A decade ago, Air France entered into a ten-year tyre supply contract with Michelin. The French airline has now renewed this arrangement, extending its partnership for a further ten years. The Michelin Group will equip the company’s short-, medium- and long-haul aircraft, except for the Boeing 787, with new and retreaded tyres primarily produced at the company’s Saint Doulchard plant in Bourges, France
Copadex is expanding its existing cooperation with Alliance to become an official distributor of the whole Alliance tyre portfolio in France as of 2021. The extension of the Alliance offer will make Copadex a full range distributor of Yokohama Off-Highway Tires (YOHT) – as Alliance Tire Group was recently renamed – in France. Copadex is also an official distributor of Galaxy tyres – another YOHT brand specializing in the industrial and construction segments. Copadex will take over its new full range role in the highly important French market with particular focus on agricultural segment and the premium tractor radial portfolio specifically. Copadex will also distribute Alliance tyres in other segments such as forestry and construction.
Last September, Bridgestone announced it would close its tyre production facility in Béthune, France during in 2021. The municipal council of Béthune-Bruay now claims the tyre maker didn’t fully honour the commitments it agreed to back in 2007, when the municipality contributed towards a 32-million-euro investment in the plant. It is therefore demanding that Bridgestone returns the subsidies it invested.
Michelin has announced its intention to “evolve” its activities in its France by means of a three-year competitiveness plan covering all of its manufacturing, corporate and administrative operations within the country. The company is taking this step as a response to “profound, structural shifts in the global tyre market” over the past decade that have been “led by the massive influx of low-cost products.” The plan could see up to 2,300 of the 20,000 Michelin jobs in France cut over the coming three years.
Bridgestone announced plans to close Béthune, France factory back in September 2020. Now, however, the location looks likely to retain a role in the broader automotive sector after the Japanese tyremaker reported that it has identified 24 opportunities relating to the future of the site. Two of the options relate the sale of the site to other tyre manufacturers. Five of the identified projects concern the installation of new activities on the site in tyre and rubber fields as well as batteries and other sectors. Two of the proposals relate to “the installation of activities outside the site”. Nine projects are said to be in the study phase.
GT Radial sponsored racing partner, Benjamin Boulbes has won his fourth consecutive French Elite Drift FFSA Championship. The Covid-19 shortened season comprised five rounds, in which Boulbes amassed 1,045 points, three podium finishes, and four pole positions. His 2020 triumph marks an unprecedented seventh championship for the driver, having won in 2010, 2013, 2014, and the last four years. Boulbes competes in a tuned BMW M3 E93M, which produces around 1,200CV/BHP through its Chevrolet LSX376 engine, running on the GT Radial Champiro SX2 tyre.
From the 2021-2022 season, Liqui Moly will be the main and name sponsor of Starligue, the highest handball league in France. The motor oil and additive specialist concluded a five-year contract with the LNH national handball league. “This will help us to become even more well-known in France in order to expand our distribution and significantly increase our sales,” says Ernst Prost, managing director of Liqui Moly.
Bridgestone has confirmed its intention to close the Béthune tyre plant in France. The country’s Secretary of State for Economy and Finance, Agnès Pannier-Runacher, shared news about the decision yesterday. She tweeted that Bridgestone has “closed the door to continuing its activity in Béthune” and confirmed the plant’s closure. She added that the French government would work with employees to find a solution for everyone.
Michelin has added to its portfolio of non-tyre business assets with the acquisition of all outstanding shares in Le Fooding three years after the two companies first began collaborating. The deal is the culmination of an agreement signed with the co-founders of Le Fooding in 2017 – after Michelin acquired a 40 per cent stake in its share capital – that provided for Michelin’s future acquisition of the remaining interest.
BKT’s title sponsorship of French football has increased its brand awareness according to new data compiled for the off-highway tyre specialist. The CSA Research panel found that brand awareness has reached 17 per cent among football fans following two years title sponsorship of the Coupe de la Ligue BKT.
Tyres & Accessories contacted Bridgestone for its response to the statement put out by French authorities following its decision to shutter its tyre factory in Béthune, France. Bridgestone addressed the characterisation of the closure as a “premeditated murder,” the idea that the plant has been deliberately allocated low-margin products, and that the plant had been passed over for investment.
The president of the Hauts-de-France region has labelled Bridgestone’s planned closure of its Béthune tyre manufacturing plant “brutal” and a “premeditated assassination.” For good measure, Xavier Bertrand added “we are dealing with cynics and liars” in his strongly-worded response to Bridgestone’s announcement. In a joint statement with the French government, Bertrand’s Hauts-de-France Region called on the Bridgestone group to “assume its responsibilities,” alleging that the company’s divestment from and allocation of low-margin tyres to the Béthune plant over the last decade has “automatically” led to its deficit in competitiveness.
Bridgestone has announced its plan to close its Bethune plant in France. The manufacturer said that the measure is being used to reduce production overcapacity and to improve cost efficiency. The proposal could impact 863 employees. Bridgestone added that it is “fully aware of the social consequences of this project and is committed to using all means at its disposal to define support plans for each employee.” The earliest the closure would take place is the second quarter of 2021. Bridgestone’s presence in France would continue through sales and retail operations, in which it employs about 3,500, the company said.
YOHT
Tyrepress.com / Stephen Goodchild
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