Kumho In Talks With Pension Fund?
Following the breakdown of talks between Kumho and the consortium led by JP Morgan Chase and Carlyle Group, concerning the sale of 80 per cent of Kumhos Tyre Division, a media report from Korea says that talks are on-going with the South Korea Military Pension Fund to buy the company. Neither the fund, nor Kumho, nor the state-run Korea Development Bank, which the report says would provide funding for any deal, would comment on the report.
Continue ReadingAnalysts Cautious Over US Car Sales
Car industry analysts have reacted cautiously to news that November sales in the USA were ahead of predictions. Continuing high incentives to buy is helping sales volumes, but keeping profits down, leading to a situation dubbed profitless prosperity by one analyst. Even more ironic is the fact that it is the Big 3 of Ford, GM and Chrysler that are offering the greatest incentives, yet all three experienced double-digit sales falls last month and their market share is down 3 per cent to 61 per cent, with shares of imported vehicles rising. Analysts predict more of the same for early 2003, with prices falling because of over-supply of vehicles and the main question being how much longer can the situation continue?
Continue ReadingGalaxy And Trayal Sign Off-Take Agreement
Galaxy Tire & Wheel has signed a five-year, $27.5 million off-take and technology sharing agreement with Yugoslavian company Trayal. Trayal will produce Galaxy and Constellation skid steer and industrial tyres and the two companies will develop a line of off-road radials to replace Galaxys current line of port tyres. They will also collaborate on a line of special trailer radials and, when these are available, Galaxy will market wheel/tyre assemblies to OE trailer manufacturers.
Continue ReadingLarge US Retread Contract For Michelin
In the United States, Michelin Retread Technologies has won a two-year contract to supply retreads and servicing to the vehicle fleet of utility company Alabama Power Co. The fleet includes around 1,900 passenger and light truck vehicles, 840 heavy trucks, 1,000 trailers and 30 off-road vehicles.
Continue ReadingKumho Talks Come To Nothing
The talks between the Kumho Group and the US consortium of JP Morgan Chase and the Carlyle Group, aimed at selling Kumhos tyre division, have broken down. The disagreement was over prices, with a Kumho spokesman quoted as saying that the consortiums offer price was really cheap and unacceptable. Earlier in the year, the two sides signed a memorandum of understanding to sell 80 per cent of the Kumho Tyre, but this expired in November with no deal finalised. Kumho says it is talking to another - as yet unnamed - buyer.
Continue ReadingKoSa Expands Tyre Cord Production
KoSa is investing in the expansion of two of its tyre cord facilities; at Queretaro (Mexico) and Charlotte (North Carolina). Output at Queretaro will increase by 40 per cent, while the investment at Salisbury will mean higher quality product for packages.
Continue ReadingSime Darby Increase Profits In Q1
Sime Darby Bhd has reported a 17% rise in net profit to RM 214.1mil for its first quarter ended Sept 30. We are quite pleased with the results and if this trend continues, we can beat last years performance, said Sime Darby group chief executive Tan Sri Nik Mohamed Yaacob. Its tyre manufacturing division saw improved profits thanks to production efficiencies and a rise in turnover.
Continue ReadingContinental Wants To Be A Major Global Player In The Agricultural Field
If everything in life went according to plan or the way it was once written down in the corporate strategy books, then the production of agricultural tyres would have been abandoned long ago. Already way back when Messrs. Haverbeck and Borgmann were board members, there were such angry arguments about the distribution of costs that closing down production looked to be a foregone conclusion. Eventually, however, they changed their minds and production of agricultural tyres continued, even though there was next to no money to be made from it. Closing down production would have cost the corporation even more and so it opted for the lesser evil, but for the companys dedicated agricultural tyres there was virtually no scope for future growth. And yet in this new millennium the German corporation is one of the few truly serious suppliers in this highly specialised field. In an interview with NEUE REIFENZEITUNG in August 2002 in Otrokovice, Werner Flebbe, head of the agricultural tyre sector at Continental AG, and Thorsten Bublitz, head of corporate marketing and distribution of agricultural tyres, admitted that up until 1995 the company did not exactly cover itself with glory - and yet, in the same breath they were able to add that the largest and most modern agricultural tyres demanded by the industry are now built in the Czech Republic. And the price ratios are now OK. What is more important, according to Werner Flebbe, is that the major Original Equipment suppliers are now strongly interested in co-operating with Continental.
