average, autopolis predicts, with the fastest growth in China and Thailand. Sales of vehicles in China for the year 2010 are predicted to be 4.75 million; more than double the figure for the year 2000.
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