US Court Backs Goodyear in Pay Discrimination Case
A ruling handed down by the US Supreme Court has set a precedent limiting employees’ ability to sue an employer for pay discrimination in cases relating to decisions made years earlier. The court decided in a 5-4 ruling on a case centred upon the application of deadlines for complaining about discriminatory pay decisions that it would become too difficult for employers to mount a defence against any claims “arising from employment decisions that are long past.” The plaintiff, Lilly Ledbetter, instigated legal action against Goodyear Tire & Rubber based upon her claims that after 19 years of employment at the company’s facility in Gadsden, Alabama she was earning US$6,000 a year less than the lowest-paid male employee performing the same work. Ms Ledbetter argued that her gender was the primary causal factor for this pay inequality, which she claimed been ongoing for a number of years. A jury initially made a decision in Ledbetter’s favour and awarded her $3.8 million, later reduced to $360,000.
Continue ReadingTyres & Vehicles Stolen from Kent Dealer
About 500 tyres and four vans were stolen during a break-in at a branch of Watling Tyres over the May bank holiday weekend. The thieves smashed through a wall at the Grove road, Northfleet branch of the independent tyre dealer some time between the evening of May 27 and May 29. After disabling the building’s alarm system the thieves ransacked the premises and loaded tyres into four company vans, two of which were later recovered. Gravesend Police have appealed for any person with information about this incident to contact them on 01474 565091.
Continue Reading‘The Acid Test is Quality’
When Peter Gaster is not acting as NTDA chairman, the other hat he wears is as group managing director of Kings Road Tyres (for details of his first speech in this role see this month’s TAFF awards coverage). On this occasion the conversation focused largely on KRT’s product range, the recent influx of OTR products and why many manufacturers failed to turn out at this year’s event. With more tyres than any other stand at the show, Kings Road Tyres’ Brityrex exhibit marked itself apart from the rest. The majority of what was on show came from the company’s wide range of quality private and exclusive brand commercial vehicle tyres, but KRT also had selections from its passenger 4x4 ranges (including Cooper products) on show.
Continue ReadingTRIB Changes Name
(Akron/Tire Review) From now on, the Tire Retread Information Bureau will be known as the Tire Retread & Repair Information Bureau. The acronym TRIB will not change. The move was designed “to better reflect the fact that tyre repairing is a large part of our industry,” said TRIB.
Continue ReadingMarangoni Launches Ringbuilder 3000
For Marangoni Retreading Systems, innovation Ringtread retreading technology is guided by the concept of a “production island”, i.e. a highly automated multi-purpose work centre with input of raw materials (compounds and tyre for retreading) and output of the end product (the retreaded tyre). The result of this philosophy is the new generation of “Ringbuilder” building machines, in version 3000 for large retreading firms and 2500 for medium-sized retreaders. Taking up from where the previous RB2500 left off, the RB 3000 further develops the concept of high-level automation and throughput.
Continue ReadingAmtel-Vredestein COO Resigns
Less than three months after stepping into the role of Amtel-Vredestein Group COO, Sergei Bokhanov has tendered his resignation, effective as of June 1. According to the company Mr. Bokhanov is leaving Amtel-Vredestein to accept a position with a company unrelated to the tyre or automotive sectors. “Sergei played an important role in helping the company complete its transformation into a premium passenger car tyre manufacturer and leading tyre retailer, and he has been a valuable member of our management team during the numerous acquisitions and disposals the company completed over the past year,” said CEO Alexei Gurin. “We wish him every success in all his future endeavours.”
Continue ReadingBuy-Out Points to Far Eastern Expansion for Dunlop Aircraft Tyres
Private equity business ABN Amro Capital, part of Dutch group ABN Amro, has acquired a 74.6 per cent stake in Dunlop Aircraft Tyres. Royal Bank of Scotland will provide senior debt facilities, according to local news sources. Growth plans are now envisaged with expansion planned both in the US, where where Dunlop Aircraft has some retreading business, and particularly in the Far East, where a new satellite operation is envisaged. China is seen as the most likely site fro any such satellite operation, but the exact location of that has yet to be decided. However, the proposals are expected to come to fruition in the next 12 to 18 months.
Continue ReadingMG Rolls Off Production Line at Longbridge
The 130 or so workers who were able to return to work at Longbridge may have found it a relief, but market watchers and union representatives are similarly sceptical about the long-term prospects for Nanjing Automobile-produced MGs in Birmingham. Nanjing has not confirmed how much of the new (bright orange) MG was actually built in Britain. According to reports, its engine was definitely made in China. Nanjing originally said it plans to build 15,000 cars a year at Longbridge in the first phase.” This compares with 200,000 MGs that the corporation is planning to build at its plant in China. And as long as production remains at 15 per cent of its pre-closure levels the prospects for factory suppliers remain similarly uncertain.
