Death Of The Son Of General Tire’s Founder
John ONeil, for many years a Director of General Tire & Rubber – the company his father and tyre pioneer William ONeil founded – died on 5th April, aged 82.
Continue ReadingProfit Expectations At VW Have To Be Reduced
According to the German magazine Stern VW has to reduce its profit expectations for the actual business year by 1.9 billion DM in comparison with its mid-term forecast. In February VW-boss Ferdinand Piëch already requested better results from subsidiary companies Audi, Seat and Skoda. Critics fear that the latest excursion into the luxury-segment (D1) will have a negative effect on the core business of VW.
Continue ReadingBridgestone Again GM’s Supplier Of The Year
The Bridgestone group, suppliers of Bridgestone and Firestone tyres to General Motors plants around the World, has received the Supplier of the Year Award from GM for the fifth year in succession.
Continue ReadingCash Dividend For Titan’s Second Quarter
Titan International (Quincy/Illinois) has announced a cash dividend of one and a half cents per common share for the second quarter of 2000.
Continue ReadingDividend Declared By Goodyear
On 1st August, the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company declared a quarterly dividend of 30 cents a share, representing an annual rate of $1.20 per share. The dividend is payable September 15, to shareholders registered at August 15.
Continue ReadingXM 108 With Improved Performance
Michelins popular agricultural tyre XM 108 is available with an improved performance and higher load indices.
Continue ReadingInvestors Better Off With GM Shares Instead Of Ford
Analysts are recommending investment in GM rather than Ford. Ford is under the public microscope and the focus of analysts. This week, the shares have fallen 13%, representing damage to the group of more than US$ 10 bn. The management is accused of having known about the problems - which have led to the voluntary recall of Firestone tyres - for around two years. Consumer groups and official authorities want an answer to the question whether Ford has worked (ie changed or improved) on the suspension of its vehicles in Venezuela in order to overcome the problems there. The reaction at the stock exchange has probably gone far too far, as, even if the company had to mount a vehicle recall, the figure of US$ 10 bn is too high. The real costs, if any, would be in the region of US$ 1 bn or less.
Continue Reading30 Years Of BBS
This year alloy wheel producer BBS celebrates its 30th birthday. BBS is not one of the biggest producers of aluminium wheels but intends to grow significantly: from 2003 BBS plans to build up capacities of more than 4 million pieces a year at its headquarters in Germanys Black Forest town Schiltach, at Italys Ruina factory near Ferrara and at a new plant in Herbolzheim near Freiburg. BBS is an oe supplier for car brands like BMW, Mercedes (AMG), Porsche, Ferrari, Jaguar, Saab, Volvo, Peugeot and Volkswagen and specialises in highly sophisticated wheels which means that the wheels are in extreme sizes or modular or have additional other special features. The history of BBS includes a lot of success in motorsport. BBS has been producing wheels for motorsport since 1974, and in 1991 the cooperation with Ferrari began. High-end products are the forged magnesium wheels for Formula 1 which are also flow-formed. Not only Ferrari with top driver Michael Schumacher, but also Benetton, Jaguar, Arrows, Prost, and hundreds of racing teams in other series all over the world trust in racing wheels by BBS – one of the main reasons that BBS is also the image leader in the alloy wheel aftermarkets of the world. Learn more about BBS in NEUE REIFENZEITUNG’s October issue.
Continue Readinglusive License To Kuhl Wheel Technology For Hayes Lemmerz
Hayes Lemmerz and The Epilogics Group have announced that Epilogics has granted Hayes Lemmerz worldwide exclusive rights to the Kuhl Wheel technology. The Kuhl Wheel design integrates the hub and spokes into a one-piece stamping. Using standard steel rims, these wheels weigh significantly less than conventional steel wheels and allow greater flexibility in wheel trim design.
Continue ReadingConcerns For Michelin Over Prost F1 Team
Michelin is worried that data on its tyres might be made available to Ferrari (Bridgestone) if the French company supplies the Alain Prost F1 team with tyres next season. Prost will be using Ferrari engines. As the new company on the block, Michelin is obliged to supply 60% of the grid. Bridgestone has signed with six teams, and says that it is not looking for more, which would appear to leave Michelin with little choice other than to supply Prost.
