“It’s Time for Us to Stay the Course:” Maria-Elisabeth Schaeffler
In an interview with the German newspaper, Spiegel, Maria-Elisabeth and Georg Schaeffler – the owners of 20 and 80 per cent respectively of the automotive supplier – have answered a variety of questions relating to the current status of the business, considering the financial difficulties it is facing due to the timing of its takeover of Continental and the ongoing financial crisis. They insist that accusations of irresponsibility on the Group’s part in the takeover ignore the conditions in summer 2008 and use hindsight, which is in Georg’s words “the key to the debate,” to criticise their actions after the fact. In addition, the owners have referred to the banks’ and the government’s “responsibility” in the crisis and the differentiation between “the assistance benefiting a company that is fundamentally healthy and one that was already ailing before the crisis.”
Continue ReadingGoodyear Dunlop Performs Well in ADAC Tests
Goodyear Dunlop has reported that its portfolio has performed well in the ADAC 2009 summer tyre test, following the publishing of the results by the German Automobile Association. The report praises the Goodyear, Dunlop and Fulda brands from the Goodyear Dunlop portfolio. Representing Europe’s biggest market, Germany’s ADAC is particularly influential in helping customers decide which brand to purchase. Mark Davison, sales and marketing director at Goodyear Dunlop, said, “The huge efforts made in the field of development have once again been richly rewarded with these results. We will be circulating these results to our customers in the months to come, by way of our planned communication strategies.” The company was keen to highlight in particular the performance of the new Goodyear OptiGrip tyre, the Dunlop SP Sport Fast Response and the Fulda Carat Progresso.
Continue ReadingNew Web Site Set by Toyo
Toyo Tire USA has launched an all-new Web site – www.toyotires.com. Calling the move the “biggest facelift to date for the company’s online presence,” the revamped website is more user friendly and more complete than the previous version, Toyo stated. The site features new graphics, more detailed information on Toyo tire products, a tyre finder feature to allow consumers to select the right tyre for their needs (either OE sizing or plus sizing), inflation pressure data for thousands of vehicles, and a comprehensive dealer locator service. To encourage sharing of information on the website, a brand new “share this” feature is located on every page. Using it, a person can easily post a link back to a page on sites such as Facebook, Digg, Redditt, MySpace and Twitter. They can also share the link in an email, Toyo said. (Tire Review/Akron)
Continue ReadingBridgestone Launches New Hyper Sports Street Bike Tyre
One week before the final pre-season MotoGP test in Jerez, LCR Honda rider Randy de Puniet and Pramac Racing’s Niccolo Canepa flew to the southern Spanish circuit of Almeria to support the media launch of Bridgestone’s Battlax BT-003. The tyre is designed to provide outstanding street and track day performance for all sports motorcycles from 250cc upwards, giving riders of all abilities the chance to experience the grip performance of Bridgestone’s MotoGP multi-layer compound technology. A range of 2009-specification street bikes from MotoGP manufacturers Ducati, Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki and Yamaha were fitted with the BT-003RS tyres and used during the five days, alongside machines from BMW, Triumph and KTM.
Continue ReadingBridgestone Opens Giant Florida Distribution Centre
Bridgestone Americas opened the doors to its new 1 million square foot distribution center in Jacksonville, Florida. Calling it “state-of-the-art tyre,” the company said the new facility has a capacity of more than one million tyres and will supply tyres and automotive parts to customers in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina. It will also supply the entire U.S. with tyres produced in Latin America, and the eastern half of the U.S. with tyres from Japan and other Asian countries. Bridgestone Americas operates seven distribution centres across North America. (Tire Review/Akron)
Continue ReadingSri Lankan Retreader Becomes Newest TRIB Member
Sri Lanka based Roshan Tyre Retreaders has become the latest company to join the Tire Retread & Repair Information Bureau (TRIB), bringing the organisation’s membership to nearly 500 members in 50 countries. “TRIB continues to grow internationally as more and more companies in the new tyre and retread industries throughout the world realise that TRIB is the only international retread industry association representing new tyre manufacturers, retreaders and tyre repair companies,” said TRIB managing director Harvey Brodsky.
Continue ReadingDana’s CTIS Celebrating Quarter Century
This year automotive component supplier Dana Corporation celebrates 25 years of supplying its Central Tire Inflation Systems (CTIS) to military and commercial vehicle customers. Initially developed for use by the US armed forces in 1984, Dana reports that it now supplies its CITS to OEMs in the North America and global markets. “Dana CTIS is selected by more military vehicle OEMs than all of the competitive systems combined,” said James Beverly, Dana’s chief engineer of advanced chassis control systems. “The product is used extensively by the US Army and Marine Corps, as well as NATO forces, and in a variety of commercial vehicle applications such as oil field exploration and construction.”