Continue ReadingTest Production Starts at Amtel-Vredestein Voronezh Plant
(Akron/Tire Review) Russian tyremaker Amtel-Vredestein N.V. announced the beginning of test production at its new facility in Voronezh. Amtel tyres will be the first to be produced there, followed by Vredestein and Maloya tyres after new rubber mixing equipment is installed by December. The new 44,000-square metre facility was modeled after the tyremaker’s Vredestein Banden plant in Enschede, Holland. Voronezh II will initially produce approximately 2.5 million passenger car and light truck tyres per year, which could be expanded up to 4.1 million tyres per year with additional investment, according to Amtel-Vredestein.
Continue ReadingTrelleborg Wheel Systems ‘Reinforces’ Sales Network
Trelleborg Wheel Systems (TWS) has ‘reinforced’ its wheel sales network by strengthening its relationship with a key material supplier in order to offer its customers a complete system for forest and farm machines. Trelleborg wheels, manufactured at plants in Savsjo (Sweden) and Hadsten (Denmark), use high quality steel, which is supplied by SSAB, the biggest Scandinavian sheet steel manufacturer focused on the production of advanced high strength steel. Trelleborg Wheel Systems designs, produces and distributes a wide range of tyres and complete wheel systems for forestry and agricultural machines, lift trucks and other material-handling vehicles. The Group is globally present in 42 countries and with its European sales network of 140 sales specialists, it satisfy the needs of customers and support the sales increase year by year.
Continue ReadingSecond Life
According to the Environment Agency’s Tyre Watch Programme, every year in the UK around 450,000 tonnes of used tyres are produced and require some form of reuse or disposal. That is the equivalent of some 50 million car tyres, and with vehicle ownership expected to grow between 30 and 60 per cent over the next two decades the potential environmental threat posed by waste tyres will become more acute – unless a suitable solution is embraced. At Swansea University engineers are seeking such a solution through their research into new methods of recycling tyres. This Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) project, made possible by Department for Trade and Industry funding, is being conducted by the university’s School of Engineering Materials Research Centre under the overall supervision of Dr David Isaac, a Reader at the Centre. Dr Isaac has been working as part of a research group studying various aspects of polymers and composites.
Continue ReadingCut Out the Waiting With Harvie
Harvie Tyres’ attendance at Brityrex coincided with the release of the company’s brand new 84 page catalogue. This new and larger catalogue reflects Harvie’s ongoing commitment to expanding their product range, and the 2007 edition contains more than 1,300 items with many new offerings including wheel aligners, balancers, tyre changers and alignment lifts. A number of these products are the fruit of a recent supplier partner arrangement deal negotiated between Harvie and Pro-Align, and make a valuable addition to the Prema range of tyre repair equipment and kits that Harvie has become so well known for, plus a wide selection of Trax lead free balance weights, valves, bead lubricants, air line equipment and tools of every description.
Continue ReadingNew Look for N.E. Wholesale
For N.E. Wholesale looking good isn’t the most important attribute they like to shout about but it certainly helps when operating in such a competitive industry. You may have read in a previous edition, N.E. Wholesale who’s head office is based in Middlesbrough have undergone a revamp in bringing their brand into the new decade and have opted for a simple yet classy look for their new logo.
Continue ReadingEU Commission Approves Bridgestone’s Bandag Acquisition
The European Commission has cleared Bridgestone Americas Holding Inc’s proposed acquisition of Bandag. After examining the operation the Commission concluded that the transaction “would not significantly impede effective competition in the European Economic Area (EEA) or any substantial part of it.” Making its decision the commission concluded that the new combined firm would continue to face strong, effective competition from companies such as Michelin, Goodyear and Kraiburg. According to the report, the main horizontal overlap occurs between the parties with regard to the re-treading business, particularly the supply of re-treading material to independent businesses active in the re-treading of tyres. However, the Commission’s examination of the proposed merger showed that the horizontal overlaps between the activities of Bridgestone and Bandag are limited and that the transaction would not lead to major structural changes on the re-treading market.
Continue ReadingMichelin Gives Tyre Safety Training in Africa
International development agency Transaid has launched a Tyre Safety Awareness Campaign in Malawi and Zambia, which commenced with a series of training courses led by Phil Rochester, a Training Manager at Michelins head office in Stoke-on-Trent. The initiative forms part of Transaids wider programme of work on road safety and professional driver training, which aims to reduce the number of road traffic crashes in Africa, which records 10 per cent of all such incidents, despite having just four per cent of the worlds total vehicle parc. A total of 10 training courses were delivered over a two week period to key audiences which included traffic police, road safety agencies, road transport operators and public transport operators. Each course provided basic information on safety checks and how to avoid dangers associated with poorly maintained tyres, with training delivered to 270 people.
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