Continue ReadingTop Spot Again For Michelin In US Survey
In the US, J.D. Power and Associates conducted an OE tyre satisfaction survey among 31,000 buyers of new vehicles. Michelin came top in the car and minivan category for the third year running and won the light truck category (including pickups and SUVs) for the second consecutive time. Runners-up in the car segment were (in order) Continental, BFGoodrich and Dunlop. In the light truck category, Michelin was followed by Dunlop, BFGoodrich and Firestone. The survey took place before the Firestone tyre recall.
Continue ReadingIs Continental Chasing Matador?
Since January 1999 Continental has held a 75% stake in Matadors truck tyre production. Now rumours suggest that Continental is seeking the same deal for passenger car tyre production. There is no confirmation of this from Continental. Up until now Matador management has been keen to remain independent as far as passenger car tyre production is concerned. Matador see opportunities to develop passenger car market share throughout Europe as well as maintaining its successful position in Russia.
Continue ReadingUnease For DaimlerChrysler
According to US-based news reports, Dieter Zetsche, currently head of the truck division, is to be named as the new head of Chrysler, replacing Jim Holden. This is taken as a signal that the firms problems in America run much deeper than previously thought. It suggests that the market resistance to the Chrysler product is not solely price-based. As the problem develops and becomes more public, the greater the questions raised will be, regarding the wisdom of the Daimler-Benz/Chrysler merger.
Continue ReadingKrupp Elastomertechnik: One-Stop Shop
Krupp Elastomertechnik was created in 1996 by the merger of the company Werner & Pfleiderer Gummitechnik in Freudenberg and the rubber technology division of Krupp Kunststofftechnik. Thus two companies were united which, by their own admission, had cooperated in technology for a long time. This offers the rubber processing industry the opportunity of a one-stop shop, as it claims to a large extent to cover all essential preparation and process stages. According to Krupp, all machines, facilities and systems are the product of computer-aided development and construction on modern machine tools and manufacturing facilities and are installed and thoroughly checked before being handed over. In the recent past various new and advanced developments at Krupp Elastomer GmbH were particularly aimed at consolidating and improving the market position of the company. Largest market shares overall are held in Europe, but that does not mean that other regions of the world are less important to the company. For example Asia, which has so far produced 40 p.c. of the total turnover. At present this market is not too prosperous although there are a few positive signs, but that deficiency was almost made up by comparatively good sales in Europe, since the boom in the motor manufacturing industry and therefore in tyre production also benefits machine manufacturers. For the current year further growth in tyre sales figures is generally expected, at least in Germany. That should herald a bright future for machine manufacturers in the tyre industry, shouldn’t it?
Continue ReadingNot many years ago
Not many years ago the large tyre manufacturers still thought they had better make haste and claim a stake in the apparently huge markets of China and India, since life does not favour latecomers. Their enthusiasm was kindled by the example of some car manufacturers, which quickly calculated and estimated a gigantic (sales) potential in these two countries alone with their joint populations of two billion. Some car manufacturers learnt quickly that opportunities are not limitless. Tyre manufacturers fared similarly. Pirelli supplied China with some know-how, which was gratefully received but did not provide Pirelli with a strong base. Nor did the Italians make money out of the technology transfer. Conti’s big plans for India are hardly mentioned any more. The Big Three – Goodyear, Bridgestone and Michelin – are present in both countries, but business is quiet. In India, 29 manufacturers run 41 factories with a maximum capacity of about 43 million tyres, but only 34 million pieces were manufactured in 1997/98, most of them (73 p.c.) for trucks and buses. And 60 p.c. of passenger car tyres are still cross-ply tyres, 1998 has only seen 3,3 million radials in this segment. Our British sister magazine TYRES &ACCESSORIES reported on the Indian tyre market at length; we publish an excerpt in this issue in our December issue, including a brief presentation of some individual companies active in this market.
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