Motorsport Earns Five Billion Pounds For UK
A report commissioned by the Motorsport Industry Association and researched by various universities and management schools has concluded that the motorsport industry is worth nearly 5 billion Pounds a year to the UK economy. It also earns over 2.2 bn Pounds in export earnings; more than steel and agriculture combined, as well as employing 40,000 people. Three quarters of the worlds single seater racing cars are made in Britain and, in F1, 7 of last years 11 teams were based there.
Continue ReadingRubberNetwork.com Joined By Yokohama
Within days of RubberNetwork.com receiving the all clear from the German Federal Cartel Office (Bundeskartellamt), Yokohama Rubber Co has joined Continental, Michelin, Pirelli, Goodyear, Sumitomo and Cooper in the global electronic purchasing and procurement market. The RubberNetwork marketplace will be open to all tyre and rubber industry manufacturers and suppliers. The European launch of the market is scheduled for early July.
Continue ReadingAggressive Expansion Plans From Pit Stop
Pit Stop, the fast-fit group belonging to Kwik-Fit (and thus, ultimately, Ford) is pushing ahead with plans to open up to 400 centres in Germany within the next two years. Pit Stop focuses on exhausts, brakes, shock absorbers, etc., as well as selling tyres.
Continue ReadingDirector Of Global Infrastructure For Goodyear
Goodyear Tire & Rubber has appointed Steve Buckus as director of global infrastructure. In his new role he will head up the companys IT group and lead efforts to globally integrate Goodyears IT infrastructure. Buckus has 20 years experience in the IT infrastructure field, and his previous post was as director, distributed systems for FedEx Services.
Continue ReadingVauxhall Masterfit Reaches 250
Vauxhalls dealer franchise fast fit operation now operates 250 outlets in the UK. The expansion of the fast fit chain within the dealer network emphasises the importance of the fast fit market to the viability of the UK car distributor network. The sector is growing in importance as it increases market share, taking fast fit tyre and exhaust business from the shrinking independent fast fit sector.
Continue ReadingBRV Meeting In Weimar – “The Future Used To Be Better”
The BRV invited its members to attend its annual meeting in Weimar, historically one of the most famous cities in Eastern Germany. BRV President Ludwig did not have only good things to talk about, as he believes that margins will fall even further and the tyre trade cannot afford more pressure on margins. He mentioned Michelin and Goodyear as brands sold to car dealers at prices which are unrealistic and, due to the fact that tyre dealers have not been successful in the fast-fit field, President Ludwig urged tyre manufacturers to give tyre dealers better buying prices than car dealers. The association also expressed concern that tyre manufacturers might establish direct selling contacts with big fleets.
Continue ReadingNew Production Director For Goodyear
Goodyears Wolverhampton plant gets a new production director. Hugh Thompson brings 30 years experience in the rubber and plastics industry to the operation. Thompson was the vice president of manufacturing for Dunlop Tyres in North America. He replaces Serge Lussier, who has moved to Brussels to take up the post of director of manufacturing, Eastern Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
Continue ReadingSell-Off Of Mannesmann Sachs – Continental The Favourite Bidder
Reports in the press say that Siemens is selling two businesses that it acquired with the purchase of Mannesmann Atecs. One of these is Mannesmann Sachs, manufacturer of clutches and shock absorbers and which is said to be worth one billion Euro. Continental was named as the front runner among those seeking to buy the company.
Continue ReadingPhilip J. Ringo To Head New Global E-Commerce Marketplace
RubberNetwork.com, LLC, a global electronic purchasing and procurement marketplace created by nine leading companies in the tire and rubber industry, has named Philip J. Ringo Chief Executive Officer and a Member of the companys Board of Managers.
Continue ReadingMichelin Suffers Under Bad Market Conditions
The French group has achieved a rise of 4.5 per cent in the first half of 2001, compared to the same period last year, and now has a turnover of 7710 million Euro, but the EBIT has fallen 9 per cent to 491 million Euro. Analysts had been expecting a slightly better result. As a prominent supplier of truck tyres, Michelin is suffering under the very bad market conditions prevailing in the US. Not only did the OE market fall, but – and this was unexpected – so did the replacement market, and the company cannot foresee any improvements in the US market for the second half of the year. Michelin as a group did not sell as many tyres as expected, as a result of the Fiestone recall, but the trend towards premium brands (the so-called flight to quality) still exists. The Michelin brand has sold a lot more tyres than in previous years, which gives the group much better margins. The return on sales for the whole year should be between 6.2 and 6.8 per cent – some months ago, 7.7 to 8.3 per cent was expected. Perhaps there might be some more good news for Michelin if Firestone and General were forced to recall more tyres.
Continue ReadingNew Trailer Tyre From Stomil
Polish tyre manufacturer Stomil-Olsztyn, a member of the Michelin-group, is offering a new radial tyre for trailers, called AM-17 Transport , size 400/70 R20 150D, through its German distributor Bohnenkamp (Osnabrück). Its higher loading capacity as well as the significantly reduced rolling resistance compared with its diagonal version shall make this new tyre to an economic alternative for the farmer.
Continue Reading5th International Autosalon Opens In Moscow
The 5th International Autosalon in Moscow looks set to be the most successful yet. More than 600 exhibitors from 27 countries are showing their latest products. It is expected that the number of vehicles in use in Russia will double by 2005.
Continue ReadingEarly Entry Into 500cc Bike Racing For Bridgestone
Bridgestone has announced that it will supply tyres next year to competitors in World Grand Prix 500cc motorcycle racing, one year earlier than originally planned. The company only began testing the tyres this January, in conjunction with Kanemoto Racing; the team that will ride on Bridgestones next season, fitted to NSR 500 bikes from Honda Racing. Bridgestone has supplied tyres for 125cc racing for the past decade and the latest move is designed to enhance the companys image in the ultra high performance tyre sector.
Continue Reading“Innovation And High Performance” From Michelin
The Michelin stand at Frankfurt, the new technological development partner for Bosch presents developments which will particularly enhance the cars of today and tomorrow. As a wood, metal and glass structure, the booth aims to highlight the high technology of the exhibited products, whilst being user friendly for visitors. Innovation (PAX, Chassis Systems, concept tyres) and high performance (tyre product families) are the two messages transmitted through this architecture. In addition, visitors have the opportunity to test the PAX system on two Renault Scénics in the outer area of the fairground.
Continue ReadingSales Down And Net Loss For Titan In 3rd Quarter
Titan Internationals financial figures for the third quarter have been released. Turnover was $100.5 million, compared with $119.8 m for the same period last year. Titan recorded a net loss for the quarter of $9.5 m (Q3 2000: $7.4 m). The net loss for the year to date was $13.3 m, compared to a net profit for YTD last year of $12.5 m. President and CEO Maurice Taylor Jr. was optimistic that Titan would turn the corner next year, pointing to the end of the 40-month strike at the Des Moines plant and the gaining of a $45 million military contract as positive factors.
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