Third Blimp Crash Within A Year
In October last year the Goodyear blimp Spirit of Akron crashed in the Akron area. On August 10th a gust of wind damaged the gondola of the blimp Spirit of the South Pacific and on August the 20th the blimp Stars & Stripes crashed in Philadelphia. Nobody was hurt. Stars & Stripes, one of seven airships operated by the tyre manufacturer worldwide, will be rebuilt, says Goodyear. In the meantime, the company is examining other ways to fulfil its TV commitments, including hiring a blimp, helicopters and planes.
Continue ReadingAgain Price Increases for Rubber Blacks in Europe
Unprecedented crude oil and crude oil products have pushed production costs for carbon black ever higher.This, combined with the low value of the Euro have again led Degussa-Hüls AG to raise prices for rubber blacks to 40 Euro per metric ton. Prices effective from 15th November.
Continue ReadingMilitary Contracts For Goodyear Worth $16 Million
Goodyear has won new and extended contracts for off-the-road tyres from the US Army, valued at $16 m. One is an $11.5 m deal to supply AT-2A traction tyres (size 14.00R20) for five-ton cargo trucks. The extended contract is for $4.5 m to supply the same tyres in size 16.00R20.
Continue ReadingNow Tyre Problems For Goodyear In USA
Reports in American newspapers suggest tyre tread separation problems with Goodyear tyres are being linked to eight deaths. The Goodyear 16 inch Load Range E tyres received a design alteration five years ago, but no recall was made. Goodyear said it had found no faults in the tyres, but did settle several lawsuits arising from the incidents. Amounts and details of the agreements have been kept secret. However, the lawsuits were very similar to those currently facing Firestone.
Continue ReadingCosmetic Cracks Compound Firestone Troubles
Cosmetic cracks found in the sidewalls of Bridgestone/Firestone tyres fitted to Toyota Tundra and Sequoia trucks have resulted in more attention for the troubled tyre giant. Cracks were discovered by workers at Toyotas Indiana plant and 2001 model Sequoias not yet delivered to dealers have been fitted with Dunlop tyres as a precautionary measure. Toyota plan to resume using Firestones shortly, and Firestone has given assurances that the cosmetic cracks do not in any way affect safety. The tyres were manufactured at their Wilson North Carolina plant, where Steeltex brand tyres, under investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration are also manufactured. However, Spokesperson for Firestone , Christine Karbiwiak said, There is no reason to believe there is a defect at the Wilson plant.
Continue ReadingAward for Bridgestone’s Superbike Tyre “Battlax 010”
The British magazine Motorcycle News has tested motorcycle tyres for machines over 600 cc. Bridgestones BT 010 has won the title Product of the Year in its class due to its extraordinarily good performance. The editor of the magazine underlined in particular the durability and the price-performance relation.
Continue ReadingTraiskirchen Factory Designated MMP Plant
Dr. Hans-Joachim Nikolin, Chairman of the Semperit supervisory board and board member of Continental AG, confirmed during a supervisory board meeting of Semperit Reifen Ges.m.b.H. in Traiskirchen in mid-December that the Semperit factory at Traiskirchen will play an essential strategic part in the introduction of a new manufacturing process. Continental has developed a European strategy for the Modular Manufacturing Process (MMP), envisaging three MMP factories, each responsible for the supply of one large European region. The Traiskirchen factory has been chosen to supply the South and East European markets. The decision about a second MMP location to supply Western Europe is said to be imminent, whereas a suitable supply plant for the North European region has not yet been found. The production plan for the year 2000 gives 1.5 million car tyres made by the standard and one million by the MMP process, a total number of 2.5 million units as originally planned. However, since the manufacturing process of MMP tyres is less complicated than the standard production process, a reduction in the workforce is inevitable and cannot be compensated for by the planned increased output of 825,000 commercial vehicle tyres in the year 2000. The MMP tyre is produced in modules allowing the cost-effective production of smaller lots, and a fast reaction to the requirements of the market. MMP is therefore primarily designed as a means of reacting fast to developments in the replacement markets, and only in exceptional cases would it be considered for original equipment. This production process does away with the necessity to make a large variety of products at the standard factories, thus freeing them for large-series production.