Continue ReadingMichelin’s Ardmore Plant Returning to Full Work Schedule Mid-April
Workers at Michelin North America’s Ardmore, Oklahoma passenger and light truck tyre facility will return to a full work schedule in mid-April, says company spokeswoman Lynn Mann. The factory has been operating at reduced capacity since last November, when approximately 240 employees were placed on eight-week furloughs. In February, Michelin announced plans to reduce production at the plant. The reduced work period ends on April 13, said Mann. Following this date, employees will return to normal work schedules.
Continue ReadingCooper Tire Appoints Corporate Communications Director
Cooper Tire has appointed Cathy Hissong its new director of corporate communications. In this position, Hissong will be responsible for employee communications, including oversight of employee publications and intranet communications, direction of various business projects and management of Cooper’s Visual Communications Center. Having joined Cooper in 1986 as a budget analyst, Hissong’s time with the Ohio, US based manufacturer has seen her employed in the roles of capital equipment buyer, regional credit manager and audit manager before training as a Six Sigma black belt, her most recent position.
Continue ReadingMWS Introduces Xlite CV Wheel Range
New from MWS Distribution, supplier of international brands such as Kronprinz, Gianetti, Magnetto Topy and Wheels India, is the Xlite range of forged aluminium commercial vehicle wheels. The line-up is available through the company’s MWS Wheel Systems and MWS Aftermarket divisions to both OE and replacement market customers. Xlite wheels, currently available in 17.5, 19.5 and 22.5-inch sizes, are forged from a single aluminium billet, using computerised numeric control to produce a truer running wheel that delivers reduced vibration, aiding longer wear on surrounding components. The products are available with either a machined or a polished finish, and are available with ‘xbrite’, a surface coating that MWS says helps the wheel maintain its shine while minimising the need for cleaning.
Continue ReadingWide Single Truck Tyres 6-10% More Efficient – US Study
Michelin North America has reported on a 383-page report made available in mid-March the US Department of Energys Oak Ridge National Laboratory. This report, says Michelin, confirms that wide single tyres are more fuel-efficient than duals on heavy trucks. This conclusion is based upon data collected from more than 700,000 real-world miles driven by six instrumented tractors and 10 trailers over the course of four-years.
Continue ReadingAlcoa Releases Lighter, Brighter Wheel
Like your wheels bright? Then look no further…In March Alcoa announced that its Commercial Vehicle Wheels business has launched a new line of forged wheels that employ a new proprietary process. This process, says Alcoa, delivers not only the industry’s lightest forged aluminium wheel and even greater strength; it provides a finish on both sides that is six times brighter than any wheel in its class.
Continue ReadingTemporary Positions Eliminated at Michelin Dundee
Local media sources indicate that a number of temporary staff at Michelin’s factory in Dundee have lost their jobs. The Evening Telegraph states it was contacted on March 25 by a worker affected by this decision, who complained that the company was eliminating positions at the Dundee site starting with temporary workers. Plant personnel manager Ian Peart confirmed to the newspaper that staff are indeed being let go, but claimed Michelin’s decision was not related to the current economic crisis.
Continue ReadingJohn Bean Rolls Out Price Reduction on V3D Lite
John Bean, a brand within Snap-on Equipment, announced its price reduction on the popular V3D Lite to £7,995 (excluding VAT). The reduced price is available on machines ordered before July 2009 and includes a two-year warranty. Chris Behan, general manager of Snap-on Equipment, states that the company hopes to attract more converts to the system’s 3D alignment operation: “Reducing the price of the successful John Bean V3D Lite enables more workshops to leave their old laser aligners behind and step into the world of fast and accurate 3D wheel alignment. The current economic climate means that garages need to maximise profit opportunities and V3D Lite enables them to gain a new or improved revenue stream alongside their core business.”
Continue ReadingPoint S – From Private Brand to Leading Brand
In 2005 Point S operated in nine different European countries. Four years later it is almost double that. Currently the group consists of 1700 tyre outlets, run by 1000 different owners, commanding a 6 per cent retail market share in both the passenger car and truck tyre segments across Europe. Since the first Point S was opened in 1971, the network has used the same business model in every country its has grown into – allowing independent tyre entrepreneurs to control their business while allowing everyone to benefit from the strong brand and economies of scale that come with a large group. However, the group’s private brand strategy is also a key part of the company’s business and by the time Point S development announced that the France-based international tyre retail group had expanded into Bulgaria (its 17th country) in January 2009, this part of the business had become an exemplary model in the tyre market. Tyres & Accessories recently interviewed Point S Development’s international operations director, Fabien Bouquet, and found out why private brands are so important.
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