News Show Reveals Sale of Old ‘New’ Tyres in US
An undercover investigation conducted by media in the US has shown that some of the country’s largest tyre retailers are selling tyres that are well beyond the age limit recommended by safety advocates and some car manufacturers. The hidden camera investigation was carried out by the news show “20/20” and ABC News network affiliates throughout the US in an attempt to see if tyres more than six years old – the maximum tyre age recommended by Ford and other carmakers – were being sold as ‘new’ tyres. In California reporters found a tyre made in 1999 and two from 2002 being sold as new by Goodyear, the seventh largest US tyre retailer. At Walmart, the third largest tyre seller, tyres dating back to 1999 were also found at more than one location. Sears, the fifth largest US tyre seller, sold tyres ranging from seven to twelve years old.
Continue ReadingHayes Lemmerz CFO & Executive VP Yost Resigns
The CFO and executive vice president of Hayes Lemmerz, James A. Yost, has announced his resignation from the company. Mr. Yost, who has been with Hayes Lemmerz since 2002, is taking up a similar position at Dana Holding Corporation. It has been a pleasure working with the Hayes management team over the past six years. Helping the company emerge from reorganisation into a strong, global automotive supplier has been a great experience. The company is poised for continued success and I wish the team well, said Yost.
Continue ReadingApollo & JK to Supply OTR Tyres for BEML/Coal India JV
Indian mining equipment manufacturer BEML Limited has reported details of the agreement it has entered for the production of OTR tyres to meet its requirements. The 12-year deal it has signed with major customer Coal India Limited will assure both parties’ continued supply of tyres, which will be manufactured in an exclusive facility being created with funding provided by BEML and Coal India. The tyres at this new facility will be produced by Apollo Tyres and JK Tyre. Coal India will provide BEML with Rs 2 billion (£24.3 million) in funds, which is to be equally invested in each tyre manufacturer for the project.
Continue ReadingHankook Increases Prices
Hankook Tire America Corp. is raising prices by up to 8 per cent on its full line of passenger, high performance and light truck tyres and up to 5 per cent on its medium duty truck tyres. The amount of the increase will vary by product line and/or size, and will take effect July 1. The increase in prices reflects the industry’s sharply rising costs for raw materials and energy consumed in manufacturing and distribution, Hankook said.
Continue ReadingMichelin to Demo Rolling Resistance Performance at London Show
Michelin has announced that it will run a live, full size demonstration its new Energy Saver tyres at the British International Motor Show at ExCel, London Docklands from 23 July to 3 August. Michelin aims to illustrate its tyres’ rolling resistance performance with two identical driverless cars, one fitted with Michelin Energy Saver tyres and the other with a non rolling resistance optimised product. The two cars will be simultaneously released and allowed to roll down a ski-slope type ramp, with an up-ramp at the opposite end. Michelin representatives said it a statement that the car fitted with Energy Saver tyres will “roll for longer and thus cover a greater distance before coming to a standstill.”
Continue ReadingGiti Tire May List on Hong Kong Stock Exchange
Giti Tire reportedly is planning to launch a US$400 million to $500 million Initial Public Offering (IPO) on the Hong Stock Exchange during 2008. The Reuters news service has published an article, saying that ‘sources with knowledge of the deal’ indicate such an offering may take place sooner rather that later. We hope that the deal can be launched as soon as June, one of the sources said, while another source did not report a fixed timeframe. Giti Tire is said to have originally planned to launch a Hong Kong IPO in 2004, but later postponed the deal.
Continue ReadingCeat Launches New Website
Indian tyre manufacturer Ceat has launched an all new website, www.ceatyres.com. The company’s new web presence comes less than a month after the launch of Ceat’s new and fresh corporate logo, the first redesign in half a century. Upon launching the logo, company CEO Paras K Chowdhary said “the shift to a new logo and a new look symbolises the strategic transformation of Ceat…..The overall design more accurately represents the company’s vision of leading the industry in delivering best-in-class products, innovation and services to customers.” The website features information about the company, the product range, along with tyre maintenance and information pages.
Continue ReadingBridgestone Unveils First Stop Model Store
First Stop dealership, Kingsway Tyres has re-opened its Spalding depot with a weekend of events following a major redevelopment. The refurbishment of the Spalding site marks the launch of Bridgestone UK’s ‘model stores’, which are seen as flagship outlets in the First Stop network. Kingsway Tyres invested a total of £200,000 in the refurbishment and extension of the Bourne Road site with a specific focus on providing an appealing environment for customers, including a new reception area and MOT office. Alex Watson managing director of Kingsway Tyres commented: “We are delighted to unveil the results of the significant investment in the refurbishment and extension of our dealership and are looking forward to providing our customers with an even better experience for all their car and tyre needs. The opening weekend was a huge success and gave us a chance to showcase our re-developed store to new and existing customers.”
