New President For Alliance
Zwika Meiri is to succeed Yinon Esroni as President of Alliance Tire Co. (Hadera/Israel) within the few next weeks.
Continue ReadingAquatred 3 By Goodyear
At the beginning of the 90s Goodyear had great success – especially in USA – with its aquachannel tyre Aquatred. Now the tyre manufacturer launches in North America the dual-aquachannel tyre Aquatred 3 with greater dry traction performance and an 80,000-mile treadlife Warranty. The all-season tyre will be introduced initially in 18 popular T-rated sizes.
Continue ReadingWeather Master SiO2 By Cooper
The first Cooper winter tyre designed specifically for the Alpine market is to be manufactured at Cooper-Avon Tyres Melksham (United Kingdom) plant. The Weather-Master SiO2 will be available in 15 T-rated and 11 H-rated sizes this autumn.
Continue ReadingDeceit at BRW?
The current total of 153 employees of retreader Berliner Reifenwerke (BRW) have been waiting for their salaries since March. However, they are now hoping that after a proposal of insolvency, one of the three potential investors with whom the Berlin economic authorities are negotiating, will take over the plant this month and continue production. The two BRW owners Cohnen and Krüßmann are suspected of misappropriating 46.1 million German marks which were given for investments. Meanwhile a German magazine reports a Credit Suisse (Frankfurt) account of approximately 32 million German marks. Account-holder is a Tahiti-registered company belonging to Horst Krüßmann, former Managing Director of Berliner Reifenwerke. Berlin Public Prosecutors are conducting judicial inquiries.
Continue ReadingOpinion Poll: Continental After Bosch And Siemens
In a recent opinion poll, by the magazine Automotive Engineering Partners, 200 car producers and supplier experts regarded Bosch, DaimlerChrysler and the FEV-Motorentechnik as the most innovative companies in the automotive industry. Continental was third, behind Siemens, in the supplier section.
Continue ReadingViborg Acquires Pneu-Stössel
Pneu-Stössel AG (Schlieren) has sold its eight outlets to the strongest independent tyre dealer organisation in Europe, Danish Viborg Gruppen. With its subsidiary Pneu Matti AG (Dietlikon), Viborg Gruppen was already one ofthe leading Swiss tyre dealers. Integrating Pneu-Stössel creates Switzerlands market leader among independent tyre dealers with 21 outlets and more than 140 employees.
Continue ReadingFree Inspection Of 4×4 Tyres In Europe Offered By Bridgestone
Bridgestone/Firestone is offering European motorists a free inspection of 4x4 tyres made in the USA. This covers 24 types of tyres, around 13,000 of which have been imported into Europe over the past decade. The company estimates that only half this number are still on the road and it will replace them free if the customer is still worried after inspection. Nine sizes are involved.
Continue ReadingThird Quarter Loss For Goodyear
Goodyear reported a net loss for the third quarter of $6.6 million and a net income of $109.1 m (Q3 1999: $3.3 bn). High raw material and energy costs were contributory factors. World-wide Q3 sales were $3.5 bn and sales for the first nine months of the year were $10.5 bn (1999: $9.3 bn). Before these figures were revealed, analysts – following a statement towards the end of September by Samir Gibara, describing a difficult outlook for the tyre industry – had widely expected Goodyear to break even at best.
Continue ReadingCost-Cutters Instead Of Architects – Goodyear Facing The Year 2001
There was much celebration when Goodyear announced its joint venture with Dunlop, designed to make the group the biggest in the world. Since then, things not been going according to plan, with Goodyears share price plummeting. A new president has been appointed and an in-depth article in our January issue which can be downloaded in full length as PDF file (size: 1.20 Mbytes, Adobe Acrobat Reader required) argues that the group desperately needs to reorganise and change the way that decisions are made, to get closer to the market and to re-define areas of responsibility. An increase in size has brought inflexibility and a slowness to react, which is stifling the companys chances of future growth. Our article suggests one possible solution to this problem, but it is one which will involve a radical change of philosophy and methods of operation.
Continue ReadingTyre Experience Lands Testing Job
Former F1-Minardi driver Marc Gene has become a test driver at the BMW-Williams team due to his extensive experience in testing new tyre developments. BMW-Williams will start on Michelin tyres next season.
Continue ReadingCheng Shin Opens US Technical Centre
In December, Taiwanese tyre manufacturer Cheng Shin, producer of the Maxxis brand, opened a technical centre in Georgia where the company employs five people. Cheng Shin already has an R&D centre in Taiwan, employing more than 150 technical staff. The company does not plan to open other R&D centres outside Taiwan.
Continue ReadingPirelli Wants to Grow Faster than the Market
Dr. Paolo Masera, the current boss of Pirelli Reifenwerke, is convinced that Pirelli has every reason to look to the future as a profitable, independent tyre manufacturer. The revolutionary production method MIRS will not only make it possible for the Italian manufacturer to gain cost leadership, he believes, but the automated production process also promises a great improvement even on today’s quality. He stresses Pirelli’s role as the well-accepted technology partner of the motor manufacturing industry in Europe, supplier to Porsche, BMW, Rover, DaimlerChrysler, Ford, Volkswagen, Audi, Opel and others. Pirelli will not offer a multi-brand strategy because users are less interested in so-called cheap brands; they would rather buy first-class brands at a more favourable price. That does not exclude arrangements with larger customers for the supply of certain group house brands, e.g. Courier, if there is a call for it. The German organisation is facing a fundamental change. In future the emphasis will be more on key accounters, and so-called channel marketing is to be strengthened.
Continue ReadingTenneco To Close York Plant
Tenneco Automotive has announced that it is to start formal consultations with employees regarding the closure of its Monroe factory in York with the loss of 392 jobs. Tenneco blames competitive pressures, requiring the company to reduce capacity. Subject to consultations, the closing will be complete by the end of the year.
Continue ReadingContiPremiumContact – Developed to Customers’ Specifications
From the spring of 2000 the new ContiPremiumContact will gradually replace the ContiEcoContact CP as the tyre for top-class cars. With this new summer tyre Hanover expects a significant increase in the replacement and the original equipment business in tyres with speed categories of 190 km/h and above during the next few years. The new tyre was presented to the international trade press in mid-February. A study undertaken by the development/consultancy Institut für Sensorikforschung und Innovationsberatung has established that the first and foremost user requirement of a tyre is safety. By which he means aquaplaning protection, short brake distances, steering precision, roadholding and tracking stability. With three construction specifications – an innovative bionic contour emulating a cat’s paw that extends in width when the brakes are applied, an asymmetric tread pattern and a third-generation silica compound – the PremiumContact wants to fulfil these requirements. Continental is seeking a total of 37 original equipment approvals from 14 vehicle manufacturers with the PremiumContact – available in eleven different 16 and 17 inch sizes. In the replacement business the ContiPremiumContact will initially be launched in 13 sizes, a 75 p.c. market coverage, according to the manufacturer. The new tyre will be positioned at the same price level as its predecessor.
Continue ReadingPirelli Sell Cisco-Shares
Pirelli has sold a first stake of its Cisco-shares for US$1.55 bn to institutional investors. When it sold its Pirelli Optical Systems for US$2.15 bn the company received Cisco-shares in lieu of payment.
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