Analysts Welcome Michelin’s Plans to Cancel Mexico Plant
A few days after the news that Michelin was walking away from earlier plans to build a new factory on a Greenfield site in Mexico, financial analysts have lauded the decision as “a wise move.” Michelin initially announced its plans to invest up to $740 million by 2014 in a second passenger car and light truck tyre plant in Mexico last year. Construction was due to begin in late 2008, the production line was expected to start running in 2010 when output would begin towards its 15 million passenger car tyres-a-year target. The strategy here was believed to be for Michelin’s management to use significant natural attrition of the company’s North America work force to transfer production from the US to Mexico, where labour costs are reportedly four times than in the US.
Continue ReadingTropical Battery to Distribute for Goodyear Jamaica
Goodyear Jamaica, which currently faces mounting losses on its island operations, has appointed Tropical Battery - a distributor of batteries, Castrol motor oils and other car care lubricants, brake pads and other automotive products – as its distributor in an effort to gain better local market positioning. Meanwhile, Goodyear will continue to operate its Caribbean marketing and administration from its Kingston office. “(Tropical Batterys) strong distribution structure, sales and service capabilities will significantly improve our customers overall brand experience,” states Steven Miller, Goodyear Jamaica’s general manager. “Tropicals leadership team has a proven track record of success and is committed to growing the Goodyear brand across Jamaica.”
Continue ReadingToyota Decreases UK Plant Production
Toyota is set to cut production for five months at its Burnaston plant in Derbyshire, according to a report in The Times. Other major carmakers are said to be “monitoring the market.” Burnaston was the second-largest car producer in the UK last year (after the Nissan plant in Sunderland), producing 277,000 cars. The cuts will result in a reduction of output of 15,000 cars by the end of the year. The 3,800 permanent staff will reportedly stay and engage in training and plant maintenance. However, some of the 220 temporary workers will leave.
Continue Reading22% Growth Predicted for GT
Thanks to sustained growth in Indonesia’s automotive sector, one of the country’s leading tyre producers expects to see full-year sales to swell by 22 per cent. Gajah Tunggal’s director, And Catharina Widjaja, told Jakarta-based news sources that demand would continue to be high in the second half of the year, following the near-50 per cent growth in car sales in H1. According to GT, the company’s sales will top 8 trillion rupiahs (about 484 million pounds sterling) for the year; a significant increase on 6.6 trillion rupiahs for 2007. GT’s president director, Christopher Chan Slew Choong, has backed up these figures, stating that the end-year predictions were in line with the company’s goal of achieving annual sales of 1 billion US dollars (c. 554 million pounds sterling) by 2010. Net sales for H1 2008 were 21 per cent up year-on-year to 3.9 trillion rupiahs (c. 233 million pounds sterling), supporting a net profit of 208 billion rupiahs (12.5 million pounds sterling), up 258 per cent from 58 billion.
Continue ReadingAnalyst Recommendation Cut on Continental
As Merrill Lynch’s Michelin recommendation was upgraded to see in the new month, Continental’s was cut to “underperform” from “neutral”. The bank believes that Continental’s stock will see a fall to 60 euros in the coming weeks, after the expiration of Schaeffler’s offer to buy at 75 euros per share until reaching nearly half of the company’s total stock. Conti was down 0.1 per cent (5 cents) today at 74 euros in Frankfurt. Merrill also links Conti’s predicted drop to Michelin’s rise, suggesting that investors who sell their shares in the German company could seek to invest in its rival in France.
Continue ReadingPedrosa Makes Early MotoGP Bridgestone Switch
Dani Pedrosa, who currently sits third in the MotoGP World Championship, has made a surprise mid-season tyre swap; exchanging his Michelin rubber for Bridgestone’s ahead of the scheduled 2009 switch. Meanwhile, a Michelin statement revealed that the company had allowed Pedrosa to switch on the basis that his team, “Honda and Michelin believe that rider confidence needs to be at its maximum if the rider is to fully exploit the tactical potential of the tyres.” The change for one of the sport’s most high-profile riders has come in the wake of several months’ criticism of the Michelin offerings, as riders experienced increased difficulties in keeping up with their Bridgestone-shod competitors.