Continue ReadingCooper Drops Starfire Brand in North America
Cooper Tire & Rubber has reportedly ceased production of its Starfire associate tyre range in North America, and the company may further reduce the number of brands it sells. Manufacture of Starfire tyres ended last year and, as inventories are now mostly depleted, Cooper has begun recommending ‘suitable alternatives’ for dealers that formerly sold the brand. Cooper launched the Starfire brand in 1994 to fit between the Cooper and Mastercraft brands, and the range was produced in sizes for passenger cars, SUVs and light trucks. The range continues to be sold in Asia.
Continue ReadingAlliance to Present Recovered Carbon Black at Bridgestone TC
Alliance Recovery Corporation has announced that company representatives have been invited to attend the Bridgestone Firestone US Technical Center in Akron, Ohio to present merits of their carbon black products. The purpose of this meeting is to discuss the use of Alliance carbon black in Bridgestone Firestone rubber formulations. The proposed meeting is scheduled to take place in late May 2008. Alliance’s carbon black is produced as a by product of the thermal chemical process utilized to recover the fuel oil resource in scrap rubber that will be subsequently used to make electricity at Alliance installations. Alliance are presenting themselves as the green option in comparison to conventional carbon black production that uses large quantities of virgin fossil fuels. “We expect that each Alliance installation will be capable of producing approximately 15 Million pounds of carbon black annually as a byproduct. Commercial grades of carbon black that Alliance can produce are currently sold in the range of $.55/ pound to $.70/ pound. European market prices are significantly higher,” company representatives explained in a statement.
Continue ReadingPirelli Quarter Results Show Net Income Rise
Pirelli & C. Spa reports that its Pirelli Tyre operation “substantially held its position in an unfavourable quarter for the world car market” during the first quarter of the 2008 financial year. Results for the quarter ended March 31, 2008 also reflected the company’s decision to further focus upon core businesses, including the repurchase of the 38.9 per cent share in Pirelli Tyre held by shareholders in Speed SpA since August 2006. Group revenues for the quarter amounted to 1.31 billion euros, up 2.1 per cent on the first quarter of 2007, at constant exchange rates and net of the effect of sales relating to deconsolidation of the real estate assets of DGAG. Taking into account the effect of DGAG, sales as of 31 March 2007 amounted to 1.81 billion euros. EBIT, at 114.6 million euros, was substantially in line with the figure in the first quarter of 2007 (117.5 million euros), net of the result linked to the temporary consolidation of DGAG that had characterised the previous year period. Taking into account the effect of DGAG, EBIT as of 31 March 2007 amounted to 129.5 million euros.
Continue ReadingHayes Lemmerz to Close US Aluminium Wheel Facility
On May 12 Hayes Lemmerz International announced the planned closure of its aluminium wheel manufacturing facility in Gainesville, Georgia (USA) by the end of this year. The company has taken the decision to close the factory due to global overcapacity in the light vehicle aluminium wheel market and the increasing level of aluminium wheel imports coming into North America from countries with lower production costs. The company says the closure announcement reflects its overall strategy to continue to focus its business on the “right products in the right geographic regions”. The Gainesville facility, which has been producing wheels since July 1994, employs approximately 290 people. Employees were advised of the closure during a meeting at the facility. A portion of the production currently at Gainesville will be moved to the Hayes Lemmerz aluminium wheel facility in Mexico.
Continue ReadingYokohama Preparing for Stage 4 Expansion of Onomichi OTR Factory
The fourth stage in the planned expansion of Yokohama Rubber’s Onomichi OTR tyre plant has been announced. The factory, in Japan’s Hiroshima Prefecture, has undergone expansion work since the 2007 financial year, and this latest 6 billion yen (£29.9 million) work will see monthly production capacity grow by 600 tons to a total of 2,500 tons in the financial year ending March 31, 2011, four times that of the 2007 financial year. The company reports it will reach this level earlier than the previously stated date of the 2012 financial year as strong demand for OTR tyres continues – Yokohama states a belief that demand will increase for at least another ten years.
Continue ReadingA Larger Slice of the Cake – high performance tyre market data
During the 1990s the US television series ‘The X-Files’ popularised the catchphrase “the truth is out there.” But while the programme focused on little green men and other unexplained phenomena, it could have easily referred to the high performance tyre market. The truth about this market segment is, you see, somewhere out there. Yet it is difficult to place one’s hands with confidence upon a single, authoritative source of data that tells exactly how things are and where they are headed. What can really be said about the high performance tyre market?
Continue ReadingConti 4×4 Range Launched in Asia
Continental’s Malaysian operation, Continental Sime Tyre Sdn. Bhd. recently introduced the company’s entire 4x4 tyre range to the region. More than 40 sizes from the Conti4x4Contact, Conti4x4SportContact, ContiTrac SUV, ContiCrossContact AT, ContiCrossContact LX, ContiCrossContact UHP were included in the launch. As part of the launch event more than 250 Continental business partners from Malaysia, Australia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam tested the tyres in different terrains on the island of Borneo.
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