Van Dyck Re-joins Deldo as Director, Sales & Organisation
Deldo reports that Tom Van Dyck is ‘back in business’ with the company, in the role of director, Sales & Organisation. The 29 year old initially joined Deldo in 2002 as sales manager for Germany, and later became sales manager for Germany, Austria and Switzerland. In 2007 he left the company and started working for the KBC Group as an internal consultant, where he actively participated on several strategic projects. In his latest role at Deldo, Van Dyck will be involved in the management of eight sales teams, realising Europe-wide sales in the replacement tyre market. His activities include organisational optimisation in order to achieve both strategic and operational business goals.
Continue ReadingBridgestone Among Mazda Share Buyers
Bridgestone Corporation is now an owner of Mazda, albeit a small-scale one. The tyre major was one of more than 30 buyers acquiring chunks of the 13 per cent stake in Mazda that was sold by Ford in mid-November. According to a November report in Japan’s Nikkei newspaper, Bridgestone has acquired 0.25 per cent of the outstanding Mazda shares, however the Nikkei did not indicate the source of this information.
Continue ReadingChina Pledges Thai Rubber Imports Won’t Decrease in 2009
Global number one natural rubber consumer China has pledged it will import as much natural rubber from Thailand next year as it has in 2008, despite feeling the impact of the global economic slowdown. Thailand deputy minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives Teerachai Saenkaew stated this on November 18, elaborating that he has discussed natural rubber cooperation during his recent meeting with China’s vice agricultural minister Niu Dun.
Continue ReadingDelticom’s mytyres.co.uk Ramps up Online Service
Delticom’s British online web shop, mytyres.co.uk has integrated a new search tool, which the company believes will help consumers find the correct tyres with greater ease. The tyre search form allows online users to search for the correct tyres on the site by entering their vehicles’ number plates/registration number makes the fast and accurate selection easier. Via this entry e-consumers can access information about their vehicles and a pre-selected list of suitable tyres. With mytyres.co.uk’s selection of tyres numbering more than 100 tyre brands and over 25,000 tyre makes, the company hopes that the search gives customers an increased convenience level and more efficient service. This has been a focus of the company’s operations, with the recent addition of a “fully-fitted” service, run in conjunction with more than 1,650 service partners currently operating in the UK.
Continue ReadingTenneco to Add 300 SKUs to Walker Range in 2009
Emission control systems manufacturer Tenneco says it will continue its ‘aggressive investment’ in new emissions control application coverage in 2009. The company plans to add more than 300 SKUs to its Walker line of replacement exhaust parts in the coming year. This planned expansion continues a strategy begun more than five years ago, when Tenneco began to significantly increase the Walker brand’s coverage in support of aftermarket businesses. More than 600 new exhaust part numbers were introduced to the Walker line in 2008 alone, and more than 1,600 parts have been added since 2004.
Continue ReadingGoodyear GPS Models: Picture
Goodyear has released images of the NCC-produced, Goodyear-branded GPS units displayed at the SEMA show (as reported in late October on Tyrepress.com; ‘NCC Directs Goodyear to SEMA Show’). Readers don’t need a satellite navigation system to see that the picture is reproduced directly to the right of this text…
Continue ReadingTalk of Redundancies at Mount Vernon Mere Rumours, Says CTNA
Circulating talk of imminent redundancies at Continental Tire North America’s Mount Vernon factory are just rumours, a company official reported on November 18. While the company has reduced its temporary workforce by approximately 50 employees, the facilities 2000+ permanent employees have not been affected. We have been adjusting our production levels and controlling inventories to bring them in line with where the current market demands are, Hank Eisenga, vice president for manufacturing at the plant told Illinois newspaper The Southern. Rumours of major layoffs have been circulating, and thats not the case. We are reducing some of our temporary workforce but we do not anticipate anything in the nature of layoffs to our permanent workforce.
Continue ReadingTemporary Layoff Agreed For Nokian Employees
The statutory negotiations concerning the lay-offs of the Nokian Tyres employees at the Nokia factory in Finland ended on the 19th November, 2008. The company decided after the negotiations to lay off its personnel for 10 days and the majority of the employees will be laid off between 21.12.2008 and 11.1.2009.
Continue ReadingToyota iQ Is Japan’s Car Of The Year
The revolutionary Toyota iQ, the world’s smallest four-seater passenger car, has won the 2008 Japan Car of the Year award by a landslide over rivals such as the Citroën C5, Audi A4 and Jaguar XF. The innovative iQ scored more than double the points of the second placed, receiving top marks from 39 of the 65 jurors who voted. The judges praised the iQ for its space efficiency and design, particularly the iQ’s capacity for seating four people within a body less than three metres long, as well as its combination of high levels of safety and low CO2 emissions.
Continue ReadingB&J Rocket Launches Web Shop
B&J Rocket has developed a new online shop. As of November 2008 selected articles from B&J’s wide range will be available to everyone via www.bj-rocket.com. These include items for tyre repair, carbide tools as well as products for tyre shops and service stations.
Continue ReadingBridgestone Europe Outlines Green Performance in New Brochure
It’s as fresh as the morning dew upon a rainforest fern frond - Bridgestone Europe has published its updated environmental report, which sets out the company’s commitment to high environmental standards and the latest steps it is taking to achieve them. In keeping with its theme, the colour brochure is printed with vegetable-based inks on FSC label recycled paper, and is aimed at all organisations and groups interested in the company, including shareholders, government authorities, journalists, car manufacturers and other business partners.
Continue ReadingAnalysts: Slowdown May Cause Russian Tyremaker Growth
Following several years of consistent sales increases, full year 2008 figures may hit show a drop in Russian passenger car tyre sales by value. The profitable premium segment, which is dominated by non-Russian premium manufacturers, is expected to be the first to feel the pinch. On the other hand, the share of the market occupied by budget products is likely to increase, and some sources predict that Chinese and Korean tyre sales will be replaced by domestic Russian tyre makers’ products.
Continue ReadingPirelli Planning Job Cuts and Plant Idling, says Union
Job cuts are said to be a possibility at Pirelli & C. SpA. According to Italian labour union Filcem, whose comments have been published by Bloomberg, the company will eliminate approximately 200 administrative jobs in Milan and will probably continue to idle plants to counter a global drop in demand.
Continue ReadingSurvey: Canadians Steer Clear of Snow Tyres
A survey conducted by insurance firm RBC and researcher Ipsos Reid shows that a little over half of Canadian motorists put snow tyres on their cars, despite the country’s snowy winter months. Feedback showed that more than half of those who do not use the specialist tyres do not due to the additional costs involved. Francois Boulanger, president and CEO of RBC General Insurance Company, stated on the release of the information, Installing winter tires should be a critical safety measure for all Canadian drivers. Canadians need to think of it as an investment in their familys safety.
Continue ReadingFreedom from the ‘Black Gold’
By 2013 Sumitomo Rubber plans to be selling tyres containing absolutely no petrochemical materials. This news was printed in the company’s 2008 – 2011 environmental statement, which was published in Japanese only on November 17. It appears likely the oil free tyres will initially be sold on the Japanese market only.
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