Continue ReadingWheel Producer BBS to Relocate Facility
Some time in the next few years – by 2011 at the latest, aluminium wheel producer BBS International will close its factory and headquarters in Schiltach, Germany (the “S” in the name BBS). In its place, corporate owner, Belgium’s Punch International will invest 25 million euros in the second BBS plant, in Herbolzheim, southwest Germany.
Continue ReadingBFNA Closes Warehouse
Bridgestone Firestone North America has closed its south-eastern distribution centre in Georgia in anticipation of the opening of a new warehouse in Jacksonville, Florida. The new facility is twice as big as its Georgia counterpart, which held up to 480,000 tyres and employed 100. Local news sources have reported that three of the Georgia warehouse’s employees applied for jobs at the new facility, but were told that “they wouldn’t be a good fit” in Florida. Meanwhile a manager at the original plant reportedly moved his office to Florida without telling anybody.
Continue ReadingNumber of Older Drivers in UK to Dramatically Increase
An opportunity for tyre outlets offering a mobile fitting and repair service beckons. According to Elizabeth Dainton, research development manager for the Royal Automobile Club Foundation, car use contributes significantly to wellbeing in old age, and the number of older drivers on our roads is set to mushroom during the next decade.
Continue ReadingPirelli Bosses: Work Expected to Start Over Weekend
Following a week of uncertainty for Pirelli’s workers in Burton and Carlisle, Pirelli’s management at the two facilities has stated that they are hopeful that work will restart over this weekend. The faulty boiler at the Carlisle facility meant that both sites needed to be cleared by inspectors before workers could return to the factories. Local press organisations have now confirmed that the managers have announced that both boilers have passed safety inspections and that the company would be contacting workers to notify them of individual shift arrangements.
Continue ReadingFinichi Launches the Firenze
Italian Wheel Designer Finichi has released its latest design. The Firenze features an ‘aggressive’ split spoke design and deep stainless steel lip that contrasts with the spokes, which can be specified in black or, for those wanting a look more in keeping with OEM fitments, hypersilver. The pseudo split-rim bolts, says Finichi, add a final finishing flourish.
Continue ReadingColumbian Opens Carbon Black Plant in Brazil
An inauguration celebration has been held for Columbian Chemicals’ latest carbon black manufacturing facility. Work on the new plant, located in Camaçari Pole, a chemical complex in Brazil’s Bahia state, began in September 2005, and the company notes this operation at Camaçari Pole incorporates the latest environmental and energy conservation technologies. The US$75 million facility has a production capability of 75,000 tonnes, which can be expanded as the market develops; two tyre factories using the end product operate in the region, one belonging to Bridgestone/Firestone and the other to Continental.
Continue ReadingAdded Safety and Convenience with Zeus Tyre Fillings
Globally, the use of ‘pneumatic tyre – aerial access platforms & telehandlers’ is growing, as are the heights and reaches of their telescopic booms. Consequently, the risk of a tyre blowout or puncture poses not only a serious safety risk, but also a costly and unnecessary interruption to operational efficiency. But fear not… Zeus Tyre Filling Systems says it now offers a solution to these problem, a solution that is both ‘proven and green’. Such hazards and interruptions can be avoided through having the tyres on such aerial access equipment completely filled with the company’s Polyfill Material – a component urethane compound, or its new, next generation Triofill tyre filling material, a component (rubber and urethane) compound.
Continue ReadingHamburg Distribution Centre Offers Vipal Further Opportunities
When Brazilian based retreading materials supplier Borrachas Vipal boosted its European market presence in 2005 with the opening of its first distribution centre, the company’s goal was to be one of the largest suppliers of tyre retreading and repair material on the continent, a brand recognised for the quality of its products. Vipal Europe believes this goal has been, three years later, well and truly reached, and confirmation of the company’s ever-stronger position in Europe can be witnessed through the establishment of a third distribution centre in the region.
Continue ReadingApollo Begins Quest for New Factory Site in Hungary, Slovakia
Apollo Tyres will begin its search for possible new sites for its European factory at the start of September. According to the company’s public relations agent in Hungary, sites both in Hungary and Slovakia will be considered. The site assessment process is expected to take several months, the agent said. Meanwhile, twenty-seven Hungarian towns have voiced an interest in hosting the tyre manufacturing facility. The trade promotion organisation International Trade and Development Hungary has forwarded information on a number of sites to the tyremaker’s Hungarian agency, and the level of direct contact it is receiving from local governments in Slovakia is increasing.
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