As of the start of this month, Toyo Tire Corporation has implemented a number of changes to its organisational structure. These changes relate to the company’s R&D headquarters in Japan and involve the consolidation and reorganisation of entire divisions.
Representatives of Cooper Tires and Toyo Tires have respectively confirmed they’ll not exhibit at this year’s The Tire Cologne, as previously planned. Their decisions come as governments across Europe announce rigorous measures to delay the spread of coronavirus and reduce its impact wherever possible. Michelin announced its withdrawal as exhibitor last week.
Michael Graber will take over as vice president of sales at Toyo Tire U.S.A. Corp. on 1 January 2020. His appointment to this role follows the impending retirement of senior vice president, Randy Gaetz.
Kenta Kuribayashi has been named president of Toyo Tire Corporation’s tyre production subsidiary in Europe, effective 1 September. He has taken on this role in addition to serving as president of Toyo Tire Europe GmbH and as chairman and chief executive officer of Toyo Tire RUS LLC.
In just a few months’ time, Toyo Tire Corporation will begin research and development work at a new site in Europe. The tyre maker is setting up an R&D centre in Willich, Germany to support its future factory in Serbia, and intends to start operations there in the autumn. Having a local R&D presence in the vicinity of vehicle manufacturers and related companies will, says Toyo, be beneficial in terms of the quality and freshness of the information gained.
Yukio Hasegawa has been named the new president of Toyo Tire Corporation’s subsidiary in Russia, effective tomorrow. He succeeds Kenta Kuribayashi in this role. Kuribayashi remains chief executive officer of the Toyo Tire RUS LLC operation (and president of Toyo Tire Europe GmbH) and will additionally, as of tomorrow, become the Russian subsidiary’s chairman.
Toyo Tires is an official partner to the 2019 AIG Women’s British Open Golf Tournament, which will take place at Woburn Golf Club between 1 and 4 August. In addition to visibility on signboards around the course and the video screen, Toyo will appear within the official programme. It will also promote the event through Toyo social media channels.
One of the outcomes of today’s Board of Directors meeting at Toyo Tire Corporation is the decision to invest in ramping up capacity at the company’s tyre factory in North America. Approximately 7 billion yen (£51.6 million) will be invested in this project.
A number of organisational changes are set to take place at Toyo Tire Corporation on 15 June. A new unit, the Corporate Strategy Division, will be created. Toyo says this division, which will report directly to president Takashi Shimizu, is being created to give the company greater flexibility to accomplish its growth strategy.
Toyo Tires used the 2019 Autosport Show to reveal that the Toyo Tires 7 Race Series will run for a further two seasons, further cementing the relationship between the Japanese tyre manufacturer and the motorsport series.
For Toyo Tire & Rubber, the first half of 2018 was a period of mixed fortunes. The manufacturer reports that turnover and earnings within its core tyre business increased 3.9 per cent during the six months to 30 June, with sales of 160,046 million yen (£1.1 billion) and operating income of 22,669 million yen (£160.8 million) resulting in a slightly improved profit margin of 14.2 per cent. Overall sales were down 3.3 per cent, to 185,738 million yen (£1.3 billion), due to decreased turnover within the company’s automotive parts business.
The 2018 European Athletics Championships will take place in Berlin from 7 to 12 August, and after being part of the IAAF World Championships London 2017 and the IAAF Indoor World Championships Birmingham 2018 as National Partner, Toyo Tires has now extended its association with athletics as an Official Partner for the event in the German capital.
In recent years we’ve seen a number of tyre makers introduce noise reduction technologies that utilise foam insulation, with Continental, Hankook, Bridgestone, Sumitomo Rubber, Goodyear amongst those bringing their own version of the concept to market. Toyo Tire & Rubber Co. Ltd. has taken a different approach and sought instead to cut noise by modifying airflow within the tyre cavity. It calls its solution Toyo Silent Technology.
To help it design tyres that contribute towards lower fuel consumption and, in electric vehicles, increased range, Toyo Tire & Rubber Co., Ltd. has developed its own aerodynamic simulation technology. It calls it ‘Mobility Aerodynamics’ and says the technology “represents an advance never seen in the industry before.”
Better late than never – as 2017 draws to a close, we can pour ourselves a hot drink, sit by the fireplace and peruse the Toyo Tire & Rubber annual report for 2016. The 61-page document outlines the company’s progress since introducing its Mid-Term 14 business plan and outlines the new Mid-Term 17 plan, which calls for net sales to increase (from the 2016 financial year) 25.8 per cent to 480.0 billion yen (£3.2 billion) by the 2020 financial year, and for operating income to rise 21.7 per cent to 60.0 billion yen (£397.9 million).