Continue ReadingMarangoni: The Joy Of Eating The Last Cannolo
At the risk of stereotyping, the Italians do everything with a passion. They cook with a passion, and they eat with a passion. In the UK we tend to cook to eat and we eat to live. In Italy, the cook would be insulted if the diner only ate to live. The diner would not visit the restaurant of the chef who cooked without interest, without passion. That drive, that passion is to be found almost everywhere in Italian life, in politics, in motoring, in football, and in art and architecture. There is an ethos which cannot be called a work ethic, it runs deeper than the work ethic, it is quite simply more, almost spiritual in nature. That passion can be found at Marangoni. When visiting any tyre company there is a sense of pride in the company and its products. It has to be said that, in most companies, this is a foregone conclusion because the PR representative accompanying you is present to ensure that the corporate message gets across. However, when visiting Marangoni at Anagni, south of Rome, it soon becomes obvious that the passion runs deeper than a PR exercise. Marangoni Tyre is just one part of a larger Marangoni Group with a worldwide presence. Marangoni was established in 1950 and by 1960 was manufacturing retread tyres. A history of development, attention to detail and a keen eye on the market brought Marangoni to the situation where in 1989 the Group decided to move into new tyre production at Anagni.
Continue ReadingGoodyear Has Reached A Record Low – Hopes Are Placed In Keegan
Its been official since October 1st: Robert (Bob) Keegan (55), who left Kodak as President and COO to join Goodyear two years ago, will be replacing Samir (Sam) Gibara (63) as from 1st January 2003, to become the new CEO, just under one year earlier than planned. Gibara will remain Chairman, a position comparable to that of Chairman of the Board in a European public limited company, and he will be chairing the executive committee, which will assist and advise Keegan. From official statements it is clear that this committee does not and will not serve to purely oversee operations, but fully intends to exercise the right of offering advice and of intervening actively in the running of the corporation.
Continue ReadingLooking Back
Where does a year go? Before we know it, it will be Christmas, then another year will be over. Our retrospective of 2002 looks at what and who made the news in the tyre industry during the year, as recorded in the pages of this magazine.
Continue ReadingGetting The Balance Right
Wheel balancing is much more than sticking a lead weight on a wheel - increasingly, people do not want their nice, expensive alloy wheels defaced with a lump of metal, so new programmes have to be introduced to make sure that the weights are hidden, yet safely attached. And the weights differ too, depending on the car model and wheel type. Then theres the ban lead weights argument - all in all theres more to balancing than appears at first sight.
Continue ReadingMystery Shopping Exercise Shows Up Faults
More than half of garages across the UK deliver low standards of service to customers, according to new research published recently. Key car industry figures have met with Consumer Minister Melanie Johnson and Industry Minister Alan Johnson to discuss the problem. The Ministers welcomed a pledge from the industry to sign up in principle to develop a Good Garage scheme to tackle the low standards. A recent government-sponsored mystery shopping survey found that 51 per cent of garages missed one or more safety-related defects in cars or items that should have been picked up in a regular servicing. The survey also revealed that, only five per cent of garages sampled carried out a thorough service against the manufacturers schedule and were judged to be very good, · 86 per cent of garages missed at least one introduced fault · 40 per cent of garages missed at least one service item; 51 per cent if the customer was female, 33 per cent if the customer was male; and · 27 per cent of fast fit centres recommended unnecessary replacement of parts.
Continue ReadingWhat’s Your Diagnosis?
Smoking is bad for you. It doesnt do your car much good either. If your emissions are not up to standard, not only is your car not performing optimally, but you might be breaking the law. What is on the market to help you diagnose faults in customers cars, and is there money to be made in it?
Continue ReadingNTDA Conference 2002
There was a new look to the conference of the National Tyre Distributors Association, held at the Valparaiso Palace Hotel in Palma, Mallorca, in September. Entitled InTyreActive, the conference was designed so that the delegates set the agenda and discussed matters that they felt were important to the industry, rather than listen to a string of speakers. Having said that, the keynote speech was retained and association Chairman, Martin Rowlands, opened the event by introducing the speaker, Sir Tom Farmer. New format gets people talking as delegates debate a series of issues The NTDA conference promised something different, with the delegates deciding what was important and what they wanted to talk about. InTyreActive, as it was known, was a new concept to many attendees and it was run by a facilitator, who explained what was going to happen over the two sessions. Anyone could suggest a topic, the title of which was written on a piece of paper and stuck to the wall. Delegates added their names to the topics in which they were interested. In fact, the wall played a crucial part in proceedings, as notes taken at the meeting were pinned up for general reading, plus it was used for charts, comments and suggestions. By setting the agenda, the idea was, as the NTDA publicity said, to explore the key issues facing your industry now and in the future.
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