Industry Report - Tire Review Magazine

Industry Report

OSHA Ergo Regs Removed, May Be Reworked

b>Sales: $543.1 million, down from 1999’s $588 million
Net Profit: $4.5 million, up from a net loss of $11.4 million in 1999

Vredestein NV
Sales: $273 million, up 15% from 1999
Net Profit: $190,000, down 98% from 1999


Of Note®ƒ

Reports say Bridgestone Corp. will repurchase more than 200,000 of its own shares to fund a stock option program for some 60 company executives and employees … Jin Wook Choi has been named president and CEO of Hankook Tire America Corp., replacing Seung Hwa Suh, who returned to the parent company as executive vice president … Toyo Tires USA Corp. and Meguiar’s teamed up for a special May -June promotion in which consumers buying four designated tires will receive an $80 premium car care kit … Cooper Tire & Rubber won its bid to have 17 class-action product liability lawsuits – alleging the company sold 55 million tires that were punctured by awls to eliminate air pockets, a practice the plaintiffs claim can lead to tread separation – consolidated before a single federal judge in Columbus, Ohio … Bill Bainbridge resigned from the Specialty Equipment Market Association, where he was vice president of marketing …

General Motors is switching from Firestone to Bridgestone branded tires on some 2002 Cadillac and Saab models – and possibly more – in a move the carmaker said was initiated by Bridgestone/Firestone … As part of its belt-tightening efforts, Goodyear said it will drop eight brands it produces for Europe, including Ohtsu, Seal, Trident, Durant, Delta, Diplomat, India and Voyager … Hankook Tire America will open a new 250,000-square-foot warehouse in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., which will serve Hankook’s five regional distribution centers … Continuing its corporate realignment, Heafner Tire Group is reportedly exiting the Arizona market entirely, selling off a number of its retail outlets in Mesa and Phoenix to other dealers … John Lampe, chairman, president and CEO of Bridgestone/Firestone Inc., has been nominated for a seat on the Bridgestone Corp. board of directors … Seven top carmakers, including GM, Ford, Honda, Mercedes, Toyota, Nissan and Volkswagen, have committed to participating in Michelin Challenge Bibendum 2001, slated to be held just prior to this year’s SEMA/ITE Show … Sam Ferrise, president of Bandag’s Tire Distribution Systems arm, left the company to become president of Baldwin Filters … Toledo, Ill.,-based Ben Tire Distributors bought its 35th location, a single outlet in Mattoon, Ill. … Chicago’s Jones Lundin Beals Inc. will consult Michelin North America in its advertising agency selection process … Tire Retread Information Bureau issued its Retread Tire Buyers Guide, listing all retreaders in North America and many others from around the world, online at www.retread.org; paper copies available by calling 888-473-8732 … Toyo Tire & Rubber Co. and Yokohama Rubber Co. joined RubberNetwork.com as the procurement site’s seventh and eighth members … Solideal Tire opened new service centers in Birmingham, Ala., and in Bowling Green and Louisville, Ky., giving it 43 total centers across the U.S. … Kumho Tires USA Inc. introduced the new I’ZEN Stud KW-11 performance winter tire, with 29 Q- and T-speed rated sizes … Recycling Research Institute has released its 2001 Scrap Tire & Rubber Users Directory; copies available for $49 at P.O. Box 2221, Merrifield, VA 22116 …

Michelin Americas Small Tires has retained Modem Media to develop new Web sites for the group’s Michelin, BFGoodrich and Uniroyal brands … ArvinMeritor has launched a new B2B product ordering Web site for its Light Vehicle Aftermarket group at www.armlva.arvinmeritor.com … Bendix Brakes teamed with Mitchell Repair Information to produce a new brake service CD-ROM … AAIA has committed $5 million to build a state-of-the-art education center at Northwood University in Michigan … Continental has unveiled the ContiSportContact 2 – with 30 V- and Z-rated sizes – as the replacement for the ContiSportContact in Europe … Five-year-old Boyd’s Goodyear, based in Columbus, Ohio, has opened its third store, a 10-bay center in suburban Polaris … Private brander SURE Tire Co. is looking for a new executive director following the departure of John O’Rourke … Goodyear has reached an agreement with union workers at its Debica, Poland, plant, which will allow the company to cut 700 jobs there … Groupe Michelin will hold a 70% stake in a new joint venture in Shanghai, China, with Shanghai Tyre & Rubber Corp. … Bridgestone/Firestone Inc. settled 26 separate product liability death and injury lawsuits in Texas, all of which were being handled by one Houston law firm … Pirelli SpA has retained Icon Medialab to develop the tire and cable manufacturer’s new global Web site … Groupe Michelin has brought its colorful BFGoodrich Scorcher T/A line of performance tires to Japan for retail sale … Private Brand Tire Group has named Sun Marketing Associates, based in Largo, Fla., as its marketing and incentives agency … Purcell Tire & Rubber Co. bought a retail store in Mesa, Ariz., and five undeveloped locations in Phoenix from Heafner Tire Group, and purchased a retread plant and two commercial tire centers from Goodyear’s Wingfoot Commercial Tire Systems … Continental Tire North America Inc. (CTNA) will add five new winter tires to its line-up in mid-2001 – ContiWinterContact TS 790, ContiWinterContact TS 760, Semperit Ice Grip, Semperit Direction-Grip and Semperit Top-Grip … Cooper Tire opened a new 401,000-square-foot distribution center in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. … Robbins LLC earned both ISO9001 and Q9001 quality certifications …

American Car Care Centers increased its sales of Michelin Americas Small Tires products by 20% in 2000 … Bridgestone/Firestone’s national accounts sales group launched its own Web site at www.CompanyCarConnection.com, focused on business-to-business customers … Mickey Thompson sold its Dick Cepek brand suspension components to Supertrucks Unlimited, a Riverside, Calif.-based aftermarket truck parts manufacturer, for an undisclosed price … Federal-Mogul’s new www.federal-mogul.com/promotions Web site new allows tire dealers and consumers to earn or purchase NASCAR, NHRA and Champion motorsports collectibles … Royal Tire Inc.’s Tire One marketing program signed on its 200th dealer by adding Savemore Automotive in Rosemount, Minn. … RMA has issued Spanish-language version of its new consumer tire safety brochure – Be Smart – Play Your PART … Keystone Automotive Industries opened a new wheel service location in Windber, Pa. … After workers rejected a company-trade union plan to improve cost and productivity at the Wolverhampton, England, Goodyear plant, the company has begun laying off some 500 workers … Goodyear South Africa has cut 400 people from its workforce due to declining sales and profits … Norwell, Mass.-based Sullivan Tire Co. has bought three Yudy’s Tire & Auto Service locations in Maine, giving Sullivan 45 total stores …


DYK®ƒ

37 Percentage of retreaders who said their volume increased in 1999, according to Tire Review 2000-2001 Dealer Profile Study

$11.25 Average dealers charged, per passenger or LT/SUV tire, for an off-the-wheel repair, according to Tire Review 2000-2001 Dealer Profile Study

40 & 31 Of all passenger vehicles on the road, the percentage that were domestic cars in 1999 and predicted for 2010, according to Lang Marketing Resources.

$47.09 Average fixed labor rate dealers charged for vehicle service, according to Tire Review 2000-2001 Dealer Profile Study

167 & 190 Millions of licensed drivers in the U.S. in 1990 and 2000, respectively, according to the U.S. government.

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