Continue ReadingHayes Lemmerz Invests in Mexico
Hayes Lemmerz International, the world’s largest wheel manufacturer, plans to invest 23 million US dollars with the objective of quadrupling the annual capacity of the Mexican aluminium wheel factory in Chihuahua to 1.2 million units by the year 2001.
Continue ReadingRenault On The Expansion Trail
Renault is negotiating with Samsung Motors, of South Korea, to buy the latters Pusan plant (production capacity 200,000) for Euro 400 million. Renaults daughter company RVI, made an offer to Daewoo to buy its truck operation (production capacity 20,000) and bus operations (production capacity 6,000 units) for Euro 700 million. Renault has already bought a 37% stake in Nissan for around Euro 5 billion and the new plans will bring the companys investment in Asia to more than Euro 6 bn.
Continue ReadingAt Last The Number One Again – “Goodyear, All Systems Go!”
Imagine the scene; Goodyear chairman Sam Gibara addresses an audience of 144 leading managers from around the world, telling them of Goodyears ambition to be not only the worlds biggest tyre manufacturer, but also the most profitable. He tells them of the reasons behind the Dunlop joint ventures and spells out the goals for which the Goodyear family has to strive to achieve the companys aims. What lies in store for Goodyear? Does size matter? What changes are needed in management attitudes, distribution policy and brand strategies if Goodyear is to be the best? How important is the adoption of a mullet-brand strategy in the various world-wide markets? These and other thought-provoking questions are discussed at length. As we said earlier, imagine the scene. The truth is there was no meeting in Hawaii and Mr. Gibara did not make the speech - but he certainly could have. The article can be downloaded in full length as PDF file (size: 2.84 Mbyte, Adobe Acrobat Reader required).
Continue ReadingGoodyear Confidence For Latin America
US tyre manufacturer Goodyear has announced its confidence in the Latin American market during the year 2000. The company believes it will be able to increase its Ebit-margin significantly.
Continue ReadingMichelin Pilot Primacy – Second Generation for this Growth Segment
With the new Michelin Pilot Primacy, introduced to the trade press at the beginning of March and available through the trade this spring in a total of 33 sizes, the company intends to strengthen further its dominant role as original equipment supplier of high-performance tyres. Dynamic market development can be observed in all European states in this exacting segment, sometimes up to double-digit annual growth rates. Michelin, too, puts its faith in significant growth in this segment by introducing the second generation of the Pilot family, up-dated by the Primacy, a tyre conceived for original equipment but later also to be supplied to the refit market. The new tyre was specially designed for the requirements of high-mileage drivers, who expect not only safety reserves but also a high level of comfort during frequently long journeys in their fast top and upper medium-class cars. Among the car manufacturers’ specifications highest priority has been given to weight reduction, safety, ride comfort and easy handling. In the April issue of NEUE REIFENZEITUNG you can learn more about how Michelin wants to meet these requirements.
Continue ReadingNew Radial Industrial Tyre
Continental has introduced a new radial industrial tyre, the ConRAD HT in size 8.25 R15. It will also be available in a clean version for applications such as the food industry.
Continue ReadingPrice Increases In US Tyre Market
There are rumours in the market that the industry will raise tyre prices – maybe even this week – to cover increases in raw materials (rubber, oil, carbon black). As production capacities have been expanded during the last 24 months, it is doubted whether any increase will stick due to market pressure.
Continue ReadingFrench Car Manufacturers Do Well In France
Despite a slight fall in new car registrations in France during April, the market so far this year has risen 6% compared to 1999. French manufacturers have done exceptionally well, with Renault sales up 6% and Peugeot up 12%. Not so happy in April were Fiat (down 28%) and Ford (down 25%).
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