Car Production Up in April
Provisional output data released yesterday by the Office for National Statistics shows that UK car production rose 10.6 per cent, or 13,689 units, in April. This puts the year-to-date total above the 2004 level for first time this year. Both output for home and export volumes rose by over 10 per cent last month. “Despite problems at Longbridge, todays figures show that the UK still has a strong vehicle manufacturing base”, said SMMT chief executive Christopher Macgowan.
Continue ReadingRedundant Goodyear Workers Lose Out
Thousands of Goodyear workers will lose out on their share of a £1 million repayable sickness fund because they were made redundant reports a Wolverhampton newspaper. Workers who lost their jobs before October 2003 will not be eligible for a £1,150 payout from the Goodyear Relief Society, which has now been dissolved.
Continue ReadingBosch Releases Diagnostic Update
Bosch has released the updated 2005 version of its range of DVD-based technical information, ESI[tronic]. The new version of the company’s software package will provide garage technicians with more technical knowledge for problem solving on a wider range of modern vehicles.
Continue ReadingGoodyear Tyres Take Flight
Goodyear has selected its second aviation tyre evaluation centre, the 43 Air School in Port Alfred, South Africa. It will be Goodyear’s first centre in the Southern Hemisphere. The academy has 40 registered aircraft and an impeccable safety record assures the manufacturer. The new school will do as its forerunner, the Florida centre does, and will evaluate Goodyear and competitor tyres based on their durability and safe landings. The school’s test results will be recorded and used to measure Goodyear’s overall tyre performance.
Continue ReadingAlliance Strengthen Forestry Position
Alliance has introduced 40 new forestry tyre designs to its existing ranges in an attempt to strengthen its position in the segment. The tyres feature reinforced steel and include flotation forestry tyres for harvesters, agro-forestry R1 tyres for combined applications in forestry and agriculture, and LS forestry tyres for logger skidders. The new tyres were developed in co-operation with machinery manufacturers, under severe conditions, said David Shahar, head of R&D for Alliance. “Forestry tyres should be able to drive effortlessly in difficult terrain, without puncture and costly down time,” Shahar explained.
Continue ReadingBekaert Ups External Investment
Bekaert has put in a bid to take over the ECC card clothing division of Carclo, which deals in plastic components and specialist wire products. ECC has facilities in the UK, France, Italy, Turkey, USA, Canada, China and India, and achieves annual sales of €24 million. The value of the acquisition is estimated at €13 million. Carclo and Bekaert are expected to reach an agreement in the coming weeks. The company first invested in this market in 2002 with the acquisition of Sobelcard in Zwevegem, Belgium, which produces half products for card clothing manufacturers.
Continue ReadingLanxess Increase Production
Lanxess has concluded the first stage of a program to increase production of neodymium polybutadiene rubber, or Nd-PBR in response to growing demand for high performance rubber. The program will modify existing manufacturing lines so that multiple grades of material can be produced on the same line, including Nd-catalyzed PBR as well as lithium-PBR and solution styrene butadiene rubber SSBR.
Continue ReadingNTA Satisfied With Customer Research
National Tyres & Autocare (NTA), has today announced the results of its ongoing customer satisfaction survey. Of the 20,000 comment cards received from customers over the last 12 months, 91 per cent described the service provided by National as ‘Exceptional or ‘Above Average’’ claims the company. The research also revealed that 98 per cent of customers would use National again. Comment cards are collected from all 208 National Tyres & Autocare branches in the United Kingdom explains NTA, so that the company can monitor customer satisfaction on a regular basis.
Continue ReadingAnti-Counterfeiting Bill Passes US House
(Akron/Tire Review) The “Stop Counterfeiting in Manufactured Goods Act, introduced by Rep. Joe Knollenberg (Republican) with the support of the Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association (MEMA), has passed the US House of Representatives.
Continue ReadingTIA Objects to NHTSA Denial of Reserve Pressure Request
(Akron/Tire Review) TIA expressed its disappointment that the National Highway traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) turned down the RMA’s petition to establish recommended cold inflation pressure using a tyre pressure reserve. TIA had supported RMA’s petition, in which the association asked that NHTSA include in its TPMS regulations a stipulation that a reserve tyre pressure sufficient to allow tyres to carry the maximum load of a vehicle be included in the threshold for a TPMS trigger point.
Continue ReadingCooper Names Sawyer Director Customer Marketing
The Cooper Tire & Rubber Co has appointed Steve D Sawyer director of customer marketing. In this role, Sawyer will be responsible for Cooper’s customer service, program pricing and price operations, according to the manufacturer.
Continue ReadingWTA Distributes Hanksugi Japan
World Trade Association (WTA) is an international tyre wholesaler, based in Coral Springs, Florida. The company deals in all brands of passenger car, high performance, light truck and truck tyres and has more than 30 years experience dealing in the global marketplace, shipping tyres all over the world. WTA is also the worldwide distributor for the Hanksugi Japan range of truck tyres, which are available in both bias-ply and radial construction. They are produced in Shanghai, with the manufacturing process controlled through the Sinochem International Company Limited.
Continue ReadingIndian truck and bus tyre export rises
(India/Rubber Asia) Indian truck and bus tyre exports registered a 16 per cent growth in March 2005 compared with the same month last year (YAM). While 222,527 units of these tyres were exported in March 2004, the number for March 2005 reads 258,727. As for passenger car tyre exports, they rose from 98,327 units to 107,559, a growth of nine per cent. LCV tyres shipped out from India rose eight per cent to 118337 units in March 2005 from 109,272 units in the YAM, according to a media release from Automotive & Tyre Manufacturers Association (ATMA).
Continue ReadingNew Cars to Roll Out of GM Stable
(India/Rubber Asia) There has been a flurry of new car launches in the Indian market thanks to the apparent growth in the Indian consumers purchasing power. General Motors, the world’s largest car maker, for example, has even come out with a new strategy specific to the Indian market, the main component of which to launch two new cars every year in the country, from 2006 to 2008, local media sources report. Mr. Rajiv Chaba, president of GM India, has said it would be a “mix of local production/assembly for voulume cars and CBU imports in the case of some lifestyle products”.
Continue ReadingWorkers Ratify Six-Year Contract
Workers at Bridgestone-Firestone Canada have approved a six-year contract that gives them a better pension plan and gives the company more flexibility. The contract will bring a further CDN$13 million to the Joliette region in economic spinoffs claims the company. Over 80 per cent of workers voted in favour of the agreement, which comes three months before the current contract expires. We worked together to establish terms that will ensure greater flexibility for our operations. This flexibility is essential first to our growth, and consequently to maintain jobs, declared Isaac Motohashi, general manager of he Joliette plant.
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