No Recommendation For Conti Shares At The Moment
Analysts regard the price of Conti shares as relatively cheap, at 16.5 Euro. On the other hand, prospects for the group do not look very good; Continentals Letter to Investors revealed that results in Europe for the first quarter of the year were better than expected. However, the situation for Conti General in the USA is very difficult, with results much worse than forecast and with little prospect of improvement. The plan to sell off the profitable Conti-Tech division will probably have a negative impact on the share price, analysts also believe.
Continue ReadingTAMS For PAX
A new wheel bearing unit named TAMS (Tyre Air Management System) for an active tyre pressure regulation has been revealed by car supplier SKF for the Michelin-patented revolutionary tyre system PAX.
Continue ReadingBoard Appointment For Goodyear
Philip A. Laskawy, (60) who retired as chairman and chief executive officer of Ernst & Young LLP on June 30, has been elected to the board of directors of The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company. Mr. Laskawy successfully led Ernst & Youngs re-engineering effort that resulted in higher levels of customer service, greater diversity and outstanding revenue growth, said Goodyear chairman and CEO Samir G. Gibara. His experience and focus on change management will be a valuable addition to our Board as Goodyear seeks to get even closer to its customers.
Continue ReadingDeath Of Former Fulda Sales Director Mühlisch
Former Sales Director and member of the board of Fulda Reifen, Günter Mühlisch, who retired in the summer of 1995, died on Monday 23rd of July, aged 69.
Continue ReadingWinter Tyres From Continental For Porsche
Tyre manufacturer Continental is producing a special edition of its WinterContact TS 790 V tyre exclusively for Porsche. The tyre – already mounted on the rim – will be distributed in Germany by Porsche dealers only.
Continue ReadingDeal Expected between Goodyear and Pacific Dunlop
Beleaguered Pacific Dunlop is expected to announce job cuts in a restructuring of its joint venture tyre division. It is also expected that Pacific Dunlop will announce plans to withdraw from the tyre venture, leaving Goodyear the controlling influence in the business. This comes as the group is about to release its latest profit figures which are expected to show a collapse in the performance of the tyre joint venture, Southern Pacific Tyres. Pacific Dunlop CEO, Tony Daniels, has so far declined to comment, other than to say that the JV partners were committed to manufacturing in Victoria, Australia.
Continue ReadingNew Managing Director For Bridgestone In Brazil
Bridgestone/Firestone Brazils former vice president of legal and government affairs has been promoted to the managing directors post upon the retiral of Vito De Florio on 1st October.
Continue ReadingA Question Of Grip: The Conti Winter-Roadshow 2001
Time has come for German car drivers to renew their acquaintance with the cold season. Using their annual country-wide winter roadshows, Continental’s experts are explaining the aim and object of winter tyres with their better grip on low temperature roads. Because of a special compound – in contrast to summer tyres –they are made as flexible as possible for road temperatures below seven degrees, in order to produce enough grip when starting, braking or cornering. This flexibility ensures the necessary traction of the tread on asphalt, snow and ice. There are more and more car drivers who realise that adapting to winter tyres has more advantages than merely better grip; a view which is supported by constantly rising sales figures over recent years. Whereas in 1997 30 million of these winter specialists were sold all over Europe, demand rose to 37 million last year. In some European countries even more winter than summer tyres have been sold so far. Thus, last year’s winter tyre market share was about 40% in Germany, 59% in Austria, 57% in Switzerland and 61% in Sweden. About 16 million winter tyres were sold in Germany alone last year. The reason for this demand is the increasing number of new cars with their more powerful engine performance. The trend towards higher performance cars causes the consumer to order winter tyres designed for speeds over 190 km/h. Another reason: car drivers want fun when driving even in the winter, as long as road and weather conditions are appropriate. If possible, they choose tyres of the same size and speed rating as their summer tyres. Also, research by Continental reveals that fun-driving in winter need not be more expensive. Winter tyres will cost about 0,20 Euro each day in use.
Continue ReadingReturn To Number One Ranking For Bridgestone
Figures published by US journal Rubber & Plastics News for the year 2000 show Bridgestone back at the number one position for global tyre companies, with tyre sales of almost 14 billion US Dollars.
Continue ReadingETRA-Conference In Leipzig
A year ago, the conference of the European Tyre Recycling Association (ETRA) was held in Schwerin, dealing with the present situation and future perspectives of scrap tyre disposal in Germany. Many questions and problems that were left unanswered in 1999 were also discussed at the following conference in Leipzig, which took place at the beginning of last December. Also this time there were few new answers to be found concerning the well-known problems in this area. Why is it so difficult to solve these problems connected with the recycling business? Some answers: the participants in this market are very diverse – and so are the individual aims. In addition, the market situation for recycled scrap tyres is still not the best, and new ideas for sensible and economical applications are few and far between at the moment. Even if they exist, they may still be blocked in many cases, e.g. the use of rubber in road surfaces. On the other hand there is a requirement for European quality standards for products which are already distributed. Furthermore, the knowledge of some companies in this sector is quite limited: it is either the tyre-, disposal- or the marketing-know how that is missing. In many cases the financial backing for new projects is insufficient. Not to mention a number of scandals concerning illegal landfills, which has negatively influenced public opinion about this business sector. Finally the serious market participants, as well as their association ETRA, have run up against a wall of disinterest on the part of the state and the tyre manufacturers.
Continue ReadingTyre Size 305/40 R 23V From Toyo
Following Pirelli and Dunlop, also Toyo presents two 22 inch tyres: Proxes S/T is available in 305/45 and 325/40 with speed index V. As well as these extreme sizes Toyo has developed an even bigger size: 305/40 R 23 115V for typical pick-ups and sport utility vehicles (SUVs).
Continue ReadingPartnership Between Point-S And Bridgestone
The German cooperation organisation Point-S and Bridgestone-Firestone are working more, and closer, together than in the past. Point-S is evidently reducing volumes with Pirelli and Michelin, which are the biggest suppliers to the fast-growing Viborg group.
Continue ReadingDelphi Finish Year On A Positive Note
Delphi, the global automotive systems supplier reports a positive year, despite disappointing fourth quarter results due to the sharp drop in fourth quarter vehicle volumes and resultant decline in revenues. Although annual sales are down, net income has increased by $11 million to $1.1 billion. This concludes a good first year for Delphi as an independent,publicly owned company
Continue ReadingAlloy Wheel Report, Part One: Aftermarket Under Pressure
Following an old tradition, we take a close look at the alloy wheel business in the March and April issues of NEUE REIFENZEITUNG. The only thing that has changed is the order in which we intend to do this. Usually the first part of the analysis is concerned with the original equipment sector, which is followed by the replacement sector. This year we will look at it the other way round and begin with the aftermarket business in Germany. While the German aftermarket for alloy wheels has been flat for some years – although at a high level – the OE-suppliers have registered a significant growth in their figures. Competitors of the aftermarket sector observe negative trends, pessimistic voices are dominating the discussion. The growth of some happens at the expense of other companies who are not able to face the intensified competition. In the end there will be tremendous competition, fought with price as the weapon; a process which already started some time ago. In the first part of the alloy wheel report, these topics will be discussed, as will be the chances that still exist in this market. In addition, actual trends and developments of the sector will be described.
Continue ReadingGovernment Appoints Rubber Industry Researcher
The Department of Trade and Industry has appointed Chem Systems Ltd. to conduct a three month survey into the rubber industry in the UK. This will include the tyre industry and focussing on end-user needs should provide recommendations upon which trade bodies and the government can plan future policy to develop the industry.
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